At least people didn't ask "is she still alive?"

:roflmao

^I got a kick out of that too. :laugh

That would be truly depressing :dead2

Unfortunately, the industry has changed to the point where CD+DVD do not sell in volumes anymore. I don't think it's Ayu's fault, as I have not seen ANY visually impressive PVs across any J-pop artists nowadays. There's no money in PV making, and so they pulled back on those investments. People aren't buying albums as much, so booklets also suffer. Since Ayu is such a visual artist, a lot of those arts are now lost due to industry changes :(

Maybe it's a thing about different tastes, but some PVs you name it "cheap" are very well planned and executed to me. I could say clips from Last Minute, FLOWER, Mad World, Sayonara, Zutto..., Step by step and Melody are some of her best alongside with her previous works, in terms of aesthetics, concept or both. Even the hated crossroad is one of her most interesting PVs with the theme of public image and self-awareness.

crossroad is one my favourite songs and so the PV is too...
the aesthetics are really good done here...

BTW: I quoted you the 3rd time in a row lol :cool

For me FLOWER is her best PV in years, full of anger and... drama, which I love. I watch that PV at least twice a week.

FLOWER has a nice concept and she executes it very well, but her look at the end of the video destroyed it for me... :no

I actually miss fun videos like BLUE BIRD...

I feel you.

I guess if she releases something fun and light it might easily become a hit.

I really enjoyed the Summer diary PV tbh

I thought it was a rather good PV (and song as well... same goes for basically all of sixxxxxx IMO) too and a good direction for her videos to go in after Colours.

The performance was not that bad but it wasn't great either. I have never been the biggest fan of her TV performances anyway. She always seems so constrained.

But is it just me or does she sound sick? She's prone to illness so that could be why she was having any off day.

A Ballads had one too. I wish we could have a page like that with information on all her albums!

I've been a fan of hers since 2005, so thinking of her back then and how much simpler her performances tended to be made me want something akin to this. However, I'm also disappointed in how it doesn't seem like she's all in anymore.
I admired Ayumi because even though she didn't plan on being a singer, or wasn't extremely extroverted or as capable as her contemporaries were with vocals she always seemed to put the effort in. She was in control of her image and her lyrics.
The Ayu I saw in this live was just ...floundering. The song choice wasn't the best, the outfit and hair weren't the best, and her voice wasn't the best (which can be attributed to sickness/her deafness but still). But the largest disappointment was how much overacting there was. I just can't connect to the Ayu from today because it tends to feel really forced. I know that we all have changed and I try not to be hard on her, but at the end of the day she's a performer and this performance was really bad. Really bad. While I do like her musical direction from 2005 onwards and beluevebits improved after A One, I just feel like I'm making excuses due to nostalgia.

The song choice IMO was probably the 'better' part of this. I mean TO BE and ourselves (first time on MS) after years of mostly SEASONS/M/evolution/etc.?

True however even with a small budget one can make a PV work if they want to. Mad world or Zutto turned out well but Angel and XOXO were a total joke. Whether its a PV, album cover or booklet, outfit etc I think its all about being able to look at a final project objectively and I question of Ayu or her team has that ability despite 15+ years in the industry.
I can't blame the industry's changes for the way things are because there are TONS of visual artists without Ayu's resources who are able to put out great work and PVs without compromising their image or vision.

sixxxxxx was amazing, I loved everything about it. It's very diverse but cohesive at the same time. Plus, I love the EP format when it's done properly (unlike LOVE and again :rolleyes).

"Summer diary" is adorable, and I think "Shape of love" is one of her best songs in recent years (for some reason it reminds me of some of her old songs, like "ever free.") :yes

Most of the Colours PV were directed by Ayu herself and her team... We can't really expect much from people trying a new ability for the first time, but this kind of experience changes her perspective and level of understanding while talking to directors in the future. So far the post Colours pvs were pretty much interesting, and this little experience probably has to do with it.

edit: I also find the PVs from Colours to be pretty bad in general too... I just think it's not a testment of anything other than her trying to take more creative control over her work.