Sadly the mini album charts don't exist, so it's not important at all.

No, it's logic. Marketing logic. From the songs over the videos and packaging to the promotion this EP is made for people new to Ayumi while her last full-lenght album that did that was...a long time ago. Secret possibly.
I hate it when people make everything out to be solely opinion.

Do you really think FIVE is not marketed at new fans? o.0 Casual fans eat this EP up(just look for reviews on the internet, the ones by people that are not Ayumi fans are far more favorable than they usually tend to be) and I'm pretty sure that was Ayu's plan. She knew progress would get major exposure(just look at how much the game sold in just a few days!) and used that to produce an EP that works well as an introduction to her. And she knew she had to work towards a second peak sometime or her sales will go down alot in the next years, so she did it before it's too late, we'll see if it worked when her next album is released.

She put songs of very different types on it but the only song that is not (japanese) mainstream in some way is BRILLANTE, the last track to be heard after the (pretty much)easy-listening stuff. progress is a ballad then going into anison, ANother song is a typical RnB song which is quite popular in Asia right now, Why... is a typical Ayu-midtempo, beloved is the perfect generic J-Pop song and BRILLANTE...well that one sticks out.
This EP is pretty much a blend of Ayu's "typical" style(- summer and winter single) and what is popular and all of the songs except for BRILLANTE are radio-friendly in Japan. That's probably one of the reasons all of them got videos instead of 3-4. Because all of them have the ability to sell as shown by digital charts where even the worst charting track(BRILLANTE) still broke into the top20. 4 of the 5 tracks can basically be played on the radio and music TV at all times and one shows that she is more than just an average J-Pop singer(talking about diversity, uniqueness and stuff, not quality)

And the marketing supports that. There is one version that basically exists solely for Tales of Xillia fans. Do you really think 1/3 of Ayu fans that buy the EP got that game? Well...at least 40-50k copies of that version were produced and very quickly sold out in most online stores(it was the most preordered version for some time) but they are the least interesting to people not having the game. To people that prefer seeing Ayu on the cover and having a bonus track over a videogame cover and an extra game outfit. So basically to those who first and foremost are into the game(who else would take a game outfit over a bonus track?)
They expected many copies to be sold to people that know Ayu through progress or re-discovered her that way.

FIVE being an EP is also perfect to attract new fans. It's very cheap. People are less likely to buy an album or a single just to try a new artist because an EP tends to be the cheapest of those(calculating price/number of songs), an album is too long and expensive "just to try" an artist and a single with 1-2 songs is not enough for someone to become a fan.

And I love FIVE as well, but fact is quality has little to do with sales. If FIVE is good or not doesn't matter much(and many people would disagree with you that it is good), it is perfect to get new fans into her.

Wow, you know what? : D I never thought of that, and now it all makes sense to me! Thank you for this post, really really much [and I really mean it, this isn't sarcasm], why I didn't thought those things? XD How logical, indeed.

If FIVE is the start of her working toward a peak, I dread what the peak actually will be. I agree it would work well as an introduction, but at the same time - it is not an introduction to Ayumi's music because nothing on this album is her (except progress which is probably her weakest out of the epic rock songs she's released and BRILLANTE which to me is classic Ayumi). This album is so generic it's sickening. It is the complete opposite of "perfect" to get new fans because this is NOTHING like what SHE IS KNOWN FOR. It is a blemish on her music career and I would pick NONE of these songs to showcase her to new listeners.

I wrote "it's perfect to get new fans", not "it's perfect".
And how can progress be the weakest of her epic rock songs when she isn't even doing a rock song in it? It's far more anison than rock really except for the guitar solo. The melody is very anison, so is the arrangement.

The general public wants generic, Ayumi took a step into that direction with FIVE.
And honestly while far from my favorite release I think it's much better than ASFxx(generic Jpop with good lyrics), LOVEppears(horrible production), Duty(great songs mixed with bad songs + too short for a full album), I am...(the ballads on that album are so generic it's sickening, make them stop!!!), MY STORY(half the songs sound the same on this one) and Secret(would have worked better as EP). All those had great tracks but to me consisted mostly of fillers - and they all were just as generic. While FIVE has one masterpiece to me(BRILLANTE), one great song(progress) and 3 songs that are just normal Ayu. (and I think it's very Ayu with the exception of ANother song, all the songs are very much like stuff she did before)

And FIVE being the beginning of a new peak(if it turns out to really be one) doesn't have to mean she continues releasing the same type of music. It just means she gets the attention to sell better again, so whatever she releases next may have a higher chance at selling well as more people may listen.

BTW: I used progress and BRILLANTE to introduce new people to Ayumi and it worked every time, worked better than songs like Love Song.

REALLY?? I know it's opinion but each of those album have one song at LEAST, if not more, that blow everything on FIVE out of the water.

Also, I just felt like progress was trying way too hard. It was going for the Mirrorcle World route but you can tell with Mirrorcle World it just worked and came together and this is just too messy. The only part I absolutely love, probably one of my favorite parts in ANY of the songs she's EVER released, is after the instrumental bridge and then the lyrics for the bridge kick in - God that is epic. So heartfelt there.

^U should learn to stop mistaking ur opinions by facts...

Most of Ayu classics are generic... Anyone could release Seasons or Dearest or almost any of her summer tracks...

Not everyone feels the same way about Ayu's music and I guess that's a good thing. She can please all kinds of listeners but at the same time, a lot of the music can be loathed by people who liked X over the more recently released Y.

In the end, it's selling well for what it is which seems to indicate that her main audience (Japan) likes this kind of thing. It's funny how it was said to be her 'worst release ever' by a handful of people here and then it goes and gets some of her best rankings of late.

And about progress, I feel as though it's completely stunning. To be honest, I think FIVE is full of ~future classics~. Even ANother song which really grows on you if you actually listen to it.

So true. Once I really gave it a chance I just couldn't get the last choruses out of my head.

^ I agree too... at first hearing the colabs... I didn't care for them, but after a while I find myself singing along with them in the car... lol. And I claim to at hate that Natura (what his name is) guy... lol... he is growing on me :)

As for the best ever? I don't know... I love FIVE, but you can't really compare them to other albums because it's not an album... the diversity isn't there because there's not enough material to compare. Personally I think I love old ayu better... (to me her peak in music excellence was Duty to I am, maybe Rainbow because I like to include memorial address into it...)
But the stuff she is doing now is just as good, different, not "old ayumi" but still good.

I loved ANother song since the beginning.
The melody and arrangement <3

^ Yeppers!

By the way.. totally off topic, but the sales for Tales of Xillia were finally posted: 509,026,

pretty amazing...

I do believe thats better then the combined sales of Graces and Graces F...

yes, ANother song grow on me too, though I don't like this kind of songs :D

I personally think this EP sells good, because of Tales of Xillia tie-in, cause progress is played every in Japan. It would be better if she had at least one CM with her on TV too, as she used to.

and I really like isthisLOL?'s idea about attracting new fans... oh how I want to witness her second peak! :laugh :love

^ I feel it coming! In the coming years she will have another peak! :luv2

i surely hope she has another peak! am i wrong that most of the fans here didn't witness her peak in 2000-2001?

^ hmmn, good question. Most people who joined before 2004 should have witnessed her peak during 2000 - 2002 (I think she's still at the top on 2002, which H being yearly no. 1 single, and I am being yearly no. 2 album). Of course, some older fans joined AHS really late as well. I can't recall exactly but a member with join year 2010 has been actually following ayu since 2000 or so.

Sadly i have a feeling that this idea of her having a new "Peak" wont really manifest itself unless Ayu's management really picks it up and starts putting ayu's face everywhere again... like everywhere and actually promote on TV and Radio and stuff to people who arent already ayu fans

'Cuz Love Song is just as boring. Lol.

But anyway, I just really do not think this is a good representation of Ayumi and her work. It's completely different than her usual stuff. Maybe not in a BAD way to some, but cannot be argued that it is very different for Ayumi.

Well, she needs to put her face on stuff according to public demand... Putting her face everywhere if nobody is interested on seeing her won't really work...

it counts in the album charts =)