Mana Sama - Blog Posts

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Twelve hours during a part-time job feels so long, especially at night; it’s almost terrifyingly long.

Mana chan kept shouting, “This theme is difficult!” and Kami kun kept asking, “Mana chan, don’t you have anything?” (laughs). It seems these two aren’t very bound by numbers...

Anyway, Mana chan’s part time job era... It’s full of valuable stories!! Hehe ♥

MALICE MIZER

--So, the theme is "The Fear of Numbers."

Mana: Hmm... That's difficult.

Kami: Haven't you ever noticed when the numbers on a clock are all the same? Like when you look at the time and it's 11:11?

--Does that give you an eerie feeling?

Kami: No, I'm actually happy (laughs). Also, when I'm talking on the phone at night and I look at the clock, it's always 2:14 AM (laughs). It's the witching hour (laughs). And it happens almost every day.

--Do you have any thoughts, Mana?

Mana: Hmm... (laughs) This theme is tough... Hmm...

Kami: Also, I have an obsession with lining up the number 7. I used to go to pachinko parlors a lot, so getting 7s was a thrill (laughs). Ah, that's not scary at all (laughs).

Mana, do you have anything?

Mana: Hmm... When I was a boy, I was a bicycle enthusiast. I even had a speedometer, and it only went up to about 60 kilometers, I think. I was obsessed with maxing it out.

Kami: That's the fear of speed.

Mana: Yeah, I was pushing the limits of speed. The bike I had wasn't a Roadman, but it was a sports-type with gears and semi-drop handlebars... You don't see them much nowadays.

Kami: They were popular back then. The ones with the light on the side.

Mana: The more gear shifts, the better. Five-speed was common, but with six-speed, it was like, "One more gear!" (laughs).

Kami: Speaking of numbers, I save 500 yen coins (laughs). Last year, a friend gave me a piggy bank that can hold up to 300,000 yen, and I'm close to reaching the goal. How long did it take you to save?

Kami: One year! When I talked about it, a fan once sent me a 500 yen coin in a letter (laughs).

Mana: Really? Well, I’m saving 10,000 yen bills (laughs).

Kami: So I make sure not to spend any 500 yen coins. Even when I shop, I make sure to get change in 500 yen coins, or I exchange five 100 yen coins for a 500 yen coin at the convenience store (laughs). Mana, do you have anything else?

Mana: Hmm...

--Like the fear of having to wake up in the morning?

Mana: Oh, even if I have work early the next morning, I stay up until around 5 AM, so I do get that "Oh no, it's already this late" feeling, but that’s why I always sleep in the car during travel.

Kami: Because we’re so busy, sleeping in the car becomes something to look forward to.

Mana: Yeah, it's really enjoyable (laughs).

Kami: It's almost like that's what keeps me going (laughs).

Mana: Yeah, but during our indie days, I was the one who drove.

Mana: I was the designated driver (laughs). Back then, mornings were terrifying. I had to wake everyone up by phone.

--Did you wake up all the members?

Mana: Yes, I’d call them to wake them up and then go around picking them up in the car. That was really something. It was like hell; I did it while crying (laughs). There were members who wouldn’t wake up no matter how many times I called (I wonder who?). And there were people whose phones wouldn’t even connect (laughs).

Kami: By the way, I’m never late. Unless I’m stuck in traffic or something, I always arrive on time when we have a meeting. Mana, do you have anything else? (laughs)

Mana: Ah! The fear of numbers! I used to work part-time at a rental video store, but when the sales weren’t great, I’d rent out videos myself.

-- Really? Were you in a position of responsibility?

Mana: There were morning and night shifts, and I was the manager for the morning shift, so if the morning sales were bad, it was my responsibility. When no customers came, I would wander around the front of the store, getting anxious (laughs).

-- Well, you can’t exactly solicit customers at a rental video store (laughs).

Mana: Exactly. You can’t just say, "We’ve got good videos here!" So all I could do was wander around (laughs).

Kami: I just thought of something! The fear of numbers! In the band I was in before Malice Mizer, the current drummer and I were born in the same year and on the same day. It was terrifying (laughs).

Mana: I just thought of something else too (laughs). I used to work a part-time job inspecting cups at a factory. That factory had cups endlessly going around 24/7 (laughs). I worked 12-hour shifts there, but since the cups were constantly moving on the conveyor belt, there was no end to it. It was terrifying. Plus, it had a roof but no doors, so in the winter, the cold north wind would blow in while I just watched the cups… (laughs).

--That sounds like a tough job.

Mana: It was tough. It was torture (laughs). Nowadays, even if your hair is dyed, it’s socially accepted, but back then, if you had a part-time job, it was limited to handing out tissues or working in a factory (laughs).

Kami: Yeah, or working for a delivery service.

Mana: "Yeah, like at those places where the packages come down on conveyor belts (laughs). I was once in charge of handling packages going to Tokyo, and while other people only had a few packages coming their way and were taking it easy, I was getting a constant stream of packages (laughs)."

Kami: "Even now, when I see the baggage counter at the airport, it reminds me of those days (laughs). Those 12-hour shifts felt so long, especially the night shifts—they were terrifyingly long."

Mana: "Yeah, yeah, and for 12 hours, the cups kept coming endlessly. By the end, I was even seeing hallucinations (laughs)."

The end // From Vicious Magazine

"No one can dispute the beautifully androgynous Mana's strong influence on Lolita fashion from the very beginning, partially evidenced by the fact that a photo shoot with the musician and designer has been in every issue of Gothic & Lolita Bible since the first.

Many became familiar with Mana, who created both the terms Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGA) and Elegant Gothic Lolita (EGL), when he was creating memorably flam Boyant costumes for his Gothic band MM, dressing himselt in Gothic Lolita and the other members in Aristocratic styles for their extravagant music videos and artistically inspired performance.

Since the music group's disbandment in 2001, Mana has remained focused on both music and fashion. He runs his own record label, Midi Nette, performs with his current band, Moi dix Mois, and acts as both designer and model for his clothing line, Moi-même-Moitié

We were pleased when this multitalented Lolita icon agreed to take time from his busy creative schedule to answer questions about his past, present, and future projects for our Western readers."

I did a translation of this interview. I hope you enjoy 🦋

Gackt: "You know, I can look someone in the eye and say, 'You're beautiful' (in a deep voice like Gackt's) even if it's the first time we're meeting (laughs)."

KO: "That's a very foreigner-like attitude."

Y: "Exactly. The way he delivers his lines perfectly fits his character. In a way, he's a dangerous person... ah, so scary, so scary (laughs)."

Everyone: (bursting out in laughter)

Y: "Honestly, I'm jealous. How many more encounters would I have if I could start conversations like that? I'll try my best."

M: "Well, isn't he the guy who gives off the most seductive male pheromones? (laughs). In fact, when I'm on stage with him, I'm just mesmerized. 'Ah, so this is the pheromone he's emitting...' (laughs)."

KO: "You both seem to be mesmerized by each other (laughs)."

M: "He just makes you feel all sorts of things. You're practically ravished with his eyes. I totally get why women are so taken with him. ♪I want to hold you tight and sleep♪ I experience it firsthand when I'm hugged on stage (laughs)."

Y: "Next time, let's sell Gackt's pheromone-infused perfume (laughs). We could advertise it in magazines with a tagline like, 'This will attract women to you,' and it would be a hit (←completely convinced)."

KO: "Hahahahahaha!! (bursting out in laughter)"

KA: "He always stays calm and gives answers that hit the mark. I always think that's amazing. I'm also envious of how he can do anything. I think he feels a sense of aesthetics in creating himself through every gesture. But if I were to point out one thing, it's that if you keep saying 'thank you' over and over it might be hard to tell which one is sincere. That's the risk."

Gackt: "I'm always grateful, though (laughs)."

KO: "He's quick-witted, and like KAMI said, he can handle pretty much anything. He can even ravish a woman with his eyes."

Gackt: (laughs)

KO: "That's why I try not to make too much eye contact with him, or I'll turn to stone (laughs). There's something strangely persuasive about his eyes and words. His daily life is quite mysterious (laughs)."

Interviewer: "So, what is the common ground between these five unique individuals?"

Gackt: "A sense of uniqueness, loneliness, creativity, a strong desire not to lose..."

KA: "Including all of that, I think it's destiny. The five of us are the 'chosen ones'..."

Gackt: "The chosen ones? (laughs)"

KO: "KAMI is actually a god (laughs)! (←Note: this is where you laugh)"

~ End ~

Mana MALICE MIZER 異端審問 ♱ 1998

He's an icon, he's a legend, and he is the moment

if a morpho butterfly was a person

Mana Sama 「Merveilles」