FF VIII was such an amazing journey to me, my first big game, god it was so long ago ^^ I will play "Tales of" games cause they are somewhere in my plans but must feel "inspired" to do so. Currently when I have time I play other stuff.
Coming back to Ayu, I really like both Progress and Song 4 U, even without thinking that they are part of games, they somehow stand out on their own.

^I love FFVIII too. It was the first game I ever completed. So much nostalgic.

OMG, I didn't realise there was an English version!

I've never played Tales of Xillia but I did go into GAME to look at the box so I could see Ayumi's name on it lol. Maybe I should give them a try, I do love Progress and Song 4 U.

Has I’m not claiming it would have been the best, but I really love the combination of these songs. Reminds me like mirrocle world and life. You have this upbeat song which has this theme going on with the knights and dragons and on the other hand, words, is this beautiful ballad which doesn’t get boring (like not being 6 min. Long, having the same tone the entire time)

I really enjoy these two songs. Maybe because nobody gives value to them, that was my thought :D

Of course I’m talking for myself! Rule/sparkle is amazing too! Didn’t want to offend ayu discography :D:D:D:D

^100%

FFVIII was my very first JRPG. I was around 12 back then. It influenced my life greatly. I still think it’s better than VII.

As far as Tales of series goes, they had their fare share of good titles like Tales of the Abyss and everything up to Graces f. After that, they started to pump them up a bit faster (or so it seems) and the series has lost its spark fot me. Xillia 2 was probably the worst title in the series for me. Zesteria had so much potential, but the story and the characters are made of cliches and stereotypes so i am not sure whether it’s worth the time as there are a lot of great games out there.

It always surprises me that Ayu doesn't have many songs in video games. When I first listened to her music and realized how hugely popular she was for an entire decade, I was expecting to see her songs in many games but that's not the case at all.

Even though I haven't played much of Final Fantasy, I'll always be thankful to FFX-2 since it was my first contact with Japanese pop music. And that moment literally changed my life forever.

Now I'm nostalgic. :tipsy

Well, neither does Hikki or Namie...

Ken Hirai is having a concert in New York. Why can't Ayu do the same in America? She could treat the American fans to one or two shows. I think LA or Las Vegas would be perfect for her.

What's the chance of this happening? Ayu coming to America for one special concert?

I think it's possible considering how much she likes to travel to the US every so often but lately she's been in Hawaii more than LA or NY so maybe that would be the option as a smaller kind of show since Japanese fans would probably also go for a 'tour package' of Hawaii as well. While the chance isn't zero IMO, it just doesn't seem like she wants to do stuff overseas anymore. She barely acknowledges Asia anymore it seems after doing a-nation Singapore and that bit of "promo" with JJ Lin.

A long while ago, someone here potentially had Ayu as a candidate for their anime event in Australia but the price quoted to get Ayu over there was kind of extremely high, lol.

Gosh, I just rediscovered the cover of the "2CD version" of A SUMMER BEST on a blog and it truly is the only Ayu album cover I would describe with "horrific" xD

I was so shocked that I immediately had to check my digital discography in order to make sure the cover wasn't edited by some internet trolls :eek :laugh

Just popping in here to say the Remo-con remix of Wake me up is still INSANE. I probably rank it above the original tbh and I loved the original.

One of her worst covers ever lol The saddest thing is, she looks really stunning on the other pictures

I believe we can thank Leslie for those?

I agree. I love that remix a lot.

Yes, during that era he retouched her really weirdly like she was made of wax.

That cover is honestly the stuff of nightmares

Burn it tbh

It sounds sad but those covers are the reason I am not buying the physical release. I rather make my own Ayu summer playlist.

And the booklet is not great either. Even though I agree she looks good in some of the pics, it is such an awkward shoot.
There are plenty of magazine summershoots which looks so much more beautiful... wish she made a photoshoot for everything that time and used those instead of... this bloody nightmare.

It was probably Leslie's biggest flop with Ayu which is weird since he'd had so many good shoots with her till then. I wonder what got into him (and her) at the time with the contacts and funky editing on all the shoots they did together.

And again the TA Mail is about complete nonesense.... after my heart made a jump reading the word Single it was down to the ground very fast.....