"RAINBOW."
Ayu fandom-wise, this was the climax for me.
The singles leading up to the album were epic, even if remixes had suddenly died down (which disappointed EVERYONE). "independent," "HANABI," and "Free & Easy" are to this day 3 of my favorite ayu songs of all time, and they were a more raw style for her than usual so everyone was excited.
By the time RAINBOW came out, we'd just heard "Real me" in a D-Snap CM and this sudden use of English was intriguing to us. I remember everyone trying to understand what she said
The album came out around Christmas, so i was home from college on winter break. This album's release felt like a Christmas present even though I didn't actually own the album until much later. Christmasy arrangements like those for "Dolls" and "Close to you" really made it feel like Christmas to listen to the album.
I remember the rumors about the tracklist and the album's length leading up to the album, hearing the instrumental "RAINBOW" clip, and everyone being anxious for the "single" (which was originally the plan) of the full song to come out.
AHS was jumping at the time, I was working on my ayu discography/database with yaten at ayu-mi-x, and all of us really felt the high-tension atmosphere surrounding the album's release.
Good times, good times.