*Note: This is not written by me. I retrieve this from our old Guild "Visual Scene" which are now empty, closed and disbanded
Mana-Sama
Mana-Sama
The following information has been taken from "Mana" and "Mana FAQ" at Mana-Sama.net, a website owned and maintained by Sarah.† About Mana †
Mana was born on March 19 in Hiroshima, Japan to two music professors. Early on, Mana was able to learn trumpet and find an interest in the "abnormal". Generally Mana does not like to bring up the past, but from what we do know, he was a metal head in high school, and even got into "cosplay" (from what he calls it) as a teenager by going to his first concert, Motley Crue. By this time, Mana was convinced he wanted to learn guitar. At first learning guitar wasn't exactly what he had hoped. His parents gave him an old acoustic guitar, which he never used once he was able to buy his own electric guitar. From then on, he practiced with several other small bands around his area. The first band he really got into playing with was Ves.Tearge, but then moved on to Girl'e.
Eventually, outside of high school, Mana was able to meet someone who would end up becoming a very good friend of his, Kozi. Together, Mana and Kozi performed in the band Matenrou, with Kozi on Vocals and Mana on Bass. After leaving Matenrou, Mana and Kozi became co founders of Malice Mizer, hence the start of one of Mana's biggest careers.
As most people know, Malice Mizer became a hot commodity in Japan's visual kei scene. The band started out with Tetsu on vocals, Mana on guitar, Kozi on guitar, Yu~ki on bass, and Gaz on drums. Early on in the band's fast passed career, Tetsu and Gaz left. Malice Mizer had come to a point where they had become a very poor band for about a year and were on the verge of breaking up, until Gackt (vo) and Kami (dr) came into the picture. With these two key people in the band, Malice Mizer was now growing into full speed again. Malice Mizer had full potential to accomplish what they were looking for in their careers and doing it at a fast pace. Merveilles reached up to Number 2 in album charts and the concert which came shortly after the album release sold out in a record of 2 minutes. Things at this time were going great, but during the production of the Le Ciel PV, everything began to flip upside down. Shortly after, the band started getting into disagreements, causing Gackt to leave. Even more tragedy arose when the drummer, Kami, unexpectedly died of a brain hemorrhage in his sleep.
Malice Mizer was now in a low point being out a vocalist and drummer, once again. In the mean time, Mana opened up his very own clothing line, Moi-même-Moitié, and record label, Midi: Nette. Another year later, Malice Mizer was back up again to where they could produce more with Klaha as a support vocalist, and a support drummer. Klaha eventually became Malice Mizer's permanent new addition to the band, but Kami was never to be replaced with a new official drummer in his dedication as an "eternal blood relative". The band held up until December 2001, when they decided on a hiatus for unknown reasons.
On March 19, 2002, Mana was "reborn" again in a since. Mana came back into the music scene with a new appearance and solo project, Moi dix Mois. In Moi dix Mois, Mana is most definitely not the innocent little doll you once knew in Malice Mizer. Personally, I doubt he will ever fully go back to what he once was. In this project, Mana even composes, writes, and directs all of his own music. The appearance of Moi dix Mois gives of a strong "death metal" yet elegant and mysterious feeling to it, much like the music itself. Mana shows off a more powerful side to himself with powerful guitar cords and the very own image of how he sees the band should be. Moi dix Mois is much like a world within itself, which is very difficult to describe in words. In my own belief, you cannot simply read about Moi dix Mois to understand what it is all about. One must listen to the music to understand the mysterious dark "world" it puts you in, and also see the visuals carefully set along with the sound to get a full understanding of who Mana is.
After reading all this, I'm sure you're now thinking "Well thats great. Mana seems to be very passionate and dedicated to his music and bands, but what about the man in general? What is he like apart from this? Is he actually a normal person or some super being of a dark imaginary world?" Well, there is a lot I can tell you about Mana himself, but the thing about him is, music is and always will be his very first priority in life. There is still a real human being under all that, but music is such a huge passion to him that he would probably die a slow painful death if it was taken away from him. How sad! Anyway, here is some random facts about Mana.
Way back in the days of Malice Mizer, Mana used to COMPLETELY shroud his life in mystery. To many interviews he made up a lot of silly answers to questions. You could never be too sure if he was actually serious or just trying to mess with your mind. However, in Moi dix Mois, Mana is learning to grow up a little more every day. He shares with his fans his interests and hobbies, and out of those things, Mana tends to be a huge fan of food and cooking. "What? But hes so skinny!" you exclaim. Yes, but remember, hes a little Japanese man too (hes what? 5'7'', 5'8''/approx 173 cm?). He probably has a much faster metabolism than most of us over here in the western hemisphere do. For the longest time, Mana's favorite food was curry. He talked about curry so much, you'd think he had dreams every night about it. Ever since he began touring around Europe though, hes seemed to expand himself even more as to his favorite foods and everything he tries.
Thinking of all of Mana's interests, this could actually get quite long and extensive, so I'm just going to make little categories and explain each one under them.
Video Games
Mana LOVES video games.He's guilty of buying game consoles as soon as they come out. Mana loves an array of different video games, but his most favorite has to be CastleVania, he's even had an interview with the creator of the game. Other than that, Mana supposedly has a video game area in his room for all his games. Sadly enough though, he still has old games that he refuses to get rid of, "just in case" he may ever need to play them again or he just doesn't want to get rid of them.
Movies
Despite the fact that Mana used to say he never watched TV, he still watches a TON of movies.From what I've heard he even has a little movie library going on in his house. Most people already know this, but Mana really enjoys horror films, especially the original Dracula movie. The only kind of horror he doesn't really like is Japanese horror, because he gets scared of them. Mana is also a war freak. Amongst war movies, he likes Saving Private Ryan. As for TV, Mana mentions he likes anime and cooking shows. Mana's favorites are Barbapapa and Doraemon, but he has also mentioned he likes Sailor Moon, Angelique, various shojo anime (moreso manga), and Gundam Wing.
Hobbies
Mana likes to collect a lot of random things. He learned how to make garage kits from Dada (vo. of Velvet Eden) and over time has become a garage kit collector. He also enjoys collecting figurines from video games, horror movies/comics, and sci fi movies/comics. Mana's house is supposedly very messy and cluttered because of all the stuff he keeps and never throws away. He is also, as I have mentioned before, big into cooking. Its one of his most favorite hobbies. Mana has memorized the scent of over 35 different spices and always likes to experiment with his cooking.
Interests
How to start this..Mana has so many different interests, and its difficult to just put them all here because most of his interests lie in a lot of things I've mentioned already. Other than what I have written about, Mana is a big fan of Heavy death and black metal music, French Pop (his favorite French artist is Mylene Farmer), classical music, and even the 80s. His favorite bands are Motley Crue and Slayer. He obviously really likes exploring new cultures as well. Mana has been to France and Germany a number of times, and is now investigating into America. Time will only tell where else he'll end up going.
Instruments
What else can he play besides Guitar? Well, Mana can also play trumpet, synthesizer, and drums (but not as well as he'd like). At his house, he currently owns 10 guitars (soon 11), an accordion, a violin, a bass guitar, and a synth. Incase you're wondering, for the most part, Mana designs his guitars and gets them custom made and for free from the ESP company in Japan.
Pets
Mana has never owned a pet or liked to touch animals, except for Sea-Monkeys. In his fan club, Mana had a contest for one abroad fan and one domestic fan to receive Sea-Monkeys personally from him. I was the abroad fan who won and got to take care of sea-monkeys from Mana because he had such and obsession with them. I don't know if his are still alive today..sadly, mine died after a couple days of going out of town. But you are more than welcome to read about my sea-monkeys from Mana in my Sea-Monkey journal. (it also has entries from other fans who bought their own sea-monkeys in inspiration of Mana's) Mana named his first "Sea Demon" (as he calls them) Damien.
Dislikes
So far, we've talked about Mana's interests, hobbies, and likes, but what DOESN'T he like? Well, for one, he doesn't like small enclosed places. When Mana was younger he was locked in a room by himself and since then he's been claustrophobic. Mana also doesn't like loud obnoxious crowds (unless its a concert of course) or flounder because people eat them when they're still half alive. Sports are definitely not an interest of Mana's. He usually gets very bored when people talk about them. Along with that, he does not like very athletic people, especially girls, nor does he enjoy very sickly people because he hates sickness.
Fans, Relationships, Family, etc.
With as many Mana fans I've talked to on the internet, there is certainly one thing I've learned about female Mana fans. So many girls think Mana is the perfect gentleman and would love to date and/or marry him. Having said that, I feel a bit obligated since curious minds tend to wander, about what Mana likes in the opposite gender. Mana has -NEVER- said hes married, nor has he ever said hes NOT married. Draw your own conclusions if you will, but this is what he's said he looks for in the opposite gender. Mana looks for girls that are a bit irregular. He doesn't want them to be very sporty but not sickly (as I mentioned above). He likes girls that can be somewhat assertive but mysterious and sweet like a doll or a girl that just jumped out of a shojo manga. From what he's said in the past, Mana doesn't really seem to go out and look for relationships and hes not really the kind of person to go out and make the first move. However, it if were to happen I don't think he'd want some rabid fan girl to just jump out at him or something. Mana just takes things as he comes, so whatever is to happen, if he ever does find someone in his life or if he has, I'm sure it will be/is the right person.
This isn't only about girls though! To be honest, Mana doesn't have very many male fans in Japan so he gets very excited when he sees male fans in Europe. Thats something he's always wanted, so its just another thing that makes him really happy. I think in a way, he feels like he can connect with them better, which is perfectly understandable, because Mana IS a guy and likes to be around other males.
As for family. Both of Mana's parents are still married, it seems. Mana has a brother and a sister. His sister has a one year old little girl named Mi-chan. Mana really loves Mi-chan and plays with her when he sees his family (he only visits them once a year), but his sister refuses to let him him to turn her daughter into anything like him.
So thats a lot of information about Mana. You probably can imagine how tired I'm starting to get after writing so much. In conclusion, Mana is a great man who is passionate about what he does. He is strong willed, and with that, a little stubborn, but he loves his job and hobbies just as much as he loves his fans. He takes great pride in everything he does, and for that hes looked up to by a lot of people. To truly understand Mana, you can't only just love him for who he is and what he does, but you have to put yourself in his shoes. Sometimes that take a few hoops to jump through, and Mana wasn't made for everyone to like him, but for those who can get a grasp on his world and what he does, really has a unique understanding of what he is all about. Lastly, I'd just like to say, if you read all this trying to research a little more about Mana, I hope you may have learned a few things you didn't know already, and if you read this because it gave you something to do or you wanted to see Mana in the perspective of another fan, I hope you found the read at least mildly interesting. Mana is one person I am truly dedicated to, so writing about him can actually be a fun hobby to me (I know I'm weird).
Bands Mana has taken part in from past to present:
Ves: Tearge --> Girl'e --> Matenrou --> Malice Mizer --> Moi dix Mois
† Mana FAQ †
Who is Mana?
Mana is the leader of the Japanese rock band Moi dix Mois. Mana has been working in the music industry for more than twelve years now. He was once a co-founder of the legendary band, Malice Mizer. However, Malice Mizer broke up in 2001 for various reasons. Mana's dream in life is to make the 'ultimate sound' in music that pleases to his style. Music is Mana's number one priority in life but he also designs his own clothing style as a side job.
Why do some people refer to him as "Mana-Sama"? Is 'Sama' his last name?
No. -sama is a Japanese suffix generally used for those high in status in various areas such as politics. Over time, many Japanese artists who are extremely skilled at what they do sometimes are referred with -sama after their names as well to show how serious they are about what they do and how they may be highly thought of. -sama can be used as an equivalent to "lord" or "master".
Are you sure thats a man?
Yes, Mana is a man and he does not deny it. Mana has never said he was a girl and he has made a point on many occasions that he just enjoys looking like a girl because he feels there should be no difference between male and female. Naturally, there is a difference physically but he feels as though anyone should be able to dress/look however they wish and gender should not be an issue of it. There are also a couple MP3 and video clips of Mana actually talking and he has a deep male voice.
How come he dresses like a girl?
This was mentioned above a little bit. Indeed, Mana feels as though it should not matter what he dresses like. If he wants to dress like a girl he should be able to, gender does not account to him. Mana has also mentioned in the past that if a girl is able to wear a short skirt in public and people don't care and/or notice her, he should be able to do the same.
Is Mana gay?
Not exactly. Mana has never actually speaks of his sexual preferences but in fact he does like girls. Mana is NOT married but this does not mean he is gay. He has dated girls before and even has mentioned what he looks for in a girlfriend.
How come Mana never talks?
Thats just the way Mana is. He claims to be shy and he does not like to talk to people who do not share his same interests. It is uninteresting and not worth his while in his point of view. Mana does talk, but not in front of a large group of people or in public for the most part.
I hear Mana is a real ice queen and pushes everyone around, is this true?
I will give you this; Mana is strict. However, take it from me, he is NOT an ice queen. I personally met other Jrockers who have met him before and they say Mana is extremely nice and considerate. As for Malice Mizer, Mana was strict, not pushy, he wanted everything to go according to plan so he constantly made sure everything was working out right. Moi dix Mois is Mana's SOLO PROJECT, even though it is a band. Mana is the founder and creator of everything in Moi dix Mois thus he wants things his way. All members who joined his band know this as well, I can assure you. It is not that Mana is being mean, he is simply creating his own image for those of us who enjoy what he does.
What is Mana's real name?
Mana himself has never released his name to the public but the biggest myth/belief is Satou Manabu. There is a rather large controversy about this subject and many people try to prove this and prove this wrong over and over again. Mana has never released his name because his name to him and all of us fans is Mana and that is what he likes to be known as so he likes to just keep it at that.
How old is Mana?
Once again, this is a largely debated question. Almost everyone has their own thoughts and beliefs on Mana's age. but nobody REALLY knows except for Mana, his friends, and his family along with whoever else he might have chosen to tell.
Does Mana really hate Gackt?
Mana and Gackt have not talked to each other for a while now (that anyone is aware of). Only them and the people they are close to seriously know what kind of terms they are on.
