Missing - Kazuhiro Hara. OMG I love this dude so much. All his songs are awesome. No surprise I'm already in love with Missing.

Yeah, the break works for me in the whole song...
I dont know if they could of just softened the music instead of a break though... It works for me and I like it, lol.

It does it at like 3:10 as well, but its not as noticeable...

Such a perfect mini. Even though Melody is far from the most interesting track, all of them are just top quality. I'm glad she decided to go back to her roots and do something similar to her older releases. It really works in her favor.

And i agree with AyuGAME, the sudden break makes the song seem more dramatic. I love it tbh.

Ok, finished listening it right now, and for me it's a good album. Song 4 u, Missing and Melody are nice and so are their instrumentals. :D About the remixes, I LOVED the You & Me ones, they're far better than the original. The orchestra version for Song 4 u is lovely :luv2 and the remixes for Missing and Melody are unlistenable, these two are the only things that ruin the album. And the final part on the instrumental ver. of You & Me it's pretty much a good ender, the piano part without Ayu's vocals made it very cute.

Overall, LOVE it's a good realease. :3

i'm sOOOO in love with LOVE. prefect in every single way. really love all the 3 brand new tracks n the orchestra version of song 4 u is pure greatness! Ayu realli did everything right for this new release :) soooo proud of her!

whoever says Melody is bad, he should be banned.

AWESOME release!!!!!!

Missing is epic!!!! one of ayu's best

i don't care about the remixes..

^^ dont hate cause its the truth.

Melody is such a weak link on this mini album... and it cant really afford to have weak links because its only 3 brand new songs...

Melody and it's remix... although the remix makes the original less dull.

Oh shut up

This is definitely a case of fact =/= opinion.

What is this weird ass Melody remix with this edited man voice..
Oh my word the Missing remix is AMAZING. Ayu needs more dubstep mixes.
I just don't like Melody, its remix, and the SHINICHI OSAWA mix of You & Me. The rest of this mini I really love. I would say it's definitely a step up from the last mini. Well, not that it's that hard to be a step up from that, but still.. better than it being worse :P

I can't believe how bad are the remixes. You have to be deaf to listen to such crap.
The Song 4 u orchestra version is nice but it sounds like every other orchestra remixes on the other singles. I feel that the remixes on the ayu-mi-x orchestra albums are much more unique.
I wish the drums part on the Song 4 u remix had been longer, à la Mirrorcle World.

Melody is just perfect, The end of the song is just incredibly beautiful.

Song 4 u orchestral mix made my morning.

I do believe everything on here is an opinion...
However I will say that some people agree with me.
It's a weak song.

real mature there..

By the way, I never said it wasn't a beautiful song, I said its weak. I love it as much as I love beloved (which is a better song, very relaxing). She just has WAY better songs out there.
But when it comes to having only 3 new songs I would have picked a better song... and definitely a better remix of that song.

While the Orchestra Version for Song 4 u is utterly amazing, the remixes, both old and new ones, sound pretty bad for me. I mean, dubstep with Missing? Seriously? If they can made a orchestra version of Song 4 u, they could also made acoustic versions for Missing or/and Melody, it could have turned out to be amazing mixes instead of the ones we've got. But that's my opinion, of course.

I like how in the melody lyrics ayu says

"I will send you a melody
even if it's not the best"

So true.

^ lol... I didn't even notice that.

lol :laugh

Ok I LOVELOVELOVE Missing. The arragments is pure perfect.

Imho, Melody is far better than beloved and maybe hbya. It's so nostalgic and her voice is soo good.
Not her best ballad but it's still enjoyable and it works well with other two songs for me.

Melody is a very cute song and I love how her voice becomes more powerful towards the ending! All of the three songs from this mini are really, really good.

Finally finished listening to LOVE and somehow I've been left kinda unimpressed... It's not a bad mini, but it's not great either. I think the 3 new songs are nice, but I didn't really feel anything while listening to them. I didn't necessarily love nor hate them, they sound just ok. They're not songs I'll listen on repeat but it's not like I'm not ever going to listen to them again.

I don't really know what to think. Well, I like either Missing or Melody the most out of the new songs. I still need to give them a few listens before I can decide.

I like the orchestra version of Song 4 U though, I think it's better than the original. And I have to say that I love the You & Me remixes, they're far better than the original mix. :heart It's a shame they were released in November since it's nearly winter where I live... If they were released earlier I'd probably been listening to them whole summer.

The other remixes are extremely uninteresting though, there's nothing that makes them stand out for me.

ok, the pictures and all three songs are all amazing. this single is simply amazing

They were released pretty soon after the album on Japanese iTunes... but unfortunately, they were not on a physical release until now.

^ Sorry, my bad! Somehow I've totally missed that, I thought they were released just now >_>

:roflmao

Song 4 u... I can't get over it!

Is this an official track or just fanmade?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=uCsgF458nLQ

Love the songs. Seems like she's been working on her vocals because there's no vibrato thingy she usually does.

^ lol there's vibrato! wth, are you all guys calling the vibrato exactly? that horrible thing she's used to do like on Green? lol no.... that's fake horrible vibrato. The REAL vibrato is there in all the 3 songs, like the ending of Melody, but it's natural and very subtile just like it should be, perfectly done imho.

I love her vocals. and Melody just gets me down on my knees, i mean the melody is just perfect for me, on it's own it's an amazing piece, my fave on the Mini. Even tho arangement wise i love Missing and Song 4 You more.
Remixes however, except for the orchestra one, can go die in a hole....they don't diserve to be on the mini whatsoever, it feels like Avex just threw whatever they got just to fill the CD in so they could call it "a mini album".... >_>

With this mini I had a feeling that I would only like Song 4 u and nothing else. Turns out I was right.

Missing is okay I guess, it's a song that I would skip more than listen to.
Melody is a snoozefest. I know lol opinions and all that, but it's one of those songs Ayu's been putting out lately that's so boring I can't even get through the whole thing.
Don't like You & Me, don't care for it's remixes.
Missing remix is awful.
What a mess the Melody remix is. At least it's not as boring as the original.

*keeps Song 4 u and Song 4 u Orchestra, deletes everything else*

Next mini, please.

It's not horrible. I like it when she does it but sometimes she goes over-board and of course, she could use more technical finesse. It's a beautiful sound, however. I think she grew up admiring Enka singers or something like that.

Its like she got her vibrato under control now. I still like it when she overdrives it but this sounds better. This album is pure perfection, even the remixes are great. I'm so in love with this mini album, I'm so happy. :) :D

^ Well obviously the "vibrato" she did in Green was a fake one, i'm no pro but i was very interested in actually developing one as it's possible with right breathing and technique and as far as i know the vibrato, the actual one should go straight from inside, relaxed and easy, not made by just simply moving the jaw like Ayu did back then. It was bad, all over the place. Now she seems to have gotten her techniques and breathing into the right place and it flows naturally, without being an absolute mess, it's gorgeous!

I don't know the terms so maybe someone else can help me out here. I think we are talking about two different things. What do you call the technique Enka singers use to make that "wailing" vibrato? I do see their jaws moving a little, although the sound is not entirely produced by moving their jaws. It sounds like Ayu is trying to do that.

^ don't you need to get training to be able to sing enka? *shrugs*

VERY pleased with this single (i refuse to call this a mini-album). Missing and Melody are both amazing, and she sounds so good. Good PVs, good covers, good songs... Really good job ayu!

Great single by Ayu ^__^

I really like all the 3 tracks and some of the remixes are oke~ Over-all, I am more than content with LOVE. Good work Ayu!

I love the you & me remixes!
I haven't heard them before, so they're new to me.
TBH it would have been better if Ayu snuck You & Me on here instead. It would not fit in at all, but its so weird to have the instrumental without the original.

Really love it!
Can't wait to have my own copy *-* And this makes me excited for the other minis as well (:

The vibrato isn't over the top, I remember listening to GUILTY and just wanting to stop because the amount of vibrato was ridiculous but this is nice because she isn't trying to be a ~diva~.

Her voice is nice in this album. Really great on Song 4 u, although overall that song is such a bore. Missing is nice, I will replay that one - probably too much seeing as it's the only one I crave to listen too. I'll await again.

Melody actually became my favorite song of the album. It's probably gonna become my holiday song this year... haha

It is definitely a single! Avex surely has their reasons why they want to avoid a 51st single so bad.

I like Missing's remix name: 'Dubscribe' :laugh

It's a pretty good mini-album, I'm curious for the next one.

Dubscribe and BROKEN HAZE are DJ names. You can find more of their work on Soundcloud!

It's from the Tales of Xillia 2 soundtrack. There are two versions of Song 4 u in instrumental 'arrange' form in the game. (No vocals)

Melody is being -so- underrated right now... it's not even funny.

Ah ! I can't wait to know again's tracklist now.
I actually like how "Song 4 u" sounds, because it slowly builds up to the epic chorus, but still it feels kinda unfinished to me somehow.

I think progress would have been about the same length as Song 4 u if there were no ballad intro. I like it the way it is, though it does seem a bit short for Ayu. One of her shortest songs from the last 4-5 albums for sure.

Yeah dunno, I just wanted my epic guitar solo, the amazing bridge, and a climax in the last chorus. :laugh
It would've been even more ayu-generic but I always LOVE (lol) her pop-rock tracks anyway !

guys just wait for the concert-edition next year to get the epic guitar solo.

I really didn't think they were going to re use photos for the booklet :thud

Song 4 u full version doesn't seem short at all. It's just strange the bridge after the first chorus, kinda feeling the copy&paste effect that is the short youtube version + tales of xillia. But I think this is a impression that will pass.

Missing is really good, really. But I still have mixed feelings about that sudden break in the ending. It doesn't give the feeling of... artistic thing, you know, seems like an error in the music. I hope the PV changes my mind.

Melody is lovely, I can't see the "filler" point that some are talking about. It sounds like a mix of Last Links + Sweet Season for me. I adore it. Don't love it, but it's good anyway. I will probably catch myself singing it without notice :P

The orchestra version seems generic but it's great tbh. Remixes... bleh.

But in overall, I'm really happy to see a new release of Ayu, and in a pretty good quality, she never really disappointed me but... I miss her so much.

Now, I want a experimental sound + winter ballad in "again"

no one has the full pvs right?

Thank you so much for clearing this up for me! I really love this "arrange" version, almost as much as Song 4 u.

About Missing though, I don't like the sudden pause and boom somewhere past midway in the song. Melody really surprised me, I thought that I was going to dislike this song because it was yet another ballad, but its actually really different and soothing to hear. Her vocals are also superb in all these tracks.

:yes

I love Melody so much! :love

I like Last Links. I love Sweet Season.

Melody's chorus by the preview seemed nice. It still is nice I believe (only listened once). But the verses are not so interesting. I will have to listen again but yeah...

yeah... melody is now my favourite. when i first listened to it i thought it was meh.. boring.. but now..i really like it !

You knowwwwwww
I kinda sorta maybe slightly somewhat a touch wanna take back everything bad I said about Melody. I kinda sorta maybe slightly somewhat a touch like it.

Melody is growing on me more and more <3

Yeah, Melody is usually the type of ayu song that I kind of like but never listen to. But I love it lol, especially the chorus.

I love all the songs on this mini quite a lot. Like I was pretty excited to hear them.

About the PVs... with so much potential, badly executed. Something like Return Road suffered more recently.

Really, I think it's time to change her cast of directors. Nothing really happens and it doesn't have the minimal logic, "story" or variation in the scenes. I'm not asking too much, it just that I don't want to see Ayu in a pretty scenario doing the same thing for a long time 'till the music stops. Only.

I think the last PV that I really liked and said OMFG THIS IS AWESOME was "Don't look back", and we're talking about 2010, yeah.

Song 4 u and Missing deserved more, and the outfits for the first one were fantastic. It's a shame..

I just hope they don't take a "trendy" director of nowadays who just want to make a party, dancing scene, multiple colors, young people, fashion clothes, jewelry, fake trendies and stuff. This would be horrible. Or not. I'm wondering about it now sincerely.

^ :) and don't forget to include Pitbull, XD

^^I agree with you that Rock'n'Roll Circus PVs were stunning (minus Lady Dynamite).

But I have to give credit to the director for attempting to do something more artsy than direct in your face. I mean, we have had PVs like You were... and crossroad which lie more on the subtle and nuanced side. (and these PVs are clearly on another level compared to Shake It and NaNaNa ><).

I kinda foresaw that Song 4 u would not have any 'violence' LOL. If they were to make a CG PV, then any physical contact between the ayu would be so fake..and different for Ayu herself. Yes, inspired from the McQueen show but I believe the steps were thought out and crafted by the directors and producers. The McQueen show didnt really have the models memorise anything..lights help to light the way. The idea I got from the PV was that, no matter what you do, what step you take, you have to face yourself ultimately, face your other self.

In Missing, we kinda compare it to BALLAD because of the setting. In BALLAD, we had this unreal tall grassland and how Shuya was sending letters upwards to Ayu (who was alive). Its as though reality was ABOVE. But in Missing, reality seems to be grounded. People floating upwards (they could be souls, they could be dead, they could symbolize memories) and disappearing ultimately. It just seemed to me like the reverse of BALLAD. The last scene just reinforces the (continued) idea that Ayu is alone.

well, at least thats what I perceive from the PV. Not that I'm imposing a meaning on it but kinda how I viewed it. Still, they are incredible songs..and of course we would love something with a more direct message and all.

And calvin harris for good measure.

Please no. xD

I love Melody the most out of the new tracks. I'm still really thinking of this release as a maxi-single, since I don't really listen to remixes and these ones don't seem like anything special... :innocent

Probably "Melody" PV will be on "again" album~~maybe~~

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=539314802749157

there is a full Song 4 u PV on this Ayu fanpage (if it doesn't work, then propably you must like the fanpage)

I'm quite dissapointed, but I was prepared for that. I still love how this PV looks, it chess theme etc. Too bad is so short and nothing really happens :P

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...e=3&permPage=1

Missing full PV is there too.

Nothing more than in the preview. She's not so emotional that she used to be xD

Funny that the Rock'n'Roll Circus PVs are mentioned because Masashi Muto did a lot of those. (and he later did almost everything on Love songs, FIVE, and Party Queen.)

I kinda wish she'd work with Hideaki Sunaga (Don't look back, GAME) for a PV soon but Masashi seems to be her go to guy.

The only issue nowadays really is that she has one director basically doing EVERYTHING as opposed to having two by one director, two by someone else, and one by another.

she needs to get a whole new slew of people to director her videos...
they have been pretty bad since RnR circus... :(

^yup
I'm tired of Masashi Muto= =

Ok, Melody is still ma fav song of the mini.
I love it so much! It's indeed a great melody! :D
Not comparable to beloved or Sweet Season at all for me, cause I hate those songs, lol.
Missing is nice as well, though something is missing for me right know (hm, no pun intended! XD ).
Still don't care about Song 4 u, pretty boing for me.

Yea i know. he's style really varies. He probably has amazing concepts but sometimes the execution comes across as appearing subtle and vague.

Microphone and SLT were just to-die-for PVs. Virgin Road as well. I think he aces better at the more ambitious outdoor shoots (hbya being one exception)? Return Road (to me) was actually rather nice. but NaNaNa..i dnno what happened.

Yes Hideaki Sunaga omgawd. please come back

oh, please, stop it :p lol...

its just going to be one of those ballads that you will end up being content with, almost on the verge of bringing you to tears because it has some hidden special potential . It's just so bland that there is nothing special about it. Not saying it wont go down in history as a classic ballad years later, but as of right now... its just...
bland. (this is how I felt about Dearest way back in the day, but now love it... so I think Ill give it 2/3 years... lol)

lololol >D

im prepared and already set my mind for this :tired


btw, I really really LOVE melody, the arrangement and the base sounds good,the piano at the end is perfect and overall it sounds like a boyband song :luv2

Missing 's arrangement is godly!

Song 4 U, still i wish it would be longer ,somehow I prefer the orchestra version, glorious tale feel in there!

My favourite song on the Album is "Missing". I really love that song. But Song 4 you and Melody also really good song. But I wished, the PV's would be a bit more interessting. It is nice to watch.. but nothing really happens.

Damn I'm beginning to hate Masahi Muto. His PVs always have potential etc, but they're so damn boring sometimes. Is it because of a lack of budget ?! Because honestly I don't think they're spending SO much for these...
I mean, she might have shot a lot of different scenes for "Song 4 u", the idea was original and it seems very well executed, but in the end nothing's happening tbh. So disappointed of it... "Missing" is beautiful but basically after 1 min you've seen the whole video.

It's like they're relying on ONE original thing all the time to make the whole PV interesting ? :rolleyes

I haven't wholeheartedly "loved" a video of Ayu's since BALLAD, everything since then have been either mediocre or just okay. However i really appreciate the Song 4 U PV.. idk why, it just does it for me. I don't love it but it was a nice little surprise, the concept is nice and she looks amazing.

The Missing PV was pretty boring though. Ayu looked stunning! especially in the last scene when she stopped singing, but overall it was the same thing through the whole video. I ain't mad though, considering the songs are FLAWLESS.

All I need now is a *new* PV that could get a twist (even a little, like Ayu in feathers in Moments or a "death" in BRILLANTE) or a costume changes (and backround, like Lady Dynamite, GREEN etc) . Cause they share the same schematic all over, - one good stylisation aaaand that's it. She stands there. Sometime sits.

As far I don't like the cheesy You & Me PV story, I appreciate it have both of it (scenery/costume change + a little twist in the end)

I knew that Melody will grow on a lot of people eventually, it's too beautiful not to.

Well, a lot of ayu's recent PV compromise commercial (interest) for art.

I pray there is an acoustic version of melody on again!!!

The only thing that bugs me is the insufficient length of "Song 4 u". Someone please make an extended version!

She needs to work with Joseph Khan, or some other high budget director.

YES it Should be in the next release, please Ayu!

i didnt regret having faith in this song from beginning,even though many said that Melody is boring and easily forget from the first preview :innocent

personally i'm soo in love with all 3 tracks but my personal fav is definitely Melody. the song is stunning in every way. especially the ending when Ayu sing in her upper range.. such a pretty way to end the song. I can definitely see Melody as a concert staple last song :)
I'm SOOOO in love with Ayu again with this new release -happiness-

This would be amazing :luv2

Song 4 U and Missing have grown on me after seeing the PVs, especially S4U. I'm starting to really like all 3 new songs, maybe I'll fall in love with them after a few more listens. :P

I would say anything would be better then the original version, but then i heard that remix. :headache lol

i think "LOVE" is such a good mini album! :) "Melody" is lovely & "Missing" and "Song 4 u" are amazing, as well. now i look forward to "again" and to the other releases from this anniversary project!

I hope that we could get another high budget and produced video for this year. Ayu usually does one in the even years xD

2010 - Virgin Road
2008 - GREEN
2006 - Jewel

Hypothesis, hypothesis, don't take it so seriously

Song 4 u was composed by HINATAspring & Yuta Nakano. Is it HINATAspring's first time with ayu? (I think it is?) Song 4 u is also #1 on the real time ranking of uta-net it was #17 weekly at the debut last week (most popular lyrics website in japan lol). Not that it says anything sales wise.

Ugh, the videos are so boring. So disappointed. She looks good, but the videos are so stupid.

^ they are...simple and may be borring, but what's so stupid about them exactly?

People need to see action and stunts to be impressed, nowadays. I personally loved both PV's.

Has the CD started to ship for anyone yet?

Not me.. sadness.. I want my copy, yesterday. lol

I don't want to see action and stunts tbh, I agree her PVs aren't horrible or anything but I wish there were interesting things happening in them. But the problem is also that she's working SO MUCH with Masahi Muto it's getting really boring. I like his style, he's got a lot of great ideas, but in the end his videos are really similar recently.
Glad some people like them though !

This entire EP is just one big disappointment. The songs, the videos. Some of the remixes are decent I guess, Song 4 U has potential given a rearrangement and Missing is great when you ignore how rehashed it is, but as one of her special 15th anniversary releases this is just...lazy.