Do you think Ayu is too westernized?

[AyUta]

Originally Posted by ~ayu-cake~

I think she's fine the way she is tbh.

I agree =D

[Yum!Fruit_Salad!]

Ayu dying her hair blond is probably her way of experimenting, just trying different colours to see what looks good and what doesn't. Keeps things interesting.

Using English and roman lettering was common before Ayu began doing it. Maybe it's me but I like the English titles, I try to figure out how the title correlates to the lyrics.

[happy_ai]

I would of Ayu as more universal and not just "western"

[GRACE]

imo, she looks better blond, and she's one of the few asians I've seen who can really pull off the look without it looking too incredibly fake.

And really what's the big deal with her using English song titles? It's not like she spams English every other word within the songs like everyone else =/... Not counting the songs from RAINBOW that is >.>...

[Yum!Fruit_Salad!]

Originally Posted by GRACE

imo, she looks better blond, and she's one of the few asians I've seen who can really pull off the look without it looking too incredibly fake.

*Ai Ootsuka*

[rainday]

I think she rocks the blonde hair quite well. But I would also like to see her with darker hair. I thought she looked amazing with the dark brown during her (miss)understood days.

[Sweet_Ai]

Originally Posted by evolution7931

Um no.
Japanese culture OVERALL is pretty westernised. In Japan the most common clothing and makeup originate in the West.

Ayu is no more westernised than the average Japanese girl dressing up in jeans and a t-shirt & putting on makeup.

That's correct! I buy a lot of Japanese magazines and almost every girl in there has blonde hair, and they also use a lot of English. So much, if you don't speak Japanese you would still be able to follow what is going on. That is why I never thought she was too Westernized, because she is like the average Japanese girl.

Originally Posted by GRACE

imo, she looks better blond, and she's one of the few asians I've seen who can really pull off the look without it looking too incredibly fake.

And really what's the big deal with her using English song titles? It's not like she spams English every other word within the songs like everyone else =/... Not counting the songs from RAINBOW that is >.>...

IA. I mean, she sings mostly in Japanese so if she wanted to be "western" wouldn't she sing mostly in English? Just because the title is written in English doesn't mean anything.

[Kikaru]

^IA. I don't get the big deal with English titles...does changing them to a Japanese word equivalent suddenly make them more meaningful or something?

Define "westernized", because the "western culture" has such a broad spectrum.

[pommy48]

hmm i don't think so, i think ayu is fine the way she is, and i like her song titles in english better...saves the frustration of tagging them correctly or not
though i do like her brown hair better, her blond hair is really pretty most of the time!

[ownsarai]

I don't think Ayu is too westernized. Just because she is blonde? I'm sure that is her preference...and she uses English titles for her songs? So? A lot of JPop artists do that, that doesn't mean they are westernized either. I like Ayu the way she is.

[Kazeyomi]

For the hair color its globalization. Just this.. its well knowed in Western countries the love for blonde hair. So
Japan learn more about the western culture -> The western culture will be blend with japanese culture.
If Japan wasn't be opened to the world, maybe Ayu was an enka singer with black hair who wear ALWAYS kimonos. lol

But maybe blonde its just Ayu's favourite dye

For the english titles, I dunno lol.
Maybe they sounds more nice than in japanese.

[Ayumi27]

I guess she has a noticeably western influence in style and music, which is not necesarily a bad thing

[emi♡]

I think it's a little rude to call someone "too westernized."

If Ayu likes western culture, then Ayu likes western culture.

Just like, if we like Japanese music, then we like Japanese music.

You can't really change what you like or are attracted to.


I actually hate titles in Japanese. They're a pain in the ass to tag correctly...and then people tag them differently because there's different ways to write it...and then some people encode them weirdly...just a mess.

Thank god for Ayu's english titles.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

I think shes pretty westernized, but in her own Japanese way lol


she still pretty Japanese after all, and if she can speak English, why not to call her songs in English too! and I think its a marketing thing as well, easier to remember her song names in English for people from other countries around Asia for example.

and shes a Diva! xD as any other diva, they change their hair, etc etc etc

[evolution7931]

Um no.
Japanese culture OVERALL is pretty westernised. In Japan the most common clothing and makeup originate in the West.

Ayu is no more westernised than the average Japanese girl dressing up in jeans and a t-shirt & putting on makeup.

[ストロボ・EdGE]

Originally Posted by evolution7931

Um no.
Japanese culture OVERALL is pretty westernised. In Japan the most common clothing and makeup originate in the West.

Ayu is no more westernised than the average Japanese girl dressing up in jeans and a t-shirt & putting on makeup.

That's what I mean, since Japan in general is very westernized I wish Ayumi would stand out a little more than the typical Japanese girl.

I'm sorry if I've upset anyone, it wasn't my intention.

But like I've always thought it was dumb that a lot of people feel that if you're blonde, you're beautiful, regardless of race cause lots of american and latina girls feel that way too. I also think it's stupid that the whole world feels that the English language is superior in every single way. Since so so many girls feel that way, I want Ayu to stand out more,,,

I think a lot of Japanese girls think
「金髪じゃなきゃキレイなワケがないな」"If I'm not blonde, I'm not beautiful" <-- I don't want Ayu to feel that way. 　（　≧　д　≦　）／

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE

That's what I mean, since Japan in general is very westernized I wish Ayumi would stand out a little more than the typical Japanese girl.

I'm not sure how she's suppose to do that... if blonde hair = westernized and dark hair = traditional Japanese then how would she stand out? She would have to have green hair and wear tacky clothes to stand out in Japan, even still I don't think she would xD; Japan is mixed with so many influences.

[Yum!Fruit_Salad!]

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE

I also think it's stupid that the whole world feels that the English language is superior in every single way.

English isn't an universal language because people find it superior, it's because of the internet and the roles the US played after WW II.

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by Yum!Fruit_Salad!

English isn't an universal language because people find it superior, it's because of the internet and the roles the US played after WW II.

English is also universal because it is the Lingua Franca, the language of commerce. Since the United States / Great Britain have (had) such strong economies and trade, English is the language of trade world wide. When that status changes, the Lingua Franca changes as well.

[emi♡]

Originally Posted by ストロボ・EdGE

That's what I mean, since Japan in general is very westernized I wish Ayumi would stand out a little more than the typical Japanese girl.

I'm sorry if I've upset anyone, it wasn't my intention.

But like I've always thought it was dumb that a lot of people feel that if you're blonde, you're beautiful, regardless of race cause lots of american and latina girls feel that way too. I also think it's stupid that the whole world feels that the English language is superior in every single way. Since so so many girls feel that way, I want Ayu to stand out more,,,

I think a lot of Japanese girls think
「金髪じゃなきゃキレイなワケがないな」"If I'm not blonde, I'm not beautiful" <-- I don't want Ayu to feel that way. 　（　≧　д　≦　）／

Being blonde is an idea that's been around since back in the day.

It went in fashion and the whole "Gentlemen prefer blonds" type idea has sort of evolved into this whole "Blonds have more fun" idea, and also the stereotypical blonde haired, blue eyed, big boobs kinda thing, that many girls think men enjoy...and not to be too general, but a lot of men do

What's funny is, I read an article where they looked at the significant others of the top men in power...and they all prefer brunettes lol.

About English...someone already took care of that.

Besides, Ayu stands out on her own. Other Japanese girls are just...I don't know. Japanese people are wierd to me. Japanese men are just...woah. And the women are usually annoyingly vain. But...I shouldn't really say those kinds of things about the whole country. Just like a lot of other people shouldn't really stereotype Americans in certain ways.

America is a HUGE country. I've been to whole towns where EVERYONE is blond. Not because they dye their hair, just because, that majority settled there, and it just stays in the gene pool.
Similarly, I've been to places where everyone is mixed. You can find any type of person here. The whole "Blondes = America" thing is...just weird.

Is this all Marilyn Monroe's fault?

Next time Ayu goes blonde, I'm gonna make a thread and say she's being too Nordic or something.