Discussions: Cyborgs or Vampires

Whew this one took me a little while to write – a bit of a doozy this week, sorry xD;

Which concept of GACKT’s do you like better: Requiem et Reminiscence or the MOON SAGA?

I thought I’d be nice and summarize these stories and concepts as best as I could since it could help with your decision and hey, maybe some of you don’t even really know what these stories are about lol. I do suggest going to Eien no Yume to read about MOON or Asakura’s Reports to get a better understanding of each concept, if not just for entertainment purposes =D
(btw, the 4th Asakura Report can be found here, translated by ashura_oh)
I’ll answer this one in the comments this week, as the post itself is going to be pretty long lol.

Requiem et Reminiscence is GACKT’s first concept and is covered through the Rebirth and RE:BORN albums and their respective tours and media. It is a story about the terrors of war, of love that transcends life itself; a story that questions humanity and what it really means to be human, and a desperate call for peace throughout the world.

The world of RR takes place during WWII and revolves around the stories of two different soldiers in the German army. The first RR revolves around PROTO, a high-ranking officer who willingly gives up his body and mind for scientific experimentation (or RR Project) in order to forget the pain and loss of his beloved, Elena. He becomes the first successful cyborg experiment and is unleashed out onto the battlefield, a true mass-murdering weapon. Unexpectedly, his human memories return and along with the pain and guilt of the horrible acts he’s committed, PROTO disappears from the battlefield for good.
RR II revolves around a soldier by the name of Ray Hartmann and his scientist friend Ryuuichi Asakura. Although PROTO’s body could not be found, the German scientists still retained all of his data and were now looking for a replacement body. Asakura, whom was jealous over Ray’s relationship with a girl named Maria, noticed how similar PROTO and his friend were. Seeing this as an opportunity to steal Maria away, he gave his friend up for experimentation. Ray’s memories were wiped clean, replaced with PROTO’s data, and thus ZERO was born, becoming the feared commander of a cyborg division of the army called G.H.O.S.T. But just like before, ZERO slowly began to regain his memories of his human life as Ray as well as PROTO’s life. As soon as he regained his memories, ZERO led the rest of the cyborgs in a revolt against the scientists, but all were destroyed. Asakura was filled with regret and apologized to ZERO, who forgave his friend. As ZERO began to fade, his dying wish was for war to vanish from this world and for peace to come.

The MOON SAGA is GACKT’s second concept and the more complex of the two. It is spread out in four chapters that take place over hundreds of years and revolves around the idea of life: what it means to exist, how there is purpose and reason for everyone’s existence, what it means to be human, exploring the light and dark sides of humanity, and the bonds between friends that remain even after death.
The MOON SAGA is covered through the MOON, Crescent, and DIABOLOS albums as well as the MOON photo books, tours, Moon Child, and other related media.

The first chapter is about the birth of a group of powerful people called the DARTS and takes place from the Kamekura to the Heian periods of Japan. Not much else is known about this part of the MOON SAGA but we get a glimpse into this period with songs like Setsugekka and Zan…
The second chapter takes place from the 15th to the 17th century and is about the fall of the DARTS into darkness. They created the Shito in order to fight their battles but they turned out to be quite weak. Once the Shito tapped into their powers, they found they were immortal but could not handle sunlight, thus becoming what we call vampires.
The third chapter focuses on the Shito and their lives as vampires as well as their battle against their creators. There are originally 13 but their numbers dwindle down to a single survivor. This chapter takes place from the 17th century into the modern-era.
The fourth and final chapter is completed with Moon Child, starting with Luka and Kei (Luka either being a Shito himself or created from one) and ending with Sho and Kei as they watch the sun rise together. This takes place from the modern-era to sometime in the near future.

Keep in mind that Gackt’s works are open to interpretation, so as a fan it is up to you to determine what the underlying message of these concepts means to you.
Good luck picking one guys XD

Suggestions for future Discussions are always welcomed and appreciated =]