[packetpirate]

The first Japanese song I heard was Heart of Sword by T.M. Revolution in the ending theme to Rurouni Kenshin. I had just discovered Toonami (which, by the way, I miss a lot), and I started watching anime. I didn't really get into Japanese music until I heard Ready! Steady! Go! by L'Arc~en~ciel in the opening Fullmetal Alchemist theme. I started actively listening to Japanese music when I first heard Riraito by Asian Kung-Fu Generation as the last opening theme to Fullmetal Alchemist.

Unfortunately, Ajikan was the only Japanese band I knew of, and I literally listened to nothing but them for the next 2-3 years. One day, my friend linked me to Num-Ami-Dabutz by Number Girl on YouTube. I didn't really like them at first, but I listened to some of their other work and now they're my favorite band. I eventually heard about Zazen Boys through the same friend and I even went to a Zazen Boys concert in New York after Comic-Con with him and some other friends.

More recently, I've started listening to the Kimonos. I didn't even know Mukai was in the band at first. If I had known, I would have started listening sooner.

My friend also introduced me to エレファントカシマシ (another favorite band of mine) and THEE MICHELLE GUN ELEPHANT (I don't listen to them that much, but they're okay.) Some other bands I like are L'Arc~en~ciel, Daft Punk, and a few songs by Yoko Kanno.