Japanese rock band Janne Da Arc, formed in 1991, emerged as part of the visual kei genre, in which makeup-clad artists put a pop spin on glam-metal theatrics. ∙ Inspired by a Devilman manga character, their name has nothing to do with the historical Joan of Arc—although the band did write a song about her (“Messiah,” included on 2001’s Z-Hard). ∙ After several independent releases, Janne Da Arc dropped their major-label debut single, “RED ZONE,” in 1999 and landed on the Japanese charts for the first time. ∙ Their 2003 concept album, Another Story, was based on a novel of the same name by vocalist yasu, and the two were released simultaneously. ∙ The dramatic, string-laden “月光花,”—the opening theme for the anime series Black Jack—was their biggest-selling single, reaching No. 2 on the Japanese charts in 2005. ∙ In early 2007, the band announced an indefinite hiatus, and frontman yasu launched his own project, Acid Black Cherry, a few months later.