Furitsuke is common in the music scene in Japan, and there are often questions surrounding it.

Questions such as...What is it? How is it created? How do I learn it? Do I HAVE to do it?

Hopefully I can clear some things up with this post! This is about furitsuke for VISUAL KEI lives.

WHAT IS IT?

"Furitsuke" or "furi" is just choreography. This includes headbanging! 

HOW IS IT CREATED?

Furi is mainly created by fans, but sometimes by the bands themselves. When listening to visual kei bands and getting yourself familiar with the live scene, you'll notice a pattern. There are specific furi that are very common such as "teban (手バン)" and oritatami (折りたたみ).

Teban is where you move your hands forward and back to the beat of the song, but alternating each hand as you go. For example: right hand forward, left hand back and repeat.

Oritatami is when you bend your body forward and come back up into a standing position.

Anyway, fans create furi! Occasionally, the band will create the furi too! During a live performance, the singer will explain and show what they want done during a specific song (especially if it's new). And you'll often see the vocalist doing certain furi along with the crowd. It's super fun to do furi together! Sometimes the band will even post furi tutorials on their YouTube channel or other social media.

HOW DO I LEARN IT?

Frequently attending lives is the main way to learn. I know that isn't possible for everyone, so go ahead and search YouTube or TikTok like this: "(band name) 振り付け". It used to be quite rare to find furi tutorials made by other bangya, but recently it's been getting more common! (Well, kinda.)

I've posted some GazettE furi videos with my friend on YouTube.

This is a popular YouTube channel that will post furi from various bands!

Jigsaw furi

Purple Stone furi

Shingeki no Awake furi

DO I HAVE TO DO IT?

Honestly, yes and no. If you're new to the vkei scene and don't know furi, it's totally okay. Don’t panic! You can just do your best to follow the crowd. As long as you aren't disturbing or hurting anyone, you can chill. 

That being said, the closer you are to the stage, the more everyone expects you to move, including myself. No one likes a dead fish in the first few rows! It gets a little complicated when you're at a taiban (multiple bands playing); however, PLEASE move even a little if you’re in the first couple of rows. If you're closer to the back of the venue, you can get away with just standing and doing nothing.

Visual kei lives are truly a different experience. They aren’t  like your normal rock concerts! So please follow the crowd and pay attention to the atmosphere. You really gotta know how to read the room in this scene.

Thanks for reading!