Hirose Kohmi, a popular artist (mainly active in the '90s, but still active now) and current music school teacher, covered "M" in her latest video. She covers/analyzes songs she enjoys in a series she just started two months ago (and recently started YouTube 5 months ago).
Her analysis, which is more instinctual and quite easy-to-understand, in the spoiler below. (This is really the reason I wanted to post this!)
This is not verbatim:
Spoiler:
Hirose Kohmi's Analysis/Opinion of 'M'
She starts off by saying this is a song she enjoys singing at karaoke often.
Hirose likens "M" to a 'fancy decoration cake' (and later clarifies it to be like 'a huge shortcake'):
-The first 'chorus' is like a sampling of the cake, strawberry and all
-You think it tastes amazing, and you want to eat the whole thing (i.e you want to listen to the entire song)
Verses/Bridges
-This is when the cake becomes a huge shortcake, where no matter how much you eat/dig, you just can't reach the "main dish" (the strawberry) yet
-You had that sampling, so you're willing to keep digging
Choruses
-Just when you're about to give up, that's when the amaou strawberries come (which are super delicious, btw)
-You start to get your fill and you're happy you reached the strawberries...
Final verse
-But then Ayu goes "that's it! Stop!" when you're about 80% full
-Hirose points out the last verse is the same melody as the first verse, and feels like Ayu is saying, "if you want to listen to the chorus again and eat to your heart's content, get back in line"
After the Shortcake Example
-She likes the combination of structure, melody, and lyrics that's both unique and shows off her life perspective
-She then compares the song to a mysterious, one-off ramen shop
- "The tonkotsu ramen was super good, but going there is such a pain... but I can't forget how that soup tasted, so you know what? Let's go!" which becomes a cycle
In the video she posted the day after, she said she tried singing it four times, but all of them ended up like the one she ended up using in this video; in the end, the staff used the one she thought was a definite NG. Haha.
She also praises Ayu, asking "who the heck can sing that ending when it's so high?!" and concluded Ayu is amazing for having the stamina to do it—"it's impossible for me, Hirose Kohmi."
It's Hirose Kohmi-style, so it goes off the rails a bit (especially at the end, haha), but it's really an enjoyable rendition when you know just how much she likes the song.