Trivia About MALICE MIZER

  1. Written as マリスミゼル in katakana, the Japanese pronunciation is 'marisu mizeru'
  2. Due to that, the English pronunciation of MIZER is 'me-zer', it rhymes with geezer
  3. All of the members are males; yes, this includes Mana-sama
  4. The font used for their logo is Caslon Antique (also the font used on this site)
  5. The band created their signature "twin guitar" sound early on, in which two guitars play distinct melodies to produce polyphony
  6. The name of their first demo tape, sans logique, comes from French artist Mylène Farmer's 1988 single of the same name; her name on the single is also written in Caslon Antique
  7. This was done so because Mana and Közi were or are huge fans of hers
  8. Mana and Közi met at a karaoke bar where they both worked and called this meeting fate; members of their previous band, Matenrou, were all co-workers as well
  9. The band's official fan club was called ma chérie
  10. The three long-standing members of the band are very private and haven't publicly revealed their real names, and Mana has yet to disclose his birth year
  11. Gaz and Kami did a "band swap" when Gaz joined Kneuklid Romance whereas Kami left the same band to join MALICE MIZER
  12. On Mana's recently established independent record label Midi:Nette, the band released their debut album, memoire
  13. Three of their most well-known roadies later became vocalists: Hitomi, Kamijo, and Shuuji
  14. The cathedral featured on the cover of Bara no Seidou is St. Vitus Cathedral, located in Prague, Czech Republic
  15. The cover of Voyage sans retour depicts a painting called An Angel in Green with a Vielle, and was possibly painted by Francesco Napoletano, an associate of Leonardo da Vinci's
  16. For Deep Sanctuary VI, Kami's old mentor, Sakura, played drums for the band; he eerily resembled Kami for the two lives to the point where Közi and Yu～ki were taken aback and thought it was really Kami; Sakura even went as far as borrowing Kami's purple drum set from his alma mater high school, which Kami's parents had donated it to
  17. Many of their costumes were designed by Yukari Ohba
  18. All of the vocalists' stage names have five letters: Tetsu, Gackt, and Klaha
  19. In recent years, Mana-sama has stated on social media that he wants to have MALICE MIZER songs on streaming sites, but with Midi:Nette being defunct, it is hard to say when, or even if, their songs can be available for download or streaming; Nippon Columbia is still active, but they don't seem to have any plans to have their songs digitally available
  20. Their most successful album is merveilles
  21. The members hail from all over lower Japan
    • Gackt — Okinawa
    • Gaz — Gunma
    • Kami — Ibaraki
    • Klaha — Osaka
    • Közi — Niigata
    • Mana — Hiroshima
    • Tetsu — Tokyo
    • Yu～ki — Fukuoka
  22. Kami was referred to as an “Eternal blood relative” on every release after his death and the position of drummer was never official filled, instead they had support member Shuu (愁)
  23. While the band made a sizable profit from their fan club, ma chérie, the members received little to no compensation due to the mismanagement of funds at the hands of their label president
    source

Mana(様)

Band history: Ves.tearge → GIRL'E → Matenrou (摩天楼) → MALICE MIZER → Moi dix Mois

  1. Instead of speaking in public, he chooses to whisper into the ear of a bandmate (usually Gackt when he was in the band) or holding up signs and emoting with his hands; he has only slipped up twice
  2. That said, he has provided vocals for the song Kyomu no Naka de no Yuugi, but they're distored
  3. He has claimed to have been born in the 1500s, but his birth year is rumored to be 1969
  4. He played bass in his previous band, Matenrou
  5. He is a gamer and has an extensive collection of consoles
  6. He was first referred to as Mana-sama back in 1992; Kozi might have been the first to do so
  7. Influenced by his music teacher parents, one of Mana's favorite instruments is the harpsichord, and his favorite composer is J.S. Bach
  8. His stage name was sometimes written in kanji as 魔名, meaning 'demon name' or 'evil name'
  9. Inspired by his own stage outfits, he started the gothic lolita fashion brand Moi-même-Moitiéin October 1999 and later sold it in 2018
  10. The name of his iconic, custom guitar is called jeune fille, and there is an entire series of them designed and crafted by ESP
  11. To this day, he still returns to his hometown, Hiroshima, every year for New Years

Közi

Band history: Beyond The Rein Sight → GIRL → Matenrou (摩天楼) → MALICE MIZER → Eve of Destiny, Közi solo → Közi solo → Közi solo , XA-VAT → ZIZ, Közi solo → ZIZ, Közi solo, DÄLLE, VAMQUET → ZIZ, DÄLLE, Közi solo, XA-VAT → ZIZ, Közi solo, XA-VAT

  1. His name is pronounced 'Koji' and not 'cosy'
  2. As a child, he would skip school and throw rocks at fishermen
  3. Against his parents' wishes, he dropped out of high school and moved to Tokyo with a friend at 16 to pursue a music career
  4. He is a cat lover and has had multiple cats over the years; perhaps the two most well known ones are Zaka and Rara (Lala?)
  5. He has an eyeball kink; it really shows in the ILLUMINATI PV
  6. He usually added the honorific 'chan' when speaking to Mana, but would use 'sama' when he wanted or needed something
  7. Designed and crafted by ESP, the guitars he used during his MALICE MIZER days were Akauzu-kun (あかうずくん) and Shirouzuko (しろうずこ) and they are red and white, respectively
  8. His tattoo starts on his right wrist, goes through his arm, shoulder, and ends on his chest
  9. He did/does not keep track of his finances and he just buys things when he feels like it
  10. As opposed to Mana, Közi isn't a fan of classic music, he prefers modern instead
  11. He doesn't drink beer anymore because he had gout in his legs so now drinks whiskey; swears to eat Manuka honey every day for his health and advises others to do the same
    credits to @kerayzieart for the fact
  12. Both of his parents are deceased
  13. At the hands of his parents, he was forced to endure six years of piano lessons

Yu～ki

Band history: ZE:RO → MALICE MIZER

  1. His favorite food was/is chocolate
  2. The first song he wrote while in kindergarten was about living in a chocolate house
  3. According to the other members, he never shuts up
  4. He started playing bass in high school

Kami

Band history: 3P MAYONNAISE (3Pマヨネーズ) → Kneuklid Romance → MALICE MIZER → deceased

  1. With his real name being Ukyo Kamimura, his stage name was originally Ukyo, but he later changed it to Kami
  2. Kami's favorite type of butterfly was the blue morpho which is featured on the cover of Shinwa
  3. Sakura of L'Arc-en-Ciel was his mentor
  4. He loved perfume had a collection with over 80 bottles
  5. Sadly, he is part of the 27 Club
  6. He was found four days after his death
  7. His favorite food are drink are melon bread and MAX COFFEE, both of which Mana-sama consumes twice a year on Kami's birthday and deathday

Tetsu

Band history: Ner-vous → MALICE MIZER → MEGA 8 BALL → nil → ZIGZO → nil → nil, THE JUNEJULYAUGUST → nil, ZIGZO, THE JUNEJULYAUGUST → nil, THE JUNEJULYAUGUST, ZIGZO, THE BLACK COMET CLUB BAND, Tetsu Takano (高野哲) solo → ZIGZO, DISCO VOLANTE, Tetsu Takano (高野哲) solo

  1. Tetsu's departure from the band was a rare case of actual creative differences; he didn't want to wear makeup because he didn't think it was masculine or be part of the emerging visual kei scene
  2. After releasing one solo album, he has been apart of numerous bands following his departure

Gaz

Band history: DATURA as GAZ → MALICE MIZER → Kneuklid Romance → the Night Breeze Zinnia → BUZZ BONE → deceased

  1. According to Mana, he cared a lot about the band
    "Anyway he was innocent. Because he joined after saying 'The drummer of MALICE is me! (Smile). He cared about MALICE very much." (Mana about Gaz during the Deep Sanctuary interview)

Gackt

Band history: Cains:Feel on drums → Cains:Feel on vocals → MALICE MIZER → Gackt solo → GACKT solo as GACKT, YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz → GACKT solo → GACKT, GACKT YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz

  1. His name is pronounced 'gack-toe'
  2. He is the second of three children with an older sister and a younger brother and was born in Okinawa to a Ryukyuan family
  3. The time in the band is referred to as the Gackt era by fans and it was during this that they were at the peak of success
  4. Due to the mismanagement of money by Midi:Nette’s manager, he left the band
    source

Klaha

Band history: PRIDE OF MIND → MALICE MIZER → Klaha solo

  1. He has stage fright (it is speculated that this is the reason why he quietly disappeared from the stage)
  2. He went on to have a short-lived solo career that ended abruptly in April 2004
  3. In 2007, he promised a return but nothing came to fruition, nor was there an explanation as to why he paused activities
  4. Mana-sama tried to contact him for the 25th anniversary live, but to no avail
  5. He was a classically trained singer