『M 愛すべき人がいて』The story of encounter & separation hidden in the birth of a songstress

[sitara]

i would love to read a translation of this book so badly! and I would love to know how much is truth and how much is ~~fiction~~

so did they confirm it was true love and they eventually fell out of it? at least max, that is? it always seemed like a casting couch situation to me, but what do I know? (I'm just figuring from what I know from the seedy entertainment business ofc)

[Machiko]

Thanks for linking the special! It was really interesting to watch, even though I didn't really understand much. It definitely made me want to read the book if it ever got translated. I really, really hope it will.

I'm also relieved that those clips were just reenactment and not the real drama. Phew, those wigs. As a reenactment though they were really fun to watch!

[Aderianu]

So A H & M really means Ayumi Hamasaki & Max Matsuura?

[njanjayrp]

Originally Posted by Aderianu

So A H & M really means Ayumi Hamasaki & Max Matsuura?

Considering when & was released I cannot believe that was the intention...

[pedronekoi]

The special was really interesting! Something the author caught my attention: "I understand that some fans don't want to know anything about this relationship but they need to know that if this relationship haven't happened none of those songs would exist at first place.". And so interesting to know that the day of her "appears" live on Music Station - in which she was really sick and starts coughing during the live - was the day she and Max broke up.

I wish we had not only something about this period of her personal life but a full biography. I'd love to know more about her relationship with Nagase Tomoya as well as how was her time living in the US and all that.

[YUKARI]

Originally Posted by Aderianu

So A H & M really means Ayumi Hamasaki & Max Matsuura?

and L stands for LOVE 💕

[pommy48]

Originally Posted by pedronekoi

The special was really interesting! Something the author caught my attention: "I understand that some fans don't want to know anything about this relationship but they need to know that if this relationship haven't happened none of those songs would exist at first place.". And so interesting to know that the day of her "appears" live on Music Station - in which she was really sick and starts coughing during the live - was the day she and Max broke up.

I wish we had not only something about this period of her personal life but a full biography. I'd love to know more about her relationship with Nagase Tomoya as well as how was her time living in the US and all that.

Same! At this point, I just want her to list the inspiration for each of her songs lol

I feel like we got more rock with Nagase, so I would love to see the background story of those songs

[BlackSilence]

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

^I liked Max... Ayu, not so much. Too generic looking.

LOL i think they should have flipped that, the actor for max looks so much more handsome than the real deal, and the actress of Ayu is just average compared to the actual Ayu...lol That actor makes me think of GACKT for whatever reason lol

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Toniayu123

I watched it and honestly find it really weird, like...she meet one of japan's most relevant producers out of the blue and he suddenly decides he wants to bring her to the stardom, and she can't even sing (said by herself)?. Weird, really weird. It looks to me as if they were trying to cleanse Ayu's image somehow, not caring about max's one at all lol Anyway, looking forward to the dorama, and possible new ayu's comeback (new music I mean) which seems really plausible to me.

At the time he wasn't SUPER relevant, like, not TK level, but he was up and coming and he was a founder of the label. The not being able to sing though -- yeah, those idol videos exist, lol. She could sing, just wasn't trained.

Also, their meeting wasn't out of the blue. She was frequenting the same club he did and had the staff eventually get her into the VIP room. Long and short of this is he probably thought she was hot and things snowballed from there. I mean, I'm sure this story is being a bit sanitized (okay, a lot sanitized), but you can use your imagination. The way it's told here is that they were friends (maybe more) before she was terminated as an idol with her previous company. She told him about the termination and he became worried about her, so essentially he offered her a job.

I don't know if anyone here has read this, but I wouldn't be surprised if this weren't too far from the truth about Avex' behind the scenes at the time. http://amuro.fr/v5/datas/articles-in...a-max-parties/

They sure made Max look a lot better in the re-enactment lol

Thanks Zemus! Youtube sure was quick terminating that account.

[Andrenekoi]

About the singing talent... Jpop idols usually aren't good singers or dancers or what so ever. They are picked up for their charisma and presence, everything else is pretty secundary. If they can more or less hold a tune and move their arms more or less at the same time the back up dancers move theirs, it's good enough.

I can't even think of who was the last BIG act that was also an amazing vocalist and this works even for acts that aren't seemed as idols, like Utada. Even the decent vocalists I can think of usually learned how to sing during their careers, while people would most likely debut after singing well enough in most markets.

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

It was definitely a little unbelievable at times, but then when you think about it... I don’t know, things seemed a lot easier back then lol.

I feel like nowadays there’d be way too many factors in preventing this sort of thing, so it just feels more made up than it actually is.

I mean, many top models were discovered walking around the mall. Fate just worked out for her. Personally I like how they glazed over the fact that she was in a club underage lol.

[Ayu_Love]

Sadly I didn't get to watch the end of the special before it was taken down. Youtube auto-translate actually made some parts completely readable, I was surprised. XD

The only thing I'm confused about is, I remember reading this from Ayu's Wikipedia:

"After hearing Hamasaki sing karaoke, Matsuura offered her a recording deal, but Hamasaki suspected ulterior motives and turned the offer down.[17] He persisted and succeeded in recruiting her for the Avex label in the following year."

But the special makes it seem she jumped at the chance immediately? Is the fact she turned him down first in the book? Or maybe it said in the special and I couldn't understand it, lol.

[mizuki-7]

Actually in the book at first she accepted his offer but rejected it quickly after because she wasn't enough self confident. After giving her encouragement words she finally reconsidered his offer.

[Ayu_Love]

Originally Posted by mizuki-7

Actually in the book at first she accepted his offer but rejected it quickly after because she wasn't enough self confident. After giving her encouragement words she finally reconsidered his offer.

Interesting to know the difference, thanks.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan

I mean, many top models were discovered walking around the mall. Fate just worked out for her. Personally I like how they glazed over the fact that she was in a club underage lol.

I get what you mean, but to me, it actually comes off less fate-y than that. She was specifically hanging out there because she was hoping to meet some VIPs because she was obsessed with groups like TRF and people were known to frequent that club. Max liked her, thought she was hot etc., and after hanging out for a year or so decided to try developing her as a talent when she lost her previous contract. I guess it was fate that he liked her as much as he seemed to? It was fate with some help from both sides.

Originally Posted by Ayu_Love

But the special makes it seem she jumped at the chance immediately? Is the fact she turned him down first in the book? Or maybe it said in the special and I couldn't understand it, lol.

In the special, it doesn't happen immediately after either, but they also don't show him making an offer then.

Makes me wonder if this relationship is why she has had such trouble afterwards making things work. I mean, she was head over heals for Max, they lived together, she was hoping for a future together after her career as a singer, he told her the work didn't matter and that she was important to him regardless of their work relationship; then she hits it big and he decides the work is much more important, becomes an alcoholic, cheats on her, and breaks up with her and essentially cuts off contact on a personal level. If she didn't have trust issues before, it certainly seems like this would make some.

Also, some people were saying they hadn't seen the video footage before. Most of the performances were taken from Utaban. Makes sense, that was Nakai Masahiro's old show and this is his current one. There are a couple from CDTV as well; all TBS shows. Just FYI.

[Andrenekoi]

^It's not uncommon for people on creative markets to foresee trends with some accuracy. I wouldn't be surprised if the "oh, he read my letters and though I would be good writing lyrics" thing isn't true to some degree. The market was shifting from idols to singer-songwriters and he most likely was "this hot girl can hold a conversation, has interesting insights and her letters are well written, maybe she could work in the industry on this era"

[attractive nausea]

^ According to a french translation of the book, after Max asked her to be a singer she herself told him that she wanted to write her own lyrics. But well, how much reality is in this "fiction based on reality" book is unknown, right?

[Andrenekoi]

^Oh, didn't know that. The official story from before the book was that she sent him letters and he saw her potential.

Asking to write her own stuff makes way more sense considering her personality.

[SunshineSlayer]

^ So in the docudrama, the suggestion came from Max and she expressed reticence to the idea not having confidence in herself. She then wrote him a love letter where she expressed her true feelings to him - the letter became Poker Face basically. It was this letter that he told her was proof that she could write lyrics. Just write from her heart, basically. This is the same story that has always been told, essentially. Just it was never confirmed what kind of letters they were that she was writing him.

I haven't seen the book, so I don't know for sure. But I would assume that what's in the docudrama is what's in the book considering they have the author there.

[hidekirby]

Originally Posted by attractive nausea

^ According to a french translation of the book, after Max asked her to be a singer she herself told him that she wanted to write her own lyrics. But well, how much reality is in this "fiction based on reality" book is unknown, right?

Is it possible to have access to that translation? I have not heard about it. S'il te plait?