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The story
In the late 1990s, L’Arc-en-Ciel and GLAY were spoken of in the same breath as two of the most nationally beloved rock bands in Japan. A thread on 5ch titled “So which one was actually better, L’Arc-en-Ciel or GLAY?!” reignited the debate, with posters weighing in on peak-era concert attendance, sheer number of hit songs, the “visual-kei vs. mainstream pop” divide, and even the historical feud with talent agency Burning Production. Opinions split hard across more than 40 replies.
What people said
There's no rule that says that.
But long-term, I'd say L'Arc-en-Ciel.
L'Arc-en-Ciel had more of an underground vibe — they were more of an otaku thing.
Honestly the gap was so big it's a stretch to even call them rivals.
That's why they had wider support.
flower
HONEY
NEO UNIVERSE
Classics, every one.
If I'm gonna listen to GLAY, I might as well just listen to the Beatles or BOØWY.
Now it's about even, maybe a slight edge to L'Arc-en-Ciel.
"the more I think of you, ooh-ooh"
and "pouring out this endless love"
(seriously blanking on the actual song titles)
HOWEVER
winter, again
Yuwaku (Seduction)
Kuchibiru (Lips)
L'Arc-en-Ciel —
HONEY
NIJI (Rainbow)
DRIVER'S HIGH
READY STEADY GO
the L'Arc-en-Ciel picks would overlap a ton,
but the GLAY picks would probably be all over the place.
L'Arc-en-Ciel → NEO UNIVERSE
Just my favorites.
Also gonna add — I liked GLAY's SURVIVAL too.
TERU (GLAY's vocalist) is naturally cute, okay?
L'Arc-en-Ciel → Juju Asakura, Rin Kawana
Wait, Keronnu's into L'Arc-en-Ciel?
After that, L'Arc-en-Ciel pulled ahead thanks to anime theme songs.
Right now L'Arc-en-Ciel's members are on bad terms with each other while GLAY's all buddy-buddy, so GLAY's on top.
Back then it really was overwhelmingly GLAY's era, yeah.
I mean, HONEY and NIJI are basically their signature songs.
That song's got kind of a corny intro, but the lyrics are so heartbreakingly good it's incredible.
Background and key points of the debate
L’Arc-en-Ciel and GLAY both rose to prominence in the mid-1990s, leading the wave of J-rock bands that defined the era, and have long been discussed as peers of the same generation. GLAY is often cited as the symbol of mass popularity thanks to their two-day open-air concert at Makuhari Seaside Park in 1999, which drew a massive crowd, while L’Arc-en-Ciel, despite its visual-kei roots, has broadened its fanbase across generations since the 2000s through anime theme-song tie-ins. GLAY’s lawsuit against their talent agency, Burning Production, is another historical episode frequently brought up when comparing the two. The thread kept coming back to a “mainstream GLAY” versus “L’Arc-en-Ciel for connoisseurs” framing, but opinions diverged depending on whether the yardstick was sales, concert turnout, or personal taste in songs — and readers should note that posters never actually agreed on what “better” even meant.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello Project board) thread “So which one was actually better, L’Arc-en-Ciel or GLAY?!.”
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