haha, this reminds me of a finished product that a noob in my art group project presented to us, which I ended up remaking.

There are too many flaws in these covers that I won't state what they are, and of course, I wouldn't want to, as I would be called a detailed-excuse-making-complainer.

For me the cover are ok not her best but not her worst cover. It's really summerish but the colors of the background is a bit too surreal!
I would like to have bigger cover to confirm my view about it. I can't really say what I think about Ayu's expression. It's too small

They're not great, but we've come to expect that from this photographer. She looks a bit awkward in the CD cover, like she's not sure what she's supposed to be doing. The DVD cover is better, she's doing something. The colours are good, nice to see something outside of a studio, but it's hard to see all details in a pic that size.

awww, poor Ayu. She looks too skinny in those photos T_T

They looks very plastic and rendered (the blur is a foe) This is the worst. This bcg ><"
She is very well stylized, but in fact, they coud cover her ears (monkey effect, yeah)
And the graphics made her body look hot xP

Ahahahaha!

I laughed for like 5 minutes after reading this!

she took that photo in Bvlgari private beach, right??
@_@ why she choose that pool location..( believe me, Bvlgari has many beautiful spot)

I'm surprised no one has commented about her amazingly large breasts. :P

I like the covers very much^^
But I think they're too much photoshoped...

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8...n200706192.jpg

That's wat she said :innocent

they just looked well shaped = photo shopped.

OMG ayu and I have almost the same bag. ::D

They look a little boring, but I really don't think they're bad. Any Ayu is in really good shape, yum. ;p

The Covers are back up on TA... I guess they are final <.<

oh ! god ! this cover 's too horrible ! i never expect something like that ! ~~!

:roflmao

I expected the covers to be better, somehow :/ Not one of her worse covers though. She kinda looks taller too.

The covers just look fake... sigh

all hail photoshop

ROFL no no noo

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z...KUPAEGTSUU.png

Now with a natural tan and colorful too! just like ayufans like it!

Somehow she doesn't look like herself..:(

ya.i also hope a better cover with summer feel scenery T_T

I love the covers. :D Very summerish and pretty. Reminds me of the Ayu in 2001. Her hair looks like it's from Dearest promo pic or something, but I like these anyway. Very pretty. :)

I've also heard Sunrise's full version and I actually liked that song quite a lot. It's different than Ayu's other summer songs. Hopefully Sunset is good as well. :)

I slept on it, and still hate them ._.
I had enough money to buy the new single but I don't think I'll bother now, it's not at all pretty to look at :dead2

^ I like Sunrise but I don't want to spend x amount of money importing a CD if I don't like the whole package

If nemesisyume don't bother it, I will print her Sunrise/Sunset cover

and I paste them on to the cd case LOL

Are there REALLY official ? because they look like fake seriously !

If it's not some fakes, how can we juge them there are really too small, but whenever I don't find them awfull there are very summerish and Ayu looks cool but we must wait bigger files !

And it's so stupid to not buy the single because of the covers O_O" the songs are the same! In more Ayu said there will be a lot of magazines and TVshow, can't wait >0<

How often shall i say they are REAL and from TA <.<

They are very bad. But still not that awful like NEXT LEVEL's covers were.
The CD only seems to look a bit better.

ROFFLLL

it sure does :roflmao can't you hear the difference! the song totally changed when the covers came out!

she has been looking all photoshopped for a long long time and people are STILL complaining - I guess people just don't want to be happy about anything.

^But I can't recall seeing her photoshopped this bad. The covers have fake written all over it. It looks like computer technology has just been invented and people don't know how to use it. xD The covers could have been really great. Was there even the need to go to a foreign country? It looks like she's standing in front of a blue box anyway.
I would kinda understand it if she was just debuting, but after 11+ years in the business we get this? -_-
The concept is nice, just poorly executed. The HQ covers might look better, though. Or seeing the actual single.

I am not familiar with this, so I wanted to ask. Who is usually in charge of photoshopping? The photographer? The design team?

I rather have something like this being the cover T_T

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ood/COVER1.jpg

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ood/COVER2.jpg

Wow. These have to be her worst covers ever.

It's amazing what a change of scenery can do haha.

honestly, this is the very first time that i ever dislike Ayu's single covers T__________T
this is the 2nd worst after (m)u cover~
where's BALI view? i prefer Bali beaches rather than some flower gardens on the back T___T Ayu's outfit really doesn't match with the background..with the outfit like that, she should be taking photoshoots at jungle!

^That's why I like the set of identity. Because the colours are kinda brown-ish, so it fits with the outfit. It doesn't look that fake either.

wow, the first one is really pretty :love

Wait, you just said it was stupid to dislike the songs because of the covers. Isn't it the same thing liking the songs because of the covers?

Wow, just changing the background color improves them a lot. o.0

...oh my... the covers ... x-x speechless...

Oh wow @ covers. I don't like the song and I really hate the covers. Ayu looks even more shopped than usual and sooo awkward/fake/wrong. This is a first for me with Ayu. I'm usually not disappointed by her. :( Well, at least it saves me money cause I canceled my order.

Wow, if these were the original covers, I'd probably like them :D But then her outfit has to be different (and that hair) ^^

:rolleyes

OH MY GOD! :heart
can someone send this to avex? ¬_¬

We all know Ayu's had awful covers in the past but before it seemed like it was just Ayu's expressions (and Kanariya which is in a class of its own bad). The expressions arent flattering and the backgrounds are a joke. Why go to Bali if you were going to stay indoors? What corelation does the cover have with summer and carefree feelings other than the bikini and the faux tan?
Part of the appeal of buying singles and CDs is the covers. With covers like these, those Pvs and Sunset better be amazing if this single is to attract the general public.

I don't think that the problem is that it has been photoshoped, the point here is that it has been done in a bad way... I think the body and the head doesn't fit at all...

Anyway the concept could have been really great 'cause I really like her outfit and her hair (on the pics she posted on TeamAyu) but anyway let's hope the will modifiy 1 or 2 tiny tings and that in HQ the cover will look better ^^

No matter if I like the covers or not, I'll buy the single because I like the first track (and I hope it will be the same for Sunset aha :3)

i still think its her face...LOL...and the composition of the cover...Ayu looks so...at the side?
They could have just used fairyland's cover seriously

I hate her expression AND hair.. and that's enough.

Yeah !! In fact I thought it would have been like the fairyland's one but more coloured and with a "tribal" style (because of the outfit) with a beautiful scenery of Bali's beach

EDT
This time the covers have just been definitively uploaded on TeamAyu.. !!

I think they won't change them. I mean, why would they do that? Maybe TA members like them, who knows... But I agree it would be nice to have another covers. But what if they change them and use even worse covers?LOL

So, say bye bye to Fairyland, BLUE BIRD and & covers.

From my experience as a photographer the photographer does the photoshopping. The design team usually does text and whatnot. But actually the photoshopping is typically not done by the photographer them-self but rather by one of their employees with the photographers approval before the photograph is given to the client for the absolute final approval.

if you want more tan words from other members, here screenshot from the web:

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/246...ottacovers.png

so no.. -_____- they are real.. I still don't know if I like them... my problem is the background that looks so irreal and plastic... I think he put too much contrast to the colours and are too vivid... hope for a HQ and bigger ones soon...

someone that works with photoshop or similars and know how can do a bigger version with minimum quality?? xD

ah! and someone asked which is the opinion of TA members... but I have to say that in TA there's no comment posibility nor forum... anything... only a page to send messages to ayu that only she can read or to the staff if someone has some problem with tcikets,etc... so only ayu can know what's the opinion of her fans XDD don't know if she wpuld comment the cover in one message... xD

I wait for bigger file before to juge them I just can say I love her hair and her outfit, it's already good =)

Are you seriously too blind to see that she isn't stood in front of a blind screen? It's just the way it is edited. Bali is there 100% as the diary entry quite clearly shows. :thud

Yeah you're right, however there's a way to know what is the opinion of TA members -> mixi !! The community "TeamAyu A course" ! But for the moment there's only one person who wrote a comment... and it's positive aha ^^'

I have to agree.. Once a photographer is established he usually gets someone to do the retouching for him (not always) but often. But regardless the photographer should always be the one to OK them. Unless there is some contract in place.

But some photographers don't even have to retouch, you can do a lot with lighting. I guess it depends on the skill and preference.

(I've been in the industry for a few years myself :))

Her facial expression says: "Is it ready yet? I'm tired, I'm sick of it I wanna go home... Please faster and just leave me alone..."
Oh, at least I like Sunrise. ^_~ And again she looks hot. :luv2

damn official site needs to update with the rly huge pics. i can't wait to send ppl into cardiac arrest with my sets see them!

I've just checked other Ayu communities on Mixi and well.... Fans thoughts are neither really positive nor negative. I mean there's a mix of opinions d(u_u)

omfg these are effin gorgeous :thud
but I still like the real covers

ROFL that would be cool ''LIKE THIS - NOT LIKE THIS''

I completely forgot about the lighting. That is very true. Is the lighting is just right then very little photoshopping must be done. Something tells me his original photographs may not have been perfect but they probably look better then the end result. For me I would have liked the covers a lot if it didn't look over photoshopped but more natural. This is one reason I'm going into fashion photography. I want to work with Ayu and some of the other J-Pop singers I like. Leslie Kee is a big inspiration for me. But back to the covers...

I don't want to look like I'm seriously complaining just for the sake of it, but I really can't see these covers growing on me. And NO just because the covers are bad it doesn't mean I suddenly hate Sunrise because I still love it, but in the psychological sense, you could actually grow less fond of the song because of the covers. The covers are supposed to be the representing image for the songs, if the image is really bad the songs also seems worse. I'm not educated in psychology, but I'm rather certain our minds would work that way, and I definitely open my eyes more to the flaws in the actual song(s) now when the covers are so horrendous.
And I agree on her looking like from a porn movie. She doesn't fit with the background at all either; just tan, brown, golden Ayu and then paste in a unnatural and flat background from a tourist booklet. Also, on the CD+DVD cover, it looks actually like the background was only supposed to be the blue sea, but they decided to paste in some flower bushes right in the middle. Overall, it just makes the covers look flat (not to mention her is-it-surgery? breasts, eugh... I don't find that hot) and please don't bash me for my opinion. You can love the covers all you want, but I just can't see the beaty in them and I'm artistically laid. I'm usually good at seeing the tiniest of bright spots in things, but this... Sorry Ayu, you don't look sexy nor do you look cute to me, you just look like another superstar about to hit the wall...

Are you seriously so ignorant? No need to be rude.
Lets put it simply so you can understand it. I am quite aware that she flew to Bali but the cover still looks like she was added on top of the background picture. For all we know (and see) whatever pictures she took in Bali with the real backgrounds did not make the cut and that may be why the cover looks so fake.
The general population isnt going to know or care whether she was physically there. No matter what it looks laughable and poorly executed.

After having a decent night's sleep, I've decided that I've come to terms with these covers. These are the covers, whether we like it or not.

Though... I wish this single had been released in four versions, just because of the title. Maybe two of the covers could've been out in the sun, like this, and the other two could've been shot during the sunset. That would've been cool, I think.

aa! I don't knopw how to see this page!! but it's interesting if we can know what TA thinks about it...

Gosh I don't like those...Shimoko did a horrible thing IMO
Those looked fake and fan-made....why should she travel all the way to Bali only to made those 'studio-like' covers.

Why why why should the cover be like that?

It's weird waking up to a thread and it's like 6 pages longer with more complaining and random shops around it.. oi.

Anyways, I think that the people who do 'edit' the photo and 'make it look better' here do okay, but really.. if you try to imagine how people would react if she had a cover like that [standing in front of a green screen-like sunrise or sunset] I don't think it'd be different from what we'd have here at all. Sure, we'd get some "Oh, but at least it kind of relates to the title.. I think.." but for the most part, people will still have the same opinions of the covers looking artificial and etc. So in the end, perhaps it's best for most Ayu fans to learn from this 'experience'.. that just because a cover isn't as fantastic as you'd want it to be [and to be honest, why would you when you know that Kazuyoshi shot it weeks before?] you shouldn't explode like someone just shot your best friend on some forum.. blaah, haha. Perhaps it's just that I've grown a bit as an Ayu fan over the last few years, but I just don't feel like the covers or PVs really mean much to me anymore.. hm.

Sometimes, I don't think people think about when she goes overseas for 'vacation' and really, it's sort of an excuse to go places when she 'works' there. She doesn't usually go to a overseas destination to just shoot a cover or just to take photos.. she records PVs, records new singles, writes new songs on the plane, shoots photos for magazines, makes a new photobook.. there are so many possibilities when she leaves Japan, it's kind of scary, but to assume that she simply went to Bali to shoot covers is sort of ridiculous when you think about it and realize that she really went to ~relax~ which is what people want her to do practically all the time, haha.

I like the covers, the concept, the colors. it's really summerish
however, her expression on both covers...is weird. maybe with the HQ covers it'll be different

and the first one really remids me the cover for glitter/fated

@neme: I don't expect her to be green or whatever in GREEN/Days, but at least for something like Sunrise/Sunset... wouldn't it be better to take a cover with the sun/beach as the background?

And that photo that shows the real background in her TA photos or whatever... sorry, I think that's like BALI HOTEL and not Bali. There's a difference. That background looks like the balcony jacuzzi of her hotel suite than a natural scenery of Bali itself.

Moreover, even if it has to be her balcony jacuzzi, why on earth must it be so photoshopped that the sea looks like a canvas painting? I can't even see the waves!

truehappiness said she could have done a lot of things at another country. I agree, but of all things - to compromise the covers for a single??? That doesn't seem like Ayu to me.

Also, I don't actually think the photoshopping are bad... I mean whatever it's just photoshop; her enlarged boobs and hot bod really look hot and I like them...

I really just hate the background and her facial expression... so much.

Though I think Ayu must be drunk to choose these 2 shots as the covers... I can't help but think the rest of the gallery isn't that good anyway. truehappiness is right again when he mentioned that Kazuyoshi Shimomura directed Ayu for photography.

Just think about it... from 1999 all the way to the A BEST 2 covers, she rarely poses with the fish mouth or whatever... why is it that the moment Kazu comes in, she starts to drop in her facial expression standard!?

And the thing I can't stand the most is that... her facial expression looks like they are in between actions/poses rather than being an actual action/pose.

CD: I suppose she wanted to pose like with a hand on her hip or something, but damn Kazu had to snap her while doing that.

CD+DVD: This, I think she wants to do a Rule/Sparkle cover, or even putting her hand behind her hair, even tossing it. Damn Kazu has to snap her while doing that as well.

These covers... she looked like she's in the middle of posing... which reflects really badly on the photographer imo...

And Ayu, oh God, I felt like she had no choice but to use these 2 - the rest must be butt ugly...

I think, the overall feel of the covers is so... unappealing...

-HOTLINKING COS I WANNA POST THIS BEFORE AHS BECOMES UNAVAILABLE AGAIN; I'm really sorry-





I really liked the GREEN/Days cover... shot by Kazuyoshi as well, but I feel that Ayu has made a right face (by luck maybe?) or something here, which worked.

I also know it's too early to judge since these covers are not HQ, but it's not like her eyes are gonna "smile" or that I'll see a smile on her face when it's in HQ... sorry guys.

I really don't complain much about Ayu... even the NEXT LEVEL or Rule/Sparkle covers which a lot of people dislike, I liked them.

But this is just... unacceptable.

These are really her worst covers imo, and I'm not going to change my mind, and I hope I wouldn't change my mind in the future.

was she working as hard as she could to counter the theme of NEXT LEVEL? instead of complaining, which is my first instinct, i'll just say that any cover that features Ayu still gets a couple brownie points no matter how bad it is. remember the fake, fan-made Startin'/Break Down covers from a few years ago? those literally were completely fake and still there were a lot of positive reactions! so maybe we have to take this with a grain of salt and acknowledge that Ayu knows what she's doing when she approves a cover. she's not exactly new to all this, i mean.

Did people all of a sudden forget about the disaster that was STEP you? And apparently I think Kazuyoshi did that set of covers too.. haha.

To be honest, I don't think more than a handful of Ayu fans even know what looks good as a cover/PV/whatever, so.. haha.

And that you will need to get eye surgery! :D

I think saying that this is poor photoshopping (or putting some kind of negative adjective with photoshopping) is the better way of explaining the covers. yes, Ayu has always used photoshop, but usually its for the , greater good so to speak? Like Next Level was photoshopped, but it was used to make it fit in with the computeristic and future setting (ala the heavy airbrushing on Namie Amuro to fit the theme of Best Fiction). And most importantly, it was profesionally done. The Sunrise covers not only look fake but cheap, when it shouldn't. Sometimes its meant to look fakeish (ala the covers I mentioned above) but the photoshopping looks lazily and cheaply done. Its not just the fact that photoshop was used, but that it was poorly used.

Step You's cover was really good...

wut. Nothing wrong with STEP you covers. There like picasso's creation in comparisons to these

uh sorry to say but no it wasn't. the photoshopping out of her tattoo was one of the hugest photoshop fails i've seen

Just for a side note: Did anyone notice the songs in the mash-up mix were changed in order. Now its fairyland-glitter-Blue Bird-greatful days-July 1st. I can't wait for the mashup mix!

I didn't notice. Ayus skin in that covers is all photoshopped (as i said to go with the techological computeristic theme) so it fit in with the rest of her skin. its not like theres a giant square of fake looking skin where her tatoo would be.

Are you kidding yourself?

Please tell me you are.

Sunrise/Sunset's covers are at least better than this washed-out transvestite...THING.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a5/zeoh/stepyou.jpg

The overexaggeration here is just so.. blah.

Random statement!

It's really sad that Kazuyoshi gets so many opportunities to work with Ayu and fails every time. I would be wetting my pants if I got the chance to work with Ayu and I'd try my best to make her look as beautiful as possible without looking artificial, which Kazuyoshi does EVERY SINGLE TIMEEEE... AND IT SICKENS MEEE.

I just wonder why she is so sad in the pictures if it's supposed to be summer-happy single. Reminds me of A BEST covers, but you say she chose the photos herself so nobody forced her to anything. I don't get it. I like the covers, they are ok to me, I'm only dissappointed because I know Ayu has potential to make an freaking awesome cover that's gorgeous and full of energy but instead she makes what she makes. Why is she so sad? I want to know.

I also agree that the background is somehow plastic, if the PV won't be a surreal-unrealistic-plactic Bali with some great plot behind it that would explain the covers I'll be dissappointed.

o god. you really should have used a spoiler for that too. that's probably my least favorite ayu cover/photoshoot

my god....when i saw CD only cover i was like WTF..............
I hope she'll look entirely different in her vid..
cuz it bears such a good song! :)
i hate her hair her dress her tummy @~@

Ehh I like them. Especially the booklet photos. But these? lolno.

But yes I will agree that its ridiculous how he gets to work with her all the time and fails attempt after attempt. See I'd say she needs to hire me to direct her next video but if her musical material is going down in quality too then eh. It just seems that a combination of trying to show herself to be younger with the sudden increase of boob pictures and electronic music combined with a lazy photographer and director is just bringing her down a lot.

Now thats a contradiction if i ever saw it...Complain that everyone is overexaggerating after calling Ayu a washed out tranny is one of her covers.

I don't think you realise, I don't need things to be put simply. I'm not ignorant nor am I stupid.
Yes it does look she was added to the background, but what I was saying whether or not you comprehend it was the plants, the pool and the sea is quite clearly from Bali. I personally think that the editing is intentional and I think it's brilliant. Whether or not you do I don't care. But do not try to do down my intelligence because I won't have that.

I actually agree with whoever said she went to Bali for a holiday. But I also remember someone earlier in the thread expecting Ayu to apology for trying to do good by her fans, people in Japan aren't complaining, right? Well isn't that what is most important? O_O

If you haven't noticed, Kazuyoshi pretty much sucks at capturing emotion in his photographs. All of the other photogra[hers [Shin Watanabe, Toru Furukawa[?], Leslie Kee, ND CHOW, among a few others] are at least able to capture a FEELING with their photography. Kazuyoshi's work is mainly stuff that makes the subjects in his photographs look like dead mannequins and that imo is more suited for the more editorial stuff, and even then, he's not very good at it because of bad lighting choices and cropping! UGH~ However, referring to the fact that this single is 'happy' and yet the covers do not represent that.. I don't think that CD covers ever really have to do with the songs themselves.. haha. Especially a 2A/3A/4A. But it'd be nice.

OMG @ the covers. TELL ME THIS IS A JOKE! PLEASE! someone say it's fanmade :weep

Ooooooh the horror, they are so ugly.

Hmm, not my favorite of her covers. She doesn't look like she fits with the background...

Oh how I miss Leslie Kee...

:shughug Let's be sad together then.

:D Ok! Rainbow, Secret, and this: http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...c/AyumiKee.jpg

Now THAT is a good photographer.

What? It doesn't even look like Ayu on the covers. Her face is like....totally weird, not to mention expressionless. And the composition of the photos is so novice. BLAH.

wow... the cover doesn't look good...

She looks like she has a fake expression on her face. And the covers were shot at noontime or something, which doesn't fit the single at all. It would've been nice if she actually had a pictorial during sunrise/sunset. Though the shoot may look like "fairyland"'s cover for sunset, I wouldn't mind.

I should've lowered my expectations, since I was really anticipating for something good. But still, can't wait for Sunset!

The covers by Raelian look FANTASTIC! It's exactly as I imagined them to look except 30,000 time BETTER!

Avex needs to hire you to do photoshop!

i'm sad that there's so much negative comments. personally i think that the covers are better than RULE and next level's covers. love her hair and outfit. i hoping the bigger HQ photos will do her more justice. *finger crossed*

wow thanks for your comment ^_^ but it wasnt' dificult making something better than the real covers. I hope they'll look better in HQ

No offense to Raelian, but no.

@Furashubakku: Pot calling the kettle black?

I'm not normally a fan of multiversions and multi covers but STEP you was the ONE time that Ayu had the multicover excuse. I probably would have bought all of them if each version of her in the PV had a cover. But what we got was not anything remotely similar. I wouldnt be surprised if ithis incompetent man is behind them aswell.