^omg what a scary image come to my mind

I really like this concept. The cover makes me think of NEVER EVER.

omg it's her best cover since maybe Mirrorcle World :love

Holy hell, I am in :luv2 with the cover! Ayu's direct eye contact creates a piercing confrontation that is intensified with her hands tied by rope, held up against her or in front of her face. Her expression appears to be filled with resentment and anger, but because the position of her hands, held as fists and the cropping of the image, it looks as if she is eager to retaliate and fight those or the person that is tying her up/holding her back.

I could be reading too much into it though. But it is what I first thought of.

I won't lie, there is some expectation growing for the P/Vs, I'm really excited!

I definitely agree, I like where you are going with the idea that she is trapped in the image she was made in, yet I feel that it could extend beyond her too; be representative of perhaps societal trappings perhaps? For example, most people I know or come across (like in Japanese/J-civilization/history classes) that love Japanese culture only really know (maybe care to know?) the positive aspects or the silly things that come from Japan, see it as a beautiful, harmonious and overall peaceful country, but there are negatives like any other culture/society that are often overlooked.. I suppose the outlook of Japan from other countries (very generalized here!), probably doesn't match the full perception of Japan and how its people perceive their country/culture/society/etc. Maybe Ayu is referencing such things with this image or again I'm reading too much into it from my initial impression.

Regardless its nice to have a meaningful concept for this album.

Meh... so Step by step.
So... Goodbye to traditional Japanese theme I've been hope for.

I think we all knew she was never going to do that, lol.

I absolutelly love it. Funny how much a rope and a strong gaze can do to a really really simplistic picture. It's dark. It immediately made me think of someone held in captivity but not ready to give up, confronting the captor face to face. I guess she is somewhat held in the captivity of her own image and by the people, by those who want to make her into what they would want her to be. Man this is strong. I'm seriously impressed, it's the first time i'm actually impressed with the image they chose. I don't even care about the oriental theme to be honest, this is so much more.
As i said before, to get a great cover it doesn't have to be over the top, details can make a huge difference.

BUT..yeah i cannot leave that without the "but" lol I just wish the text wasn't so huge, it's a bit distracting.

Oh my goooosh. I LOVE it!!

I love how we got a classic Ayu headshot but with a twist. The rope works so well to change the whole feel of the image.

you're so right

The disheveled hair + rope = perfection.

As far as marketing goes, I think it's a good size. Can't imagine it being too big or too small since visibility is key with design for covers, and while tiny text has been done before, I feel like Ayu has always gone for medium sized over too big or too small.

ALSO!!

This album has a 'sleeve' bonus going for it, so the text could be on a clear plastic sleeve or there could be something else under.

^I guess. Maybe it's not the size but the placing of it. maybe more at the bottom of it wouldn't feel so distracting for me. I dunno it just throw off my attention to the wrong thing lol but i guess it's the right kind of place for those who don't know her just by looking at the pic.
EDIT: YOU'RE RIGHT! I hope that's the case, because if it is, I might be just getting my very first PHYSICAL copy of Ayu's releases.


I'm gonna be pointlessly hoping we will get this and others in HQ and textless.

Oh no, the sleeve bonus is TA Tour version only!

I'm scared it's gonna be Party Queen sleeve part 2, lol.

http://i.imgur.com/SkO1ecL.png

I'm loving the cover!

By the way, apparently the sleeve case only comes with the TA edition

Edit: Oops, truehappiness already mentioned it while I was typing haha But yeah, seems like it's gonna be like Party queen, because it says it's the way of packaging the bonuses or something. It doesn't say "sleeve case", it say something like "sleeve way"

oh well. i guess i'll skip. Probably.

Tears tbh. But I suppose the Love songs sleeve was a surprise when we got it iirc.

nothing wrong with the lips...the image is so powerful...loving it..imagine it will be displaying for promotion your eyes going to look at it without a doubt

^i also don't get what's wrong with her lips, they look fine to me.
I do hope they'll use this one for promotion cuz the image itself is very attention garbing, kind of wants you to know more about what's behind it.

I think they'll use this for promo. Or an offshot perhaps.

Wonder just how deep into this theme the shoot will go.

Damn, wish I could get the TA version haha.

I'm excited to see how the covers will vary.