Not far ahead lies another new year, waiting for us to catch up and greet it with warmth. It’s however not as easy said than done, when our “friend” winter is constantly serving us these abnormal chilly weather, which is getting crazier with each year!

Blame global warming, you say? It’s a conspiracy, you say? Whatever it is, I can surely tell that there is no conspiracy behind this year’s top 15 Japanese and visual kei artists! Already now I can also tell you that there is one band that absolutely dominates it!

But first, let me tell you how the rankings were compiled! The lists below are based on the artist’s top sold release on CDJapan during 2015, and not the artist’s total sales volume. We decided to compile two lists, one that includes various artists we covered during this year, and another one only including visual kei artists! Without further ado, let’s first take a look at the top 15 Japanese artists!

Top 15 Japanese artists:

1.		the GazettE DOGMA Buy at CDJapan or JPU Records
2.		ONE OK ROCK 35xxxv Buy at CDJapan
3.		SCANDAL Stamp! Buy at CDJapan or JPU Records
4.		Momoiro Clover Z vs KISS Yume no Ukiyo ni Saitema Buy at CDJapan
5.		KAMIJO Royal Blood -Revival Best- Buy at CDJapan
6.		LADYBABY Nippon Manjyu Buy at CDJapan
7.		BAND-MAID New Beginning Buy at CDJapan
8.		BABYMETAL LIVE AT BUDOKAN – RED NIGHT & BLACK NIGHT APOCALYPSE – Buy at CDJapan
9.		sukekiyo Vitium Buy at CDJapan
10.		Aimer Brave Shine Buy at CDJapan
11.		ryo (supercell) Great Distance Buy at CDJapan
12.		Jupiter Topaz Buy at CDJapan
13.		MEJIBRAY VENOMS.app Buy at CDJapan
14.		EGOIST RELOADED Buy at CDJapan
15.		Sawano Hiroyuki & Z Buy at CDJapan

Continuing with the second part where only visual kei artists are included!

Top 15 visual kei artists:

1.		the GazettE DOGMA Buy at CDJapan or JPU Records
2.		KAMIJO Royal Blood -Revival Best- Buy at CDJapan
3.		Jupiter Topaz Buy at CDJapan
4.		MUCC T.R.E.N.D.Y. -Paradise from 1997- Buy at CDJapan
5.		NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST PROVIDENCE Buy at CDJapan
6.		D Happy Unbirthday Buy at CDJapan
7.		Matenrou Opera ether Buy at CDJapan
8.		DADAROMA Ame no Waltz Buy at CDJapan
9.		lynch. 10th Anniversary 2004-2014 The Best Buy at CDJapan
10.		DIAURA RUIN Buy at CDJapan
11.		An Cafe Sennen DIVE!!!!! Buy at CDJapan
12.		Golden Bomber No Music No Weapon Buy at CDJapan
13.		Sadie DECADE Buy at CDJapan
14.		Pentagon Call Me… Buy at CDJapan
15.		DELUHI Vandalism Buy at CDJapan

Clearly, the GazettE dominated both lists and we’re certainly not surprised. With such well-received album they were even able to take on big idol groups such as AKB48 and Arashi, do keep in mind that these lists do not represent the sales in Japan.

See more top lists:

Source:
Complete list of CDJapan’s Japanese artist ranking
Complete list of CDJapan’s visual kei artist ranking