yeah next week's MUSIC STATION's performance is going to be awesome just like for this week's

EDIT - HK press of LOVE is BEST is up for preorder on HMV HK & it will be out next Fri , same thing goes for avex Taiwan's - http://www.hmv.com.hk/product/japanese.asp?sku=771082

I think the packaging will be the normal edition since it's not mentioned as 初回版 (limited edition) in here

looks like a good show :D

i hope her popularity goes up now~!
the NINKI is awesome, she will get to number 1 for sure :)

it's a best album, i would be surprised if it didn't sell well :P
looking forward to her new lives!

omg i need those LOVE EYES! they're so cute! i love all the pink on the album :luv2

Promo! :D

I love the love eyes. XD

the LOVE EYES look like it's being made from paper instead of plastic to me

hmmm guess I will find out when my copy arrives from Taiwan next week or so & inital 1st pressings also contains picture labelled disc(s) & it's housed in a digipak

the "LOVE EYES" look so cheap...

Did everybody else expect them to be actual plastic and all nice like the real ones, hah?? I actually expected cheap gumball crap. XD

Yeah, I expected them to be crappy and made out of paper. :laugh These actually look better than what I was expecting. LOL.

If I get a job soon, I'm totally getting this CD if not just for the cover. :P

I thought of getting the album from my Taiwan friend Cliff but then eh I decide to wait for the Hong Kong press to be made available here

My feeling's that it's not really that worth it to spend $ getting her stuff online T_T

I don't mind the wait since there's only like what 5 new recordings & song available in here

I just worry how the glasses will be packaged... lol anyone even if I get it, I think I will wear it for Halloween 2010.

has anyone heard the ~Wedding~ version of Amaenbo ?

she sounded a lot more emotional as compared to the original take of the song . I can't really detect any form of wedding influence in there though

waaa the CD case looks so cool! cant wait to buy it!! and i actually reallo love the LOVE EYES XDD

i thought japanese people were crazy about bests?

usually best albums tend to sell well but it depends on the artiste at the end of the day

I hope LOVE is BEST at most can sell better than LOVE LETTER D:

her pet bunny LOVE will be getting a Taiwan press release of LOVE.IT EP next Fri

收錄於11/20 預定發行迷你專輯「LOVE / LOVE.IT」中

yeah lol that's why i said i thought it would sell good!

oh lol i read your post wrong XD

^* This should definitely sell better than LOVE LETTER. (Honestly, LOVE LETTER did slightly better than I thought it would. That album isn't that good at all. :X)

LOVE LETTER is one of my favorites. it's not exactly exciting, but it's easy listening. there isn't any "PON PON" or "Katorisenkou" ruining the album

oh my.. the love eyes really looks like made out of paper. abit disappointing though. of cos the digipak is more cool to me. but is too pink!!

as expected or not , LOVE is BEST debuted at #1 today with 22,895 copies - http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/d/

^ really? :(

lol yeah . Oricon confirmed it already on their site so I'm not lying on that

http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/d/

awww.. too low sales.. where is Ai fandom

That is not very muchO_o especially for a best album.

But to be honest it is a weird best album with few single songs and these ones are also in other versions.

So it is okay in a way...

only her diehard fans will get it seeing the tracklist's quite meh

that's true

I hated the tracklist initally because she excluded Cherish , Plantearium , Kingyo Hanabi & even Kurage Nagareboshi too T_T

Yes very disappointing decissions to left most of the best songs out=(

yeah.. i didn't really pay much attention to the tracklist before but i listened to LOVE is BEST today and a lot of the songs i was like "umm what? why is this on a best album?" a lot of the songs don't seem like songs that would be favorites among fans (besides sakuranbo and a couple others..)

indeed . I think if that didn't happen , LOVE is BEST's sales will be much higher

that goes the same for me as well

I honestly don't like her B-sides in anyway possible with the exception for rearrangements of some of her A-sides but other than that T_T

The same for me I was really shocked as I saw the tracklist when I already had the album yesterday.

She would have maybe sold up to 4 times as much as now, if she would have released a "real" Best album.

i'm also happy she's at #1, at least :P if she can sell 100k overall, i'd be satisfied, lol.

lol it's more like a b-side collection + ai hits than a best compilation anyway. :P

i guess its more like ai's favorites? or maybe they included less popular songs so that people will notice these too,,

yay for #1!!

Now that you say it I think that's maybe the answer to this weird tracklist.

Those Love Eyes are kinda freaky, LOL.

YEAH! That's what it did for me! I discovered a lot of new songs from this album. I really like it.

Yay for #1 at least (:

wohooo! congrats to aichan ^_^
and I really like the tracklist! there are many of my favorite ai's songs :yes

i would say Ai's favourite love songs. that is the theme of the album.

---

there is a photo gallery of the making of the aisu×time PV at excite.

also at excite, an interview with photoshoot:

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/675/topyk.th.jpg http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/4...view01a.th.jpg http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4...view01b.th.jpg http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/7...view01c.th.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/2...view02a.th.jpg http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/433...view02b.th.jpg http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/2...view02c.th.jpg http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/9...view03a.th.jpg http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/7...view03b.th.jpg http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4...view03c.th.jpg http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/6618/35055065.th.jpg

images courtesy of Channel-Ai.

not bad...good luck Ai

Man, I was shocked when I read the sales, but.... Like a few others mentioned, this isn't the best...you know, best album, so... :shrug I mean, I've heard a few reviewers complain that her first best was only singles, but I think that's how it should be. Because 90% of the time, a singer's best songs are from singles. And that was totally the case in Ai's first best. The tracklist for that is amazing; I love nearly every song on there.
So, at least she got number one! :yes

Butbutbut... I like PONPON. XD (I realise that not many do though, lol! :laugh)

I seriously think she should have included:

Natsu Sora

^ Yes!!! I absolutely love that song. :heart So soothing, yet so powerful.

was this posted before?

大塚 愛 LOVE is BEST Tour 2009 Collectibles :

http://i35.tinypic.com/xojg3q.jpg

-> http://www.avexnet.or.jp/ai/news/091112.html

is she already on the tour again?

I want the bag and pink tee!

nope but thanks for posting them I haven't seen them yet either

anyway I was at HMV earlier on . They brought in the Japan press / 1st press / CD only of LOVE is BEST

LOL the LOVE GLASSES are stuffed in between the packaging LMAO xD . I think it's being folded -_-'''

I LOVE PONPON XDDDD

hmmm but if she included that song it wouldnt be LOVE is BEST anymore :P since its a sad song and all,,


i love her tour goodiess!!!! i want that bag!! :luv2

^ Glad there's at least one more fan. :P

Ooh, I like her goods! (Wait, that sounded wrong...meh.) I would like the sweat bands, and the bangles, and the little silver chain thingy with mini black bag thingy, and....are those neon markers??? :thud Or just fancy glowsticks, I assume?.. :(

Nice to see that LOVE is BEST got number one.

The sales were kinda predicted, imo:

-Very "hardcore fan" BEST with bunchs of B-Sides, Sakuranbo, Daisuki Dayo. and Renai Sashin were obviously there to "blockbust" the sales a bit including some of her biggest hits (tho Sakuranbo has been overused to death, I don't think it was a wise decision to try to sell it again). Unknown songs don't really boost people's interest to buy it, since they may think "if it was a B-side and didn't end up in an album, probably is not such a good song".

-Only two versions, which is ok, if not because they had the same exact covers.

-Beautiful and artistic cover, but Ai didn't really look like Ai (maybe this was a little offputing? I mean, at first glance it doesn't looks like Ai Otsuka (and her name is not on the cover)) tho this is more secondary.

-Lack of promotion, she has not been on TV yet, nor magazines (that I know of).

omg i want ALL of those collectibles :love

i like natsu sora too. i like a lot of her b-sides actually. especially hoshikuzu

Ooh, I like Hoshikuzu, too. :yes Funny, I never hear about her B-sides. And they aren't terrible like a lot of artists' are. :\

Posted by eye on jpm :

feature at excite
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/675/topyk.th.jpg http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/4...view01a.th.jpg http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4...view01b.th.jpg http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/7...view01c.th.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/2...view02a.th.jpg http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/433...view02b.th.jpg http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/2...view02c.th.jpg http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/9...view03a.th.jpg http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/7...view03b.th.jpg http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4...view03c.th.jpg http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/6618/35055065.th.jpg

pictures from Channel-Ai

she looks so hot! *_*

^ i saw those earlier. that is not a good look for ai D:

i personally love it. it's more mature :yes

LOVE is BEST does come with a booklet right? i really want to see pics inside it

She looks more mature and hot after her first time in aisu x time.

Good for her.

Oricon update the page. She fell to #2 with 10,201.

X->1->2 - Otsuka Ai - 22,895 + 10,201 = 33,096
X->2->1 - Hikawa Kiyoshi - 12,121 + 13,148 = 25,269

She looks incredibly natural in those pictures and she looks gorgeous, but man oh man...those clothes. :laugh Usually I like her clothes, but even this is too much for me. :P

I agree. She doesn't look bad, by any means, in those pictures, but the darker and more "mature" look isn't best for her. And not just because she's been playing up the cutesy act for years now. She just has that baby face and super cute expressions that don't mix best with mature styles.
But having said that, it's a really nice change. She looks very pretty in these photos.

And yeah. Ugly outfit. XP But whatever. We all have those days, lol.

she's giving me Aoyama Thelma vibes in these pics especially with those shots that she's wearing a hat D:

but other than that , really nice shots of her . It's quite stripped down/laid back as compared to what you can see for LOVE is BEST's case

wow cool I thought I was the only one who assumed that :laugh

Are these shots taken by Kazuyoshi Shimomura ? because he shot the covers for Aoyama's Todoketai ... single

her hair is gross lol. but very mature and sexy look!

ALBUMS:
X->1->2->2 - Otsuka Ai - 22,895 + 10,201 + 6,867 = 39,963
X->2->1->1 - Hikawa Kiyoshi - 12,121 + 13,148 + 10,564 = 35,833

^ the sales are OK to me. i think that the album will sell about 50 k in it's first week and about 70 k in total . . .

too bad that she isn't gonna get weekly number one position :/
but i sure hope so <3 i will get my copy in next week yay.

i think the sales are disappointing. i mean for a best album, even though these aren't really her BEST songs on it, i'd expect it to sell at least 100k. oh well. ai is just becoming one of those underrated artists now i guess.

anyway, here is her "Is" live at music station! i love it! i love all the hearts and that she wears the glasses. that hair is out of control though lol

her vocals aren't as good as usual though imo

I think the hairstylist went overboard with her hairdo -_-'''

it looks like BANG it has been blowed up or something LOL & did you see the MS lady host ? omg her hair's just xD

LMAO @ her hair :roflmao its awful :dead2

i loved the performance!!! those glasses are epic XDD

i like the perfomance :) those glasses are just weirs ;o
luckily, i'm getting them haha.

the hair isn't "weird" or "awful" to me, maybe it's BIG and FUZZY, but still kinda normal :D

omg the avex ladies have a 'fried hair' fetish this year??? Ayu in NEXT LEVEL covers; Kuu in the Lick me <3/ECSTASY performance at a-nation, then Ai NOW with this hideous hairdo!

anyway, the glasses are SO BOOMZ and attention-grabbing! I would use the glasses on a game of truth & dare man

Kanjani∞'s Yokoyama You most recently had that fried/blown up hairdo in the group's latest PV for their single Kyu☆Jou☆Show !!

except his's a wig LOL :laugh

I luved the "Is" performance! :luv2
it was awesome with those hearts around the stage omg *_*

i think people are trying to bring the 80's hair back or something. it really should stay in the past lol

^ totally... that sort of hair looks gross on anyone who has it in avex so far... major eew

thank you fo9r the performance! :)

new promo pic from her official website
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/285/loveisbest4.th.jpg

wow I see Kame in her there heh heh

I think it's the hair & the prop that's talking 8D

i really like the hair in the promo pics :heart she looks gorgeous!! thankyou identity :luv2

I love the new photos, I really like that Ai is getting away from the cute image, she can't stay cute forever...I mean won't it be disturbing to see her still acting that way when she's 40? XD
Also what's wrong with the hair? :S I like it. :\

For Japan, I don't think it'd be "disturbing" to see Ai still acting cute at forty. But I would definitely want her to tame it down a bit, lol.

And no. Don't like that hair. Nobody looks good with frizzy hair that big. :\

you're welcome guys.
so there are some new LOVE strap/keychains or something being released on the same day of the LOVE mini album? they're kind of cute!
http://i33.tinypic.com/27zi4nr.jpg
http://locomusic.jp/love/info/091112.html
they each have the name of one of the songs on the mini album lol

omg i'm a sucker for these little things :luv2 just adorable!

Awww, those are really cute! I want the RED EYE one...

LOL@ her glasses
cant stop laughing

I was listening to her song planetarium (its like one of my favorite songs) and my mom was like shouting from the living room "what are u listening to!!? Is that a cat?" -____- Her new look is pretty cool

^ Lol! D: She has a high pitched voice, but I actually think Ai is one of the few J-Pop singers who doesn't sound real squeaky and animal like, lol..

ROFLMAOOOOOOOOOOOO

my first impression about her voice is same like your mom.

:roflmao

omg Bryan your mum's cool man lmao

LOL. I like her hair in that performance. :tipsy I actually like the whole thing, and Is is really growing on me now. :yes I'm really starting to like it. :D And I laughed so hard when I saw that ALL of the band is wearing those love eye things. :laugh

OMG THOSE BUNNYS ARE SO CUTE!!!!!!! i want the starlight one!!!! i hope theyll sell them at YA, this would fit perfectly on my new bag <33 and it better not be expensive :grumpy