[scans] Chinese OS versions

[orangeland]

well, except for the translations of ayu's name and the album title on the cover along w/ the certification stickers, everything is usually the same as the japanese version and other OS versions. the booklets are identical (except for my "I am..." misprint) and the only the "Duty" CD color is off but it's really no big deal. as for the translation sheet, i think china's is better in that it includes the translation along w/ japanese lyrics that have the hiragana characters for the kanji. as an example, here's my "No way to say" translation sheet:


sorry, my scanner sucks, but the lyrics to the left is the simplified chinese translation and the lyrics to the right are the japanese lyrics w/ hiragana characters for help. i can actually sing along to this song now w/ that .

i've always wondered why yesasia never has these versions, but now that i think about, if yesasia had china os versions, avex wouldn't make any money. china os versions are at least $5 cheaper than taiwan / hk versions and $5-20 cheaper than japan ver. and as w/ most foreign cds, companies are really strict about keeping china versions IN china to avoid losing money in other areas where they release the same music at a much more expensive price.

[kournikova]

i have 2 of ayu single from china.. forgiveness n no way to say... they are look exactly the same... but just the sticker spoils it... n the quality is perfect... ^^ its real.. they have translations too ^^

[AyuGAME]

hmm..i think its normal if os version if much more bad than the japan ones

[Delirium-Zer0]

Um... these ARE bootlegs.

The bootleggers tried to cover their tracks by copying the real artwork so the avex logo & stock number are still there in many cases, but look at the distribution companies. Only What's Music distributes avex releases in Taiwan, and Avex Asia distributes them in Hong Kong.

Avex never adds that much extra chinese writing to their CDS, her name in chinese is only ever on the obi, not the cover. And they'd never change how the cd itself looked to nearly the degree these bootleggers have changed Duty and LOVEppears. Those discs are harder to reproduce cuz they're shiny, while the I am... and No way to say discs were matte finish to begin with... a scanner can pick up detail on those more easily.

The circle-shaped sticker is the only 100% definite giveaway besides the distribution companies. And the SCD stock number on No way to say. Avex NEVER has an "SCD "stock number, all their stock numbers start with AV.

I'm sorry, these AREN'T licensed by avex.

[orangeland]

these are real -___-.

yes they have the round sticker, but so does every media release in china. and these are distributed by CRSC - China Record Shanghai Corporation. if you haven't noticed, there's a red box on each cover - that's their logo. you should also notice the "avex j-cd" sticker on each cd, which signifies it's real. as for the chinese writing, avex asia is going to have to allow some chinese writing on the cover so that chinese people actually understand what they're buying.

as for "SCD", it's how CRSC catalogues everything. Avex CDs in china have TWO catalogue numbers usually - one with "SCD" and another with "AVTCD(S)". as for "CL" on the translation sheet, i'm not sure. "No way to say" has the following two catalogue numbers - SCD-723 and AVTCDS-429C. if you really don't believe me, please look at ayumi's avex china site. even they show the "SCD" catalogue numbers.

and before you call them fake, please do your research more carefully -___-.

[minkAYuko]

real
fake
real
fake
real
fake

my head hurts!

they are cool! hehehe

[Delirium-Zer0]

Holy crap, these ARE real!! O___O I stand corrected and I apologize profusely o__o

Wow avex has some crap manufacturing in the mainland o_o I'm never complaining about the HK and TW releases again. That LOVEppears is baffling, her name on the front looks awful.

(On another note, please don't accuse me of not doing research, I've been an actively searching ayu fan for five years and I've been dedicated to finding all her releases, and I never knew of any mainland china releases. The quality and content of all these scream "bootleg" because they're quite unprofessional, and I've seen bootlegs that looked pretty real in the past.)

Well, they're the real deal... on that note, thanks for the scans, this is REALLY interesting to see! O_O I mean seriously... the change in design & quality from the japan versions to these is just... fascinating. o_o

[Euroboy]

Originally Posted by devilayu

There are a few different OS versions, so you may not have a CD from the same batch/printing factory.

oh okay, thanks.

[Creamy Ayumi]

i have difficulty to believe they aren't fake!
I'm sorry but chinese are very strong to make copy but i don't have one of this versions to confirm what i think!
Thanks for yours scans!^^
it's interesting!

[Delirium-Zer0]

the official avexnet.cn site was enough to convince me. I mean, i really doubt any bootlegging group would go so far as to create a whole fake-avex site. It's probably an independently run division of avex (I doubt there was any quality control on these from the higher-ups), but it's probably all officially licensed.

[orangeland]

lol Delirium-Zer0, i accept your apology . i admit i sound a tad bit cocky when i'm trying to prove something .

as for quality, there is absolutely NO LOSS of quality on these compared to any other OS or Japanese ver. seriously, the only thing that's different are the added chinese characters. the quality may look a tad bit sucky because my scanner sucks, so please bear with me ^^;;. otherwise, there really is no quality loss. btw, in case you're wondering what a fake looks like compared to a real cd in china, look at this:


this is a FAKE "I am..." my dad bought me like 2 years ago. THAT is quality loss. oh yeah i enlarged the cover b/c it originally had a white border. now compare it to...

the REAL "I am..." pressing that i recently bought. quite different yes?

[Delirium-Zer0]

yeah, you can tell how off the colors are. If this were between two different scanners it'd be harder to tell, but they're both from yours... it looks like the bootleg "I am..." was photoshopped for better quality, but to a bad end.

orangeland, do you mind if I use these scans on my site? I want completion on it so that other people know what real things are vs. bootlegs (among other reasons) and I certainly don't want anyone making the same mistake i did if they're real. You'll definitely be credited.

[orangeland]

yeah, no problem!

i have another comparison you can use as well, but this one is rather hard to tell w/o an explanation.


this (as a matter of fact) is a FAKE pressing of "RAINBOW" that my dad bought for me too (he has no eye for spotting real things and fake things at all ><). the image is slightly shifted so that ayu's head is cut off, the font color for the "RAINBOW" and "ayumi hamasaki" are too dark, and the font used for "ayumi hamasaki" is totally off. you can also sense the quality loss as the color contrast is a bit high.

now compare it to a real edition of "RAINBOW" i recently bought:

this is REAL. the cover is exactly the same as japanese ver. except for the certification stickers, CRSC logo at the bottom left, and the chinese tital above rainbow.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Wow, that first rainbow is really terrible... but yeah, unless you regularly see the real thing, someone (like your dad) might never know it's fake. They might just think bad graphic design, hence bad centering.

[Creamy Ayumi]

but if they are an official CD's why it don't have te second CD in your LOVEppears album?
For I am... & RAINBOW you have convinced.

[yamogi]

they are bootleg( i see those on yahoo,they are bootleg)!!!! i am sure, the real chinese version is the same as JP versions

[kiseki89]

I still prefer the original pretty pony~pretty pony~pretty pony~ and Hong Kong version that we get in Singapore. English or pretty pony~pretty pony~pretty pony~ I can stand but the Chinese words there kinda spoil the whole thing

[Gunblitze]

Dosent seem like bootleg....but as long as the songs are in them and play well, im fine with w/e

[extepan]

Originally Posted by Qt Mashi

yes i agree and i also rather japanese writing on it instead of chinese, japanese writing just makes it look rare and original

you have to bear in mind that in fact HK versions are the rarest out of HK, TW and JP versions. if you think JP versions are 'rare', you should remember that in fact JP versions are pressed the most, followed by TW and then HK versions.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Creamy Ayumi: Ayu's official chinese site makes no mention of LOVEppears including disc 2. The tracklist only shows disc 1. It just doesn't have it for some reason. *shrug*