Yeah, I'm pretty much done with reading your posts, haha.

Works for me, haha.

What's good about it? For me, there's nothing that's really so bad about it. And that is what I feel is 'good' about it. While Kazuyoshi, possibly one of the worst photographers in the history of forever [doing it to spite us!] did the photography, I can't deny that Ayu still looks nice in it and the setting is rather pretty. That's about it.

How many people complained about glitter/fated being photoshopped? Huh? A lot! :P I'm satisfied with the covers! :) I don't think there were a lot of people satisfied with t2m either. So people... Just chill out! :P

g/f of course did look photoshopped, but it looked professional. This doesn't. It looks like a freshman's first project in design class.

^totally agree with you. tbh I dun see glitter/fated covers connected to the songs (well they sort of, but not much), and it's overphotoshopped. Like you say it looks professional to a certain degree. I forgot who said it, but I assume anyone can just bring a cellphone and take a picture of ayu at the beach. I'm pretty sure the picture we take will be on par w/ sunrise/set covers.

I'm not sure about R/S, but I think while some people may not like the colors/hair/the tvs on NEXT LEVEL covers, at least we agree that it matches the theme and the covers did bring out the concept of the album.

And these (sunrise/set) covers. They are just plain candies.

Don't get defensive when i'm trying to be reasonable. :D We can just stop. i thought I was being mature by saying we could agree to disagree.

I'd say they have at least a ~light/lite~ flavor to them.

Plain would be Ayu's first 5-6 CD covers.

It's very sad how obvious a person's true character comes out when some CD covers aren't to their liking.. rather funny imo.

God she looks like a lost dear... Bambi!

I'm not really bothered either way. She looks good, no one can tell how photoshopped it is or isn't (picture resolution is too small). No matter what, the single is still going to be purchased by many. If the cover isn't your favorite, no biggie. It's definitely nowhere near as awful as people are making it sound. She looks good and fit, and I doubt the tan to be fake (she was actually in Bali at the beach, remember?).

I love the covers, looking hot and summery :P thought i dont get all "I dont like it" it happens every cover she releases, everyone want and cant wait for her covers then when it comes, the nit-picking starts :jealous, I love them anyway :smitten morely the cd+dvd

My only problem with the covers is that she looks so... bored. There's no expression on her face and in the cd-only it looks like she's slouching....!

Exactly! :yes Didn't people complain about the covers for t2m? :laugh

omg. so the covers are finally here. hmm i don't think she's pretty in it. she doesn't look like herself. hopefully bigger pics will prove me wrong. she looks so much better in off shoot pics... always. and then the super photoshopped weird expression face always makes the cover.

That has been the problem since Kazuyoshi started taking all of her photos for magazines. She basically looks like either a) a deer in the headlights or b) bored. There's no emotion.. no sex... no anything. It's kind of weird how a bad photographer can ruin a spread.

It's stretching it to say that you can see how a person really is by their reaction to a cover.

Really, in my opinion, Ayu's covers have always sucked. Usually it's a really cool picture ruined by crappy text, and that's what we have here. I think the only covers that really stood out to me were vogue/Far away/SEASONS (the concept behind that whole thing was genius - they, and accompanying PVs were absolutely fabulous), RAINBOW and NEXT LEVEL. NEXT LEVEL marked a step in a new direction for Ayu, so it was only natural that the covers conveyed that. Sunrise/Sunset, I'm sorry to say, is just a single, and it's not really new so the covers aren't new either; again, just a really cool picture ruined by crappy text.

You're very defensive on ayu sometimes. And to a certain extend when you DON'T agree with the negative comments, you start attacking people instead of their comments. If I say the covers are bad, does that mean I'm an evil to ayu? How my true character comes out from your eyes?

This is getting ridiculous. People never agree with each other all the time because we have different personalities and point of views. But that doesn't mean we don't respect each other. Like in the beginning of the thread I did argue with identity, or someone who loves the cover may argue with another person who hates the cover. But in the end we try not to offense each other because in the end it's just personal liking towards, in this case, the covers.

And btw, like I said before, next time you can just quote my name there as well.

I disagree, yo.

Oh, and to add:
I find that Kazuyoshi is extremely good at making people look like.. people that they aren't. It's sort of disturbing.

I just disagree that they're that bad. I don't really like these covers all that much either, but people are making a mountain out of a molehill and it's kind of sad. This is why AHS is a laughing stock to the J-Pop community.. -sigh-

she looks fierce.

I don't know what's it's the worst of the covers, the expresion in her face or that the covers is the same concept of glitter/fated covers
>.<

Alright then, what are you able to tell about me from my mourning? ( :dead2 )
[Besides that I'm being a little too dramatic.]

That's pushing it True.

Lol when both came out on the first day, many ppl made the worst out of them, but with time they learn to love them.

Besides quality are low. I don't know about you guys, those poses in Rule/Sparkle in a yellow suit with a pink background is way worse.

Unlike albums, singles tend to be nothing like their Covers, except sometimes related to the pv~. Point case~> MW/Days&Green/Rule&Sparkle/Glitter&Fated/Talk'n 2 Myself/ TW... etc.

He pretty much butchered the potential of this photoshoot! And I pretty much NEVER complain about her covers, but I'm not feelin' these... It's seriously just her posing.

first time saw it - EEEWWWW what is that
but after take a look of it, again and again, i find that the cover is not that bad, the whole awkwardness is working perfectly...beside that she looks HOT!!!
i think its a real ayu body, because she looks tan in her unphotoshoped diary photo, so no way they crop ayu head to someone else body..
the bikini looks very good too...

but..what dissapointed me is that she doesn't need go to bali, just to shoot this kind of thing...she can do it anywhere near the beach and the pool...bali is so beautiful but why the result is like that?

but i must agree, that she need to find another photographer and creative director...

my rating for those small sample of cover is : 7/10

I don't know, people just seem to be hypersensitive when it comes to Ayu-things [whether it be an outfit, a PV, a magazine spread, a song, a lyric, or something] and it can go either way and I really don't think that's a good trait to have is all, haha.

Like I said earlier, it's just a cover. If you don't like the cover, it's not the end of the world, it doesn't change anything about how the music sounds.

Very true. I'm sure glad the music is better than the covers! :yes

That seriously made me laugh out loud.

Okay I get you ( :yes ). I guess that's the way fans are... I've just never seen this kind of reaction to something before. I mean like 9/10 people who have commented don't like it. But oh well. I think I've calmed down.

People complain about anything! It doesn't surprise me, haha.

I remember when they complained about NEXT LEVEL cover, Sparkle lyrics, Rule PV, SCawaii shoots and even the ARENA TOUR stage...
Personally, I like the covers, she's hot! ^^

so am i the only one who can actually see, like, a white lining around ayu's hair? (i guess they were trying to make it look like light was shining on her or something) in the CD only cover. it's as if her body was just pasted onto the cheap background. just.....cheap, lol. or maybe i have bad eyesight :laugh but anyway, i'm getting a kick out of all the complaints :laugh

I think its just sorta like glow from the sun or something. We'll see in the HQ ones but I personally wouldnt put it past them.

Also as am I. Its bloody hilarious.

Those covers are terrible.... :(

Ｃｏｖｅｒｓ　ａｒｅ　ｃｕｔｅ，　ｂｕｔ　ｓｈｅ　ｌｏｏｋｓ　ｌｉｋｅ　ａ　ギャル。　Ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ 　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｈｏｗ　ｔｏ　ｅｘｐｌａｉｎ　ｔｈｉｓ，　ｂｕｔ　Ｇｏｏｇｌｅ　ｉｔ　ｉｆ 　ｙｏｕ　ｍｕｓｔ．

Beauty, micster, don't laugh at our pain ( :P )!

I don't mind em. They could be better, but I guess its a good thing the song is awesome. Definitely not going to stop me from pre-ordering.

Bahh sorry. I mean I hate the song but I was at least expecting some good covers but alas. So whats everyones expectations for the videos now then ey.

I don't like the cover pictures, looks so FAKE and she looks very serious, c'mon man! she enjoyed her days in Bali... is a summer single, not a drama!

I'd have preferred a thousand times before this pic with the white bikini from Vivi's Diary Deiji Deiji book where she's seen smiling and happy :)

the photo looks like a clipping pasted on a too easy and bad background... hot ayu yeah but not REAL ayu, do u know what i mean?

I really do hope Ayu / Avex still can change the cover pic... and plz fire Kazuyoshi haha! :P

I like the background for both covers but wish I can say the same thing for ayumi :(

No. Never an almost unanimous dislike/hatred like this.

No its not. :) At worst its usually 50/50 - this is more like 90/10 or even 95/5.

Basically, -50382378928.923829

:)

am I the only one who likes the covers?!!
omg. after hearing the terrible song sunrise i thought this single would be a major flop. but the covers are nice, hopefully sunset will be good as well.

the CD only one = :heart

but why does it look like she's grabbing her ear in the cd+dvd cover? oh well!

ok i am in LOVE with the CD+DVD cover now and am not caring too much for CD-only.. even though her body is so hot. i'll probably just buy the CD+DVD :yes she looks so cute

Hmmm....The covers are okay in my opinion. My main problem is that Shinomura or whatever his name is work with Ayu is over photoshopped so nothing looks real. As a fashion photographer myself I know that you want your model and the scenery to look flawless but that doesn't mean unnatural. One of my main problems is the background like others have mentioned. It almost looks like a backdrop rather than the real outdoors. My opinion may change when we get larger versions of the covers but as of right now these are not Ayu's best. Another bad thing is that we may be stuck with pictures of Ayu like this for a while since I have a feeling there is a contract with Shinomura that cannot be broken without many legal issues to follow which Avex nor Ayu probably wants.

Well they're not so good, but not horrible! I like the bikini!!
And she sort of looks like she's trying to smile a bit in the CD+DVD!!
(maybe just a bit?)

I have to say though, her boobs look great.

her whole body looks hot.. photoshop or not, i'll bet it'll look just as hot in the behind the scenes of the shoot we'll probably get in the next TA magazine

wow, the covers are finally out!

and Ayu looks like a little kid!

but its nice!

thanks!

kazuyoshi shimomura is about to be the definition of epic fail..OMG

It's funny, actually, about the bikini...it's the SAME one that Ayu always seems to be wearing. We've seen it in blue, orange, and in white in the Deji Deji Diary.

lol@ the cover, I dont really get any impressive from the song(fun and not cool) and now the cover, just looking forward to Sunset

:yes i agree :lech

ahh..the covers.. i dont really like it at all :tired :weep
i dont like the background, seems sorta cheap..
the greenery and the font sorta ruined it.

omg, her hair reminds me of the ayu in the Voyage era..bangs, long curly hair~

i agree, he needs to stay away from ayu forever.

Oh well...We have a nice body, but a sucky backdrop.

Really? Normally it's more like 75/25 at first imo, unless for some reason everyone's really satisfied [which never happens]~ I really honestly just recall a lot of people throwing "EW I HATE THIS" at everything new for the last few years... NEXT LEVEL was 'gross' because of the teased hair or the dishwashing gloves with nails on the ends, Rule/Sparkle was "nasty" because of the poses she made or the pleather fabric all over the place, Days/GREEN was "too similar" to Mirrorcle World, Mirrorcle World's cover had too much "fishlips" and looked 'tacky', A COMPLETE had Ayu "looking like Beyonce", GUILTY's covers were 'bland at best', and more..

I don't really understand what people were expecting from these covers since we basically knew where they were gonna be [on some poolside] and what she was gonna be wearing.. and who was shooting.

I had a tiny bit of hope that they'd maybe look a bit better than they do, but eh. Can't change who she works with.. -sigh-

i am disappointed by the covers too. it's way too amateur and fake, poor photoshop keying ayu into the background. it looks so fan made

I think the problem is Shimomura, Ayu´s covers get worse and worse since he´s working with her, and even Ayu seems forgot to smile.

And I criticize all the covers since Guilty because she used to have a VERY good covers, always were really nice, until Secret´s Era at least, we know that she can do very good stuff with the right people but now she´s turning mediocre in covers and that´s why I criticize them

Oh the covers !!!

So Shakira !

I like it !

THE COVERS!!!..NOOO, I DONT LIKE IT!!!, i wanna something like b4 T^T

My thought exactly!

I mean, Ayu looks pretty, her body looks amazing, but the background... what the hell are/were they thinking? It looks SO BAD. Some people on this forum can do better with photoshop than this!

i have loved almost all of those covers! guilty's photoshoot was really good. mirrorcle world and days/green disappointed a lot of people by being too similar but i loved them also.. fish lips and all. i loved A COMPLETE's covers too.

next level and r/s were gross and this just adds to it.. you can't deny her body looks good ("photoshop" or not) but the face doesn't really look like her (cd+dvd is monkeyish and that's not ayu at all!), and the background is... really cheap looking.

it would be a lot better if didn't look so fan made! i'm not really disappointed in the covers though 'cause i wasn't sure what to expect.

that cover looks fake to me...
no way ayu is doing a cover like that... a mag spread like that... im ok

the covers looks like:
""hey ayumi! Someone has just killed your dogs..now look to the camara baby"" ...¡click!

I think this is the first time I really don't like an Ayu cover. (and people were complaining before this....)

~ayumi hamasaki latest single PV: short film - Lost in Bali~

The covers are just plain horrendous. :no

I really like how her body is, despite it obviously being photoshopped... I like her clothes, her hair, her accessories... I love the text too.

But that's about it.

The background looks more like a canvas painting than a scenery from Bali. Honestly if I were someone from Bali, I would be really offended with this... it's like, what? She went all the way to Bali, only to come back with covers that don't even LOOK like Bali?

And her face... oh my God.

CD-only:
"Huh what am I doing? Omg I'm kinda having a hungover... so tired..."

CD+DVD:
*Okay so I'm gonna get ready for a hot pose woo!*
- Places hand on ear-
~half-way through-
*snap snap*
Kazuyoshi Shimomura: "Ayu I took The hottest shot of you, EVER!"
*orly?*
"Yes, come and look!"
*zomg Shimo-san, I look like an idiot who's scratching her ear... I wanted to do a hot pose with my hand behind my hair, yeah?*
"No Ayu you're freaking hot, hotter than Sparkle PV!!!"
*Really? You're my BFF, so I'll trust you! That shall be my CD+DVD cover! :heart*

:rolleyes

... Her facial expression is just bad. And whoever who brought Kuu's anytime... at least that was natural and besides the CD+DVD cover, the CD cover is lovely and so is the booklet. At least the laidback and natural feel is in sync with the song.

I still remember how Ayu actually SMILED in one of the BLUE BIRD shots... and she's like -Lost in Bali- here...

I really hate Kazuyoshi Shimomura for screwing up almost everything about Ayu... but I can't help but feel Ayu should be meaner and tell him that his stuff are that bad.

I mean... I don't know... there's just something so wrong with these covers... her eyes have no expression; no nothing... she's Ayu, not a mannequin posing for FHM's summer magazine...

Really, Kazuyoshi should stop making Ayu do the drugged and lost face... He really doesn't know how to make a woman beautiful. :no :( :weep

Ayu, good luck to your career if you're deciding to stick with incompetent staff members.

^ Personally I love Kazuyoshi...

^ I do like some of his shots like Mirrorcle World and GREEN/Days (not the Days/GREEN) one... NEXT LEVEL CD+DVD, A COMPLETE... but all of these, I think it's just Ayu salvaging herself by doing a right face.

This, however,... I don't know. I'm really shocked at how someone like Ayu would even allow this atrocity to be in her portfolio. If it's magazine shots and she does that "I'm lost baby" face... it's all right to me, cos the most important thing is to highlight the clothes that she's wearing.

For her single/album covers though... they're a part of her career, and her just allowing this horrendous thing... really reflects on her increasing complacent attitude towards making sure that everything about her singing career is smooth and good imo...

people, believe me...if you take a look of it again and again
it will grow on you before you realise it
i kinda like it now more than before...

I don't mind that this cover isn't in front of a backdrop (a first in a year and a half!), but it's OVER-photoshopped. It's not one of those covers where an arm or part of a leg is missing or too small or something, she just looks fake, almost plastic. She looks wonderful, but the plants behind her look FAKE. I bet it wasn't a backdrop, and they shouldn't have done any kind of editing to the flowers.

The covers aren't bad, I just wish they hadn't done all that photoshopping. But, like someone just mentioned, I am growing to the covers... at least, the small versions. Let's see how they look when the bigger, HQ versions are released.

I hope I do. I really like everything actually, except for her facial expression and the canvas, "Bali" background...

That's like another problem. Sunrise/Sunset... LULZ, where's the sun? Oh well...

But even so, I remember there at least being enough positive comments to balance it out. Not so this time.

Since we can't change who she works with, the one thing we can do is complain. I don't see it ending anytime soon. ^_^

I highly doubt it. For someone who supposedly has so much control over her image, if Ayu didn't want him around he wouldn't be there. Do you really think Avex really wants this guy who has never worked with any other major artist before and keeps turning in substandard work? This is nepotism at its worst since the whole reason he even got involved is because both he and Ayu are friends with Mika John.

I kinda disagree with everything you've said... XD

I don't think it's complacency at all, if Ayu disliked it that much, she'd put her foot down, but the reason she isn't is obviously because she must like it at least a little.
Also, the portfolio thing, Ayu isn't a model. She isn't an artist. She's a singer, sometimes they don't have the best covers and they can't satisfy everyone. She's doing her best and she obviously thinks that Kazuyoshi is doing a good job...

this is the first tiem im disappointed..

i perfer it bg-less than with that bg..-.-

she should use LESLIE KEE<3

I think I'm quite ... disappointed. Actually, I have already thought that it would turn out to be something like this.

Seriously, how could they make the whole thing look so fake? Ayu' body looks good, but the picture as a whole is a total fail. Her skin is overphotoshoped. Even the background is overphotoshoped. What is the point of shooting in Bali anyway? The cover doesn't show any scenery even a bit, showing Ayu, bushes and water?

I don't complain just for the sake of complaining though, I just don't like the cover that much. I really can't get use to this style of Kasuyoshi the photographer. What surprise me the most is that Ayu, continuously, approves to use his works.

IMO this pic could have been a great cover:

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/767/8470b8.jpg

Is this for real? they havent put it up on the official web site yet... plus the photoshop work is kinda bad.

that right there is about 3000x better than the current covers. is that ayu? how cute

@Furashubakku: Not to be too picky but.... actually she was a model before anything else. :)

WOW is it only me who loves the covers? O.o

I love her outfit to start with! It makes me think of her I am... era so much! :heart
And I really think that the bakground looks calm and summery. It looks happy! She could have smiled more for a happy summer single but but, I think she looks calm in a way. Its beautiful. According to the small pictures we have I can't see so much trouble with the bakgrond. I think the colours looks so pretty. They blend in very well with each other!
And yes maybe they could have done less photoshoping on her but lol, Ayu is always hard photoshoped these days so... :P Let's complain on everything else too!! :P Nah I love that summery calm feeling these covers give, I love her outfit and I love the colours used!

No my conclusion that from these small covers, I LOVE THEM! They maybe I will be proved wrong when the bigger one comes, or even more in love. ^^ I'll wait and see.

i decided, it's ayu's worst single cover ever
i hate the covers and i hate the songs..

I love them. I really love them. :)

That's true LOL. But she's a singer before a model now. Plus, I think they just tell Ayu too look sexy, she doesn't know how to that's why she acts like that in front of the camera imo.

This thread is making me lol so hard :laugh

lol @ the covers
lol @ the complaining
lol @ people saying 'omg you guys it's not that bad. you'll like it later'

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

I get what you mean... which leads me to the next part: that by assuming Ayu chose these covers based on her judgment and these are the BEST shots... then God Kazuyoshi must have had a gallery of thrash candid shots of -Lost in Bali-...

And I bet while selecting the covers... Ayu was like "Ugh 8 more years before the contract ends... :grumpy"

Actually, the offshot of Mirrorcle World and talkin' 2 myself were rather quite good [probably among the final few shots she probably wanted]... so.. I kind of wonder if there were one or two better shots?

Maybe we'll see in the booklet, haha.

The outcome of these covers are really out of my expectation :(
I feel that this kind of low quality background cover doesn't fits Ayu's status at all LOL!!

maybe she likes them and thinks they're good and not horrendous :shrug she probably thought there was nothing to worry about, but the covers are just not what a lot of people wanted/expected.

he doesn't put a gun up to her head and tell her to "make this face OR ELSE!!" it's all ayu imo, and her recent diary pics she takes of herself proves it. but honestly, i don't think the facial expressions look too bad on these covers, mainly because i don't see any 'fish lips' but maybe they'll show up in HQ lol

So true, but it's going to be the same reactions from people for whatever Ayu does, had done, and will ever do. (including songs, pvs, covers, books, magz)

True, but I feel like he 'guides' her to those expressions. Before when ND CHOW and Leslie were mainly the ones doing her covers/magazines etc... it just seemed like she was more relaxed. And now with Kazuyoshi***** it's like... this explosion of awkward facial expressions.

Shimo: GIVE ME SEX!
Ayu: ....-pout-
Shimo: KANPEKI HIMESAMA SUGEE

Thats why I keep coming back to check this thread. :)

To keep the laughter going, the first 2ch comment about it that I've been able to find:

"新曲のジャケ写きもすぎwww
また劣化したねwww
ブスブスブスブス"

"The new cover photo is way disgusting. lollol
It just keeps getting worse. lol
uglyuglyuglyugly"

I imagine this is the first of many such comments about to pour in.