Dir En Grey is some messed up Jap-rock

It's also unbelievably awesome.

Yes it is.

Obsure has a disturbing video, tho.

like anime music?

Most of the Japanese music I listen to is from Anime opening/closing themes, so my awareness of everything they have to offer is pretty limited. About 90% of all Japanese music I've heard is upbeat/uplifting, though that may just speak to my ignorance of the Japanese music industry as a whole.

Right now, I would probably qualify Abingdon Boys School as my favorite Japanese group. I consider Athena, Dress (cover of a great song by BUCK-TICK), and Strength to all be great songs (I don't mean great in the sense of musical composition but rather personal aesthetic value).

A few other random artists I like are:
Riyu Kosaka
Akino Arai
Kokia
L'arc en Ciel


Also, whoever listed TommyFebuary6 should listen to the single Paper Moon if you've not heard it already (performed under TommyHeavenly6, odd name change for whatever reason).

Well besides what's already been mentioned here, a lot of great zeuhl, jazz/jazz-fusion, and prog. has come out of the land of the rising sun as well.

Ask, and ye' shall be given recommendations. :)

Hide is clearly the best Japanese musician of the past 50 years!

I am not major on J-Pop, but I do like to listen to:

BoA
Namie Amuro
Misia
Ide Mariko
AI
DOUBLE
Anri
LISA
Utada Hikaru

Whoa not a lot of love for L'arc En Ciel - some of the easiest-to-love rock music made in the last couple decades. I have a love for L'arc that will not die. Gackt, Ghost, Ayumi (she is always so reliably good) are my other big Japanese pop/rock favorites. Hide's solo albums are kinda badass too.

But what about that most delicious of J-rock confections: cheesy over-the-top goth? Starting with Malice Mizer and Moi Dix Mois and heading straight for Blood! That is some full-on theatre, a gesamtkunstwerk that supercedes Wagner by dint of its performers living entire public lives in character? So good and bad for you.

ACID
One Ok Rock
Dir en Grey
D'espairsRay
Does
Last Alliance
Kanon Wakeshima
Stereopony
KAT-TUN
Asian Kung-Fu Generation
L.MC
Anna Tsuchiya
Crows
Dennou Romeo
Gackt
Miyavi
L'Arc~en~Ciel
girugamesh
abingdon boys school