The 146th Thread - The New Album is epic. I bought a copy, how about you?
 

The Koda Kumi Thread


http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/8327/kodakumi3.jpg

P r o f i l e

Stage Name: Koda Kumi / 倖田來未
Real Name: Kouda Kumiko / 神田來未子
Birthdate: 13 November 1982 (Showa 57)
Blood Type: A
Hometown: Kyoto

Hobbies: Shopping, Goods.
Favorite Sport: Squash
Favorite Type of Music: Hip Hop
Favorite Dish to Cook: Niku Jaga (Beef and Potatoes)
Favorite Saying: Ikkai ichi e (Once in a lifetime chance)
Favorite Colors: Purple and green
Favorite Season: Summer
Favorite DVD: Haneru no tobira
Favorite Brands: D&G and H・A・K
Favorite Food: Okonomiyaki, 100% Fruit Juice, Perrier
Favorite Japanese Artists: Toshinori Yonekura, Sukima Switch
Favorite Western Artists: Christina Aguilera, Nelly, Pink, Pharrell Williams
Something She Can't Be Without: Love
Favorite Part of Her Own Body: The "kori kori" of her waist.
Something Often Unexpected: 'No smoking & no alcohol'
Something Unacceptable: Lies and deception
Special Ability: To be able to talk until her voice goes hoarse.

N e w R e l e a s e s

10h Album
「JAPONESQUE」
Release date: 2012.01.25



4 editions:
■ CD Only
■ CD+DVD (musicvideos)
■ CD+2DVD (musicvideos+ Live Best+former album CMs)
■ Limited Edition (B4 box, 32 pages photobook+other goods)

【DISC 1：CD】19 tracks
01.Introduction
02.So Nice
03.Boom Boom Boys
04.V.I.P. feat. T-Pain（Album Version）
05.Slow feat. Omarion
06.Brave
07.Everyday
08.IN THE AIR（50th sg「4 TIMES」）
09.You are not alone（Acoustic Version）
10.Interlude
11.ESCALATE
12.Love Me Back
13.No Man's Land
14.愛を止めないで（51th sg「愛を止めないで」）
15.KO-SO-KO-SO （50th sg「4 TIMES」）
16.Lay Down
17.Love Technique
18.Poppin' love cocktail feat.TEEDA（50th sg「4 TIMES」）
19.All for you

【DISC2：MUSIC VIDEO】17 tracks
01.Poppin' love cocktail feat.TEEDA（50th sg「4 TIMES」）
02.Boom Boom Boys
03.No Man's Land
04.V.I.P. feat. T-PAIN（50th sg「4 TIMES」）
05.KO-SO-KO-SO（50th sg「4 TIMES」）
06.Lay Down
07.ESCALATE
08.Love Me Back（Album Version）
09.So Nice
10.Slow feat. Omarion
11.IN THE AIR（50th sg「4 TIMES」）
12.Everyday
13.Love Technique
14.You are not alone（Acoustic Version）
15.愛を止めないで（51th sg「愛を止めないで」）
16.Brave
17.All for you



52nd Single
「Love Me Back」
Release date: 2011.11.30

4 editions:
■ CD Only
■ CD+DVD
■ CD+Goods / Original oversized pouch (mu-mo Limited Edition)
■ CD+Goods / Original oversized pouch

[CD]
1. Love Me Back
2. Say Her Name
3. Love Me Back (Andy Price Remix)

[DVD]
1. Love Me Back (Music Video)
2. Love Me Back (Making Video)
3. a-nation 10th Anniversary for Life Charge‣Go! ウイダーinゼリーライブ映像
M1. め組のひと
M2. Bling Bling Bling
M3. Poppin' love cocktail feat. TEEDA

Credits: Tsubasa, Kingdom, FinalFayth, Corvina, do it again, Cherrim
Picture Credit: kaledkalil


Please continue the discussion.

:-D thread title is so .... funny :D:D love it.

I bought one,too=)
Can't wait for it HMV says it's in transit=)

Interesting title. Betten than the latest one that was quite...

But, yes I did thanks for asking.~
Still no news from YA or CDJapan. Just processing. Can't wait for them to send my copy. I'm refucing to download this time and I'm already way too excited.

^ The first press edition is still available at HMV? With obi, digipack and clear file?

Anyone else see scans of the album anywhere yet?

The PV for ESCALATE is so fierce, i love it.

Love me back ~album version~ best PV of JAPONESQUE, and one of the best in years!! *.*

I feel like I'm a total anomaly but I don't really like Kuu's PVs ;; I mean, I haven't watched much and the idea that each song on this album has a PV is really freakin' cool but I haven't really gone out of my way to watch all her videos so far. The ones I did see I found a bit meh, but I think it's because they were her fun songs. Fun song PVs tend to not be really in depth lol. But even stuff for her ballads just didn't do much for me.

I'll probably give these PVs a shot just because of how much I love JAPONESQUE, but we'll see.

And yay for a more coherent thread title.

I am so glad that she is working with Mr. Blistah again. However, I just don't understand the PV for this song. I dislike the graffiti poppin' out at the background. It is so not match the whole PV..

Haven't bought one yet, but since I live in Japan I plan on picking up a copy (probably used just to get a bit of a price help) before heading home in the spring.

I really like the album, but since it's long I could live without the cutesy songs (I don't like her cutesy songs all that much. I like her club/rock songs, then some of her ballads, but that's about it) but thus far in my one large listen I like it a lot.

The thread title should be "I have a JAPONESQUE copy, maybe u 2?" :laugh

Oh lord, LMB is even more awesome now, the story version actually makes sense! Just made me love the single even more!

More official lyrics are starting to pop up~ I translated Everyday:

Everyday (translation)


Everyday (kanji)

Oh god, these lyrics are so sweet, I imagine Kuu singing this to Kenji :heart Thanks for the translation!

Very Sweet and empowering. Could be ment for fans, Kenji or maybe her Baby.

my friend will buy me JAPONESQUE while in Japan :luv2

ESCALATE PV is full of energy! it's been a while since I wanted a dance-only PV, thank u Kuu :)

Love Me Back is certainly the BEST story PV in ages, and kakkoi :)
and off the album!

I actually prefer the single version of Love Me Back. More Kuu, less other stuff.

I actually like the thread name, and the pic used is old and she looks like a ganguro, but I like it, too.

LOL what a title :laugh

ESCALATE PV is fierce~ Jungle.. long time no seeee~
NM'sL PV simple & dark.. Love this!
Love Technique is well cute..
Lay down is kinda boring..
LMB Album version :heart
Slow pure love

still waiting for Brave & Everyday (i possibly won't like it)

@ Vivi preview from the last thread.

Those are really pretty looking pictures. I cannot wait to see them in HQ.

I still don't understand the hype about BOOM BOOM BOYS. I can't like it...the rest are fine but this.

JAPONESQUE promotion trucks:
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4989/1201233.jpg
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/9506/1201234.jpg

Thansk to Ilovekuu at JPC

Well that's how taste works. But I love it because of the 3-part-chours. :heart

would be nice if you gave links to where to watch NML and Lay Down

all her pvs are uploaded here

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/g1cLS13_EZw

except all are password blocked:tired

what a flawless album. Kuu, I'm so proud of you :heart
please make the Japonesque tour in 2013 or my life won't be completed x_x

hottest asian artist.

I am glad you guys like this thread title. Next time the title will be "Koda Kumi is epic in many levels, don't you think so?"

Love Me Back PV now makes sense :yes

Any news yet on what the lives are on second DVD. From the CM it seems like rather a waste of DVD if it's all Tour stuff.

lol I find it hilarious how the pictures of the promo buses were taken in exactly the same place. They must have been parked at the McDonald's close to TR in Shibuya.

Thoughts on JAPONESQUE...

1. Introduction ~JAPONESQUE~: Never have I heard such a flawless intro for an album. It's pretty good at setting the tone for what's to come in terms of the shamisen-sounding strings with a little hip hop beat and a taste of Kuu's enticing vocals. LOVE. And the breath at the end sets the stage perfectly for So Nice. 10/10

2. So Nice feat. Mr. Blistah: I was a big fan of her other collabs with Mr. Blistah…though this was clearly in the same vein, I don't like it quite as much. On first listen I was really not impressed, but the PV convinced me to give it a second try. I suppose I'll keep it around, but I don't see myself listening to it too much. Good thing it's short. 5/10

3. Boom Boom Boys: It's pretty obvious that from the opening notes this is the most perfect girls-going-out party anthem to ever see the light of day…but it wasn't until the chorus hit that I truly knew how much I was going to love this song. I could listen to it forever and not get bored of it. 10/10

4. V.I.P feat. T-Pain: I never liked this song. In fact, I hated it so much that it completely dissuaded me from listening to the rest of 4 Times. As cute as her banshee screams are, this song is terrible. T-Pain makes it worse. 0/10

5. Slow feat. Omarion: I could do without some of the auto-tuning, and I don't really have an opinion one way or another about Omarion's appearance, but this song is catchy as hell. 9/10 (minus a point for the autotuning)

6. Brave: This song is so basic I could only listen to it once, and then deleted it swiftly after. 0/10

7. Everyday: As soon as I heard this song, I started singing 'anytime'. It's like she plagiarized herself. Even the titles are similar. What the hell? 0/10

8. IN THE AIR: I blame V.I.P. for the fact that I didn't hear this flawless summery pop song until the dead of winter. It's catchy, and I'm sure it'll be lots of fun when she comes back to the touring scene! 8/10

9. You are not alone (Acoustic): ….oh, that huge chorus does not bode well. I can get behind the lyrics and the message of the song, but the chorus and the plodding beat just kill me. No thank you. 2/10

10. Interlude ~JAPONESQUE~: Not quite as flawless as its sister track…I could do without the random voices towards the end. Still love it, though. 7/10

11. ESCALATE: I find this song basic as hell. Next, please. 2/10

12. Love Me Back: Another one of Kuu's mediocre singles from 2011. I never found the whole "diamonds, and sapphires, and you, oh my" hook as catchy as everyone else on the planet did. Plus, the chorus is super annoying. DNW. 0/10

13. No Man's Land: I knew this was one of the most anticipated tracks on the album, and it really did not disappoint. I love her hard rock songs like Selfish, Ningyohime, etc. This one seems a lot darker. I LOVE IT. 10/10

14. Ai wo tomenaide: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Not only is this song snooze-worthy and totally unmemorable when placed next to some of her other epic ballads, the placement on the album couldn't be worse. 0/10

15. KO-SO-KO-SO: I can't decide if I love the 80's-esque beat or I hate it. I guess it works. But Kuu, please, one song like this is enough. Please don't try it again. 4/10

16. Lay Down: Normally I can handle Kuu's Engrish, but here it just makes my ears bleed. (Though I got a chuckle out of 'we poppin' bottles".) I don't find the song particularly memorable either…just repetitive, and grating. 1/10

17. Love Technique: There are a handful of Kuu's cutesy songs that I really like, and this definitely just got added to the list. I like! 7/10

18. Poppin love cocktail: This song is a travesty. I can't. 00000/10

19. All for you: I really want to like this song. I do. I love studio live recordings but this one really hurts my ears. :/ I can't decide whether I want to keep it around or not. It's one of the worst produced tracks I've ever heard. Contrary to popular belief, it IS possible to produce a song with this feeling in this environment without sounding like you used your grandfather's half-broken tape recorder. 2/10

Average score: 4/10...yikes.

I have to say that on the whole, the quality/listenability of the album tracks far exceeds the mediocre (at best) singles she released in 2011. Had she left some songs off the album I think it would have flowed better and sounded more cohesive...and I wouldn't have wasted my time downloading 19 tracks when I only really liked 8 of them.

ESCALATE PV is ****ing awesome :heart

damn I need my copy now!!

Cdjapan says they shipped my album... Fedex says it will be here TOMORROW before noon..so like 27 hours and its mine (if the weather in oregon/Washington) doesnt slow it down

I saw in the last topic about the Kumi photohop tons of makeup thing.. Well ive actually met her (kamikaze con) I didnt think she had that much makeup on and she still looked good.. (mind you this was like 7-8 years ago.. people changle alot during that time haha) Im not saying she is never changed for covers.. but she does look look that good in person :) i mean i shook her hand I was that close Shes also short O_O she walked past us and she had those Kimono shoes on I(cant for the life of me remember what they are called) and she barely came to my nose..and im barely 5' 6 :)

Ive been good..I havent seen any vids or listened to any more songs! I can wait one more day!

Ok, so far these PVs are on Dailymotion:
Boom Boom Boys
ESCALATE
Slow feat. Omarion
So Nice feat. Mr.Blistah
V.I.P. album version

Love Me Back album version on youku:
Love Me Back album version

No Man's Land and Lay Down are both on youtube, but with altered voice and mirrored. And the colours for Lay Down are washed out.
Take a look if you dare

Oh, Kuu and Omarion are such a great couple! <3 XD
Love the PV, I even was a bit teary in the end, dying together. *sniff*
Love Me Back album version is great and so funny at parts.
No Man's Land is pretty simple, sadly not much different to the preview. Hoped for something more, but atmosphere and setting are great.
Lay Down is indeed a bit boring, but I love her glowing in the dark styling!
I love ESCALATE, it's done so well!

Omg does anyone have FULL HD PVs of JAPONESQUE on Tudou/Youku? If a password is needed, please let me know, I NEED THEM.

BEST ALBUM OF KODA KUMI... thrashes every of Ayu's album since NEXT LEVEL

I found So Nice demo (I don't have the full song yet) http://soundcloud.com/kaled_kalil/so-nice-demo-short

kiのtrumpet@baidu posted all the official lyrics here (look for the 歌词 tag).

Apparently it's "lay down, lay down, and I'll lay down the law" ;)

Yeah, just saw it and it makes so much sense, she DOES sing it, just nobody expected that! :laugh

Brave is up on jpopsuki :D I wanna see No Mans Land and Lay Down so baaad! U_U

Kuu's English pronounciation is pretty well in Boom Boom Boys, No Man's Land and ESCALATE, I did understand most of it without big problems.
Ah and You are not alone as well! There isn't much English to begin with, but it's good to understand, at least for me!
(except the chop chop boom part in ESCALATE and the ding dong in NML, but nevermind, lol)

But Lay Down, wow, those lyrics are bad, her singing it as well.

Another pic of the JAPONESQUEx Ameba special:
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/492...nesquegame.jpg

Thanks to kumi-flash

Lay Down is amazing guys!!!!! :)
Kuu looked so fantabulous with this haircut!she must keep it I'm lovin' it
NO MAN'S LAND IS ****ING EPIC

PS. I LOVE KUU SHE IS THE GODDESS SENT FROM ABOVE :luv2

YAY i can understand some Engrish haha.. I knew she was saying that. My ears are getting accustomed to the words lol!

I have to wait until early february to get my copys of Japonesque

from now on I won't watch any new PV's

then I have a few left when my copy arrives

I haven't watched any of the new PVs. My copy needs to get here faster. I hate ****ing waiting :cry

My copy will be here tomorrow morning. Sometimes living in Japan is awesome :D

I think I have to wait 2 weeks until I get my copy

Watched up to LMB leak. Gonna save the other PV's for when my copy arrives. Gonna watch Second Session and Kingdom DVD's tonight in preparation lol.

I'm not gonna watch any of the PVs (okay, I already saw So Nice and Boom Boom Boys) until I receive my copy...

Well, I'll try :laugh

Thanks for sharing~

Aw this is so cute~ It looks really cool.

Oooh I envy you :D

Yeah me too (I think)

If anyone wants a limited or first press edition of JAPONESQUE, Play-Asia still has every edition in stock (perhaps a little bit more expansive btw, and releasing at the original release date [02.01.2012]) :

LIMITED EDITION :
http://www.play-asia.com/Japonesque_...r-70-4hbf.html

CD+2DVD :
http://www.play-asia.com/Japonesque_...r-70-4hbg.html

CD+DVD :
http://www.play-asia.com/Japonesque_...r-70-4hbe.html

CD :
http://www.play-asia.com/Japonesque/...r-70-4hpo.html

I wanna watch Slow PV so bad right now. I love the song, besides Omarion's attempt at rapping, its a wee bit cheesy. They look good together too. Wouldn't it be such a scandal if Kuu's baby was born and it looked like Omarion XD

I just checked my order status on FedEx's website. Estimated delivery date for tomorrow. I almost want to skip class just so I can be at home when it arrives.

At least you have a good reason to skip class :D

I wish the shipping company here in Brazil was efficient like that. I'm getting EMS, but the last time it took me two weeks and a half... Good old times when I could buy something on a Monday morning and receive it by Friday afternoon.

^I know what you mean. I ordered my copy via YesAsia and I have Standard shipping (because the other one is just too expensive for me) and it also takes 2 weeks for the stuff to arrive.
(Well the last time I ordered something was in 2010 so maybe they are faster now, although I doubt it :laugh)

hahaha! I second that! :lech

hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooly shizzle!!!

i didnt hear anything except the previews just once and just listened to the whole album now.. holy holy hell! I'm sooooo happy with this album omgg there's not a single track i dislike.. there's alwaays one or two i dont like or hate but not this time omg even the cute songs are so good. Wait.. the only thing i didnt like was T-pain in V.I.P, he was so out of place and unneccessary but atleast we get an extra dance scene on the PV

LOVE LOVE LOVE: ESCALATE, Lay Down, No Man's Land, Boom Boom Boys, Slow feat. Omarion, So Nice (wish it went more places but still good)
LOVE: Love Technique (thought I'd hate it after the preview)
LIKE: Brave, Everyday, All for you

The PVs are sooo good too. Well done Kumi, you just owned my heart and life all over again

Pretty much me, except Everyday is gowing on me, the litte bugger.

Which edition has that awesome photo booklet?

^ The one from the video is from the CD+2DVD, the Limited one comes with a photobook, 32 pages if I'm not wrong, but I haven't seen its pics yet.

i've watched the PVs for "ESCALATE", "Lay Down", "No Man's Land", "Love Technique" and "Slow feat. Omarion", and they are all amazing! :heart

Ah coolness... Im still deciding if I want to get this, lol...
So the one in the video is nothing special... just the regular CD+2DVD version...
coolness!

I can't wait to get my copy so I can watch those PV's

where you can watch all PVs? (￣▽￣)

I'm addicted to No man's Land, Slow and Love me back (album ver.) PV's! the last one is amazing amazing amazing!

Whoever said T-Pain phoned it in on VIP was right. It sounds like a fan just edited him into the song. His part is so short and bizarre. It's almost jarring. Lol.

I haven't listened to the whole album yet, but I just had to make that comment.

I also swapped VIP on the album for the single version on my iPod. I thought, before I heard it that people were probably being fussy. Turns out it really does sound bad.

Actually it's the first press of the CD+2DVD, the digipack is just for the first copies. Kinda confunsing, with this album there's a limited edition and a first press edition for another version :laugh

The first press of the CD+2DVD edition has a great packaging, but the regular edition has a gorgeous cover *.*
http://avexnet.jp/image/disc/RZCD/59/PIL_RZCD-59079.jpg

What annoys me most with the T-Pain rap is he's famous for autotune. Kumi herself uses autotune to death during the first quarter of the album, then he pop's up unedited.

He should've been autotuned and his vocals layered into the instrumental. Maybe then it would have been tolerable.

I have to say:
In the Air... I am in love with!
I would love to see this woman live! lol... just another to add to the list that will never happen... :thud

I guess I'm pleased with the album.

My favorites are easily Boom Boom Boys, No Mans Land, ESCALATE, and Lay down.

I gotta say new album is solid....It's a lot like the style I enjoyed about 3 albums ago. I actually would go as far as to say this album consisted of almost all her styles she's explored over the years :yes.

Only new song I LOVE like, can't live without (along the lines of Driving, Get Up&Move!!, Love goes like...) is LOVE TECHNIQUE. No Man's Land I like too but I just don't like her engrish at all. "ROWCOME TU NO MAN'S RAAAAAND!" ESCALATE and Lay Down don't every really take off. ESCALATE is all shouting and no progression during the chorus. Lay Down I was thinking would be my saving grace based off the previews once I previewed ESCALATE but even though it's better, it still doesn't have the power that Driving or the other slam dunk booty shakin' tracks she's had. Boom Boom Boys is alright, but again, the chorus is lacking. Especially that autotuned part - it's boring. Plus the only song on the singles she's released this year that I truly love is IN THE AIR. Two or three new songs that I love woulda made me ok. That's how I am with Kumi's albums - there are usually the 3 that stand out but they are so damn good that I don't care if the rest blow, I'll forget them and move on. The album is of superb production but the compositions... very lacking.

Considering that she produced her last few albums, did she produce this one too? If so, I'm even more impressed.

Whoever thought it was good idea to get T-Pain on that track needs to be fired. It's not the song or the rap, its just T-Pain sucks so hard.

JAPONESQUE = my new favorite kuu album

YES! It arrived!:

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/6...e052012012.jpg

I have work in less than an hour, so I won't be able to listen to it before then, but I have the DVD(s) to look forward to when I get home :D

Tell us whats on DVD 2 when you get home, after enjoying the rest LOL.

Lucky. Mines still not even saying shipped (Which I always love. I imagine all my J-CD's come to me aboard a pirate vessel :P).

IN THE AIR's playing in my head now. *_*

Thanks for the translation, tenshi! I really appreciate it~ :luv2

^ you're welcome~

Argh utaten's lyrics differ from those on Baidu at times. Especially the songs that are full of Engrish like Lay Down. I hope someone will quickly upload photos/scans of the booklet so I can see the official lyrics (my copy won't arrive for at least another 2 weeks).

That was me! I'm keeping the album version on just for laughs because holy crap it really is hilarious, but I definitely enjoy the single version :heart

Yes, this should be used next time~ :yes

Ahhhh HMV wrote me an e-mail saying that they need my confirmation that they can ship my order, because the shipping fee is higher than announced=(
So it's not shipped by now=(

Anyone else here with the problem?

^ I had this problem with CdJapan, but it was two or three days ago. I canceled my limited edition there due to the high shipping charge and got a CD+2DVD copy at HMV, but until yesterday it was "In Transit".

I agree. The production is kind of what "saves" the album. I like the album a lot, but the composition of half of the songs themselves is not great. ESCALATE and Lay Down have great atmosphere, but their choruses are absolutely snoozefests and kill the songs unfortunately. :(

I also have to point out that I HATE that fade out at the end of So Nice. It's a really cool technique that sounds awesome when done right (like in BoA's Discovery), but it sounds horrible in this song. It doesn't work at all.

Songs I like: Boom Boom Boys, V.I.P., Slow, IN THE AIR, ESCALATE, Love Me Back, No Man's Land, KO-SO-KO-SO, Lay Down
Okay/meh songs: So Nice, You are not alone (Acoustic Version), ai wo tomenaide, Love Technique, Poppin' love cocktail
Songs I hope to never have to listen to again: Brave, Everyday, All for you

Mine, too then I got an e-mail adn it changed to ready instead of in transit...

Same here guys , My 4 editions from HMV still in transit :(

That's so ......... -.-

Why noooooow=(

Just finished watching the music video DVD. It's amazing how good the quality was throughout (pretty much) all the videos. Definitely an improvement over Kingdom's "PV for every song" deal.

However, now that I've heard the entire album through watching all the PVs, I'm a little bit disappointed. It's a solid album, but it has hardly any standout tracks. The production is amazing throughout, but I can't help but feel that barely any of the songs have any real standout melodies or hooks. While I'd say that it seems to be her second most consistent album next to BEST~ss~, I wouldn't exactly rank it her second best at this point. Then again, that's only after the first listen and not in order (since the order on the DVD is by genre). I'm sure it will grow on me with time. At least I can say for the first DVD and amazing packaging alone, I don't regret the purchase.

Also, I didn't see anyone else say it yet, but the second DVD is only 26 minutes long, so clearly it only includes a digest of the lives and not full versions, which is surprising given how often the second DVD on Kuu's albums will have a full-on concert. Oh well, I have so many Kuu concerts that I have most of the performances already, so a digest is kind of a nice way to watch enough to be satisfied, but not be bored.

Complete agreement. I was hoping for so much more with ESCALATE and Lay Down :(

I just watched Love Technique's PV. I love that it's basically teaching you how to get your boyfriend whipped lol

Thanks! I was confused by this line in So Nice: "満足させてspot it drives me crazy". I was like wtf is "spot" doing there? But in the demo it's "I like the way you hit the spot, it drives me crazy" which makes so much more sense XD

Has this been posted before?

http://img381.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/u...isf8s54236.jpg

http://www.noppin.com/portal_ya_deta...on%2Fu39071936

Pics of the limited edition version. Not sure if those extras are just from the seller or are included with it...

Also found a pic of the clear file:

http://img375.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/u...mzlu320876.jpg

http://www.noppin.com/portal_ya_deta...n%2Fb131608565

:laugh
Kuu's engrish is always so engrish. :)

Love Technique PV is absolute kawaiiness :luv2
No Man's Land PV is so epic, I can't get over it. the music & video is smth Ayu could have done, but Kuu did it amazingly. okay, I'd like the PV for Duty off Duty to be like that :D

someone said about album being bad because the sound is old & not-innovative, well, let's us take a look at Ayu's production whoever was saying anything positive about it, in 2011 with FIVE & others it's been extrememly not-innovative. what surprised me was the poor & cheap production, sound, arrangement & recording. Kuu did it much better

I don't think anyone in this thread would be tasteless enough to actually claim Ayu's been better recently than Kuu in any way :laugh

Ayu's videos have been crappy and the songs aren't any better. At least Kuu's videos are always good and the songs are always at least worth a listen, even if they aren't always amazing.

PB preview, click for larger:
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...a/th_b01-2.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...a/th_b02-2.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...dra/th_b03.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...dra/th_b04.jpg
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...dra/th_b05.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...dra/th_b06.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...dra/th_b07.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...dra/th_b08.jpg
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...dra/th_b09.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...ra/th_b010.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...ra/th_b011.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...ra/th_b012.jpg
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...ra/th_b013.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...ra/th_b014.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...ra/th_b015.jpg http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/...ra/th_b016.jpg

The photobook looks amazing, thank you! :heart
Her eyebrows are actually painted, somehow I liked the idea of the raw natural look better, goes better with traditional japanese. :laugh
Would have loved some backgrounds here and there, but it's great either way.

Ah, really?
And I was sursprised yesterday by reading some of them (e.g. new zero in NML, cause I swear she clearly sings new hero).
I'm excited to read the real full lyrics then!
Lay Down may not be that bad like I thought. :laugh

The second DVD is only 26 minutes long? hmm. That sucks. I thought it would have full performances.

I'm not going to defend the atrocity that was Five in any way, but I thought you said you didn't like comparing artists?

it is new hero, the baidu lyrics appear to be made by ear (and a bad ear at that), lots of mistakes from looking through my booklet.

I'll never trust baidu again then, cause I thought they were from somebody having the album already. Thanks again!
Would you mind doing some photos of the lyrics? I really wanna have the real ones!

I thought I saw some booklet scans on baidu :shrug

^ the lyric postings? no they made them into jpg's so no one could easily copy and paste them, but they are not booklet scans. they even mess up some names in the song credits.

the packaging of this album is stunning!

well, I didn't mention PVs or anything, but at least arrangement & recording quality that have been very poor of Ayu recently

OMFG WHY THIS WOMAN IS SO AMAZING? I luv the photobook :love

Yes, I don't, since I follow too much of them and love them all :innocent

The photobook is stunning, I wish I could afford this but it's too much expensive for me.

I'm surprised with the 'store promo' of JAPONESQUE, it seems pretty nice (credits: baidu):

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...1f3b2979f4.jpg http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...1b0ff43b8f.jpg

^ so many posters! lol

Wow, that's amazing promo, but also pretty aggressive! :innocent

All for you PV:
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/ux4qmr8zoQQ/