Ayu image in Asia

Andrenekoi · #1 11th March 2009, 07:41 PM

Ok, I was reading about some aspects of her career and there are some things that make me curious... I would be glad if anyone could help me with this =D

What does japanese/asian fans thinks about her albums? I what a lot of her western fans think about them, but don’t really know how people see Rainbow, or Duty, or Secret over there...

About Ayu being a gay icon... I know this was discussed before (and that people didn’t really liked this subject) but.. First of all, I’m not saying that she hás only gay fans or that most of her fans are gay... Just that a lot of gays admires her... some singers like Cher really have an almost all gay fanbase, but Madonna sold out her show on the 2 biggest stadiums here on Brazil for 5 days... I don’t really think that all (or even most of ) that people were gay... Western female pop singers (like Madonna, Kylie, Britney, etc.) tend to have a huge lgbt fanbase, even if they are not declared gay icons (gays have something with divas and strong female figures) and I aways find A LOT of gay people in every female singer discussion fórum I read (that doesn’t mean that more than 50% are gay or something, just that a lot of they are...). This and all the rumors about ayu drinking ot gay bars, drag queens performing ayu songs at Japan I saw somewhere and the Green vídeo made me think about this... This question can be extended to Namie, Koda, Hikki, etc. also =)

On Alterna vídeo ayu kind of atacks Avex... On Distant Love, she kisses a chinese guy in the mouth (and I know that kissing is somewhat a taboo and that japanese and chinese don’t really get along well because of WWII issues)... She has some strong girl-power songs... And all that Asia is One thing... As I know, all this could cause some controversies over there... Even a friend of mine that lived in Japan for some years said me that he couldn’t understand how can she still sells good after doing these things among others... So... did these things really caused any controverse?

Thanks =)

PinkShinigami · #2 11th March 2009, 08:45 PM

Well, I have thought about some of those things too.. Well, about the gay think, she's kinda sexy xD And gay bars.. I have seen an video where Ayu was very drunk, and we have seen pictures ((m)u photobook and Today's Photo), where Ayu is drinking, I really think that she's the kind of person that could go into a gay bar! XD

With the thing she has done.. She's such a strong person, and I think it's why she stll sells good. Like in the CDL 06-07, she wears a little corage, while her dansers only wars underwear. It's just the way she is, and the way SHE wants to perform. And she can even do it, without it's being perverse in any way. And with the my name's WOMEN PV, she's acting way to perverse to me, but she still tells the story about women that good, that it isn't even anything that bothers me, but with many other singers I'm just thinking "Get a room ...", and I think that the Japanese people has is in the same way as me. And the kiss with Shawn, I think it's just like a symbol of her strongness, and that she wants to show everybody her love. Why may she not show it? Such as singing boku in her songs tells us, that she want be looked patronizing down (Understand? O.o). She's trying all limits out, and and she has had big succes with it. She has many reasons to be such a good idol.

But what do you mean by attacking avex?

Andrenekoi · #3 11th March 2009, 09:14 PM

Well... She is basicly saying they are using her, sellling her, reproducing her and that in the end she will be in a trash can xD

She alread had some problems with them...

Chibi_Venus · #4 11th March 2009, 09:42 PM

I never really realized that some of the things Ayu does are pretty "controversial," or at least pretty big "risks" considering the culture or whatever of Japan.

To answer your question, I'm not sure what her fans in Asia think. A) I don't live there (lol), and B) I don't read articles or anything like that about their opinions. You know what I mean about the latter?

I don't know about the whole gay thing, but I understand where people could think controversey arises from the things she does.

...eh, I want to go more into detail, but I don't want to seem like I'm trying to cause a raucous. Or say something wrong and come off as a person with inaccurate knowledge about cultures and stuff.

PinkShinigami · #5 11th March 2009, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

Well... She is basicly saying they are using her, sellling her, reproducing her and that in the end she will be in a trash can xD

She alread had some problems with them...

Aaw, i have never realized that xD But well, Avex produced the video, so what's the problem? XD

Andrenekoi · #6 11th March 2009, 11:19 PM

In Japan is considered very rude to bad talk things about your bosses, if I'm not wrong... They expect fidelity without much questioning...

But I can be wrong about this

waterballoon · #7 12th March 2009, 05:24 AM

Being in an Asian country myself (Singapore), I can tell you that at here, whatever she does is not something TOO controversial.

I mean, take the "kiss" with Shawn Yue for example. The so-called "kiss" is only in the name of acting... and if Japan/China/other countries are still gonna find this OFFENSIVE then whoa seriously... it's been 50-odd years since WWII... I'm sure most of them have buried the hatchet.

With her GIRL-POWER thing... well Japan, to me, is a male-dominating country so perhaps it will raise some eyebrows. But still, in this era, women are really stepping up, and perhaps what Ayu thinks that if Japan still has such stick-in-the-mud thoughts... then how are they gonna prosper (not that Japan isn't prospering, but yeah)?

She's bold, she's daring, and perhaps that's why people respect her.

yoshino · #8 12th March 2009, 04:33 PM

^hmm.. totally agree..

I dun think there is alot of controversies of Ayu. (is there?)

about the alterna pv.. hmm.. she's somewat saying abt wat Avex did to her. Ayu jus wanna express her thoughts, and we're glad to see that anyways. It''s a cool pv and the meaning is quite indirect towards Avex. So I dun think it's a big problem ard.. ya.

waterballoon · #9 12th March 2009, 05:13 PM

^ No. Nope controversies around here so far. I mean it's not like she became Edison Chen No.2 or something. Now THAT would be something serious.

PinkShinigami · #10 12th March 2009, 10:58 PM

^ I just read about him on wikipedia, but did he share the pictures himself? I don't really get it. But what the.. Setting Interpol to help about such things? O.o Geez, if Vanessa Hudgens were asian XD

pop909 · #11 12th March 2009, 11:05 PM

Well...countries are slowly being globalized. And with such a rapidly growing nation such as Japan, there is no doubt that they have to work well with China. Especially since China is such a powerhouse these days i don't see the problem.

More specifically, i dont see how kissing is really going to affect her image...I mean a kiss is a kiss, if you can act. I dont see Distance Love as being anything more than that.
Also, i think that World War II issues between China and Japan have been solved...Its been over 50 years and to direct that kind of negativity to someone who has only been on the rise in China for the past 5-10....

pop909 · #12 12th March 2009, 11:06 PM

Well...countries are slowly being globalized. And with such a rapidly growing nation such as Japan, there is no doubt that they have to work well with China. Especially since China is such a powerhouse these days i don't see the problem.

More specifically, i dont see how kissing is really going to affect her image...I mean a kiss is a kiss, if you can act. I dont see Distance Love as being anything more than that.
Also, i think that World War II issues between China and Japan have been solved...Its been over 50 years and to direct that kind of negativity to someone who has only been on the rise in China for the past 5-10....

emi♡ · #13 13th March 2009, 06:10 AM

Um...going off some of the things I've seen with regards toward the WWII thing...

It is NOT buried. I'm very sure that people in China, especially the ones who lived through it, are never going to forgive what happened there...and I think that if I had been there, and living now, I probably wouldn't either.

A good example would be when Memoirs of a Geisha came out.

But anyway...I think that...because it's just acting...and also because...the male in the scene was Chinese, it's not that bad.

pommy48 · #14 13th March 2009, 06:13 AM

^ yeah, i know many chinese people still hold grudges against the japanese~

but it seems more of the older generation, the younger generation don't really care

asmAyumi1992 · #15 13th March 2009, 09:21 AM

There's not many articles about Ayu in my country. So, I don't know what the people in my country would think about her. I just know what I'm thinking about her.

For me, Ayu is such a mighty cute woman I've ever seen! So, whatever she did or does, she looks very cute and pretty at the same time.

And I think, Ayu is not like an artist that did bad controverse by herself to raise her popularity. That's my opinion. I don't know anything more than that what and other people would think about her.