resources
Miscellaneous stuff. Further commentary on Buck-Tick, this web site, and things related in any way.
NOT Frequently Asked Questions
Questions on the band and sections of this site regarding:
History
- What is Hinan Go-Go?
That was the name of the first band that the original Buck-Tick members formed. Their only live shows were in 1984. The members were nearly identical to Buck-Tick. However, Atsushi was on drums and a man named Araki was the vocalist. Toll was never in Hinan Go-Go. - When was Buck-Tick's first show?
At the end of 1984. The exact date is unknown. They took part in an amateur band contest for their area called Popcon which was held by Yamaha. At that time, Atsushi was still the drummer and Araki was the vocalist. - Have there ever been any Buck-Tick concerts without any of the members? Perhaps due to an injury, sickness, etc.
There have been at least 3 Buck-Tick shows without Toll. That is because those shows were held in 1984 and 1985, before Toll joined the band. At that time, Atsushi was the drummer. Buck-Tick has never held a concert where a member was missing due to injury, sickness, scheduling issues, or fighting. When Hisashi was arrested in 1989, the tour was cancelled but they did not find a replacement or temporary member. A tour was cancelled in 1996 due to Atsushi recovering from a serious illness but it was rescheduled for 1997. There have been other cancellations due to bad weather and a pandemic but other than that, Buck-Tick has been fairly interruption free. - When did Toll join the band?
Toll's first show with Buck-Tick was on December 4, 1985. This was also the first Buck-Tick show with Atsushi as the vocalist. The lineup has not changed since then. - The city you mentioned doesn't exist!
Cities mentioned in the History section and subsequent Concert Chronology may no longer exist. In recent years, the Japanese government has been incorporating several cities together into a larger city in order to reduce government administration overhead and save money for the national budget overall. Personally, I have noticed that it causes a lot of confusion for those not living in Japan so I just wanted to point this out. If the topic interests you, please read Wikipedia's entry on the Merger and Dissolution of Municipalities of Japan. - Your concert information is incorrect!
I apologize if it is incorrect but I have been strict in researching this kind of information on Buck-Tick for many years. I have been a fan and a collector since 1989. I have noticed inaccurcies in Buck-Tick's own official products in regards to their history. Most notably in the early books and in Picture Product. I do note conflicts whenever they exist. If you possess Japanese magazines or fan club newsletters with tour dates and setlists that conflict with what is on this site, please scan them so that they are legible and email them to me. Do not worry about being able to read Japanese. I will take care of that. I will not change concert data without being able to read it firsthand in this manner or if it is published directly on Buck-Tick's official web page. This is how the site will retain accuracy. Thank you for understanding. - Why does the History section start in 1983? Why don't you include earlier information?
The members started talking about forming a band in 1983. I am not really interested in their personal history before then other than a few tidbits to help paint the picture to understand where everyone was coming from. - Why do you say the band started in 1983 when it didn't start until later?
The band members got together to talk about forming a band in 1983 and decided that they better learn instruments. Those are the roots of the band and that happened in 1983. They didn't play together until 1984 and later that year changed the name to Buck-Tick. Hence, it's perfectly valid to say Buck-Tick began in 1984. However, once could also say they began the year they released something, which was 1986, or one could also say they began the year they released something on a major label, which was 1987. That is why when the band talks of their anniversary, it's not about when they formed but rather it's usually in regards to when they first had a major label release. - Do Buck-Tick play concerts outside of Japan?
They have but this is not common practice so I wouldn't wait for them to come close to you, rather you must travel to see Buck-Tick. Only one of the shows outside of Japan could really be called planned in advance and one was completely impromptu. Their shows outside of Japan were:- September 21, 1988: Greyhound, London, England (10 songs)
- June 5, 1994: Istanbul, Turkey (1 song impromtu performance)
- July 29, 2001: Soyo Rock Festival, Seoul, Korea (8 songs)
- Where is the best place to see Buck-Tick live?
Best is subjective but I did make a spreadsheet that counts all the times Buck-Tick has played each prefecture in Japan and from there you can deduce where is the most and least likely places. The best place is Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures where you can easily travel to Tokyo or to the other neighboring prefectures. (Data through 2021. Last updated March 2022.)
Members
- What is the name order you are using? For example, is Sakurai the first name or last name?
I list everyone's name in commonly accepted Western order, rather than Japanese order, except when I show the kanji characters. The Wester order is: first/given name followed by last/family name. In Japan, people always list their family name first and are often addressed by their family name. Usually it's only among close friends and family that first names used. - What are the members' middle names?
Japanese do not have middle names. - What is Toll's real name?
He will not reveal it since he is selling his music, not himself. There are rumors but for these sort of things I prefer the official story. However, in 2018 he released his autobiography and confirmed his real name, which many fans had already suspected. He was born Takashi Higuchi. He said he's lived two lives, one has Takashi Higuchi and one as Toll Yagami. I think we should continue to respect his private life as Takashi. - Are they gay? The members (used to) wear make-up and had homoerotic interactions.
No, that's part of being a rock musician, especially in Japan. Plus, their sexuality is their own business, unless you're writing an academic paper on sexuality and popular music. - Are they alcoholics? drug addicts? womanizers? wife beaters? animal abusers? etc.
No comment. First of all, this is delving a little personal and we know from interviews, photos, etc. and lyrical implications of certain activities of the band. Second, I may joke about these things but my views on most matters are far from conservative so there may be a difference between what we consider to be harmful activities. Bottom line, the world over, rock music is known for sex, drugs, and alcohol. - Why did they spray their hair up? That was such a bad idea.
It was the 1980s. It was a good idea then. Brace yourself, that hair and those clothes were also considered very cool then too. Much better than the other trend of the time, hair metal, imho. - How long did it take them to spray their hair up?
It took 2-3 hours and 1-2 bottles of hairspray. - Have the members changed? I've seen pictures from the early days and they don't look the same.
- The members have not changed since their major label debut. (1987)
- The members have not changed since even their indie label debut. (1986)
- In the very early days, there was a different vocalist and Atsushi played the drums. (1984-1985)
- Keyboardist/electronic musician Kazutoshi Yokoyama has collaborated with the members since 1991, both with Buck-Tick and side projects. He is like a 6th member in that regards.
I'm sorry but the band's personal life is their personal life. As Toll once said, they are selling their music, not themselves. What they reveal may be shared here, such as trivial information of favorite foods, or if they do publically announce personal relationship statuses, but I try to keep that at a minimum and I will not discuss hearsay. In the past there have been damaging things written in the media and cruel things said by fans regarding their personal lives. It's much too unkind for fans to perpetuate that. That said, the ones that have publicly announced they are married are Atsushi, Hisashi, and Hide. It is widely rumored that Toll is married. Atsushi and Hisashi have both announced they have children. In a surprise move in 2020, Atsushi publicly revealed who his son is in a published conversation with his son, who has grown up to be a prize-winning author.
Those are likely stolen private photos. Buck-Tick has released childhood photos and some "private" photos where you can see family members. But there are also some other truly private photos that are making their way into public hands. Think about how those photos got into circulation. They were either stolen or someone they knew/trusted betrayed them. Do you want to be the kind of fan that participates in that? Do you think the band appreciates such people and actions? They give us joy with their music. Let us give them some privacy and respect.
I have included some information on their families, hometowns, and the like that has been widely published in their own books, website, and interviews. Yearbooks are practically public record in Japan and are kept in the library, which anyone may visit and look at. Those photos are widely spread amongst the fans in Japan so I only thought it fair to share them with international fans who were unable to access them, even though their high school has long since closed and thus the library is no longer available to access.
Art means something to the artist. Once it has materialized, it is open to interpretation. At that point, it is what the audience makes of it. Thus, it doesn't matter what the artist's intentions were or what it means to them. What's important is what it means to you. You may disagree with me on this but many artists have expressed this sentiment, including Buck-Tick.
Look, some fans take things too seriously. Japan has had serious issues with this, fans who killed themselves over celebrities. Japan is not the only country with such tragic stories. I have been a part of several fandoms and worked for a major label musician. I heard crazy stories from both sides, including stories that involved the authorities or could lead to serious punishment by the law. Please refrain from anything that could remotely get you into trouble. That will never get you closer or gain favor from the artist. You could be banned, jailed, and definitely hated by the artist. It's one thing to be a teenager hungry for every tidbit but maintaining that fervor through adulthood becomes downright creepy. I don't want to ever read about a Buck-Tick fan being kicked out, arrested, etc., and I think the last thing any of us want is the band becoming even more private and recluse and not touring because someone took shit too far. The band has publicly stated through their website not to stalk them at the hotel so please don't.
We all feel that way sometimes but you have to know where to draw the line. Some people, especially women, with their maternal instinct, can be drawn to broken people, broken men, and they feel sorry for them and want to help and fix them. I've seen this so many times in fandoms. Then there are some people who are drawn to others for their money, power, fame, or sexual prowess. I've seen these starfuckers too who don't even care about the art. I do not want to feed into any of that. I like the music. Lyrics are secondary, or third, or second to last. Last being personal lives. I really don't care. The site is a reflection of what I care about: documenting band history, releases, etc. You are free to look at other sites that talk about what you are looking for and if you happen to ever run into one of the members on the street, that's real cool, just be respectful and never interrupt them when they are eating or do anything that would scare their children. You would be surprised how nice some artists are when you keep your distance and are respectful.
Releases
- I am a new fan and Buck-Tick has so many albums. Where do I start?
I know that it's tough when a band has been around for a long time and they have released so many albums that it makes you dizzy deciding where you should start from. It's especially hard to learn about a band who is not from your country and doesn't sing in your language. Personally, when I want to learn about a band that has been around a long time, there are a couple of methods I choose from and recommend:- Buy the album that has the song I already know and like. (There are a few singles that are not on any studio album and I would then suggest to try an album released around the same year as that single. FYI: those singles are "Gessekai", "Bran-New Lover", "Miu", "Gensou No Hana", and "Kagerou".)
- If I don't know any songs, buy the singles compilation or greatest hits. (Try the any of compilation albums called "Catalogue" but no earlier than "Catalogue 2005" so you get more history/songs. Buck-Tick have released another album which one might think is a greatest hits compilation because the title of it is Koroshi No Shirabe ~ This is NOT Greatest Hits (1992). I just want to point out that it certainly is not a greatest hits album. What the band did is take songs already released and tried to re-think them. They re-recorded the songs, sometimes quite differently than the original.)
- If there are no such compilations, buy the first and last albums to get a sense of the career span. Then maybe try every few albums as styles evolve. (Buck-Tick started with a European-influenced new wave-ish sort of style and progressed to a more rock feel with splashes of cyber-goth-industrial-electronica-darkness but have gone more classic rock/pop in recent releases)
- Read reviews online, join a mailing list, and ask die-hard fans where to start. (No matter what you may think of an album, it is someone's favorite and also someone's most hated. It's hard to go by reviews and other's opinions. Only you can decide if something suits your tastes.)
- Watch their music videos. (You will be able to sample their music for free and get a sense of their visual style.)
- It's so expensive to be a Buck-Tick fan. I can't afford the releases!
Yes you can! If you save a little money each month, you should be able to afford most if not all of their major releases, such as albums, singles, and videos. It's even easier to be a fan now as many international iTunes stores have Buck-Tick albums for sale. I made a spreadsheet of the costs of being a Buck-Tick fan if you buy the CDs. (Last updated in 2020.) It includes all of the original prices for the official materials since 1987. It does not include re-issues on other formats, remasters, or compilations, solo/side projects, autobiographies, cover albums, and so forth. It does include live albums/videos and some compilation videos so that one would own all their stuff. Please see the file for such notes. For the prices, I used the cheapest version of an item. If a limited edition was available, then I used the price for the regular edition. By this calculation, being a Buck-Tick fan from 1987-2020 costs an average of ¥10,995 each year. This requires saving a little less than ¥916 each month. In the file, I included a row to put the exchange rate for your currency. You will have to calculate on your own what the additional fees would be for your country for shipping, taxes, and so forth. Perhaps for some fans you may need to save double the amount listed above each month. - What is the rarest Buck-Tick release?
That would likely be the CD version of Hurry Up Mode released on Taiyo Records or perhaps some promo materials or contest prizes. Some of those promo materials and contest prizes are so rare that I've never seen them available used. - Are there any unreleased Buck-Tick songs?
Yes, of course there are. Every band makes demo tapes or prepares extra songs when recording albums. Sometimes these become b-sides. Sometimes these are saved for another album. I couldn't tell you how many such songs there are as even the band probably wouldn't know. They have at times in interviews talked of such songs that were cut from the album but as they have never been performed live, I don't dwell on those songs. There was a song played live in 1986-1987 called "Boy's Error" that has never been released. There are also some songs played when the band was still called Hinan Go-Go that have never been released. - What is the difference between the album version and the single version of a song?
There are usually slightly different. Sometimes this may simply be trimming the intro/outro for the single version to make it radio friendly. Other times it may be a different effect treatment for the vocals or a particular instrument. For example, try listening to the following songs, both their album and single (b-side) versions, which have obvious differences:- "Speed" (5 more seconds during intro for plane sound effect)
- "Kodo" (listen to how the song fades in and out)
- "Rakuen" (percussion effects, how the song fades in at 0:16 and how it fades out, dance beat vs. crunchy guitar)
- "Kimi No Vanilla" (drum stick intro, backing vocals and vocal effects)
- "Rasenchu" (ambient rhythm section versus rock band rhythm section)
- "Elize No Tame Ni" (vocal effects on album version)
- Where did you obtain the chart/sales information from?
Chart ranking and sales info are taken from the band's official books and the Japanese wikipedia entry on Buck-Tick. As wikipedia is a public site, it is prone to error and removal of text. Unfortunately as of Spring 2009, Japanese wikipedia no longer lists sales data for B-T's discography and neither does Oricon, the Japanese chart compiler and ranker. The sales data was primarly from the time of release and not cumulative to date. (Several albums have been re-released so the sales would be higher now.) - What songs are available on a live album or video?
It's easier to list what is not available. This does not mean the song has not been played live. These have just not been released on a live album or live video: 13kai, Aikawarazu No "Are" No Katamari Ga Nosabaru Hedo No Soko No Fuki Damari, Ao No Sekai, Capsule Tears -Plastic Syndrome Type III-, Chocolate, Continuous, Deep Slow, Desperate Girl, Detarame Yarou, Dizzy Moon, Do the "I Love You", Dream or Truth, D-T-D, Feast of Demoralization, Foolish, Fragile Article, Future For Future, Hosoi Sen, In, Itoshi No Rock Star, J, Kagerou, Kamikaze, Kimi He, Loop, Loop Mark II, Maboroshi No Miyako, Maria, Memories..., Mis-Cast, My Baby Japanese, One Night Ballet, Paradise, Pleasure Land, Prologue, Sabbat, Secret Reaction, Sex For You, Sissy Boy, Somewhere Nowhere, The World is Yours, Trans, Under the Moon Light, Utsusemi, Vacuum Dream, Voo Doo. - Could you make me a copy of ____?
No, sorry. - The first copies sold included ____ but I didn't receive it!
Sorry, not all record stores receive the promotional goods, nor do all employees pass them out diligently. - For the first copies sold, why did you list the poster that is used to advertise the release?
Record store employees sometimes give away the promotional posters that are used to advertise for a release. This is where it benefits a fan to shop regularly at the same store in person and have good relations with the employees. - Who has written the most songs?
In short, Atsushi has written the most lyrics and Hisashi has composed the most music. Here is a breakdown of songwriting credits from all officially released studio albums and singles (from "Hurry Up Mode" 1987 up to "Go-Go B-T Train" 2021), totalling 301 songs, 13 of which are instrumentals. You can also download this spreadsheet file of all their song titles with credits and sort them whichever way you wish. The file also includes all solo and side projects. No cover songs are listed. (I also attempt to list when a song was first played and last played live.)- tracks available exclusively on video only are not included (i.e.; "Theme of B-T", "Thing III")
- duplicates not counted (such as remixes, re-recordings, live versions)
- joint credits are counted as .5
All Songs - Lyrics (288 songs with lyrics)
Atsushi: 199.5 (69%)
Hisashi: 85 (30%)
Hide: 1.5 (less than 1%)
U-ta: 1 (less than 1%)
Toll: 2 (less than 1%)
All Songs - Music (301 possible)
Atsushi: 2.5 (less than 1%)
Hisashi: 234.5 (78%)
Hide: 64 (21%)
U-ta: 0
Toll: 0
Singles - Lyrics (42 possible)
Atsushi: 36 (86%)
Hisashi: 6 (14%)
Hide: 0
U-ta: 0
Toll: 0
Singles - Music (42 possible)
Atsushi: 0
Hisashi: 37 (88%)
Hide: 5 (12%)
U-ta: 0
Toll: 0
Additional Guest/Side/Solo Projects - Lyrics
Atsushi: 36
Hisashi: 13.5
Hide: 1
U-ta: 0
Toll: 4.5
Additional Guest/Side/Solo Projects - Music
Atsushi: 0
Hisashi: 24.5
Hide: 12
U-ta: 2
Toll: 2
Lyrics
- Your lyrics are different from the booklet!
The lyrics on this site are correct, except for maybe a typo or my own mis-hearing. If lyric verses repeat then I will note to repeat them. You shouldn't see a long lyric sheet and think there's a lot to memorize. The band sometimes notes to repeat verses but they are doing so less and less so I took the liberty to do just that. - The lyrics you have don't sound like what Atsushi is singing!
He's singing that. I've looked at the booklet while listening to the song. There are very few times what he is singing is not in the booklet. That is when I make a guess and note it with { brackets }. Also, his pronounciation of non-Japanese words, in particular English, is not very good so it may not sound like what is in the lyrics. Japanese typically add more vowels and have trouble pronouncing certain consonants. An example of this is "Just One More Kiss", where Atsushi sings "Justa One More Kiss". If you wish, listen to "Iconoclasm" or "Love Letter" as you read the lyrics. These songs are completely in English. Another good example of poor Japanese pronunciation of English would be Lucy songs. - Your romaji is weird!
I try to stick to a standard way but sometimes I am not consistent. Especially for the lyrics, I want to type them out as it is spelled in Japanese. This is mostly for transcription and learning purposes. For example, if you tried to type in Japanese, the proper kanji will not display if you do not use proper spelling. Proper spelling can help with proper pronunciation if one knows a bit about Japanese language rules. This is why I spell out the romaji in the lyrics. In the rest of the site, I may slip and go back and forth on certain variations such as (not) including letters that lengthen vowels or compound sounds. An example of this kind of difference is the city of Tokyo. Throughout the site it will be Tokyo but in the lyrics, if properly spelled out, it should be Toukyou. Another example is a district like Shinjuku or Harajuku. I'm old school and the way I learned romaji is Shinjyuku and Harajyuku respectively. Old graphics on the site may employ such spelling. - Your lyric translations are incorrect!
Inherently, there will be differences of opinion when it comes to translations. Let me start off my reiterating what I posted in the Lyrics section. My goal is to be accurate but also to do so in a way that you can sing along. I try to balance the following:- nit-picky via back translations (if I can translate it back into Japanese and it doesn't match the author's original words, then I will try to do a better translation in English)
- syllabic matching (if the original line in Japanese was 10 syllables then I will try to translate it into 10 English syllables so you can sing along)
- I try to keep the English word in the same part of the sentence for sing-along purposes (can be difficult but you do wha'cha gotta do)
- not assume the author's intentions and make huge leaps in translations (the reader should be allowed to come to conclusions on their own)
- keep the same tone: if the original lyrics were casual, dirty, slang, masculine, and so forth then I'll seek English words with a similar tone (here is where huge leaps may be made because the translator may color the translation with how they speak rather than how the author may speak if they learned English)
- Why don't you translate all the songs?
Maybe one day but that's not my goal. For now I just want to translate a few things that may not be as popular. If they're less popular then there's less chance that someone has translated them. Instead of 10 different versions of "Dress" floating around the internet, how about making available some songs that no one has translated? Furthermore, I'm only interested in translating from Japanese to English. If Japanese fans want to understand the English parts, there's websites and dictionaries for that. For the non-English/Japanese words that creep into songs, I will leave it alone. Many of those words are well known throughout the world and is in a language I do not speak. For now, I have translated some cover songs, side projects, etc. Maybe next I'll tackle some of the singles since that's a likely reason why people are even visiting this site. But again, I don't know if we need a dozen translations out there. It helps add to understanding the language, but I don't know if it's necessary for me to put my energies there. I'd rather focus on what I have always focused on, documenting the band's history and releases and items of interest to collectors. - What do you mean by translations are dangerous?
Translations are dangerous because if the translator makes an error then the reader will a get a different meaning out of the words than a native speaker. True, art is open to interpretation but I think it's important that the translation be as accurate as possible to the original text and not take upon too many assumptions. Let the reader make those assumptions. I also think translations are dangerous because people take words too seriously. One might read a translation without knowing the original language or cultural/political/etc. context. There may be plays on words that are not translatable. If you want to debate the meaning of the lyrics, that's fine, but I'd much rather discuss that in the original language with a native speaker.
Often words are taken to heart and analyzed. Doings so with translations are dangerous because the words are not the author's own, they are the translators. The reader may come to conclusions that are far off base because the translator has misled them. Again, this is why I much prefer translating spoken conversation in person because whenever someone is being ambiguous or using words/phrases that are less familiar, it is much easier to ask the speaker directly what it is that they mean. Please remember that the dictionary entry of a word may be technically correct for word by word translations, but the actual meaning and feeling one wants to convey is subject to cultural specifics. Even simple "yes" or "no" answers can require cultural context to understand. For all these reasons, I think translations are dangerous and translations of translations are especially dangerous.
Media
- You're missing _____!!!!
Sorry, I don't own everything. This media section is really just a bonus. There are so many facets to a band that has a long career and I wanted to share some of that, such as documenting tours, merchandise that was available, fan club related things, etc. I tried to supplement the section with images I've collected from online auctions and other fans. - The icons/wallpapers are crap.
I couldn't agree more but I had fun making them. I've used Photoshop since the 90s so I really have no excuse. - I really want ____ merchandise. Could you sell it to me?
No, sorry. Sometimes I have extras or decide to scale down my collection and will post whenever I have anything for sale. - Where are the previous manager's specials?
I haven't updated this for years but my eventual goal would be that there is like a virtual tape trading thing happening. However, I haven't really seen anyone sharing the early live shows like that so I just kinda decided to focus my energies elsewhere. Maybe one day I will put back the links to the previous specials.
Buck-Tick Zone
- When did you last update the site?
At the bottom of each page is the date and time of when the file was last modified. Sometimes it's a small thing such as fixing typos. Sometimes I add better photos and put more details into existing info. - How long did it take to make the site?
A long time. I've been working on a version of it since 1995 and there's been a few overhauls. - Are you Japanese? Do you really know Japanese?
Depends on who you ask but I think (at least passibly) so. To be more precise, I am half-Okinawan, listed in my family's koseki, grew up in a Japanese-American area of the USA, and lived in Japan in 1987-1990. - Have you always spoken Japanese? How did you learn Japanese?
No, I have not always spoken it. I did not want to learn. I was forced by moving to Japan to learn my mother's language and culture. If it hadn't been for my stubbornness, we would've never relocated to Japan and I would've never discovered Buck-Tick. I've taken classes since elementary school up to university, attended juku and public school in Japan, but I didn't really learn much from such formalized systems. It was much more from being immersed than the lessons. I learned the most from being forced in social situations where I could not rely upon English and from pop culture. TV shows, comic books, and listening to music are wonderful things. Doesn't hurt to make friends either that only know Japanese. If I had to calculate, I learned Japanese in one month of truly being forced to with no escape of English speakers nearby to act as a crutch. So if you want to learn, go somewhere inaka and throw away your crutches. - Do you own everything by Buck-Tick?
Er, no but I own just about every official B-T and B-T related (solo/side project/guest appearance) single/album/video/book so that's what I scanned for images on this site. I'm missing some harder to find rarer items that just cost too much for now. Definitely items that only a long-time or hardcore fan would be after. - Have you ever seen Buck-Tick live in concert?
Yes, my first concert was Buck-Tick Genshou at Tokyo Dome (December 29, 1989) and I saw them twice in the 1990s and then had a really long gap until I was able to see them live again in more recent years. Maybe longer than some newer fans have been alive. - Have you ever met Buck-Tick?
No, but I've met Raymond and Sascha from Schwein, Daniel Ash who remixed a song, and a lot of my other musical idols, some of whom are also Buck-Tick's idols. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to meet a member of Buck-Tick. But for now, I just have to settle with my memories of the day I had tea and snacks with Hisashi's mom. - When did you become a fan of Buck-Tick?
Early 1989, before Hisashi was arrested on April 21. Possibly February or March 1989. I remember my friend walking into the classroom and talking about Hisashi's arrest. (Hey Michelle, if you ever read this, thanks for teaching me about Buck-Tick.) - What other Japanese bands do you like or recommend?
Other Japanese bands are inconsequential compared to Buck-Tick, just kidding, maybe not so much. Check out the side projects and bands that Buck-Tick was influenced by or are friends with. Such as those listed here in Band Profiles. Taste is subjective. Keep trying songs and bands until you find what you like.