What got you into Japanese music?

[Suki]

Points at thread title*

For me, it all started when I was like 15, ot 16 at the time, and my best friend's dad was a music producer. Since he had seen many bands, he listened to alot of music too.
So, I was in the car with my friend and I, and her had was driving. He put in a Pillows CD, and I was hooked since.

[kiyomi]

My entire family is in the music/acting business back in my homeland. They have their own Kabuki Theater and do 4 shows a day. They can all sing and play a variety of musical insturments. My oldest brother has his own J-pop CD out.

So, I have a great appreciation for any and all Japanese music.

[kenshinbebop]

Idk. :/

Growing up in a musical family(my dad's in 2 bands, cousin was in a few bands, whole family loves music) I became very open to all sorts of different music. That's why I have the very varied tastes that I have today.
That's the reason I was able to like it as music not as jsut part of my Japanese obsession that I used to have.

How I really got into it was jsut all of a sudden. I read the pillows' interview in Anime Insider a while back and said "Hmm, never heard of these guys." It talked about their new album that came to America so the next day I went out and got it. (Ironically enough, their album Penalty Life was the first album I ever had by the pillows, and I love it...but it is known as one of their worst.)
Anyway, ever since Penalty Life, I got all the domestic stuff I could. Then I finally got into importing and my tastes grew even more.

The pillows were my first band and are my favorite to this day.

[Skyy Blu]

Watching subs of DBGT opening theme "Dan Dan".

[tenshi_a]

um...

1) Video game music. Yay "One Winged Angel"!

2) I listen to music while computer programming at work. When I started doing this for a living, I found that listening to songs with lyrics in English was too distracting, so I started listening to songs in other languages. First it was the musical "Tanz Der Vampire" in German, then I went on to anime songs (and some X Japan) in Japanese. This is still the case today, even though I don't get distracted with English anymore (I guess I just wasn't very good when I started!).

[SonRyu]

I was first exposed to Japanese music via games and anime. The more I played or watched, the more familiar I became with it and the work of certain artists/composers. As with everything else I like, I research it and expose myself to more if it. With the introduction of JPop into the fold, I would collect albums from the same artist, and then from similar artists. It's all one big snowball effect.

[DFAx]

I saw a random PV and was obsessed since

[Japhyl]

I got into Japanese music when I was 12. That was when I wasn't much of an anime fan and I saw an episode of Inuyasha on TV and I liked the ending songs. I looked up the songs on the internet and started buying Japanese CDs since then.

[HSaabedra]

I got into it later in life not through anime, but through a DJ. Instead of spinning the usual techno/house type stuff, he spun stuff from people like Merzbow, Masonna, KK Null, and Susumu Hirasawa, more along the lines of avant garde than anything else.
Around this time I was also introduced to the metal scene in Japan: Bands like Loudness, Dir En Grey, The Mad Capsule Markets, etc.

[Daydream]

When I started watching anime, I didn't just like watching it, I started drawing it, looking it up on the net and more. I started listening to anime music which led to j-pop and j-rock. I've never heard traditional Japanese music, I should try that next ^_-

[???????]

I always like music. So I used to watch Sailormoon when I was a little kid and loved the song Moolight Densetsu very much. The melody was stuck in my head and all I could remember of the Song was the word moonligh and midnight. So I looked hard for the the name of the song and on the way I found other music and song and got hooked.

[predecessor]

Heard everyone talking about Miyavi, X-Japan and Gackt. so i watched a PV from each*i have no clue who was first* and was hooked since. its been about 5 years. that year i discovered alot of bands. japanese and western.

[Gibb]

I grew to love Japanese music because of opening and closing songs to anime series. I guess I was around 14 or 15 (back in 1995 or so) when I was watching more and more anime. I even started watching stuff subtitled, which was hard because you could only find VHS tapes dubbed back then.

Then one miraculous day happened. I stumbled upon a site that had a "song of the day" or something. The song was "wish" by hitomi. To this day it is still my favorite Jpop song, and it basically started my love of Jpop. I now own roughly 30 Jpop albums, and around 25-30 anime soundtracks (yay for Geneon's domestication of most of them).

[DazzleKitty]

I started to get into it when I got into anime. It has a certain appeal to it. I actually prefer it over a lot of American music. I had a penchant for foreign music before I got into anime, mainly Spanish pop.

[Athena]

I started to get into it when I got into anime. It has a certain appeal to it. I actually prefer it over a lot of American music. I had a penchant for foreign music before I got into anime, mainly Spanish pop.

Your not alone, I also got into Japanese anime music thanks to my love for Spanish Pop/Rock. Although Japanese music in general has always been so different with its traditional oriental Eastern background, a lot of the J-Pop/Rock tunes strongly resemble that of Spanish Pop/Rock too. As far as American music, you also have to take the different genres of music into consideration, but I think most American music is good. I just think music from the 90's and before had more quality than anything done today. Maybe its just me because I grew up hearing 80's and 90's stuff. ^_^

[Bisu]

Anime…definitely. I didn’t like Japanese music very much since I had barely heard anything before watching anime. But, a few months and several anime series later, that quickly changed. Now, I as well, prefer Japanese music over most American music. It was just a year ago, and much thanks goes out to L'Arc~en~Ciel. :D

[hookhook]

When I was in High School in Thailand, a lot of my friends were Japanese and I actually had a girl live with me who was Japanese and she got me into all of her music. I don't listen as much as I used to, but I still love Utada Hikaru and Kiroro!!

[Gibb]

I just think music from the 90's and before had more quality than anything done today. Maybe its just me because I grew up hearing 80's and 90's stuff. ^_^

I think one of the reasons I love JPOP and anime music so much is that it throws me back to my youth when I was really big into 80's and early 90's pop in the US. It's not to say there isnt alot of good music currently in the US, but it doesnt seem to be the "mainstream" stuff IMO. I think the mainstream stuff is dominated by cookie cutter bands picked by producers for their appeal over their actual talent. Most of the American modern stuff I listen to is Christian music, such as Relient K and Switchfoot.

Currently I'm really big into Bonnie Pink, Hikki, melody., Rurutia, KOTOKO, the Indigo, and other Jpop artists/bands.

[fujyoshi]

anime probably. I heard my first Japanese song at nine years old but it took me untill like my current age(16) to actually get into it. Now it's basicly all I listen to.

[Gibb]

anime probably. I heard my first Japanese song at nine years old but it took me untill like my current age(16) to actually get into it. Now it's basicly all I listen to.

Which song was it? :)

[Suiko Eiji]

I blame it all on anime. Most of the J-Pop people I'm really interested in (save for HANAWA and perhaps one or two more), I was exposed to via anime in one shape or fashion. Also, the bluk of my Japanese music catalog all comes from anime music and soundtracks.

[DazzleKitty]

I just think music from the 90's and before had more quality than anything done today. Maybe its just me because I grew up hearing 80's and 90's stuff. ^_^

I totally agree. I love stuff from the 80s and 90s. In these past five years, I have gotten out of a lot of American music. Most of the songs and lyrics these days are repetitive or lack taste, in my opinion.
My brother has these friends who have their own band. The music they play is really good. It made me think "why can't people like them be the ones who sing and write pop songs?". My brother says that most of the time, if the band is good, they never make it. It really seems like that's true. :P Most singers seem to be picked based off looks instead of quality nowadays.

[333jeffery]

The song "K2G" on an episode of Teen Titans got me interested in J-rock/pop....

[Haro!]

I was raised around various forms of music, mainly hip hop or music in languages i didnt understand, so the first Japanese music I ever listened to (atleast that I was aware of) was from Dj Krush way back in the day a long time ago, back in '94. I had heard about it through my brother and liked it ever since. I didn't really get into j-pop until I went to HS.

[Dr. Ezra]

I learned about Gackt from a friend early on. He was the one that got me listeing to other Japanese artists.

[KyouryokuSenshi]

one word: anime! Lol :P

[firstpressing]

Like most people, anime, then spanned off to JPop around 99'. Hikki, Aikawa Nanase, DAI and Mai Kuraki were some of the first artists I got into.

[GreatNekoKoneko]

...giant robo anime. ever since i heard the theme from Voltes V, i was hooked. they may sound like 70's style songs, but they get me revved up. then it eventually led to my fascination of other kinds of jMusic.

[Sushikins]

Just from watching anime, I think the first song I ever got hooked on was Through the Night from Outlaw Star. Now most of the music I listen to on a daily basis is Japanese in origin.

[Sora N]

Watching anime is what got me into Japanese music; and when I bought my Fushigi Yuugi OST (years ago) I was completely hooked on it. Now I mainly listen to anime soundtracks/J-pop & J-rock; however I do listen to some American music like rock (from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s,) county and new age (Enigma) ^_^

[Ninja337]

I decided that in order to full understand Japanese culture I had to listen to contemporary Japanese music. I am most interested in J-Urban.