Sophia was an alternative/pop rock band from Japan that formed in 1994. The group are known for helping to revolutionize the visual kei style to mainstream attention, as their soft sound and image ushered in a new poppy style of visual kei, and would also influence more traditional visual bands like Glay, L'arc-en-Ciel, Fanatic Crisis, and even Luna Sea, to transition into the more casual, lighter side, which became the dominant mainstream form of visual kei by 1997, up through around 2003. In 2013, after nearly two decades of constant activity, Sophia shockingly announced their disbandment, and some of the members of the band went on to join an underground project called Michael.
