Thoughts on Alterna PV

[~K+]

Did anyone else love the scene with the beating heart drawn in that old art style when the song's in one of its instrumental breaks? I thought that part was brilliant.

[Eigoob]

^ I really like that part too. The tambourine playing to the beat of the music is also one of my favorites.

BTW Can anyone read the words on the hearts? I came up with this, but I'm not quite sure about the second one:
Hopes to be a Star
A Sweet Trap
Stage of Brightness
Finale of the Show

Also, anyone noticed the evil bunny's head on the frame they show in some scenes? Something small, but it really adds to the atmosphere.

Lol, I'm really fascinated by this PV

[HanabiChick]

I loved this PV - though the song isn't great, it's better than fairyland... I understood the whole thing with Ayu being a puppet. The white Ayu I didn't get, but after skimming through the thread it makes more sense now. The two children at the end seemed to represent how even the young fans are manipulated by the record companies, and that they're also manipulated into growing up too quickly - or maybe that's just my general opinion on other things creeping in. I agree with it representing lost innocence, but it seems to be about Ayu's lost innocence as well as the childrens'.

[~K+]

Evil bunny...I noticed it, and it reminded me of Donnie Darko.

And the bloody clowns reminded me of IT.

[boogieordie]

I get what it's supposed to mean and all, but seriously, I think Ayu needs to lay off the crack!

[kiseki89]

I just watch the PV on MTVAsia 15min ago... The PV is a little scary, A all white ayu and her singing machine... The clowns are scary too. I love the part where parts of her face was shown on the screen

[Surreal]

Actually I don't think the clowns represent AVEX. But they represent the media since they held cameras and flashed at ayumi. Why would Ayu want to lash at AVEX when Max is the president and has already shown his full support for Ayu to the world?

But it definitely points to her career with the phrases like 'hoping to be a star..sweet trap..brightness stage and the finale of the show'..these are the stages a celebrity goes through right? Also, she starts off in her own room, travels to a city to get the contract with a recording company (the rose), then she moves through a night-scene of a town..this might even be new york (where she took training or tokyo)..then she is on the stage..getting intruded by the media..and she's become a singing machine because she is forced to do so many things (like release A best..a summer single every year..a winter single every year etc..during when MAX wasn't the president)

-anyway this is my useless review about the PV with some input from fellow members..but I might be supremely wrong -

For me, this PV generally depicts how record companies in general treats a celebrity. And it has NOTHING to do with Avex Trax because the President of Avex, Max Matsuura, is the producer for Ayu and is the one who talent scouted her. He has always publicly shown his full support for AYu and I don't see why Ayu will attack him..unless she's unhappy for past events in her career while Max still hasn't risen to the position of Avex.

The white Ayu in the white empty room depicts her innerself while the colorful circus-puppet show depicts what people and the media sees.

Ayu is first a innocent girl in her own little room (she wears the hot pink nightie with black boots..combined with super kawaii curly hair). Then she receives a letter telling her she's about to be a star! - This probably talks about her being talent scouted.

She then travels to the city, most possibly Tokyo. With the evil clown puppets behind her, urging her on. She enters a corporate office and gets a rose from the head clown and is happy beyond words - this probably signifies her contract agreement and her euphoria at being able to become a superstar.

After this, the puppet Ayu and clowns moves through a night town scene, possibly her route to stardom in New York (where she took vocal training) and her journey amongst Tokyo's most influential buildings.

She become's a superstar! A singing machine! Here she is being made into a sort of robot that has to do whatever her company commands her to do. And the media intrudes her privacy mercilessly. Now you see that Ayu is in a circus tent and there are tonnes of people lining outside the tent just to see her - possibly depicting her annual super dome/arena/stadium tours that rake in thousands of billions of dollar for the record company and the media who publicises her. She is also forced to release albums and singles at an alarmingly crazy rate and is forced to do things she hate (like releasing A Best, or a yearly summer and winter single even though she feels that she has no good material to produce) By being forced in all these ways, she has become a robot-puppet.

Flash to White Ayu with the blinking eyeball protruding out of her mouth. I think this is really meaningful. Ayu is probably trying to say how people do not use their eyes to see and judge things anymore but instead jump to conclusions very quickly..eg. spread gossips and fake news without even thinking about it. Also, it might mean that even those Ayu has her eyes closed, even though that the media does not recognise her efforts anymore, she still has her voice that propelled her to fame and to where she is today. This also means she can express what she feels and what she sees through what she sings - her lyrics - every single one written by herself since her debut (a very big part in Ayu's career). Thus, her mouth has become her eyes in looking at the world.

The white Ayu also shows that Ayu is still pure and uncorrupted under all the PR and media gloss surfaces. Even though the clowns are dancing around her trying to corrupt her, she still remains and stands by her own belief even though she's being trapped between her beliefs and what she should do for her career (half of her body is in the ground).

The numerous TV screen showing Ayu possibly talks about how every single movement from her is recorded and analysed - intrusion of privacy.

However, you may notice that the clowns are also attached to strings, like Ayu. This might signify that Ayu understands that even though the media wreck's Ayu's emotions at times, she knows that they are forced to do so. Because the media people are controlled by the head of the company and are pressured to produce sensationalised stories to gain more sales or viewership - which eventually equates to the big bucks for media companies.

Then, you see hundreds of other Ayus in the production line, meaning how a record company tries to find new talent to replace the supposedly old and 'useless' singers - in this case I'll give an example..Ai Ootsuka and Ami Suzuki being continually lauded as the next 'Ayumi Hamasaki' in Japan.

At the end of the PV, unwanted Ayu is thrown away in a dump of rubbish, but she continues singing because no matter what, singing and composing is her life and passion. The two kids standing by the heap of rubbish are looking at televised images of Ayu shown previously. This probably means that even children nowadays are influenced by the media. And when the little boy tries to peek at the girl's undies, the girl laughs it off and waves him off - a show of innocence because adults would see this as insanely offensive. This is probably Ayu's lament about her lost innocence because of all her years in the media being the world's biggest Jpop superstar.

All this stages tie-in with the ocassional flashes of the heartbeat with the words like 'Hopes to Become a Star, Sweet Trap, Stage of Brightness, The Finale of The Show'. The happy and yet tragic stages a superstar normally goes through.

I love this PV. Mostly for Ayu's guts .. for her determination in showing what she feels to the world, her fans, and the media especially.

[~Amy~]

Originally Posted by Surreal

Actually I don't think the clowns represent AVEX. But they represent hte media since they held cameras and flashed at ayumi. Why would Ayu want to lash at AVEX when Max is the president and has already shown his full support for Ayu to the world?

Thank you! Took the words right out of my mouth! ^_^
I totally agree with your point of view.

[AyuGAME]

surreal, i get your point there
and completed the meaning of this PV
thx

[wAtSuPmE2]

Surreal you have totally explained the PV's every bit of detail possible. I cudnt have explain it betta than myself. The PV is scary at first but after watching it closely you will notice the meaning behind it and how usually most of Ayu's PVs reflect upon her life and the world.

[elepop]

Originally Posted by Eigoob

BTW Can anyone read the words on the hearts? I came up with this, but I'm not quite sure about the second one:
A Sweet Trap

I've been searching for that! I know it's something then trap. But the file quality isn't that great.

[netsuAi]

Originally Posted by asongforXX

I've been searching for that! I know it's something then trap. But the file quality isn't that great.

heh.. the kana was easier to see for that one... 甘い(amai: sweet)

[elepop]

^^ Thank you! So Eigoob was right!

People are jumping way too much on the 'loss of innocence' bandwagon.

I don't think just because she's covered in white is showing her 'pure' side.

I think its suppose to be an emotion. Notice has sometimes the clowns are bigger than her and then she's bigger than the clowns? I think it has something to do with her strength against what the tabloids (the clowns) say about her.

I think the eye in the mouth is something like she has to watch what she says? Not too sure of that one. Someone posted that it was in regards to lossing site and now seeing life in the words she writes (along the lines of) nice idea there!

I think Ayu did the video in the idea as to what tabloids say about her carreer. How she was sitting in her room just doing nothing and picked to be the next big thing. As if she didn't work to be who she is and that she just traveled to the 'city' to sign some papers.

I think the clown with the rose is suppose to be Max. Giving a flower for a 'false' friendship and then in the end throwing her out. Like in stories recently published.

We all know the music machine part and what it stands for.

[elepop]

Originally Posted by //hikari

I think its suppose to be an emotion. Notice has sometimes the clowns are bigger than her and then she's bigger than the clowns? I think it has something to do with her strength against what the tabloids (the clowns) say about her.

I think the eye in the mouth is something like she has to watch what she says? Not too sure of that one. Someone posted that it was in regards to lossing site and now seeing life in the words she writes (along the lines of) nice idea there!

I think Ayu did the video in the idea as to what tabloids say about her carreer. How she was sitting in her room just doing nothing and picked to be the next big thing. As if she didn't work to be who she is and that she just traveled to the 'city' to sign some papers.

I think the clown with the rose is suppose to be Max. Giving a flower for a 'false' friendship and then in the end throwing her out. Like in stories recently published.

Great theory about the eye in the mouth and the 'false friendship'.

There are so many theories, I wonder what's the real meaning of the PV...

[ohsixthirty]

^I would LOVE to read a translation masa!

[jerms]

i think you people are looking too much into it. all of the small bits are just to fit in with the weirdness that ayu likes. its not like she hasnt done funky non-purpose things in her other videos.

[ruixiong89]

Haha, I bet the clowns are the paparazzi! Remember this goes in synch with Max Matsura's letter on Ayu's Official website, about the paparazzi saying things like squeezing Ayu till she's dry and stuff?

Haha, I guess that part was represented during the camera shots at the "Stage of Brightness" section. Moreover, the clowns seemed very happy that they could get shots of Ayu, which makes sense since it accounts for their incomes, BUT they are ugly people who are disgusting and uncouth in the way they portray Ayu, which then goes on further to explain the part about newspaper distribution and everything.

Yup, love love love the PV! I bet Ayu's showing people that she's not merely a singing machine, she's a human and I think she's basically just showing this PV to tell people, hey, I'm not the same Ayu you used to think I was! I still am Ayu, but recharged and geared to reach the pinnacle of stardom!

[FoObY]

thanks for the analysis Surreal, sounds very reasonable.

eventually there'll be a talk show with ayu and perhaps she explain what the PV means

[Surreal]

jerms
i think you people are looking too much into it. all of the small bits are just to fit in with the weirdness that ayu likes. its not like she hasnt done funky non-purpose things in her other videos.

Very possible too Considering it's Ayu.