After 2minutes 22 seconds, ayu seems to bring some messages to use. Especally her death and the flowers blooming. Does that mean her old style is over (her death) but the new style is coming (flowers blooming)?
IMO, her death (old style) inspires her to her new styles (flowers blooming) is the messages of the PV.

At the end of the PV, she hugs a guy happily, which she barely, or never, has done in her PVs. Does that mean she finds her truth love?

So many things that ayu seems to tell us in this PV..

^ It could be. Anyhow best pv I've seen in a while

oh i haven't seen it...where or how can i see it?

it's a very good pv O_O beautiful.
hair growing = time passing? XD
Yeah, anyway, I love the composition too yeah O_O....
it's a really nice song compared to the ballads in 06 (except Secret, that was a really good song too imo)

I love the PV and the song^^ She's really beautiful, and the color used too!! And the outfits are wonderful^^

she looks lovely in the pv. i love how her pvs always contain hidden messages. overall, great effort from Ayu.

The download was completed when I woke up but I didn't have time to watch it.

Can't wait when I get home

i watched the PV! it was relli good actually, i didn't expect too much from it, the only thing i don't like abuot it is the hugging in the end, it's like wtf?

but other than that i love the PV! top 5 best ballad PV!

I think the people who are wrapped up in the sound effects, or the lipstick, or the small bits of CG are thinking too much about the PV's shortcomings, rather than it's successes..

I'm watching the PV atm and all I can say is WOW, the song itself sounds awesome!

I also like the PVs theme and especially the part, where Ayu opens here hair and falls :laugh

The end with the hugging was a little weird but whatever~, overall a very nice PV :yes

I just watched the music video. I think it's very cool and pretty. I like it!:)

The story of this music video kinda remind me of a traditional japanese story that my grandma used to tell me when i was young, but that one is more an evil story. Dun't if you guys ever heard of it before.

It's 'bout this woman keep waitin' for her man to return, but he didn't return for sume reason. (Meh! I dun't remember it anymore. It was ages ago!) Then her hair grew so long and white. And she becomes very, very evil with a evil face. That's why in japan there's this lady lady and another angry one. They're the same one even though the evil one looks more like a man.:D Haha...

Anyway, the style of video seem japanese, but nut so. I think Ayumi is doin' sumething for the chinese too. Puttin' japanese and chinese tradition together as one. It's brillant, i think! I kinda wish that Ayum did follow the storyline and turn into an evil woman!;) That would be even more cool.

^haha BIG NO..i dont want ayu for being evil woman...i can't imagine what the user in here will say about that

The PV seems to have a cool meaning and some effects look cool, but these "shortcomings" really bothered me when I watched it (it's like watching Startin' CGs, they're gross and unprofessional, the PV is cool but the CGs make it crap and they can't be overlooked because they're very "in your face").
ayu's releasing her second BEST album, this should really mean something. I honestly think the "exclusive" song of her second best album deserved a much better treatment, both the song (which is very generic JPOP) and the PV, which had bogus CGs. Look at "M", which was the supposedly the A BEST exclusive song at the moment it was released. THe PV was nice, the effects weren't exaggerated, the song was powerful. Look at RAINBOW, one of her BEST PVs and the song is simply fantastic. And now, with A BEST II, sorry, but I think something much better than this PV (I won't criticize the song) could have been pulled out.

It makes me wonder what happened to Wataru Takeishi...

Since he did direct M and RAINBOW... so I wonder why not this one?
I think avex/Ayu is using Ishii too much nowadays. Maybe he's a cheap director and they can use him a lot more?

I don't mind Ishii's thematic, the general idea was good. Just that if they're gonna use a lot of CG, try to do something like JEWEL, which looks better executed. I'm glad this PV didn't go to the level of Startin' though, because those CGs were bad. And like Chibinina mentioned, it sounded like they were opening a potato chips bag while her hair was growing LOL Or that something there was burning. The sound effects were a little too loud and it takes a bit of your attention out of the song. The same thing happened to me in the "walking proud" PV, I had to stop watching that PV because weirdly enough, the SE were starting to make me grow sick of the song, because whenever I played the song, the SE would play involuntarily in my mind. (walking proud is one of my favorite ayumi songs and still is).
The lipstick is excusable though (I admit I kinda find it cool now), but the geisha's hair color would looked better if it had been black. But then I guess the effect of the growing hair would have looked worse? And I also believe the growing hair probably represent the roots of a tree, so in the end it would actually justify why her hair was dyed with such a bad color LOL

I don't think she was necessarily a geisha..

And I think most of the time, the dead are depicted with hair of light colors with deep red lipstick in Asian culture.. right? D:

Outstanding... no more words.

I agree that the red lipstick is too glossy... My initial thought was "scary! red and white together"... but after watching the entire pv, I think that it's rather ok. This is a rather traditional pv - not bad. I like the way the pv was filmed, though more can be done to the sound effects.

Can anyone explain the pv? I'm clueless

its a very nice PV.like it a lot the more i see it..and yea, the red lipstick is growing on me..Lol..

i wanna noe the symbolic meaning of this! im sure there is..something about the life cycle?

the part where she falls and when she first use the pin to cut the petal into half was amazing..very dramatic

Well, I liked her blonde-to-white hair. I just didn't like the brown-yellowish dump hair...
Yes, they're portraied with light hair, but the lipstick is usually dark.

has anyone ever watched a japanese drama movie before the whole "bad acting, wannabe nonsense"?
japanese dramas are always like that with hidden messages and over the top sequences in a simple location, Kill Bill is heavily inspired on old japanese movies and look what it came out.

i think this video is just brilliant, ayumi never repeats herself on her videos, is so amazing to see a artists that can do videos like "Alterna", "part of me" and "Blue Bird" and "Step You"

The video was okay... Not stunning it seems done before via Voyage and Forgiveness. I hope this pv does not become another crappy Ayu mini movie! i think BoA would have made this song more dramatic and the PV or even Ai Otsuka or Kuu. I think Ayu is making a bold statement in this PV. It looks over worked this time! i think Ayu is defantly trying to get her star shine back could this do it? i don't know

I don't think anything that those artists have made in terms of PVs even come close to what Ayu has done..

i am giving this pv a second chance!.. its done my opinion has changed it made me love ayu again. I think she actually did put more time in this song and PV!!! but i think "WILL" would have been a better song! lol my friend is actually trying to put "Will" using this pv up but the lipsync looking funky lol

Lol yeah, I think the dramatic and thoughtful material are best to be left for ayu, I don't think the others would pull it out as well as her. =/

According to a Japanese news program [ZoomIn! SUPER], her dress weighed around 20 kilograms and the entire thing cost 600,000yen.

I'm not sure if this is correct, but here's the "text" posted at Ayuloveayu by very reliable users:

I like it.
It's visually pretty stunning.

I think it'd be so much better with out the red lipstick, it makes her mouth look sooo huuuuge o____o

I think the lipstick had some sort of purpose visually.. otherwise, they could've just left her lips bare or put some gloss on..

I believe so too LOL because they contrast a LOT with the white and it really calls a lot of attention eheh It makes me wonder how her lips taste like :laugh:innocent

red lipstick = blood XD!! Yup that's my interpretation of the lipstick!

I Love the PV so much!! I love Ayu wearing kimono, she's so stunning!!

Well, if you notice, she doesn't exactly do too much moving in the PV~ :p

It was probably the hairpin, made of heavy combination of metalsXD

20KG?! its really heavy...and i believe its really HOT to wear that dress... she really spend a lot of money for her PV

20KG?! its really heavy...and i believe its really HOT to wear that dress... she really spend a lot of money for her PV

The part when she died and her hair grew reminded me so much of something from "Uzumaki". :/ And her hair looks weird....D:

I love her kimono though, it's uber lovely. :D

The song is great, I didn't expect it to be so good *rekindled adoration for Ayu, but I still don't like her divaness xD*

Come to think of it, red is IN.
Koda Kumi - But/AISHO - red.
Otsuka Ai - CHU-LIP - red.

For some reason, I thought of the guy who used thread in SHINOBI just now..

seriously i must applaud for ayu... I can barely lift something of 10+kg stuffs...

the pv is a huge panasonic commericial lol

Just amazing! It's really a visual spectacle! The symbolism, everything, it's just perfect! One of the best PVs we've seen from Ayu in quite a while.

Well, I like it. The imagery is very beautiful, and I can handle the lipstick. ;)

I haven't watched the video yet! I'll be watching it tonight. I hope it's good. :D

Whoa, I'm late! XD

The PV was spectacular! The only thing that bothered me was how her "lover" was played by Shu-Ya. Ayu, either marry the guy or just use Tomoya in your videos! :P (kidding.)

Just a few things I personally loved...
o The PV itself reminded me of Voyage. Or, actually, Tsuki ni Shimizu. Just the scenery and all of it.
o I love the image of her 1:04/05 into the video.
o I admire all of the Japanese background in this video.
o The build up to the first chorus gives me chills!
o The food chain thing! Freaky, but it all leads to my next point.
o SYMBOLISM!! Ayu, I love you!
o Her voice! It sounds... normal! Well, I can't describe it, but it has that tone that just suits her. It's not squeaky (1999-2000), it's not nasaly (RAINBOW), it's not "cute" (MY STORY), and it's not singing-in/through-her-voice (Secret). It's... perfect!
o I didn't care for her image with the off-white lighting except for the one of her 3:54-38 into the video. Beautiful!
o Her falling towards the ground reminded me of a certain character (Heat) from a certain game (DDS) when he dies in a battle. ^^
o The embracing of Ayu's character and her lover strangely look like a scene that could've been used in an awesome movie inspired by a game (FFVII). ^^


I have fallen in love with Ayu all over again.

And I am overjoyed.

^_^

Its a beautiful PV.. especially when she pulls the hair ornaments out and falls to the ground... props to ayu for pulling it off so well :3
but.. is it just me or when she's falling her hair looks similar to Chii's from Chobits ;S

Beautiful PV I liked it a lot! I.m going to watch it 4ever!; as far as the song, I.m not a big fan yet.. I think is too short and it wouldn.t have hurt the PV if the birds came from the painting.. or something like that. but is good! like nuttin she has done before!

just one more comment, I like PVs with good sound effects Heaven would have been really awful if it didn.t have sound effects it.s so a dramatic when the train arrives and the music builds up!, so not necessarily they have to be banned, PLUS when there is too much "action" in the background or something of the sort, looks weird when some PVs don.t add sound effects, I hate when that happens... u_u.

HEAVEN was the only exception, I admit. But that PV doesn't have sound effects over almost 1/4 of the PV. The sound effects in PVs like Real me and walking proud (and this) totally blows though.

I.LOVE.IT. it's tremendously beautiful. a wonderful job. the make up was reasonably good not to appeal but to set a certain emotion... mostly its the ART of it all... the red lipstick keeps ur eyes on her mouth, as she sings, for a certain reason despite the pale setting and pale kimono. however, in the red setting, she has pale make up besides the dark eye make up... its to balance everything out. it also may hold something open to interpretation. its filled with many things that are to be analyzed and interpreted. its a complex music video. i loved it... and can't stop watching it... i think its one her best PVs since... a long time...

I dun like it at all, everything looks.. so fake o_O I've seen much better vids, it's so boring imo

but i must also say... the song isn't that great... the lyrics are beautiful, but the music... its getting hold ayu... this sound is gettin old. go back to something like hanabi or rainy day or something new new new!... something calm and consuming.

20kg kimono...x-x....

the head pieces wouldn't be made from metal, it'll be too costly XD...well...just not needed anyway, even for ayu.
It's most likely to be from all the kimono layers. and real silk >_> silk is heAVY xD

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sorry this is going to be off topic below XD
I thought the director based Kill Bill on old HK movies >_>....

Whoa. 20kg? o.o Must've been a loud THUD when she fell. xD

I think 20KG is twice the weight of my schoolbag with my stuff in it.

Maybe that's why she fell.

OMG you've just made me guess it now! It weighted 20kg because it was full of potato chips inside, ayu was one huge bag of potato chips! This is why when she fell, potato chip cracking noises started annoying the entire PV LOL.

Lol!

I liked the PV, not my fave but it was quite nice :D As for the part with Ayu and the uber blonde hair and uber red lipstick...I loved it xDD I don't know why but I just do hahaha!

the pv was good. the song is eh. but the guy she was hugging...OMG what a hunk o.o but wow! must be one heavy kimono o.o the red lipstick makes her look like a singing smiling ghost o.o which i find creepy. but its the pv ish fine, i like the whole nature with the butterfly and the prayingmantis, and the snake, that was cool :D

such a beautiful PV! I especially LOVE her voice right at the last building of the chorus! It is so beautiful when there is barely any music in the bg... I love this song :yes

Art worthy of art xD There is alot of symbolism in this pv, and the colors are very stunning. Yes, Ayu did look kind of older in some parts where she was in white, but all in all, the video was great.

Hmm... It probably wasn't that heavy to wear, from experience...I had this Extremely heavy jacket, it's heavy to hold by hand, but when you WEAR it, it's a lot less heavy, so yeah.

Score!

I found out what Ayu was wearing, and probably what she's trying to represent/be in the PV..

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/2373/1229xh0.gif
What she is wearing is a "juunihitoe" or 12-layered kimono.

Historical tidbits in an Ayu PV?! D:


So now we know what it is.. :D :D

^That looks really heavy...

Oh yes it does.

I just generally did not like the PV very much, especially not all the truly crappy CG-ing which seems to be common with this director. Makes it look like total crap.

The PV is definitely better than some of the clips she has released recently. It was beautiful to look at. There was a sort of message to it. I love the scenes with red Ayu. White Ayu was beautiful, except the lips of course. It totally ruined everything... Plus, Ayu was smiling while singing and it didn't looked good at all. I loved her outfits though. Kinda sad that she always have to have her dancers in her PVs. I'm quite sick of that Shuya guy. So ugly. Anyway. To conclude, it looked nice overally but it could've been a lot better though. At least the song is great. I don't want to listen to the song to often though... Don't want to be sick of it already... like JEWEL.

I think the PV would have been better if it was simpler.

When I saw Shu-Ya in the PV I immediately though "there's gonna be whining about the dancers again"... haha :D.

I don't mind seeing them, but maybe some more new faces would be nice, too.

I really liked the PV, it had quite a great portrayal of emotions, like when Ayumi fell down. SHOCKING STUFF! The snake + grasshopper or whatever thing could have been avoided, though. x_x

i thought the PV was okay. i didn't really understand what was going on. but i still liked the song.

I think Takahide and Ayu strived to create "art"~
IMO, it wasn't that complex.. it seemed pretty simple to me anyway. A tree with a background, and Ayu. With some random animals. :p

I love it!! though I don't really understand the pv XD

she looks so great here :luv2 http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7...ofmemj3.th.jpg

i love the song, interesting pv, great combinations.

although i do not know why the blonde geisha thing, i still love it.

gogo ayu! :D

Well Ayu's hair is blonde at the moment

ayu's face looked pink in the red kimono outfit. as if she jus dipped her face in hot water.. :no and ayu in her white kimono outfit reminded me of Misa from Deathnote.. ??!

anyway, i thought the PV was jus nice to watch but no story. but at the end i realise it was quite meaningful with SHUYA who finally earned a significant role in ayu's PV.. haha

but when ayu removed all the sticks from her hair and falls, it really shocked me. jus like she fired a gunshot into her head and drops dead. FREAKY! and also the extension of her hair looks as ayu is trapped in a giant spider web and the giant tarantula will be coming to devour her soon.. AHH!! my imagination is running wild!!

starting from "BLUE BIRD" PV, I knew ayu really liked SHUYA. He was the main character in "BLUE BIRD" pv too

Yep... A agree with the snake and for the bug. But the butterfly looked cute to me :D ... kyaa~ love red!
And yep, I love kimonos, it was all like "traditional japanese PV" or something like that, that`s why I like it. And I like those things in her hair :D And if they do look plastic, it`s what Japanese wore in meiji era (if I am correct). So I thought it`s cool :D
My friend says it`s a stupid PV - the same Voyage. :( So not true!

Erm.. didnt load the pic O_o but yeah I agree, this is the only scene wearing that lisptick where she looks good ^^

It's such a beautiful PV! <3333

i just watched it...and its really GREAT...i dont find that the CG is chessy...its good...ayu act so nice too...love it

to me, the MV was really pretty and she looked really pretty too. i thought shuya was really cute and i was glad that she picked him because i like seeing her with him xD. i didnt really like her wearing a white dress and with red lips, there was only one part that she looked pretty with the red lip. but overall it was really good ^^

[QUOTE]wow really interesting...!

thanks!