BRILLANT PV interpretations

[ImpactBreaker]

Ok, this is how I interpret the bizarre PV after reading the lyrics:

Putting all those strong seminude men in the video, to me, it shows both they can be seem as strong invicible people but their nudity also means vunerability. They seem to be getting ready for a war or something.

ayu and Timmy were two people, until they met and became "one".

ayu is Cleopatra which is one of the strongest women symbols we have in story, however, I think part of her strength had something to do with her love for Julius Cesar (was it, or am I wrong? lol). Ayu is strong, but just while she still is "one" with Timmy. Can you see how Timmy influences her and her actions during the scenes they appear together? He also seems to protect her pretty intimately. I've read some people saying that his acting was bad, but I actually thought it was pretty good. There are times Timmy is so close to ayu that they almost seem like they're blending together (I just hope he doesn't have bad breath, otherwise it must have been a terrible part for ayu to film hahah j/k).

ayu's closeness to timmy made her blind to her own strength. Made she feel like she was someone very strong when in fact she was not (there's a part in the lyrics that mention this).

In the last part of the video, you see ayu and Timmy in the top of the male pyramid. It means ayu is strongger than all those men, but the reason is, because she's "one" with Timmy.

Even when ayu is all scared and fragile, as one, Timmy still stands strong and comfort her, so their whole is still that of a strong person.

Once they "break up" and ayu leaves the top of the pyramid to face the road of life alone, she gets ready for war, like all the crusaders there, but she realizes she's actually very fragile and gets severely hurt by the seastream of men. That means, once they become "two" (aka, get separated from each other) ayu finally realizes she is not strong anymore. However, since she already made the decision of leaving and was hurt, she wasn't able to get back anymore..... (I coundn't see anything
After that, I saw everything
The road ahead is too narrow
And I can no more walk on, side by side with you)

The present she talks about in the lyrics is just showing gratitude to how this person was so important in her life, even though they broke up.

Well, hope it made any sense lol

Originally Posted by masa

I decided that this is my last time to write
Thinking of you
I don't tell you the reason
This is the biggest present from me

A human is much stronger
Than I thought, isn't he?
I've stayed in the darkness a little longer
But it's time to go

I coundn't see anything
After that, I saw everything
The road ahead is too narrow
And I have no choice but to walk alone

When tha pain becomes
Far beyond the reach of imagination

There is no more energy left
To be able to cry or shout
A human is entirely
Caught in nothingness, isn't he?

What had been two
Became one, and became two
It's no more than that
We've just come full circle, haven't we?

I coundn't see anything
After that, I saw everything
The road ahead is too narrow
And I can no more walk on, side by side with you

[ExodusUK]

Hmm I don't have my own interpretation, yours looks good. If you watch the making of, Leslie says those guys are Ayu's protectors/warriors

[ImpactBreaker]

^yeah, I think they are cleopatra's army, something like an invicible army, but since she's their leader I interpret that she's supposed to be "stronger" than all of them together.

[AyumiAi]

I figure it's something a bit different, i wont interpret the entire music video but i think that a message is like she may have all these protectors shielding her from anything coming in from the outside, yet the most harmful thing to her is coming from the inside of her defences (Timmy) i think is someone she trusted and didnt realize he/she was just using her to get what she wanted. I think that thats why when Ayu dies (takes her own life i think like Cleopatra did in order to escape from Octavius she does so to escape from Timmy) Timmy is so sad because he's lost his prize or medium for power, without her he loses her power, almost like the controlling advisor of an emperor, as soon as the emperor is gone then that advisors position in the court is questioned.
Anyways thats what i think, i think Timmy is meant to be a negative symbol not positive.

[ImpactBreaker]

The reason I think he's not the bad person, but actually the good one there is because:

-ayu doesn't get hurt in his hand, but just when she attempts to get through the narrow road of men.
-Timmy looks extremely concerned when ayu attempts to get out of the throne, which was ayu's decision, not his (and in a expression like OMG I fear the pain she's going to face or the dangers not in a OMG I fear I'm going to lose my power).
-He really looks shocked when she comes back severely hurt and dead
-She often resort to his embrace when she's feeling all fragile and crybaby
-She seems to share some smiles alongside him

I feel like he praises her fiercely to be strong, and she becomes far stronger than she is supposed to be, but once she leaves the throne to face everything alone, she's just weak and gets crushed, and there's nothing else he can do anymore.

But maybe the lyrics mean otherwise. I do have the feeling the lyrics mean about painfully parting from someone but then realizing the lonely road is not easy, but I could be interpreting it the wrong way lol I think she wrote the lyrics as a thanks to someone she parted from since she says "this message is the biggest present", which I think there's no irony meant.

[AyumiAi]

I can see where you'r getting that from, but it works totally differently, (just my opinion really) i think that all the concern he has for Ayu isnt really based out of actually caring for her but being worried that if something bad should happen to her (like an agency concerned about their major product getting hurt it means less revenue for them) he is actually concerned about what happens to her, doesnt want her to get hurt but not because he cares about HER but because he cares about the repercussions her being harmed could have on his own career or position, i feel Ayu goes back to him yes for comfort but not because he's good but because she's naiive and couldnt see the harm that he brought to her. Thats why she's so concerned with protecting herself from the outside and doesnt worry about that which is on the inside, lyrics wise it could be apart parting from someone who has for so long guided (not necessarily in the right direction) her and now she has to make decisions on her own, of her own free will.

[Chibi-Chan]

I like your interpretations but wanted to say somethimg to Cleopatra, Gaius Iulius Caesar and Marcus Antonius. I don't want to critizes you, just to inform, maybe it's also helpful for your interpretations?

Cleopatra wanted to consolidate and to expand her empire, but wasn't able to reach her goal against the world power Rom. That's the reason for her romance with Gaius Iulius Caesar. This romance was just about power.
After Gaius Iulius Caesar got murdered she entered the romance with Marcus Antonius. Historians suppose because of the same reasons she had a romance with Gaius Iulius Caesar. Marcus Antonius was a supporter of Gaius Iulius Caesar and after his death he became one of the most powerful men of Rom and got into conflict with Octavian (later Empereor Augustus). After a sea battle Marcus Antonius lost against Octavian he withdrawed himself in Cleopatra's palace. One year later when he hadn't any chance to escape Octavian he got the news that Cleopatra commited suicide and killed himself with his sword. But his mortal combat lasted long and he learned that Cleopatra was alive. In the end Marcus Antonius died in Cleopatras arms. A few days later Cleopatra also killed herself. This is at least the sentimental melo-dramatic story which is told from the antique sources. (And of course I left a lot out)

What I found very intresting was a documentation about Marcus Antonius I watched in TV. In this documentation the historians said that some of them think that at least Marcus Antonius loved Cleopatra. Because he had married in Rom and had the chance to go back before the sea fight but he didn't left Cleopatra.

[ImpactBreaker]

^I don't take it as criticism. I was actually expecting someone to explain Cleopatra's story more accurately since it's been years since I heard anything about it. Thanks for the insight guys

[AyumiAi]

Yea, thats also pretty much Shakespear's play Anthony and Cleopatra, however in Shakespear's play (which im sure is not accurate) Cleopatra actually loved Caesar, and so when Caesar leaves her she is so depressed and angry that she vows never to be used again by a man like that, which is why she is so controlling and powerful with regards to her personality. C

[Tony G]

I like your interpretation. But I have to agree and say I don't think "Timmy" is a positive character. The body language in the PV clearly shows he is controlling Ayu's decisions, making her upset, but she goes along with it maybe because she has some sort of affection for him.

Then at the end, when they "break up", he turns on her and Timmy/the army end up killing their leader. But you are probably right in that he seemed "shocked" when she dies, maybe they didn't mean to kill her but their power overcame her.

[Dolly_FACE]

I kinda thought the same as AyumiAi when it comes to Timmy's 'character'.

In short though i got the impression that the army of soldiers represented ayu's fans and Timmy perhaps Avex? Esp the scene on the throne where she tries to leave/escape from Timmy, i feel like she was hoping the men(fans) would understand and help her down and away from the throne at the top of the pyramid(representation of her place in the music industry maybe?) However they just pushed her back up again as they didn't want her to leave...

Still not sure about the earlier scenes and the death though...

Off topic but Hatshepsut (what we know about her anyway) was a far more powerful and successful female monarch of Egypt than Cleopatra imo. Look her up if you like Egyptian history.=]

[ImpactBreaker]

I can't see a relation with avex, fans and leaving the business with the lyrics though. I personally think the lyrics have some relation to the PV, either Timmy being good or bad lol, since she's talking about going apart from someone.

Originally Posted by Tony G

The body language in the PV clearly shows he is controlling Ayu's decisions, making her upset, but she goes along with it maybe because she has some sort of affection for him.

I thought more clearly than upsetness that it seemed to show confidence by her part, even when she was crying since the moments she seemed more disturbed by her fears she was actually getting closer to him, reaching for protection rather than trying to put him away (which didn't happen a single moment in the video).

[AyumiAi]

I think she shows she doesn't want to be with Timmy when she's spazzing cuz instead of taking her away from him the men start to bring her back to him

[ayumisrael]

I love your interpretation Impactbreaker! Great job!
Now for ayu's rest of PVs!! lol j/k

[*hearT_Place*]

Reposting my interpretation from the FIVE PVs thread here:

Spoiler:

The first time I watched this video, I really didn't like it. It seemed to use a lot of tropes that I don't like: Lots of men who exist just to do Ayu's bidding and, especially, Ayu deifying herself. Plus, I found the scene where she is being pulled off of the chair really scary. The atmosphere of the song didn't seem to fit with the music video *at all*, and I kind of wondered where her head had been at when she made the video.

HOWEVER, then I watched it a second time, and have a completely different view of it. It seems to me to be a portrayal of how women are viewed by patriarchal cultures, and how damaging that portrayal is to women (and men). In patriarchal cultures, women seem to be separated into two groups: virgins or *****s, "good" women or "bad" women. When "good" women do something that isn't the epitome of femininity, they are punished severely, and men see women in general as dolls or flowers they can do anything with. The "good" women are whom I primarily see this video as being about.

Patriarchal cultures put "good" women, women who are the epitome of their notions of femininity, on a sort of a pedestal. They lift them up as fragile flowers or porcelain dolls, praising their beauty like they're a group of demi-goddesses. This view of femininity has a very, very dark side to it, and I'll talk about two reasons why here. One, flowers and porcelain dolls are good for nothing other than looking beautiful; without beauty, these things are worthless. Or, let's say the flower has medicinal properties; to exploit those properties, one must crush the flower, destroying its beauty. So, in these cultures, women can either be independent and contribute to society in a fulfilling way (the "bad" woman), or beautiful and vapid (the "good" woman), not both (in the 1800s, when a woman was sick, doctors prescribed the rest cure, which meant that their husbands shut them in a room, forced them to be fully dependent on others, and forbade them from any sort of intellectual stimulation. Intelligence was not natural in a woman).
Two, in these cultures, consent is nonexistent. Men believe that they can do anything they want to with, and to, women, no matter the woman's feelings or thoughts on the situation. In fact, her thoughts don't matter at all. Any pain or fear or anguish she's feeling doesn't matter at all. She's just a beautiful doll meant to give pleasure to men.

In these cultures, the female form is used as a symbol time and time again. Look at ancient Greece. That society was incredibly misogynistic (Zeus forced Hera to marry him, and Pandora, the first woman, was made as a punishment. Agamemnon, one of the great heroes of the Illiad, forced his wife to marry him after killing her father and first husband, and then sacrificed his daughter so he could sail to Troy.), and yet the Greek pantheon includes Athena, the goddess of war, and Artemis, the virgin goddess of the moon and of the hunt. But these two goddesses were merely symbols; they were never connected with real women, and it is the same in every patriarchal culture. Women are never viewed as having thoughts or experiences worth caring about, and the punishment for a woman overstepping her bounds is severe.

That's what I believe this video is about. The men are prime specimens of masculinity; they all look like they were sculpted by Michelangelo. Their lives are lives of grittiness and sweat, fighting and feats of strength, as they continue to fight and train and prepare for the next battle. They are living their lives, and living them well.

Ayu is there with them, leading them at one point. However, Ayu is different. The first time you see her with the men, her mouth is covered. She is there to see and be seen, but has no voice. She has to wait until one of the men takes off her face-covering and gives her a voice. Other than that, the men only stare at her; they don't interact with her. She does a few little dances that are delicate (a "typical" feminine trait), and mainly show off her beauty.

Speaking of beauty, Ayu is impeccably, immaculately beautiful here. However, nothing she is wearing has any practical value in the environment she is in. The clothes look like they are difficult to move in, and that hairband would just get in the way). Plus, she is in heels. You can't fight in heels (check out this article on the symbolism of high heels. I think it fits very well with the PV http://loosegarments.com/2011/04/21/...-helplessness/). The gold part of her bodice looks sort of like a champion belt, but that's all it is, an imitation. As she is, she can never reach the level these fighters have reached; to do so, she would have to break boundaries they would try to stop her from breaking. She is nothing more than a flower, a doll, a statue, "leading" them but not respected or truly valued by them as a complete human being, as an equal.

The next scenes, when Ayu is on the throne, show both the lie and the truth of the way patriarchal cultures put women on pedestals. In the sunset, she is glorious in her beauty, and the men stand around her, valiant protectors. However, night falls, and the truth comes out (kind of like how, in horror, all of the monsters come out after dark). She is a thing to them, and when they want something from her, they take it.

This next part is really chilling (possible trigger-warning for sexual assault survivors): Ayu doesn't get back onto her throne on her own; the men drag her down, and then the scene changes to Ayu and Timmy, and then, when it changes back, the men are pushing Ayu back to the top. Then she dies. I think the implication is all to clear.

I think the scenes of Timmy and Ayu are her psychological state as she lives the life of a woman on a pedestal, and I think Timmy's primary purpose is to egg her on, to tell her that she shouldn't change her circumstances, despite how much those circumstances are destroying her. During the sunset throne scenes, he is worshiping her, encouraging her in her life as a flower and, at the end, he seems really surprised at what happened, like he had no idea what the natural consequences of that sort of culture were. He never looks horrified at what she is going through (until the end), as if he sees her role as necessary, and that she just needs to get out her emotions and then do what she's supposed to. I'm not 100% sure on this, because I don't know what he is chanting to her, but this is my take on it so far.

Impact Breaker: I like your interpretation about Cleopatra. I just read something about her in a book called Women Warriors; I'll have to look it back up while watching the PV.

[ImpactBreaker]

^Interesting. If Timmy is sort of her consciousness (sp?) it would make sense why he has such ambiguous traits of male/female, making a transition between fragile female ayu and the masculine army. I really thought he was a woman until I saw his chest on the video lol Does anyone have a "normal" (non girly dressed) picture of Timmy?

[ownsarai]

^He has a Facebook account, Timothy Wellard is his name.

[gogirlanime]

Originally Posted by ownsarai

^He has a Facebook account, Timothy Wellard is his name.

Yeah he accepted my friend request I was thinking about asking him what the director meant by the plot, should I/we?

[pommy48]

^ He'll probably just tell us to ask Leslie lol

[Seiferz]

^ please please ask him because i am really wish to know what is the meaning of this PV. ^