[koumori]

Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan

I don't feel as proud of her work as I used to. Her releases used to be super on trend and had high production value. They were weird and cool and beautiful and thought provoking.

But tbh from 2008 onwards I'd say her quality deteriorated. It's as if she completely forgot how to act... She got very flamboyant in a stereotypical diva way.

However, I'm still very interested in her work.

This is a good summarisation of my thoughts too. I used to be proud to show Ayu latest works to people, but these days it's pre-2010 stuff if the subject of J-Pop ever comes up. I just think her more modern direction is less in touch with the unique aspect of her which made 'Ayumi Hamasaki' relatable.