Gackt appears in Japanese magazines often. In fact, you can almost count on him being in at least one magazine every month. Don't forget that Japanese books are read from left to right though! This chapter talks about the magazines that he appears in frequently. Click on the name of the magazine to go to its website. We have (small-size) scans of the articles with Gackt in it in our Pictures section too, so be sure to check them out if you are interested!

Arena 37

Arena 37 is a monthly music magazine which features popular Jrock artists and indies bands. Gackt appears on the cover often, about three to four times a year. You can count on seeing him on the cover every time he releases a new single or album. The cover article has around 20 pages, or 30 pages for special features. One of the best feature of the magazine is the changing styles and backgrounds of the magazine. He goes through a number of costume changes, depending on the content and theme of the article. Some magazines only have him in one fixed location doing pretty much the same few poses but taken from different angles. However, Arena 37 is different in that they go for long, wide shots as well, and you don't see him doing the same poses. The quality of the paper is excellent too.

The articles are divided into three sections: long interview, a relevant topic, and the polaroid section. The long interviews can go up to three or four pages for the special editions, and about two pages for the normal ones. The magazine often comes with bonus items such as double-sided, full-size posters. (About the size of four A4 size papers) The magazine has about 170 pages in total. Other than the cover artist, they also have long articles covering close to ten bands with ten pages for each band, as well as short interviews for a few more bands. There is a concert guide section and an album introduction corner where they include the artists' handwritten comments on their own CDs. This magazine is a useful source of information with plenty of photos inside and is highly recommended for people who love Jrock and visual-kei bands. This magazine also gives away presents to readers.

Arena releases an Arena Index every year, and inside is a collection of the articles of the main artists that were featured in their magazine for that respective year. Gackt has been in the Arena Index a few times. These contain mainly the articles and most of the photos are not included inside. So if you want a quick update on Gackt's news and updates, the Arena Index will be a good choice. However, if you have purchased every single issue with him on it the past year, then it will be rather meaningless to buy the Arena Index.

PATI PATI WEB

PATi PATi is a monthly music magazine which focuses on Jpop artists, as well as some Jrock bands. It covers all genres of Japanese artists with interviews and plenty of photos. The magazine has about 150 pages. The cover artist usually gets 20 pages, with about three pages of full interview and a page where he is asked to answer and comment on various issues related to the topic of the interview. For example, in an article which covered the Love Letter album, the interviewer asked his opinions and definitions for a few terms related to relationships and dating. PATi PATi has experimented with rather unique concepts for his photoshoots, such as dressing him in a long, white poncho-like outfit that covered his entire body. Other than that one occasion, PATi PATi has stuck to the usual cool look for Gackt.

The magazine often comes with bonus items such as full-size posters. This magazine also gives away presents to readers. They feature more than 30 artists in the magazine. Unlike other magazines which have random sections quite unrelated to music, PATi PATi dedicates all its pages to bringing you the latest news from the music industry in Japan

FOOL'S MATE

FOOL'S MATE is a monthly music magazine which features the latest news of visual-kei bands.

The cover artist gets about 10-15 pages, of which three are full-length interviews. There are usually two different styles in the photoshoot, but both are related to the same theme. The style of the photoshoots are rather simple, and most of them are taken in a photo studio. However, because it is a visual-kei magazine, it tends to be one of the most colorful magazines around. Each issue is approximately 160 pages, and features 20 or so artists. Fools Mate includes several live reports, as well as interviews, CD and DVD reviews. They also give away presents to the readers.

R&R NEWSMAKER

Like PATi PATi, R&R is a monthly music magazine which covers all genres of Japanese artists and their latest news. The magazine has about 150 pages in total and 20 pages are given to the cover artist, of which ten are full-size pictures. The interviews of the cover artist are quite long, sometimes going up to five pages. The magazine often comes with bonus items such as postcards or posters. They give away presents too! They don't feature as many bands as other magazines, but they have a corner where they introduce new and upcoming artists. They also have an extensive CD review corner for the new releases. An interesting feature of R&R is the "magazine in magazine" section, where they invite more than 10 artists, and interview them on a wide range of topics, usually something to do with their lifestyle.

R&R has come up with one of the most original and unique themes for the photoshoot with Gackt. Most magazines usually have similar themes, one that is related to the current topic. But R&R takes it from a different angle and shows the readers a different side of the artist. During the release of Love Letter album, other magazines opted to go for the usual romantic atmosphere, and a soft and gentle feel. But R&R had Gackt pouting and making different expressions and succeeded in bringing out a very real and endearing Gackt.

uv web

uv is a monthly music magazine. The magazine features mostly Jrock bands, with the occasional Jpop artists appearing inside. The most notable thing about this magazine is the quality and size of the book. They use high-quality paper for their magazines. They have over 120 pages, and the cover artist usually gets around 20 pages. There are usually two main artists featured in each issue: one on the cover, and the other on the last few pages of the magazine. They often have a "making-of" page for the cover artist as well, where the interviewer talks about the interview with the artist and the photoshoot. They feature more than 20 artists in each issue, with about four pages for each band. They also have a comprehesive concert report, covering mostly indies and Jrock bands,

However, it seems as if uv has stopped production, a few months after Gackt's last appearance on the cover. In most of the photoshoots in uv, Gackt is simply standing there or playing with his clothes. The poses are rather repetitive, simply taken from different angles. There are usually three pages of interview with him when he is on the cover. The magazine comes with bonus items such as double-sided, full-size posters. They give away presents as well.

In 2004, uv released a Gackt File 1999~2004 which contains all the articles that Gackt has ever done with uv (both with him on the cover and without). This is highly recommended to all fans who have missed his early years and are looking for past articles. However, the book is no longer on sale, and you have to try your luck in auctions instead.

B=PASS

B=PASS, a monthly music magazine, focuses mainly on the Jrock scene, but various Jpop artists are also featured occasionally. There are about 140 pages in one issue and the cover artist gets around 15 - 20 pages. About 15 artists are featured in each issue with 5 pages for each artist. They have a news section, where they talk about the latest news in the music industry in Japan and provide reports of concerts and lives. They also have a section where the staff comments about the interview with the artists covered in the issue and their thoughts. It usually comes with pictures of the artists doing the photoshoots.

They have less photos as compared to other music magazines, but B=PASS contains some of the most comprehensive interviews . It helps you understand better the direction of Gackt's music and what he is trying to convey to us. The interviews are really satisfactory and you feel as if the interviewer really knows his subjects well! Their conversation is always engaging and offer amazing insights into Gackt's thoughts. This is highly recommended to those who are proficient in Japanese and who would like to read more about his thoughts directly.

Weekly magazines:

Josei Jishin (女性自身)

This is a weekly magazine which features the latest news in the entertainment industry of Japan. They have news on Korean artists as well. Only a few pages come in colour and the rest are in black and white. Gackt usually appears on this magazine when his Takano Yuri CM is released. There are usually about four pages of him and behind-the-scenes photos. It includes pictures which are not shown in the CM itself.

Oricon style

oricon style is a weekly entertainment magazine which is released every Friday. It used to be called Weekly Oricon, but changed it's name to oricon style in 2004. It focuses on news and updates of musicians and artists in Japan. The magazine covers the activities of both Jrock and Jpop artists. oricon style usually picks artists who just released a single or album to be on their cover. Apart from long interviews with those artists, the magazine also contains rankings and special sections for different artists under various themes, such as "The most popular male/female artist", "The artist with the most eccentric lifestyle", "The best fashion style", etc. The winners are chosen based on readers' votes. Gackt has made it to the top of a few lists before as well. A few pages are given to reviews of new DVD, CD and album releases, and they also talk about some of the topics discussed in various music variety shows in the past week. They always include the Best 100 Single and Album rankings at the end of the magazine. Sometimes the last page of the magazine has a full-size picture of his latest CD cover.

The magazine has close to 80 pages in total. The ones with Gackt on the cover usually have ten pages or so on him, of which two are long interviews and the rest pictures. oricon style also likes to include a reader's section after the article ,and this varies in content. Sometimes it's questions from readers to Gackt, at times it's Gackt giving advice on some topics, and so on. The photohoots are relatively simple, though they sometimes bring in other people like the girl that is on the cover of "素晴らしきかな人生" [Subarashikika na Jinsei] and even his bodyguards for one of the photoshoots! The theme is usually related to the main topic of the interview. For example, the article on "野に咲く花のように" [No ni Saku Hana no you ni] has him sitting down in classrooms; and the one on "素晴らしきかな人生" has the two of them holding each other in various poses, giving off a rather romantic atmosphere. Though oricon style has experimented with different styles, where you see him posing naughtily or relaxing in the park, the one that can be seen most often is still the "Cool Gackt".

The magazine gives away presents too! There are different presents that you can try for, which varies depending on the artists. It's usually signed photographs for Gackt's presents. All you need to do is fill in some questions related to the magazine and they will pick the winners randomly. oricon style has a blog as well, where the staff writes updates on their interviews and meetings with the artists. It is all written in Japanese.

NHK Weekly Stera (NHKウィークリー ステラ)

NHK Weekly Stera provides interviews and weekly summaries of NHK Taiga drama episodes. Gackt often appeared in the magazine when he played the role of Uesugi Kenshin in Fuurin Kazan. The magazine often gives a thorough analysis of the events that occurred in the drama as well as long interviews with the different actors and actresses.

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