Due to the use of makeup and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successful and influential bands in the visual kei movement.

The band achieved their breakthrough success with a sold-out tour in 1991, which helped them get a contract with MCA Victor, and with the release of their second album Image (1992), which reached number nine on the Oricon music chart.

[3] In March they held a small fan club tour and on May 20 performed their last indie concert, the third kurofuku gentei gig at Machida Play House.

[14][15] On September 21, Luna Sea released their fourth single "True Blue", which topped the charts,[11] and was certified platinum for selling over four hundred thousand copies.

On December 23, they held a concert titled Lunatic Tokyo there, tickets sold out the same day they went on sale,[3] which was filmed for a home video release the following year.

[3] In 1999, Luna Sea's popularity reached overseas to neighboring countries in Asia, and they went on their first Asian tour in January, visiting Taipei, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

[3] The album, Lunacy, was released on July 12, and while it was not as successful as their previous efforts, spending only 6 weeks on the charts,[10] it peaked at number 3 and was certified gold by the RIAJ.

It was supported by two sold out nationwide tours in July and October, titled Brand New Chaos, with 32 concerts in sixteen locations and an extended two shows in Hong Kong and Taipei.

[2] In March 2001, Billboard quoted music critic Hiromichi Ugaya as saying that Luna Sea broke up due to conflict between Ryuichi and the other members.

[24] The tour began on November 27 in Germany and continued on to the United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and was planned to end with two shows in Japan on the 23 and 24 of December at the Tokyo Dome.

[38] A live album and video of their US concert, both titled Luna Sea 3D in Los Angeles, was released in June, with the film being shown in Japanese theaters nationwide.

[39][40] On October 22, they held a charity concert titled A Promise to the Brave at Saitama Super Arena, and all proceeds from the event went to the Japanese Red Cross.

[45] A concert series titled Luna Sea Live 2012-2013 The End of the Dream was announced, with shows at Osaka-jō Hall on December 23 and the other six nights at the Nippon Budokan on January 11–13 and 18-20.

[48] Following the performances at the Budokan, another Asian tour started on January 26, 2013, with two shows in Taiwan, then moved to Hong Kong, Bangkok and ended on February 8 in Singapore.

Originally, NHK Hall was selected to hold the event, however, the band decided to change the location to Ryōgoku Kokugikan to serve excessive demands.

[50] The single "Thoughts" was released on August 28 in celebration of the band's 24th anniversary, and is featured in a TV commercial for the online video game Master of Chaos.

[59] As an epilogue to their 25th anniversary, Luna Sea hosted a rock festival titled Lunatic Fest on June 27 and 28, 2015, with an estimated 60,000 fans attending.

[60] Held at Makuhari Messe, there were three stages and 12 artists, with the host band performing twice both nights; once as opening act Lunacy and again as Luna Sea.

[70] Beginning the celebration of their 30th anniversary early, Luna Sea held two concerts titled Lunatic X'Mas 2018 -Introduction to the 30th Anniversary- at Saitama Super Arena on December 22 and 23, 2018.

[72] That same day, a double A-side single titled "Sora no Uta ~Higher and Higher~/Hisōbi", the first and second opening themes of the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin - Advent of the Red Comet anime, was released.

[86] Essentially a television music festival featuring live remotely recorded performances to elicit monetary donations, over 25 artists participated, including Ellegarden, Char, Koda Kumi, and 9mm Parabellum Bullet.

[87] Luna Sea were set to perform at Saitama Super Arena on December 26 and 27, 2020 as their first concerts since the pandemic forced them to postpone their 30th anniversary tour earlier in the year.

[97] Luna Sea played two nights at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza on May 27 and 28, 2023, which marked the first time in about three years that the audience could cheer aloud, as it was previously not allowed due to COVID-19 guidelines.

[98] On May 29, the band held a short free live for 150 members of their fanclub at Meguro Rock-May-Kan.[99] On November 29, Luna Sea released self-cover re-recordings of their albums Mother and Style via Avex Trax.

[107] Luna Sea formed at the end of the 1980s, when American and British glam metal were gradually losing popularity to alternative rock and grunge at the beginning of the 1990s.

[108] Gota Nishidera recalled that the public's image of Luna Sea in the mid-1990s was, "A band that wears all-black, makeup, and repeatedly produced melodic killer tunes with fast beats.

"[109] He opined that the biggest difference between Luna Sea and their contemporaries was their rhythm section of Shinya, J, and Inoran, and their exquisite control and ability to freely manipulate silence and explosion.

[109] Nishidera described Inoran as specializing in rhythmic aspects such as arpeggios, riffs, and cutting, and Sugizo as being in charge of the world view including the guitar solos.

[109] According to Alexey Eremenko of Allmusic, Luna Sea's sound is "firmly based in '80s hard rock, with a versatile progressive approach to songwriting, and its softer side, displayed later on in the group's career, proved equally strong.

[2] The members' individual music backgrounds influenced the band's style; as children, Sugizo and Shinya mastered the violin and the traditional taiko drums respectively.