J-core

J-core is often used as an umbrella term for many types of hardcore created by Japanese producers, including speedcore, 4-beat, and hardstyle. Despite the wide range of music under this umbrella, consistent elements include high tempos, samples derived from video games and anime, colorful kawaii imagery and album graphics, and the general borrowing of elements from otaku culture. Hardcore music created outside of Japan that incorporates these elements is also often labeled as J-core on platforms where users can upload and tag their own music. J-core's emergence dates back to the late 1990s, in the height of the hardcore, speedcore, and gabber techno scenes in Europe, the genre was originally named Japcore. Japanese producers combined European hardcore sounds with influences from denpa music, J-pop and otaku culture to create a new sound. Jea of DJ Sharpnel is considered to have pioneered the style in the late 1990s. In 1998, he released High Speed Music Team by Sharpnel vs. Project Gabbangelion, the name is a reference to the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion.