Lareine was one of the key influential bands of the '90s. Though most of the members are still working on other projects, it disbanded in 2000, with a short revival in 2015. The band was well known for its concept and costumes inspired by French and Renaissance culture. In fact, the band's name means "the queen" in French.

Lolita23q (also known as 少女-ロリヰタ-23区 - Shoujo Lolita 23q) formed in 2004 and quickly gained fans thanks to their colorful look and upbeat tracks. The band went on hiatus in 2014 and several members continued on with other projects or in other bands. However, the band has recently made a comeback and announced a revival live planned for January 2017. Letter Snow was released in 2006.

Merry started activities in 2001, and while their look now has toned down and they're much less associated with visual kei, their start is undoubtedly visual. The band has performed abroad in 2007 and was supposed to hit Europe in 2016 for a tour that was unfortunately cancelled.

Founded in 2008 from the ashes of famous '90s band Fatima, Moran had a quite troubled history, with several member changes and bassist Zill's death in 2010. The band eventually disbanded in 2015.

Founded in Sendai, Nightmare was among the longest-lasting acts of contemporary visual kei, with 16 years of history. The band went on a temporary hiatus in November 2016. They are well known for providing theme songs for the famous anime series Death Note with their tracks "The World" and "Alumina."

Going back to the classics, Pierrot was one of the "golden age" bands forming in 1994 and disbanding in 2006. While the members have since then been active in their own projects, they also came back together in 2014 for a two-day live revival. Hill was released in 2002.