This song actually has a very deep meaning. (Sorry for the long post, but it's necessary to explain it) This is only my interpretation, but I think it is the closest one to what each member of Dir en grey wants it to be.
The song Obscure is about abortion and how the members feel that unnecessary abortions to end. These events took place years ago during the late 1880s to 1975 in Japan. Here's a history lesson.
With the economic depression in Japan after WW1, efforts to advocate birth control developed. They were led by the women's movement, whose leaders appealed for protection of women's health and more liberal sexual morality. But following the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war of 1937-45, laws against birth control were rigidly enforced, and the movement remained suppressed until the end of WW2.
Following this, there was a population increase and Japan's territory decreased. Industries were devastated and there was underproduction in rural areas which led to an acute lack of food and housing. In response there was a much greater interest in birth control. Japan's birthrate began to fall, mainly because of abortions, which were legalized by 1948.
Gradually, contraceptive practices became widespread as the government began to encourage family planning through legislation and numerous programs. As of 1990 the most commonly reported contraceptive method was the condom, followed by the rhythm method. The rhythm method was based largely on research by the physician Ogino Kyusaku so it is known in Japan as the Ogino method. Oral contraceptives ("the pill") remain controversial in Japan for morality reasons. The government refused to approve the sale of the pill for contraceptive purposes, and it is sold only as a treatment for menstrual problems. Use of the Ogino method, even in combination with the condom, has a higher number of unwanted pregnancies.
This is what lead to such a large number of abortions. Read these sentences closely, because they are shocking. Many people don't know about this part. The annual number of reported abortions , which were legalized in 1948, reached a peak of 1,270,143 in 1955 and declined to the present figure of 500,000 per year. Of course, it is speculated the the figures are much higher when taking the number of illegal abortions into consideration. Also, these are only the abortions that happened to be reported. There seems to be very little tendency to use female sterilization to prevent pregnancy.
Back to the song. I believe that the vocalist of Dir en grey, Kyo, wrote Obscure to bring attention to what I've just explained. There is also another song that deals with abortion called Mazohyst of Decadence. I recommend listening to it. In my opinion, it has a clearer message. The PV is just disturbing and the lyrics are very dark. (The word masochist is censored.)
For those who have watched the video: It's very gruesome for most people and that where they think it's just a weird, crazy song without a meaning. If you really analyze the video, you'll understand that it's telling a story. For example, did you see the part when the woman picked the baby's head off of the tree and eats it? It symbolizes her finding out she's pregnant then getting an abortion. There is a lot of vomiting/blood in the video, but it's supposed to emulate the idea of killing an unborn person because of unsafe sexual intercourse. I think the message the members are trying to send when the girl in the video gets killed by the guy in the mask is that they dislike the meaningless glorification of sex. Those are just a few of them. In short, the song is about meaningless or unsafe sex and unjustified abortions.
This song actually has a very deep meaning. (Sorry for the long post, but it's necessary to explain it) This is only my interpretation, but I think it is the closest one to what each member of Dir en grey wants it to be. The song Obscure is about abortion and how the members feel that unnecessary abortions to end. These events took place years ago during the late 1880s to 1975 in Japan. Here's a history lesson. With the economic depression in Japan after WW1, efforts to advocate birth control developed. They were led by the women's movement, whose leaders appealed for protection of women's health and more liberal sexual morality. But following the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war of 1937-45, laws against birth control were rigidly enforced, and the movement remained suppressed until the end of WW2. Following this, there was a population increase and Japan's territory decreased. Industries were devastated and there was underproduction in rural areas which led to an acute lack of food and housing. In response there was a much greater interest in birth control. Japan's birthrate began to fall, mainly because of abortions, which were legalized by 1948. Gradually, contraceptive practices became widespread as the government began to encourage family planning through legislation and numerous programs. As of 1990 the most commonly reported contraceptive method was the condom, followed by the rhythm method. The rhythm method was based largely on research by the physician Ogino Kyusaku so it is known in Japan as the Ogino method. Oral contraceptives ("the pill") remain controversial in Japan for morality reasons. The government refused to approve the sale of the pill for contraceptive purposes, and it is sold only as a treatment for menstrual problems. Use of the Ogino method, even in combination with the condom, has a higher number of unwanted pregnancies. This is what lead to such a large number of abortions. Read these sentences closely, because they are shocking. Many people don't know about this part. The annual number of reported abortions , which were legalized in 1948, reached a peak of 1,270,143 in 1955 and declined to the present figure of 500,000 per year. Of course, it is speculated the the figures are much higher when taking the number of illegal abortions into consideration. Also, these are only the abortions that happened to be reported. There seems to be very little tendency to use female sterilization to prevent pregnancy. Back to the song. I believe that the vocalist of Dir en grey, Kyo, wrote Obscure to bring attention to what I've just explained. There is also another song that deals with abortion called Mazohyst of Decadence. I recommend listening to it. In my opinion, it has a clearer message. The PV is just disturbing and the lyrics are very dark. (The word masochist is censored.) For those who have watched the video: It's very gruesome for most people and that where they think it's just a weird, crazy song without a meaning. If you really analyze the video, you'll understand that it's telling a story. For example, did you see the part when the woman picked the baby's head off of the tree and eats it? It symbolizes her finding out she's pregnant then getting an abortion. There is a lot of vomiting/blood in the video, but it's supposed to emulate the idea of killing an unborn person because of unsafe sexual intercourse. I think the message the members are trying to send when the girl in the video gets killed by the guy in the mask is that they dislike the meaningless glorification of sex. Those are just a few of them. In short, the song is about meaningless or unsafe sex and unjustified abortions.
EDIT: I was typing quickly and I know there are grammar mistakes. Apologies.
EDIT: I was typing quickly and I know there are grammar mistakes. Apologies.