Hard and Fast: Why Japan Has the World's Purest Hardcore Scene

Japan may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of hardcore & gabber - but this fast, heavy style of music counts its most loyal fans in the Japanese underground.

Hardcore, or gabber, is an abrasive, high-tempo genre of dance music, typically associated with the Dutch city of Rotterdam, that emerged in the late 80s and early 90s. However, less is known about the genre’s adoption in Japan.

The country was first introduced to hardcore label Avex Trax, who signed a licensing deal with iconic Dutch label Rotterdam Records, set up by DJ Paul Estrak in 1992, and launched an exclusive compilation series titled Rotterdam Techno = Hard Hard Hard, which gained significant traction in Japan.

Manga Corps chronicles the subsequent hardcore scene that grew in Japan in the 90s and 2000s. By gabber archivists and researchers Alberto Guerrini (AKA Gabber Eleganza) and Boris Postma, the book builds on Guerrini's Never Sleep project, a multifold research initiative on hardcore and post-rave cultures.

“In [Japan], niche interests aren’t just hobbies—they become deep commitments, often taken to creative and aesthetic extremes. So when gabber arrived with its raw energy, violent kicks, and relentless pace, it wasn’t rejected or softened," Guerrini told Trippin. "Instead, it was welcomed as a fresh form of expression, something that could be pushed, shaped, and made personal.”

"Fast, complex music had long been part of daily Japanese soundscapes—from anime openings to hyperactive denpa songs. Adapting hardcore felt natural."

Guerrini explains that Japanese culture provided fertile ground for gabber to thrive. “Fast, complex music had long been part of daily soundscapes—from anime openings to Touhou remixes and hyperactive denpa songs. Adapting hardcore felt natural. Local producers began fusing it with their own influences: cute vocal chops, 8-bit textures, video game samples, and references to otaku culture. That’s how genres like J-core and Speedcore emerged—intense, playful, and unmistakably original.”

Manga Corps is a 200-page collection of flyers, posters, record releases, presented alongside an arresting array of graphic memorabilia that testifies to the spirit of Japanese hardcore. Nods to otaku, anime and video games run throughout the singular aesthetic, with the advent of Dance Dance Revolution and Beatmania games further fuelling the Japanese craving for high-bpm energy.

“It wasn’t just about sound. In a society where emotional restraint is often the norm, hardcore offered something more visceral," says Guerrini. "It gave space—especially in the underground—to release tension, frustration, even rage. On packed dancefloors or in the solitude of headphones, it became a kind of catharsis.”

Away from the acid house scenes of Amsterdam, or the techno hedonism of Berlin, it was in the working class ‘second cities’ of Germany and the Netherlands that hardcore took hold: Rotterdam and Frankfurt. The same pattern followed in Japan, where the genre gained prominence in port-city Osaka. There, hardcore, grindcore, noise and jungle were fostered through a network of record shops, live music venues and street culture.

"In a society where emotional restraint is often the norm, hardcore offered something more visceral."

Guerrini points out that Tokyo trends were more led by what was deemed cool and popular. Whereas in Osaka, things felt different. “People had more freedom. It probably also has to do with the city’s size—since it’s smaller, people were more likely to cross paths, and with only a limited number of places to hang out, the community naturally became close-knit and deeply connected.”

Among the music snobs of Tokyo’s media scene, hardcore was scorned for its perceived lack of intellect or complexity. Record shops would even deter customers from buying hardcore records. Yet, in time, the Japanese capital eventually caught on, cultivating a legion of fans to eventually surpass Osaka as the the country's hardcore hub.

“Things began to shift in the 2000s. Media attitudes relaxed, and Tokyo slowly opened up to new interpretations of hardcore," says Guerrini. "A key part of this shift was the rise of Nerdcore—a style pioneered mostly in Kansai (with artists like DJ SHARPNEL and C-TYPE), which exploded in Tokyo."

Not to be confused with Nerdcore hip hop from the US, Japanese-born Nerdcore was a techno sound anchored to hardcore roots, fusing in "nerdy" influences of video game and anime soundscapes. It's rise in the Japanese capital provided opportunity to hardcore to break through and defy old stigmas and outdated prejudices.

"It’s a scene built by fans, for fans, driven purely by a sense of sharing and belonging."

Despite two major Japanese cities cultivating strong hardcore scenes, Japan’s relationship to the genre has largely been overlooked and sidelined. Yet, this underground view stays true to the original principles of hardcore, rooted in a DIY, self-publishing culture where music is shared among communities locally with little interest in going.

For Guerrini, this sense of pureness is a welcome anecdote to a world of hype and social media metrics.

“I like to think of the Japanese scene as a secret worth keeping—something that stays far from the commercial, business-oriented dynamics we often see in Europe," he says. "It’s a scene built by fans, for fans, driven purely by a sense of sharing and belonging. Japan is hardcore in the purest sense of the word.”

Manga Corps is available to purchase on the Never Sleep Website.