ja~ honestly, the only thing I don't like about the covers is that they're sooo lazy to me.

Like, I wanted something pretty and wintery!

But I guess these are simple and whatever. I also think that, having Maro in some winter themed concept cover would probably look really awkward. The natural tone to these lets him be there, and lets it not be so weird.

but blah I hate her hair like this :irked I thought it was gone forever after the summer :laugh

I don't really like them. They're nice and maybe I'm being a pessimist but if the relationship doesn't work out, these pictures will be out there forever..

It's clear for us who actually recognize her dancers by their hairstyle... Most people over here could love Ayu the same amount they do and wouldn't have noticed it's Maro if they weren't members of the forum.

I imagine other people who haven't even heard of AHS have probably twigged it's Maro in the covers. Including the Japanese media.

I think if they really wanted to flaunt it, they would of done it on both covers..
and the covers where you can kinda see his face, text wouldnt be over it.

The japanese media, mainly the part interested on it, pretty much... People who don't care/notice her dancers I really doubt... And a lot of people over here only recognize a lot of details of her career because they are actually constantly brought into discussion over here. If it was Shu-ya and his blond mohawk, I could see some people who watched her videos noticing him, considering his looks are not as usual... But Maro's style is pretty common.

My opinion: I like it. That's all.
It's sweet, very nice~

Que manía de rayarse así. Solo los fans de Ayu son tan rebuscados, mijitas y criticones hasta dar ganas de cagar. I said.

This same hair style again...? (I LOLed to myself a little about the pun.)

And I can see it now:

01.08.2013 - again again
02.08.2013 - Really... again
03.08.2013 - and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again
04.08.2013 - A AGAIN BEST
05.08.2013 - AGAIN QUEEN
06.08.2013 - Again songs
07.08.2013 - Rock'n'Roll Again
08.08.2013 - NEXT AGAIN
09.08.2013 - AGAINLY
10.08.2013 - Againet
11.08.2013 - (miss)again
12.08.2013 - MY AGAIN
01.08.2014 - R(AGAIN)BOW...
02.08.2014 - I again...

....

I don't know what to think about this anymore. :|

You&Me Missing again
(soo that's the message xd).My fav is CD+DVD ^^

I wonder what would happen if her next mini-album cover will be with her, Maro and a baby.

AHS would explode :laugh.

^ that would be epic.

But they could photoshop Mannies head on the baby.

ugh really?!

I feel this is like having a tattoo of an ex name on your body.
I wonder how will she feel when they break up and remembers this cover.


These covers make me feel more negative ugh.

^ I dont think she will care..
Look at Love Songs.

look at all the songs she wrote about her first boyfriend over...

if it bothered her she wouldnt do it again
hehe... i wonder how long this will work..

but, LOL, it's not even my cup of tea.

a bit difference from offcial site
http://ww1.sinaimg.cn/large/4b034f65tw1dyxsbdq61ij.jpg

So ayu make the you&me video, the missing video, and the covers for again the same week or the same day sooo that's what it is, and I prefer other type of cover but I accept this.

Some people really need to chill out.
IT'S A DAMN COVER! You don't even see his face!
I also don't really like the heavy mix between professional/personal life but as other people said it's not something new. Ok, it's more and more recurrent but still. If it's hard for her to separate both, what can you do?
I'm a bit fed up about reading something on her love life on every post, yet it's also because of her obsessive fans who bring this topic up on and on.

As regards the covers, I always wanted something like this. Natural, like an old photo with desaturated colours. Something summery. So I'm very happy. Still, her hair looks like a pony tail (a real one) and the composition of the image is not very good. I also don't like her expression on the CD+DVD version.
Overall, seeing a man next to her is a nice change. She is not showing his face and I like that. Like on H covers. It's kinda subtle.

Did she fire her old design team or something (I would after that A-Summer mess)? I guess not though since the fonts are still....=/

Anyway, she's looking great these days.

Wow you all seriously need to CALM DOWN. They're just covers for a glorified maxi-single :/ And Ayu was already lovey dovey with Maro in the You & Me PV and it was hinted that there would be a continuation. Why is it such a big deal that they're actually dating??? The covers are beautiful and Ayu looks truly happy in them. Also, Ayu's written about more than just ~*love*~ the past 2 years LOL... It's also been a theme she's been using since ASFXX?????? Seriously CHILL OUT PLEASE... Let Ayu be happy (:

And yeah, I thought of these covers too lmao. I bet these were scandalous too, because the guy is ~*shirtlesS UH-OH*~

^Ah the H covers!! thats the hot, playful concept with a guy, why isnt anyone complaining? seriously, not making sense

So if ayu used a random male model...you guys would then say she hasnt mixed private and career?? o gosh.... she can do the same person with ANYONE in the world but she chose to use Maro because the feelings are more appropriate. its just a conceptttt...its not as though Maro's face is blatantly on the cover...

You know, the CD/DVD cover has grown on me... Ayu looks nice despite having hay hair.

I wish she didnt have the beach hair, but besides that I wanted long hair and man did I get it!!

Hardy Har Har ;)

It's my decision to laugh (get it? me so funny....)

Wake me up, Ivy, with your snowy kiss on my sweet scar.

I think people are just flipping **** not because of Maro being in a relationship with Ayu, but how the reveal was handled. Deli and I were talking about it earlier, and we get the impression Maro wanted to make it public, not Ayu. He was the one who posted a blog about it first after all. If he hadn't, Ayu probably wouldn't have posted anything until the relationship was a bit more serious and people would've just thought she was just doing a continuation of You & Me, or that Maro was just Ayu's "favorite" at the moment, like Shuya. But because Ayu's "weak" - and Deli hated admitting that - she went along with him. Ayu seems like the type to do anything the guy says, too. So now, the relationship is revealed, right before a new album, and the next day we see them shopping in Paris for rings, and now the covers. And instead of it looking cute, it's just looking shady as hell.

And Deli didn't agree with me, but wanna make a bet Ayu didn't develop feelings for Maro until they started filming You & Me? I mean, he's been there for how many years? I honestly think she just loses herself in her work now since her break up with Tomoya and wants it to be reality. Look at her and Mannie.

^That bit about getting lost in her work and wishing for it to become a reality--it would actually be very interesting if it were true.

Bigger covers

http://www.sanspo.com/geino/images/2...5030006-p1.jpg

http://www.sanspo.com/geino/images/2...5030006-p2.jpg

God, ayu's hair in the CD/DVD pic looks so crusty to me
I can just snap it right off...
Must be the weave that she's wearing.

What I thought was that they both posted about it because they knew the tabloid was coming out the following day. TA was down for a few hours due to too much traffic shortly after he made a post, so all we knew was that he had a blog entry on ameblo.

i really like these covers!
they grow on me everytime i look at them.

I can always rely on AHS to bring the drama! You guys never let me down.

:popcorn

I like the simpleness of the cover but maro ruins it for me,
Even if he's somewhat blocked.

These covers feel rushed also.
"We been dating for a month, let's put you on the cover."

Maro is cute but idk.

The h covers are amazing btw.

I thought the same thing.

:roflmao

zZzzzZAHSzzZzZZzzZ

LEAVE AYU ALONE. I will make a video. Just wait.

But seriously, I would laugh so hard if in the end, the male model wasn't Maro after all. A lot.

People here said 'omg, when they started to date, it was out of nowhere!11!!1". He was recently in process of divorce, just like Ayumi. Maybe that approached them and... the rest you know.

I admit that the pictures are not my favorite but I like the simplicity. I find cover number 2's photo a bit awkward though.. Perhaps it has something to do with the angle.

Question: Is this this the first-ever CD cover featuring someone together with Ayu in it? I can't recall any of her covers with another person in them so I believe this is a first..

H & Love Destiny

yea the one where ayu, Mannie and a male friend in san fransisco airport meeting fans.. that's real.. no bodyguards no staff at all with her at the time right??

anyway who knows the guy in H Cover is Tomoya Nagase?
and i think Ayu and Tomoya kept their relationship for so long and didn't get tomoya in ayu's works because they are from different companies, u know how strict Jhonny's entertainment's rules, they don't allow their artists to date, so OPENLY.

thanks for sharing the bigger covers, now i love them even more <3
Ayu looks so natural in those covers.

This is the third time she had had another person on a cover.

LOVE ~destiny~ had a man she was hugging on the cover. (first #1 single)
H had her with 3 different covers featuring a topless male model on a motorcycle.
And now we have again with Maro on it, but you can't really tell it's him which was probably the point.

^ Are we really not supposed to know? I wonder...

I wonder if they hadnt even announced it if people would have noticed or would have cared so much.

LOVE ~Destiny~ and H are completely different than again.

We KNOW the guy on again is Ayu's lover. It makes it totally weird. =/

I just feel this relationship is now so in your face for the past few days. Covers, PVs, pictures on twitter, now he's with her greeting fans... I dont really care if she wants to have a relationship with her dancer, if it makes her happy, that's great. But it's just too much to have him dancing with her on stage, doing bed scenes, performing as her boyfriend in PVs, being on the CD covers... especially for japanese fans, where public displays of affection are still very much frowned upon.

I just feel really bad about this. Ahhh. And she looks so so pretty on the covers too. And Im pretty sure her music is going to be really good, since she demonstrated how much she grew as a singer in LOVE... Im so conflicted. I just feel kind of like... sick from the way Maro is in your face. I dont even know how to describe my feeling.

just to let everyone know Sweet scar has been uploaded for us!

Ah, indeed.. Though I remember the white version of H only has Ayu by herself sitting on a motorbike. Thank you for your answers Exodus and happiness.

Off-topic: I just realized that if we also included her covers for singles, DREAM ON, a song is born also feature someone else together with Ayu. I might have forgotten another single though.. Oh well. Fuzzy memory is fuzzy. That or my brain is slowly discarding information about Ayu to make room for other things and people..

I'm sure she'll be able to handle it (working with him constantly despite also dating) though I'm a bit worried because if this doesn't end up working out or if they 'split/stop dating' exactly a year from now when/if she releases an album, people are just going to do exactly what they did when she split with Mannie.

I really don't think it's that big of a deal. I thought it was a bit odd that he was in LA with her (then Hawaii... and now Paris) but now that we know why it makes sense. It's possible that this all started up at some point during HOTEL Love songs which led to You & Me and now some of the material on again.

As a fan, I really don't care too much about who Ayu is with or how often we see it. I get that it's very different from the Ayu of 'before' but maybe until 2010~ or so, we never really had a chance to really see the 'real Ayu'. I mean up until 2008-2010, most fans couldn't have even dreamed of seeing her and now some of them have met her several times and even gotten rather close to her.

Oh~ yeah, I saw his blog entry first and then the TA one so I just assumed.

Also, I HATE how on the CD-only, it looks like everything is gaussian blurred (not just Maro) except for Ayu's face.

ahhh, love the cover so much, she look so happy <3

I think that was the point of the photo you know?
Kinda ambiguous, but not.

oh wow i love it! CD+DVD is super gorgeous!

Yeah, but the way they did it looks crappy.

Also, what's the difference between the "original" covers and the ones on her site?

I guess the ones that were posted initially were a bit less sharp?

yes it does look cheap, lol...
Or i guess you could say simple?
the difference between the two are really small..

and their are other covers?

No, only two.

^ what are the 'original' ones you are talking about?

Foyuki compares two in the first post. I honestly don't see any difference.

ohhh... ill have to take a double look.

EDIT:
it looks like the cover from the official website (CD+DVD) Maro's hair is lighter... seem like a bigger burst of light or something?

WOW does she ever learn? lol Some "secret" this was. At least the covers look nice.

Oh, I just noticed something else... isn't she wearing the outfit she wore in Missing?

EDIT: Nevermind. The one in Missing is fuzzier lol

I didnt realize there was a 'secret' to this...
hmmm...

OMG HER BOYFRAND IS ON THE COVERS!!!1111 HOW DARE---

i think they're okay. i mean, his face isn't even visible, lol. :P

i love the CD-only version so much
it's so lovely

It's funny how the reaction of japanese fans on Facebook are exactly the same as on here. Loads of "the timing is suspicious" and "please keep your private life out of your career" but also a lot "you can't help falling in love" and "leave Ayu alone, I will always support her". Ayu fans have more in common around the world than I thought.

I feel both of these emotions. I understand what each of the members have to say here and I weirdly agree with the nay sayers as well as with the people who like it. I think, Ayu has been having "people" phases starting with Mannie in 2010. And this is the Maro phase. Because I always thought he was attractive and I liked him, this phase doesn't rub me off as much as the Timmy phase, but I understand if it does because it IS kind of weird. Now obviously we have accept to have Maro too, when we want to see Ayu. And if they ever break up, I wonder if he will be discarded. It wasn't the smartest move, but then I don't really get what Ayu is thinking, since said Mannie phase started 2 years ago, anymore anyway.

another disappointing artwork. it seems like she has lost her artistic vision

bwahaha, I ned to bring my popcorn :lech

oh my God :laugh

I don't check AHS in a few days and this is what I miss: new boyfriend and cover art. XD

Thanks for sharing!
Loving the CD+DVD version more, will spare me the usual dilemma this time ^^

Ayu + Mannie/Maro exposure was/is cute but gets me wondering about Ayu's privacy policy... she tells it all, and says she won't say a thing... it's alright but strange.

Lovely covers :heart

But I love how ayu says she wants her private life to be private but... lol

all i can say love! love the natural shot.. love the concept..

Just read this translated tweet from Misa-chan's blog:

She tried to tell us (in her way) xD

beautiful covers! :heart my favorite is the CD+DVD.

I like the covers, but i just want more beach in them, XD

what's that? :eh: a Creppy PV? my god! halloweeeeen :roflmao

ohhh... if she said that we should have known for a long time!
lol

I just love these covers. i don't care about Maro or Manny, but these covers look something-Ayu-ish that we missed from precious terrible covers.

LOVE and 'again' covers are superb. They just portrait who Ayu really is.

Haha I like them though, at least Ayu isn't alone in her covers anymore, as long as she is happy. :D

BTW MARO'S HAND IN HER WHITE TOP IN THE "CD ONLY" COVER IS SO SUGGESTIVE HAHA!! XD

This is LOL:
https://xoocuw.bay.livefilestore.com...001.jpg?psid=1

I kinda wish it was a dog instead of Maro, that would have been so cute~ I think everyone would love the covers if that was the case

LOL!! OK WOW..with that said...hmm...

OMG I'm soo in love with these!! Ayu's look totally stunning in both covers. I'm realli a fan of her recent natural looks. love it!!

i like this covers!

I actually love it!
I think the covers are beautiful and the one where she's holding Maro is just the sweetest image.

So Love again. She's found love again :)

Some people don't like the covers ? I'm actually REALLY happy, I'm usually never pleased with covers but these are gorgeous !
I don't really know which one is my favorite, I think she looks so lovely in the CD+DVD one. Both are really pure and soft ! I don't mind Maro being on the covers at all... actually i think its cute. :laugh

Me too! I think it is sweet rather than press attention grabbing. If we didn't know they were dating, I'm sure most of us would think that she was just using her dancers again.

^same here, i don't think it would have been a boig deal for some if we didn't know. I think it's a new thing for her to use someone else on the covers with her again (lol) after so long.

I like the one where she's holding Maro a lot, even if I'm not a fan of her using her significant other everywhere.

the cd/dvd cover is, as usual, the better one. also lol yay @ the whole maro shoot.

sooo pretty!

No wonder he was looking too touchy touchy on that halloween picture.
But still that's like only a month and half
:roflmao

I don't know if I've said this already, but the CD/DVD cover has grown on me tremendously.
If maro wasn't slightly visible, it would be amazing... And if ayu's hair didn't look kinda like horse hay.

:roflmao

The covers are just cute, nothing more than that. Hopefully the next 3 releases will have eye catching covers!

I thought Kazuyoshi Shimomura isn't directing her PVs anymore and here comes another Lady Explosion PV. Or is this Maro's influence...

^ Um, I'm pretty sure that isn't a pic from a PV filming. Ayu and her staff just had a Halloween party thing. Timmy was this Darth Maul looking thing. She and her staff took a few pictures of it around Halloween.

They went to go eat at Fogo de Chao in Beverly Hills and also dressed up, haha. I can't really imagine them shooting a PV in a place like that.

I've decided that right now they're pretty good covers. For once, she looks like a human (lol) and also, the photos themselves are good.

They remind me of Koi no Tsubomi. And also, I completely forgot that LOVE ~destiny~ had her hugging a guy on the covers!

I'm growing a bit tired of the coloring used in the jacket though. Love songs, LOVE, again... I guess only three, but still lol.

she will bite her own ass once this relationship has gone the mannie way. at least she didn't drag the latter in such a prominent spot. she'll always be reminded of maro whenever they throw out her next anniversary trash merchandise.

I also can't think of anyone else who has done this, not even in the Western world except maybe some barbra-esque 'duet' albums or something.


otherwise they're rather lovely, although I prefer the cd only version.

Oh damn it! Just stop with that crap you people! Things didn't work (for long) with Mannie, so what? She is some kind of cursed ***** that will never get into a nice relationship?! Should she stay alone forever cuz she has the dirty mark of the divorce now? Really, it's really annoying so many people are saying stuff like "She will regret doing this once the relationship goes wrong" like we have any way to be certain it will (and we don't), or as this relationship was just like the past one (it isn't).

Stop being so butthurt about someone you don't even know relationship ¬¬

^ no wonder ayu sang "I'm a lonely Queen" at HLS Tour

Amen. This is Ayumi's personal relationship. Yes, she shared with us that it exists, but the reactions on AHS from some people are plain mean for no logical reason whatsoever. The vast, vast majority of people goes through several relationships in their lives - because it simply takes time to tell if it will work. How does having 2 "failed" relationships(we know of) make her somebody that is unable to have a relationship or even worse, undeserving of one? And honestly, with one of them running for 7+ years and another for 1+ year we really cannot tell if it were "failed" relationships or simply relationships that ended. We just don't know enough.
Some people are being really horrible about it. And what if the relationship ends? Then both of them will simply move on. The relationship is only a "danger to her career" because of some fans' irrationality.

Why is it so hard to just be happy for somebody when they find love? Either that or just leave their relationship alone. I thought people here were supposed to be Ayumi's fans and at least respect her. :innocent

I feel that many people here are 18- , didn't have any relationship and can't understand the situation =)



500 x 500 from Ryan twitter
http://i.imgur.com/uPfkr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5AUuP.jpg

= = thx Aderianu