I still can't tell how this is going to turn out. I hope it's not embarrassing.:laugh
I think the key to enjoying this project is to have the right expectations going in.

^Agree

Also the hairstyle in that promo pic reminds me to her look during stadium tour

yup she definitely had similar hairstyles to what Kalen's using in the promo pic. especially in her peak. didn't understand when people said ayu never had it considering she had a great variety of hairstyles during her career, including that one. so far I think they are doing a good job, like someone said if they wanted the main character to look exactly like ayu they would have her do it. so I think it's fine that Kalen doesn't look exactly like her.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA

I can't wait to see it.

The eyepatch lady is too much.

Usually when Ayu had that style (ST02, RAINBOW) it was a bit less thick at the ends. The one Kalen looks a bit wiggy by comparison.

true, but I don't think it needs to look exactly like ayu's? if it reminds me of her it's okay lol

This was cringeworthy from beginning to end; I am OUT

It looks cheesy af but to be fair I haven’t liked many Jdrama as of late lol.

It’s hard to imagine dramas like Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Trick, Stand Up, etc. were even aired on Japanese TV lol

I’ll still watch this but it’s certainly not looking “great”...

Looks cheesy like the few other J-drama's I've seen. So I'll watch it anyway. XD

I assume they adapted the scenario to make it looks more like the average drama dealing about love etc... I don’t think it will precisely relate the content of the book. Don't forget that the book is already a fiction based on the real story of AYu.

Lol. It looks as bad and ridiculous as most doramas tho.
By the trailer it seems as if Kalen’s was a secondary role.

I also feel that ayu's character is a secondary role with this new trailer. You barely see her and when you see her... You wish she wasn't there haha.
Oh man... I don't understand a bit but you can tell their acting is cringey AF haha.

At least it may boost M sales *eyerolls*

don't know about sales, but M PV at youtube already has 3 millions views

I saw these youtube links posted by instagram account shohei_fan but they don't work for me (due to youtube restrictions), maybe they work for someone else and they can upload them here?


https://youtu.be/hrgw42rgFqc
https://youtu.be/Zd4SIS2HFzw
https://youtu.be/pjNbvphJtRA

LOLLL she looks nothing like Ayu. Also they seemed to have strayed a bit from Ayu's character..the scene of Ayu shouting at Max in velfare? From the way its described in the book, Ayu was shy and obedient.

Yeah it's totally as cheesy and dramatic as just any other drama but looks worse because of the really bad wigs since Kalen is playing Ayu like any other drama where they can't have natural hair due to it being an adaptation or whatever. Her "hair" in Boys & Girls is... eek.

Given how they're trying to handle other parts where she has to look like Ayu, they only really did okay with the SEASONS look, everything else looks like the hair is too long or too short. The new teasers have her with the M-era hair but it's a bit too long and shaggy so it just looks like a Bieber cut more than something Ayu ever had.

Those are from the TV Asahi account. They, along with Fuji TV and Nippon TV, as far as I know of, geoblock the videos. (Interestingly, not TBS?)

The parts where it’s raining... it’s so sunny and bright but also raining? I know it happens sometimes, but is that the intention here? Lol *i haven’t read the book.

Japan mustn’t have good wigs available because man, that dance class wig is...

Yeah it looks pretty cheesy (and not that great), but I'm disappointed that the Ayu character is clearly not the protagonist, the Max character is??? Ugh, now I'm worried that Ayu's portrayal (particularly in regards to her career and her hard work) is going to be diluted and heavily dependent upon her relationship with Max (I mean, it's clear it was always going to be a romance, but...still, they're literally making specific homages to Ayu's music videos, and I hope that her character has some substance beyond being Max's love interest). Max's actor is clearly superior at acting, so maybe that's why the Max character seems more complex so far, but really the Ayu character just feels like an after-thought addition?

Also, from this trailer, Kalen does not look like, or even -embody- Ayu's mannerisms at all. They really should have gone with an actress.

I expected this to be bad, but it's even worse than I thought it would be.
Maybe this dorama will boost some youtube views and even make a few more people buy A BEST, but I doubt that it will lead to people being interested in Hamasaki Ayumi the artist.

Totally! Kalen doesn’t seem to exude any Ayu vibes. Max seem to be in so much power in the drama. As if he was the lead role.

I don't watch doramas and I know they are supposed to be cheesy... yet I still expected more production value (and a lot less cringe, hot damn!!) when it comes to the origin story of the empress of jpop.

this doesn't seem to be a good idea at all, and not at all helping her reputation... but ignore my opinion please; I am obviously not the target audience for this. I'm curious how the japanese audience will respond to this :3

Am I the only one who's going to be sad for Kalen? I mean she's already being compared to a great deal to Ayu even before, she doesn't have a big hit yet as a singer...

For someone like Ayu, this drama can be all about Max and it can portray her in a negative light, but she's already established and nothing can take away that from her. But someone new like Kalen, like, it's gonna be sad if she's always going to be viewed as "the girl that's like Ayu"

^ That's a good point.

I think they're going into her 'career' atm full on with that. I mean, she's working with BOUNCEBACK, Tetsuya Yukumi, and Kazuhito Kikuchi for her songs too. They're purposefully going for Ayu-esque with visuals and frequent Ayu collaborators. I am sure she knows what they're trying to do and whatever happens is probably fine with her.

I think Kalen songs are great. She has a nice voice and write nice meaningful lyrics. Drama seems cheesy but which one is not in Japan.
I kinda hope she would even record some Ayu covers for the drama.

4/18 start! Can't wait!
https://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/m-ayumasa...-img/mv-pc.jpg

The quarantine might give it nice ratings.

I mean, YES, it's cheesy AF, but a lot of dramas ARE soooo. :shrug I'm really looking forward to it! Go in with certain expectations so you're not disappointed and it might just be enjoyable as guilty pleasure entertainment, you know?

You're not the only one to mention this. Looking at her YouTube videos, there's a lot of comments in Japanese saying she should be herself, that Avez is trying to make her into a mini-Ayu, which is never going to happen.

I don't think what Avex is doing with her is bad in some ways--the futuristic videos, the product placement and tie-ins--the "mystery" of whether she was real or not was cool too. But even if she's okay with being "the new Ayu," it's never going to happen. I hope there's room for her to make her own career.

Maybe Kalen career develops in another direction eventually, her music is nice nothing spectacular, PVs are really amazing. But for now lets see how this dorama will be.

I just saw the episode one trailer that was uploaded to the drama's 5Twitter (it's on YouTube as well, just not available in the US)...

I'm genuinely curious who this eyepatch-wearing chick is, she gives off antagonist vibes, lol. It looks halfway decent, I'm excited for its premiere this month!

Ahhhh!!! I can't wait to watch this series!!

<3 <3 <3

Um... the acting is not great....... :D
But i'd still watch this.
And i'm gonna repeat it again, they did a HUGE favour to Max with casting that actor :D

Also i have to say, considering they are building this on a NOVEL not an actual FACTUAL BIOGRAPHY, i wouldn't expect it to be very good. As for that singer chick, mmm, i dunno, i mean you won't ever be able to get what they did with Ayu. The music scene is not the same. IT might play to someone's nostalgia, but i don't think she's gonna get as big as Ayu did. It's just a different time and place, and at best she's just gonna get "oh it's that girl who played Ayu/is very Ayu-like". Honestly i don't even know why they would go for that, cuz being compared to someone in the science is never a good thing. Especially when you're considered somewhat of a copy. Copies aren't as valued as originals *shrug* And i agree with people who say they don't see her channeling Ayu in the role. Usually when people portray REAL, LIVING, LEGENDS, they spend a lot of time getting everything about the manners right, even spending time together before they start filming. I'm not feeling that from her, they totally should have gone for an actual professional actress instead. But i mean she can prove us all wrong, cuz honestly, she doesn't get a lot to show off in the trailer. It's very Max focused.

EDIT:
Not sure if this was posted but here's another trailer, with more looks on Kalen, as Ayu in her career.
https://www.facebook.com/AyuTrollada...8421351771689/

The first episode will air in 3 hours! Can't wait!

Also, don't know if anyone saw this but Abema TV posted a picture of Karen in front of the poster cover of A Song for xx reenacted by herlsef. It was so cute and similar as the original!

Where did you see that? Do you have the source?

Really can't wait to watch it. I'm so curious

Anyone knows how is it possible to stream it out of japan?

Karen reposted on her Instagram Stories earlier this week but I can't find the picture anywhere tho...


If you have a VPN software, you can watch it. It will be streamed here https://abema.tv/video/title/87-304

Oh thanks!!!!! The drama is 45mins Long. The guy who plays max is cool! I didn’t quite like ayu’s Character though

Couldn’t watch it :weep Hope someone uploads it

About Kalen, emulating someone bigger is a recurrent strategy to introduce a new musician to the mainstream and several bog acts started like that. The pop music public tends to gravitate towards stuff with a sense of familiarity. It's not like Ayu didn't borrowed from other on her eaely days, or that Kalen is the first one modeled after Ayu.

About the Drama, I'm just curious. It seens like it will be so bad its good.

I watched only the final scenes on a livestream. I can't say that much but I can say that woman with a eyepatch is kind of evil but... she's beautiful...

And a another new one with other scenes :

https://www.facebook.com/AyuTrollada...related_videos

Just watched it and really enjoyed lol
It's very japanese drama but I was happy as an Ayu fan to see her journey on moving to Tokyo.

Can't wait for more!

Preview for the next episode: https://twitter.com/m_ayumasa/status...26589797433344

Is it airing every day or??

Every Sunday.

hope to see the drama somewhere with eng subs.
not surprised at Kalen tho. they've already been making her image copying Hamasaki, cannot unsee.

I thought the writing and acting was really laughable at parts lol. It’ll be a guilty pleasure I guess. I had a good time watching it in real time with my friend though over FaceTime.

The green screen clip in the preview of Ayu performing at what looks like a stock image of Wembley stadium had me howling.

Does anyone know if Ayu's songs are recharting? The drama seems to be a big hit so far.

How do you know it's a big hit? I thought the first episode just aired?

iTunes Japan

J-Pop Single Chart
#68 - M

J-Pop Album Chart
#4 - A COMPLETE
#18 - A BEST

All Categories Album Chart
#7 - A COMPLETE
#56 - A BEST

Recochoku

Single Chart
#43 - M

Album Chart
#14 - A COMPLETE

Video Chart
#15 - M

When I was waiting for the release of the doroma on Abema TV website, there was a view counter as well as a live chat with people waiting for its release. And there was more than 140.000 people watching it and more than 7.000 comments. It was also on #3 on Twitter Trending Topics.

About the charts, I'm not sure its related to the premiere because it premiered around midnight and now is 6am in Japan, so maybe we'll see results in a few days. A COMPLETE have been charting on Recochoku for months now.

Man, anyone who googles Max, out of curiosity, after watching this, is gonna be soooooooo disappointed :D

Did anyone catch how TRF is called USG in the drama. :laugh
I found it entertaining enough without subtitles.

https://twitter.com/blitzlilz/status...52249924694017

A group picked it up to sub for this season! It's pretty rare nowadays to see dramas like this get picked up by fansubbers.

LMAOOOOO

Ayu is keeping silent about it. she never mentioned even once the book or this drama adaptation while she was greatly implicated. Don't get me wrong its the best decision but its quite funny because Max is all over the place with this.

Moving from onother topic I saw that they will relase a cover album featuring songs from the 90´s linked to the drama. Fun fact there is not a single song of Ayu now I begin to think that Ayu don't allow cover songs.

I'M SCREAMINGGGGGGGGG. The actor who potrays Max is more adorable and kind of charming.

She did mention it once when she reposted on her insta story a picture of the preface of the book which was written by her. :) But yeah that was the only time she did.

I lowkey understand why. Would you like to take the risk to have someone else perform one of your songs and it becomes so popular that the song is no longer associated to you but someone else? Think about how Dolly Parton was robbed by Whitney Houston lol

I thought she totally did not acknowledge the book's existence! so surprised to see that she wrote the preface?

I'm confused. does she approve of the book's contents? is the novel "based on a true story" or is it downright fiction?

She and Max were interviewed to produce the book's contents. I think the bit she wrote was in YayOu's translation as well.

It seems she's basically letting Max worry about the promotion for now while Ayu does whatever else.

I just watched the episode. And it’s so bad it’s good. I mean, the acting is ridiculously bad but I’m enjoying it nevertheless. Who has the idea of letting Kalen play Ayu’s role? She’s not good at acting, neither singing imo. Of course it could be the lack of experience but still, I’d have chosen a proper actress. She’s not reminiscent of Ayu in anyway. And I’m just being objective.

I managed to download it from here https://nyaa.iss.one/view/1239608

Most Jdramas I watch have pretty awful young actresses. Young pretty idols with no talent cast as leads in dramas.

The girl on the poster indeed doesn't look like her at all.

I watched the 1st episode ! I need to say before that the only drama I watched in the past was Hana Yori DAngo nearly 10 years ago .... but I’ve the same feeling it’s easy to watch but the acting is not good but I assume it’s how drama works in Japan ? the acting is overplayed and the way actors express themselves is too caricatured almost like an anime... XD



I’m more worried by the scenario it’s seems like they modified a lot of things so I’m afraid people take this as the true story of Ayu and I am sure a lot of people will.


I’m surprise by Kalen I can see she is a beginner but I changed my mind about her in a good way. Actually she really look like Keiko from globe instead of Ayu.

Lets be real here, that actor is a model compared to Max. I guess Max's power lever in the industry is what got him the girls, not his face. When they both kind of got "confirmed" on the relationship i literally couldn't wrap my mind around Ayu going after him, but i mean she was young, so it's somewhat understandable. She'd got a much better taste now :D

Also i'm not sure why people were expecting high quality seriousness out of this thing. It's based on a novel, not an autobiography. Just the mere fact that they added a chick with an eye patch should be a good indicator on what kind of entertainment this is going to be LOL

Best character of the drama so far tho

And yeah, Japanese drama’s acting tend to be a bit over the top, although there are some pretty good ones. As well as actual professionals. But this one, is mind blowing lol

I think the same can be said about Japanese movies.

It would be pretty self-worshipping for Ayu to tweet something like "A drama is coming out based in my life!"

This is baaaad though. I've seen a lot of Jdramas and this is pretty low level. Only way it seems it can be enjoyed is in a so bad it's good kind of way. I don't think that was the intent though, lol. I would imagine that that's more the reason that Ayu hasn't mentioned it; she knows how bad it is.

I'm surprised this drama isn't on JPopsuki (so far the new ones that I'm seeing is live-action Eizouken drama (with three Nogizaka 46 girls starring) that acts as a lead-in to the movie that will come out later this year, pending COVID)...

The woman with the eyepatch is absolutely ridiculous.

“Ayu wa, kimaseeeeen.” Had me rolling. And the stupid grape scene. Lmao.

Honestly? I've watched a crapton of j dramas back in the day when they were easy to find online, and unless you were watching something like Hana Kimi (which i love BTW) or other comedy stuff that's supposed to be over the top animated, it was always quite well done, the acting and everything else. Even the stuff GACKT was in (and he can be ridiculously over the top with his acting) wasn't bad. Cuz usually the characters fit the acting. I never really stumbled upon a drama that was so bad it was unwatchable because of the acting. I haven't watched anything in YEARS though, so i can't really say anything solid for the stuff they have now. But i wouldn't be surprised if the quality has dropped. Also considering it's not a TV channel that's producing this stuff, i think has a bit to do with the level of quality this got.

According to Oricon the 1st episode had a good start !
What matter is how people are reacting to Ayu and from what I see feedback are good and she was trending on apple music and so on...
If this drama can bring back good memories to people of this period and make Ayumi known to the youngest generation it’s worth (despite the quality) lol

It is a TV channel though. It's by TV Asahi, which is Japan's highest-rated network right now (alongside NTV).

I think the reason Ayu hasn't mentioned it is because it's "unauthorized". But she's definitely coyly promoting it. The whole point of releasing a 50 minute "M" video (which she promoted in her social media) was to promote the drama, which is literally called "M", has the song as a central point and had its first episode on the next day. I mean...

By the way, the drama is pure shit but that doesn't really matter. Some of the most talked about dramas in Japan in the last few years have been pretty bad and Japanese social media still loved it. The Hana Yori Dango sequel, for example, was really really bad and it had low ratings but it was a super successful vehicle for KING & PRINCE, broke records on social media and made Mio Imada one of the hottest it girls in the country.

That's the whole point of "M" too. And so far it's working. The Episode 1 post on Girls Channel is the biggest post for a drama launch ever there and most people are praising it (yes, as I said, Japanese social media users LOVE unwatchable dramas).

I love her. She's going all out chewing up scenery like a termite eats a wood couch, and it's hilarious. It fits perfectly with a story line that made Ayu, rather than call Max on the phone when separated from him by Eyepatch Lady, stand outside of a romantic restaurant singing aloud to call him to her instead.

So far the drama has pleasantly surprised me. It's as over the top as we all knew it would be, but it's genuinely, honestly fun. It's leaning into its cheese.

Today, Yahoo! Japan has like four articles about it lined up in my feed, forget the barrage that have been released into the net overall, which makes me thrilled for Ayu.

I'm also very happy for Kalen, who did better than I thought she would. I mentioned earlier I was worried for her just falling into Ayu's shadow, and that's still a danger. But it doesn't change the fact that her Instagram, which was slowly ticking up followers with each new release, appears to have gained 10k new followers in just days. This IS a decent start for a decent career after all, and if she and Ayu do it together, that's awesome.

I think it's cause it's TV Asahi x AbemaTV as a collaboration. The production value is more like a net-drama that also got a TV slot.

As far as Ayu promoting it, I don't think she is doing anything about it, it's all Max. Max has to manage all the stuff regarding promotion for it and things involved like the artists who were representing all the acts at the time as part of avex/a victory. I'm not sure if she really addressed the M performances on IG but on Twitter everything is handled by avex staff, so stuff gets promoted there but without Ayu's involvement.

Looking forward to watching it when it gets subbed, it looks dreadful in the best way.

AbemaTV is from TV Asahi, it's the same company. You're right: it got a lower budget but it's because it's a late night drama.

But while late night dramas often get lower budgets, they can sometimes surpass the buzz from primetime dramas easily. "Ossan's Love" is an example of that: it was a social phenomenon and it was aired at the same time slot, with shoestring budget.

And I am 99% sure she posted about the M performances on Instagram, which was basically promo for the drama. I remember seeing it in her Stories.

I think most of the "love story" told in the book is fiction made to boost interest in her (which worked) and to whitewash the public image of Max (considering most reports on Japanese tabloid media in the last few years are about him being involved with drugs, Yakuza, skeezy treatment of women etc). Ayu knows that and doesn't really want to directly endorse the drama and have it be considered an actual biography of hers but, at the same time, she knows it'll boost interest in her catalogue so it's pretty clear to me she is coyly promoting it.

She teased the M performances on her IG story

I think AbemaTV is a joint partnership between TV Asahi and CyberAgent (owner of Ameba)?

Episode 1 has been released by Blitz Fansubs!! I can't wait to watch it although I'm not expecting it to be awesome tbh

thank you for this. and that preface excerpt is cryptic as all fucks! :laugh

I've just watched the 1st episode and I am very pleasantly surprised. I approached it with zero expectations, ready for the cringe-fest after reading some opinions here and I don't see it as "so bad it's good". And I watched some jdramas in my life.
To be perfectly honest, the only moments I rolled my eyes were with the eye-patch villain secretary. I think this character is very forced and should have been created differently. It's only my opinion, I respect people who enjoy her.
This aside I find the drama genuinely fine and I would recommend it to the people I know.
Kalen is fine and can only get better. I really am getting ayu vibes from her. The final moments even made my eyes wet a bit ;)
I am very glad they spent some time on her "pre- a victory" years, somehow it felt like a good start.
And I must say I adore the music here, TRF (or USG I should say :D ) songs from that era are sugar-coating my ears ^^, plus the clothes and generally grasping the mood of the 90's, I love it.

To those who haven't watched the episode yet. Don't let the opinions of others discourage you from picking this series up :)

Completely agree! I've spend some years watching over 200+ dramas in my life and am definitely addicted to jdramas and this is very much like any other. I'm really happy with the re-creation of Ayu looks and music videos, I think they made them really well! Really excited for more :luv2

have any songs been featured in episode 1? if so which ones?

Just M.

The other songs are mostly TRF feel like dance and globe's DEPARTURES which 'Ayu' sings twice during the episode.

TK is of course a character too lol

tbf Kalen sang DEPARTURES in such a convincing Ayu style that for a second I thought she was singing two of us or an ASFXX album track until it clicked.

OMG guys!! I've seen auctions for coasters in which producers signs and write random letters I thought "What is that? Who in the earth would buy that?"

Now that I watched the first episode (with subs) I'm freaking, it all makes sense!!

Just watched it and I actually liked it! I've seen many j-dramas (of all kinds) and this one is in the "decent to good" category in terms of acting and script imo if you watch it not expecting an accurate Ayu biography is actually really fun, I'm excited for the next episode!

That's pretty much how I feel about it, as well! :) It's nothing that will win tons of awards but it's decent and very entertaining.

Oh my god...TK in this episode :laugh
I find the drama entertaining enough! Its campy as hell lol

The secretary is so extra :roflmao

It was entertaining I will definitely watch the whole thing :)
It even makes me laugh sometimes lol
Now I was afraid by the storyline but it seems like a lot of things really happened like how Ayu decided of quitting her former agency to joine Avex. It was reported some years ago in a tabloid that Avex had to paye for it because she was still in contract etc...
The feud / revalery between Max and TK did happened back then and how he decided to produce Every little things and Ayu in response to that. It something Max told on her blog like 10 years ago.

It’s quite funny to look for what really happened.

^Ah! It's Every little thing? I thought it was Do As Infinity

Yes it’s ELT ;)

Seems we will be getting a CD with all the covers on May 13. The original song "Can't Stop This" thats played at the club throughout the first episode sounds like a bop!

lol the vintage nineties avex logo at the end

the tracklist -
01. REVIVE 'EM ALL 2020（Beverly / FAKY / FEMM / lol -エルオーエル- / Yup'in / 安斉かれん）
revived MAXIMIZOR「CAN'T STOP THIS!!」
テレビ朝日系土曜ナイトドラマ+ABEMA独占配信 「Ｍ 愛すべき人がいて」挿入歌
2. Beverly revived globe「FACES PLACES」feat. SCHNELL from SOLIDEMO
3. FAKY revived DA PUMP「Feelin' Good -It's PARADISE- (Retake Version) 」
4. FEMM revived hitomi「CANDY GIRL」
5. Hina from FAKY revived Every Little Thing「出逢った頃のように」
6. lol - エルオーエル- revived TRF「EZ DO DANCE」
7. lol - エルオーエル- revived TRF「BOY MEETS GIRL」
8. Yup'in revived 相川七瀬「夢見る少女じゃいられない」
9. Yup'in revived 相川七瀬「恋心」
10. 安斉かれん revived m-flo「come again」feat. CAELAN from INTERSECTION

we're spared Avex nobodies honkling through poker face