I love what they did with the A Best cover! Interested to see how this series will turn out.

I'm so excited can't wait!!!

I personally (as I understand this is subjective) don't see much resemblance between Ayu and Kalen Anzai at all, so paired with her absence? of acting experience, this seems like an unwise choice as opposed to booking a known actress.

Kalen does really look like one of those girls that Ayu inspired though in the 00s at least. Not exactly like Ayu though but her PVs and stuff channel 00s Ayu a LOT.

That promo is fire! Is that guy supposed to be Max? Generous casting if so lol.

Yeah, it looks like he's more like Max's son to be honest, lol.

She seems a bit dead on her Instagram, her PV and the -nice- promo picture, while ayu's personality instantly radiates.
But I won't judge her on that. Hopefully she'll be a nice surprise.
Her nose is quite different but as a whole she's a good look-alike.

Well tbqh ayu wasn't much of a charisma queen in her early days, it wasn't until late 2001/2002 that imo she got more confident and comfortable on stages and such... So it's not like Kalen will have to portray ayu holding off Rock'n'Roll Circus Tour performances lol I'm pretty excited for this, and I'm sure they wouldn't hire a "new ayu" who wouldn't have charisma, pretty sure she's looking robot-like on her PVs for a reason, and we have only PVs to judge so far. I'm pretty excited for what's to come (:

I think the resemblence remarkable. Well cast!
I really dig the robotic stare of Kalen, for some reason I think this very empty look suits so good for Ayu.
Like she is really shutting off. Love it. Know I am overreacting, but I am kinda glad that they cast her.
I hope she is good at acting.

Totally agree that she nails the early Ayu fashion/beauty aesthetic, but I feel like another actress could have adopted this effectively also. Ayu's features are soft in contrast to Kalen's, which are more angular and 'striking.' Kalen's version of A BEST really conveys this imo, I think they're both gorgeous however, this isn't to slight Kalen at all, just to point out that I think they're quite different looking.

Really though, the aesthetics don't matter - it depends on the acting and whether she can effectively portray Ayu's mannerisms from back then. I don't know whether Kalen has actually conveyed that in her PVs - forlorn/curious glances and an aura of being distant, sure, but I think early Ayu was more charismatic and versatile than we give her credit for. Anyway, I'm excited to see the first real trailer or preview - surely we'll get one soon if this is coming in April?

Really excited for this! <3

Trailer!

https://www.facebook.com/AyuTrollada...4300772358405/

I'm so freaking excited!! Is this better than a new album??

AbemaTV? So it's gonna be free to watch for everyone (with Japanese proxy)?

Dorama as a genre... in general... is low-culture entertainment. Sorry, but it’s true. It’s going to be OK at best, which is fine for what it is.

Kind of sad to see so much criticism of Kalen here. Her entire reason for going into music was to bring back the experience fans had with Ayu, Kuu, Namie, etc. You know, the very thing we all complain about Ayu not doing anymore. So, I think we need to cut her some slack. She's the only new artist fighting to bring back something we all miss. She's done a beautiful job so far with her music. All three of her singles were well planned, clearly had investment from her label, and MAC gave her major campaigns to promote all three.

At a certain point, it'd be nice if people would realize the difference between a copycat and an artist. A copycat is someone trying to capitalize on something while it's popular. An artist is someone trying to make space for and exemplify an artist-fan experience that's been dead for over 10 years. And a heroine is an artist who does it all at the expense of more immediate and bigger payoffs.

I love AK. She's really passionate about doing this, and not just for herself.

Edit: Here's an interview: https://popcrush.com/kalen-anzai-jin...pop-interview/

^
Sorry I might be wrong and I have nothing against her but it just sound like she has been created by avex since day 1 to play on Ayu’s nostalgia. I’m pretty sure she was casted for playing Ayu in the drama even before her musical career . It’s definitely something planned this girl has no background in the industry. What she does is nice etc... but to me all of this is fabricated and done in purpose.

Welcome to pop music lol

I think many of us just want to see if she can act okay. She is certainly her own person.

My pain points with her music don't really apply here. Her demeanor that she shows is so...robotic at times. And I assume it's intentional. So I think I'll be interested in seeing her not be that way in this role.

I like Kalen enough. I've been following her for the potential at this point.

At the end of the day, it's not a big deal imo. But it's fun to follow how this develops as an ayu fan :)

I think just in terms of what they've chosen to show about Kalen with her acting in the PVs or how she's been in photographs, she has a very doll-like feel to her but way more lifeless than Ayu was back in her day when she was called a doll. We'll see how she does in the drama but what we have seen so far isn't exactly promising, you know?

Intentional or not, they made me extremely intrigued to see her acting. So the hype is real. I mean, I can’t even picture her talking lol The only thing I see is a robot.
And while her music is not bad, I can’t stand her voice. We’ll probably have some covers of ayu’s songs I think.