We chat with Visual-Hakase Noru (ヴィジュアル博士のる) [Călătorie (Călătorie-カラトリア-)] about his recent omnibus.

The “non-vkei” omnibus, NO VISUAL, NO LIFE~GIANT KILLING~, was released on December 12th. It features projects which have touched and been touched by the vkei scene, but aren't explicitly vkei themselves. For full details about the ambitious two-disc work, visit our information post.

The organizer of the omnibus, Visual-Hakase Noru (ヴィジュアル博士のる), was kind enough to grant vkgy an interview about the work. Please enjoy!

---

Visual-Hakase Noru (ヴィジュアル博士のる), thank you very much for agreeing to this interview.

---

• Please introduce yourself.

I'm Visual-Hakase Noru. I originally began calling myself hakase (博士) {doctor} when I was working as assistant MC at vkei events, acting as a vkei fanatic who helped the main MC. I don't actually know that much about visual kei.

• You are known for promoting the visual kei world through your SNS. Is that an important mission for you?

Of course, I want people to know about the good bands that I've seen and heard, but the most important thing for me is to have fun. It's not so much a “mission” as it is me saying “I like this song!” or “this band is great!”

• Why did you decide to release an omnibus?

Recently, a lot of songs have been released not as CDs but via streaming services. In checking out those songs, I realized that a surprisingly large number are written by people who are not in visual kei bands, but who like visual kei.

It's quite difficult to find the gems among the countless songs on streaming and subscription sites, so I thought it would be interesting to collect these songs and put them on a CD.

• Please explain the concept behind this omnibus.

Usually omnibuses are made by young people who are selling their music, but in this case we've gathered people who make music as a hobby; people who are not in vkei bands or people who used to be but no longer are. The concept of the omnibus is to collect “visual kei songs written by people not in vkei bands.” At the time of production, we summarized it as being “not vkei” in general.

• Does the name 「NO VISUAL, NO LIFE~GIANT KILLING~」 have a specific meaning?

The title was chosen via an open call on Twitter. “NO VISUAL, NO LIFE” essentially means “people who can't live without visual kei.” I'm sure there are many people for whom visual kei is an important part of their lives-this is one such group of people.

The subtitle “GIANT KILLING” comes from bankuruwase (番狂わせ) {an upset/unexpected result} and it was chosen because, even if you're not in a visual kei band, you can still do something cool like that. This part also came from an open call for ideas, but as soon as I saw the word and meaning I knew it was right.

• How did you choose the artists involved?

I put out a call on Twitter. I said, “I'd like to make an omnibus like this” and then I talked with anyone who responded. There were musicians from other scenes, visual band members acting as solo projects, ex-visual kei bandmen, units formed specifically for this project, etc・・・ People with various backgrounds came together.

• The jacket has really amazing art. Who created it, and what was the idea behind it?

I asked manga artist and visual kei freak Watanabe Shizumu (渡辺 静) sensei to illustrate the cover.

Behind the main figure (which could be a man or woman) is a 5-member visual kei band in shadows. I requested an image representing that an entire visual kei band could be dwelling within a single person; he did a better job than I could have imagined.

• You have released several works as Călătorie (Călătorie-カラトリア-). How was production different for this omnibus?

I didn't prepare a special song with it being an omnibus in mind, but rather pulled from my stock of existing songs. Being an omnibus, I thought that anything was possible, so I didn't treat it with any particular difference than usual.

• What has been the response from visual kei fans to this “non-visual” omnibus?

I'm happy to hear “it seems interesting.” It's unlikely to hear that about an omnibus, isn't it?

Above all, I'm glad that people consider the omnibus, and the project in general, to be “interesting.” I'm also happy to hear about various musicians paying attention to my work.

• Please tell us what we can expect from you in the future.

I don't have a specific plan for the future.

As I've done in the past, I'll just do what seems interesting or fun. With that being said, if someone says to me “let's do this” I'll jump on it right away-so, someone, please suggest an interesting idea to me! (laughs)

Oh, and I'm hoping to do a second edition of this omnibus in the near future. If you're interested, please feel free to contact me!

---

NO VISUAL, NO LIFE~GIANT KILLING~ is available now through various web shops. Purchase it here or visit our previous post for full details about the privileges.

Check back next week for Part ②!

---

Interview conducted by @vkeijonas, @inartistic, and @Ryu. If you liked this feature, you can help by liking, sharing, commenting, or supporting vkgy on Patreon.