Thoughts on a-nation '09
 

It was fantastic! The Rule performance imo was probably the best of the night, but the Sunrise one was pretty fun.

My feelings towards the live:
http://i38.tinypic.com/103v67p.gif

I love how the camera just stayed on her, hahahahaha.

Sunrise was suprisingly popular.. Everyone was twirling their towels in the air. Seeing as A-Nation last almost 2 hours, and Ayu appears after 1 hour and about 6 minutes; she practically owns A-Nation.. And all of her performances are far more outstanding than any of the other acts. She's still the absolute empress, isn't she?

I'm very surprising. This a-nation was really good for Ayu.
Vocal was awesome. Ayu had a good (a very very good) energy, perfect!

I didn't really like the artists on stage before Ayu, so I fastforwarded to her.
Rule: Great, but the beginning was a bit weak(compared to that lightfest in AT09), but overall great performance, she should only have choosen a better outfit, this one definitly belongs to her worst and that hair...let me quote Andrenekoi: "Peco cosplay"
A Song for XX: weaker than the 2008 performances, but still very nice
BLUE BIRD: Love it!
Sunset - LOVE is ALL -: I surprisingly liked the song!
TO BE: I have a new song I liiiike. But Shuya was just as annoying as always
Boys & Girls: It was fun, like usual, the new car is better, but that ugly cap ayu wore...
Sunrise: I don't like the song, but it was pretty good live, because you were able to see how much fun that was for Ayu, the dancers, the band and the audience
July 1st: Never quite liked that song, but it was okay

I think most of the artists before Ayu weren't my style, I enjoyed AAA, and Ai Otsuka, also I kind of enjoyed GIRL NEXT DOOR, I thought that Tohoshinki were as annoying as ever, but Survivor was okay.
Kumi was okay too, I don't like ecstasy though. I would have preferred 走れ！.

Now, Ayu was amazing. :)

Rule was dramatic as ever, and her vocals sounded damn good imo. I loved the smoke near the end.
ASFXX was pretty powerful, but not as good as last year's perf of it.
BLUE BIRD was surprisingly well sung!
Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~ definitely didn't disappoint!
TO BE had very good vocals, but shu-ya was unnecessary.
Boys & Girls was excellent, she didn't shout it and that was nice! Pumped me right up after the ballads!
Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~ was FANTASTIC! Got me wanting to sing and dance along to it, her vocals were better than any of the TV performances.
Lastly July 1st was also nice, but made me kinda sad cuz it was the ending song! :(

I must say that I quite enjoyed this A-Nation.(maybe because I had low expectations this time?) Much better than last year I think where the only performance that really stood out to me was A Song For Xx.

One of the most positive things was that the whole thing was definitely live, nothing that I could even question really. However, it seems that Avex did heavily enhance the vocals of everyone. Everybody sounded about a million times better than in any clip that we heard. Despite that, Ayumi's vocals still often were not in the great category (at least not A-Nation 05 type of great), but they weren't bad either. There were many times when she fell into her habit of talking/singing instead of just singing, but overall she was better than she has sounded in her tv performances this year, so that is good.

In particular I was really impressed by the To Be performance. Yes she really had to shout those notes out, but she got through it very well. I also loved the Sunrise performance just for the energy factor alone.

I have two small criticisms though. One is that I wish A Song For Xx was not so similar to how she performed it last year. I've already said that I don't really like it when rock songs like A Song For Xx are actually choreographed. And the other is the "oh I think I'm going to cry" moments in To Be and Sunset. I would much rather see real emotion than over dramatized "Oh no Shuya is leaving me again!" emotion.

^ I got the same expression playbackwise, I'm haoppy she sang live all the time in this a-nation, a thing IMO she hasn't done for years!

This is my first time to watch her LIVE performance on A-NATION and I would say its awesome. (even there's a choppy streaming on some performances)


And also this is my first time to hear TO BE.
The last 3 tracks are my fave performances.
TO BE is really great but when Shu-ya appears, :rolleyes

i loved all the perfomances!!
Rule: awesome! so agressive and she sung great!! :heart
ASFXX: i liked it, but it was just like last year perfomance
Blue Bird: The dance was so pretty! everybody was smiling and i really liked it!
sunset: I love this song, and the perfomance was great
TO BE: No words, i almost cried! I truly love this song!
B&G: Everybody was screaming and jumping! so energetic
Sunrise: the tohoshinki towel kill me! OHmygawd, ayu was so cute!! :heart
July 1st: Beautiful, no more words!!

i lol so hard when ayu did this
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/f.../Noname1-1.gif
:heart

^ yup!
I love that part too :laugh

Ayu was so perfect. Sunset make me thrill. And God, I love how she take Tohoshinki towel to sing sunrise. The float was so exceptionnal too. I think it's the best a-nation since 2005

surprisingly, i really enjoyed it.

rule, asfxx & blue bird were just alright.
but i really liked sunset & to be!
and i really enjoyed sunrise even though i hate the song. rest of encore was cute too!
vocals were good as well :D

too bad most of her outfits sucked (except for the encore one), and shu-ya needs to gtfo! omg. i hate it when she's "reaching out" to him

but other than that i can't complain :yes

The outfirst are a lot better on video

guys, I lol'd so hard those gifs you made.

I think I don't need to download the video and already know what I should watch in the video.

Rule awesome. A Song for XX...awesome as usual but nothing beats AT08 in the rain!

ohh i loved a-nation this year :D the whole thing was awesome :P

Rule
OMG!!! THIS IS ******ING AMAZING!!!! I hope the the tour sounds as amazing as this :D And the red outfit looks a lot better than it did in the stills. And that big 'yeh yeh' at the end!!!!! WAH!!!!

A Song for XX
As awesome as ever :P Still love this song ^_^ I dont think I'll ever get tired of it :P

BLUE BIRD
I wasn't so happy when I saw this in the set list but it was a good way to bridge the gap between the big songs like Rule and A Song for XX into Sunrise and TO BE

Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~
A little dull but still really nice

TO BE
YAY!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!

Boys & Girls
Yeah it is getting a little bit repetitive but it still gets me excited every time lol and i always sing along :P But damn she dragged out the middle but this time ¬_¬

Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~
It sounds really awesome live with the band ^_^ Makes it more powerful :P And I loved it when ayu pulled out the Tohoshinki towel lol

July 1st
This song gets on my nerves. I dont like it. No. :no

Wow ^^ I think that describes this year's a-nation the best. I have watched just Ayu part so far. And really vocally she does great job. She sings way better then year or 2 years ago. And ah...her energy is simply stunning. So many positive aspects of her performances and during Sunrise i was extremely jealous of all those people in the audience to be there with them.... She was so so positive and it's her best a-nation since 2005 I think. Good for her.

first of all, i must say that the crowd was amazing, they seemed so much more into ayu's performances this year than last year. but i can't blame them, her performances were all great.

Rule - OMFG i loved it. the intro was awesome and my heart skipped a few beats and i was just staring at it like how ayu looked at that one actor on HEYHEYHEY LOL. i loved her voice and just everything about it was awesome

ASFXX - i loved this too, and i actually think her vocals were better than last years, but the performance wasn't as visually pleasing as last years. still, a really good performance

BLUE BIRD - i hate that dress, and it looked like there were over 30 dancers (ok not really, but a LOT) on stage for some reason.. way too many. but i thought she sang it well :D

Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~ - she sounded like she was going to cry :( but it was a really good performance

TO BE - i LOVE this song. you can tell it's hard for her to hit the high notes but i still really liked the way she sang it. also, she looked gorgeous in that dress. and yeah, shuya needs to gtfo. i'm just glad he wasn't dancing throughout the whole thing like he did with HANABI last year. it was just ayu most of the time, and i loved that. i think there was a shuya dance solo at the end but i skipped over that lol.

Boys&Girls - so much energy omg, the crowd was really into this, as usual. ayu was adorable, i loved the boat thing too.

Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~ - LOL she was so cute with the tohoshinki towel. this is totally a crowd song! everyone was having soo much fun omg. i wish i was there. lol @ all the fans going crazy when she walks out near them

July 1st - i love her ending the show with this song. it's classic. she was adorable. i lol'd so hard at gomi shaking his butt by yo-chan

yet again ayu owned a-nation this year. her hairstyles and that BLUE BIRD outfit were pretty bad, but she still worked it. i also think her vocals have improved quite a bit, and i was entertained throughout her whole section. when i watched a few performances by other artists i couldn't wait for them to end. A+ for you, ayu.

Like I said in the other thread, I think everything was very good! Great vocals, good choice of songs, awesome outfits... Well, as far as Ayu goes, that is. I still need to see the other performances! :O

And lol at the your GIF, truehappiness. :laugh

Rule - THAT was awesome. But then ayu, Peco and Princess did their whole intro to ASFXX and were totally off key, same for the outro when Yo-chan has his solo while ayu's getting changed. Her outfit fit Rule, but not ASFXX, and her hair was all messy like the Rule/Sparkle cover. Worst of all, it wasn't raining this year. :(

More when I finish. :)

I think part of the problem is that for most of the other artists, they only aired the new songs that they want to promote, not the songs that can really get the crowd into it. The only exception was really TRF who they showed two of their classic songs and it was really good. But yeah, based on what they aired, it certainly makes everyone else seem extremely boring. Other than TRF and Ayu only the Koda Kumi Lick Me performance stood out because of the rollerblades.

Back with more opinions:

BLUE BIRD & Sunset = wonderful as always.

TO BE = I was so excited when I saw this song on the set list. I actually started crying for a few moments, until Shuya came in and basically ruined a possible BEST EVAR performance with his flailing. Peco and Princess also ruined it with their solo. Damn it.

EDIT: This makes up for it!

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/919...0926215509.jpg

rule: awesome!! awesome!! Love the opening and the whole performance!!
a song for xx: I will never get bored of this song especially live.
blue bird: was really great too!
sunset: was a little boring...but not bad!
TO BE: it was sooo good!! till shuya showed up...he's not needed!
Boys&girls: surprisingly I enjoyed this performance...unlike the many many performances of this song...I think its the boat that distracted me...lol
Sunrise: loved it!
July 1st: was great also

This year's a-nation ayu's performances was really really awesome...especially rule. I'm pumped up for AT09 dvd!

btw i love the gifs people made lol. i had to make some of gomi x yochan

^LOL at the one of ayu running, passing gomi just standing there shouting :laugh

I was really impressed with Rule, I hope it's gonna sound the same way in the AT09 DVD, it was such a performance. That red outfit is horrid, but she makes up for it. :P

http://i38.tinypic.com/103v67p.gif Thanks for the member who opened this thread.

TO BE performance was sooo amazing! until Shu-ya got there. that was really unnecessary. -_- oh well, Ayu made up for it near the end. Vocally one of her best performances EVER! :yes

I really loved the Sunset performance too, that was so beautiful <3

Boys & Girls was great, she got the audience so pumped :D

Sunrise = :heart

RULE was awesome! i've been thinking if it'll be the same for AT09 too, really great performance

her voice sounds really good, especially in TO BE, its so good that i thought she was lip-synch :laugh

The prelude of BLUE BIRD was fantastic. Boys and girls were much more energetic than last year. Opening for rule was a big weak. But its good to hear a slightly edited version of it. SUNRISE was amazingly fun:) i wish i was there

omfg I need to download it NOW

The opening for Rule was EPIC. I'm surprised to see the girls there too. I just love the music they used when the dancers lurked around the stage, and of course, the performance itself, WHOA. The outfit and hair is horrible, but she still looked WAAAAY better on video than in the pictures.

I love her vocals in TO BE, and THANK GOD her "sadness" isn't as exaggerated as in HANABI. Whatever Shuya was doing there wasn't working, but I thought his solo after Ayu was gone was okay, or is that just the fangirl in me talking? XD

Sunrise was awesome, you could really hear the crowd! I'm actually pretty surprised about that. Is it because they didn't filter much of the audience out or were they just so much louder that the previous years?

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/6707/ayubolt.jpghttp://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8071/shubolt.jpg

Now I get what Ayu was talking about in her DIARY.

:love :love

Impossible to know really since Avex can always turn the sound of the audience up when they want to. But it would be nice to think that they were that loud naturally. :)

was Koda singing live?
o.õ
doesn't sounded like it...

i think its ok with shuya in TO BEE...its nice,at least to me :p

her vocal was really good...especially in To be~

i love the way she interact with the audience esp when shes inside the cart holding the tohoshinki's towel...like shes trying to tell everyone shes a tohoshinki fans too...and that brought everyone high up immediately haha

I think it was mainly live but with a backing track. But as I mentioned, it seems Avex enhanced the vocals of everyone.

my entire body had goosebumps!! the performances were so good!!!

But a few things i didnt really like.. AYU's HAIR. omg its so big!!! and A Song for XX was a rip off from AT2008. :(

Good things.. I like the entire atmosphere. Rule was fierce!!! but i thought ayu could be fiercer, give more punches into the air or what.. I love it overall!!

TO BE was orgasmic. She actually reached all her notes. WOW!! Sunrise was jus fun to watch!! and i like the cute hat on ayu's head.. made her look like some sexy flight attendant =x

I really liked it! I thought Rule was so good!! And I loved the female ninjas!! :P I really liked her TO BE performance, I thought it was great that she sang that song, but she didn't really need the whole (Shu-ya) thing, Oh well. I thought that Sunrise was so energetic, it was great!! And I loved when she touched that girl and she freaked out!! :laugh I thought there seemed to be a bit too many dancers, though, especially during BLUE BIRD. It was kind of crowded. But I did like their outfits! And OMG Peco was wearing PANTS!
Overall I really enjoyed it!!

Yeah it is hard to tell actually. And since I haven't been to another a-nation before I can't really tell either. But from what I remember from being in the arena it sounded pretty much like that. B&G and Sunrise was exploding energy from all of us in the audinece really. I remember that I stood by my seat thinking "I will not fan-girl this out. I will stay on my spot!" But when B&G got played and the cart came out and I feelt all the energy and hapiness I totally lost sence and started running towards the sides to see Ayu much closer and wave at her. And I really wasnt the only one.

But yeah, Tohoshinki got the highest pitched voice sound during their performande. TRL got alooot of energy with all the dancing (I'm pretty mad that they didnt show survival dance cuz by then the audience was nearly exploding!) but with Ayu it all was complete. I think also that Sunrise got sooo much energy from the sudience also because Ayu held that Tohoshinki towel and got all of those fans really happy too. They really wanted to be a part of her suddenly. ^^

Then one last thing, its too bad that they didnt film the stage and the screens more during Rule cuz I thought they where awesome and really set a great feeling to the diffrent parts of the song!

Edit: truehappiness - LOVE your gif with that fangirl. XD

LOL !! Kuu always singing live.. cause her vocals are good live :yes

I'm a bit disappointed of ayu's performances.. why she always sings A Song for, Boys & Girls and July 1st? these are totally boring ya! :no especially B&G.

my favorite performances were Rule and TO BE :luv2 Rule was AMAZING, her vocals not that good though.. and her hairstyle no comments u.u and TO BE.. I love this song so much *3*

the last year I enjoyed more with ayu performances, but this year Kuu totally took my heart *-* PERFECT PERFORMANCES EVER! :luv2

my favourite performance is definitely TO BE. love her hair and the flowers ^^ and her lovely white dress. but 100% applause for her vocals. stunning. imo she sang is even better than end roll at asia tour 2008. amazing amazing

I want to be that girl :( ok but i can't believe she has so many space to move, there are two girls specialy that seems to be just standing watching the show... japanese people are boring :eviltongu

I really enjoy this show, so much energy from Ayu, I wanna see it again :D

i loved it cept' the hair haha. i loved rule, to be, and sunrise. has anyone made a gif with her holding up the tohoshinki towel? *hint hint* ^-* i wouldve reacted the same way if ayu was 1 inch away from me ..jumping and crying hysterically LOL

OMG I WANNA BE THAT GIRL !!! :weep:weep:weep:weep:weep:weep:cry
really envy her soooo mucchhhhhh !!!!! :weep:weep:weep:weep:weep:weep

ok" stop all those cries ~ :P
i totally in love with Ayu's performance !!
well ASFXX wasnt as epic as last year but i enjoyed watching her performance :)
she's so cute when she's waving her tohoshinki towel *im envying the toho guys now :weep*
actually i was creeped out with the number of toho fans who watch a-nation but i feel good when i saw everyone waving the towel together with Ayu :D
everyone still love her !! :luv2

thats probably it, koda sounded way better than usual, but it definitly seemed live and every voice had something weird to it in this a-nation

she's so skinny this time.. koda's perfomance is always great so I wasnt suprised. The exciting part here is whether Ayu sings better than last year or not.

(quoting my comment from the news thread)

Wow ayu was great vocally on this a-nation.

I really liked Rule live, it was a potential disaster but ended up being one of the greatests of this a-nation.

A Song for xx was powerful as always <3
Not as last year I think but ayu still did vocal shizzes which brought the powerful feeling so I liked it.

Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~ sounded soooo good with ayu's normal and not cute voice, I like the studio version but I think the live one is wayyy better.

Shuya flailed on TO BE.
Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~ was really pretty, and the whole show had huge energy in it.

Btw the opening of ayu's section/Rule is one the bests. I really liked it personally.

i have only seen the sunrise performane and i gotta say it was really really good!!!! the riding bus was such an awesome idea *_____* but the best part was when she showed the toho towel XDDD AYUUUU YOUR AWESOMEE!!

LMAO XDD your right though (i wouldnt say boring, but they could jump and be a little bit more excited when they are at a concert of their favorite artist :P)

The majority doesn't lip sync because they sound bad and Kumi doesn't have to lip sync because most of her songs have loads of back-tracking, in other words she has her work cut down for her.

As for Ayu's performances, she owned the a-nation stage this year and I think the reactions of the crowd probably show that the best. I loved the way she handled TO BE and the fact that she was so full of energy and joy during all the performances. :yes

And I agree with SunshineSlayer, besides Lick Me, the other performances were mostly boring and even AAA failed to amuse me.

Well Tohoshinki's Survivor looks good from the fancams and they sound so lovely in Stand by U even from the fancams... can't wait, along with Kuu, Ai and of course Ayu lol.

Really good A Nation! I actually really like the outfits, reminded me a bit of concert tour 2000 with the styling and hair. The hair made her look quite young I thought.

That boat for B&G is sooo cool!

GOR-GE-OUS from start to end ! one of her best live, especially TO BE who made me cry >0< (before Shuya)

Rule was my favorite performance (like many others') of this a-nation. A Song for XX was basic good. TO BE was the best of ballads, Sunset was quite :yawn. (I don't have special comments about the other performances)

All in all, a good a-nation!

MY TURN FOR COMMENTS!! HAHAHAH
someone please please upload this in HQ..I WILL download this a-nation fully..omg

Rule: OMG MY HEART WAS PUMPING ALL THE WAY. It was E.P.I.C.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im sure AT09's will be way better with that laser and whatnot.. I can't describe how pumped I was watching this through the screen. The atmosphere must have been AMAZING there..the audience was superb.

A Song For XX: I agree that it does seem weeaker than last year but I thought her bridge was very well sung. This song always sounds so amazing gosh.

BLUE BIRD: nice!!! The dancers could have been more..neat..some moves were still not coherent. Ayu's energy was great despite singing a dress (which I could never understand why lol). Enjoyed it! It's been a long long time since I heard this song.

Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~: I love the dance so much in this song really. So elegant and gentle. Ayu sounded rather weak on the first chorus but luckily she picked it up thereafter. The last chorus was really beautiful. I remained solemn throughout the song in a good way.

TO BE: BEAUTIFUL DRESS. One of my all-time-favourite-Ayu-songs. AND DAMN I WAS BLOWN AWAY. She was definitely going all out on those notes hahah. They sounded amazing and strong though. Totally have a newfound love for this song again!!!!!! She pulled it off so well.

Boys & Girls: I LOVED THE ENERGYYY OMG..but yea, for once the audience is audible but it really makes all the difference to this performance. And SHE SUNG IT! making it one of the best B&G performance I feel. loved it :)

Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~: TOHOSHINKI TOWEL!! hahah epic. What was she saying?? The song sounded AMAZING. Drums make all the difference!! I wonder what happened to the towel after she turned round the corner hahha. Her vocals on the cart were not very strong but then again...IT WAS SO HYPED UP!!!

July 1st: Did she just imitated BOLT?! lollll...that was so cool. I love this rendition of July 1st with the edginess. Great finale to a spectacular concert. <3

I need the HQ haha

Well, i though about the backtracks, but on Lick me there where no difference on the sound quality between the backtrack (sometimes she even didn't pretend she was singing) and her "live voice". This only make me think that or Avex REALLY edited it, like At07 or something, or nothing on Lick me but the screamings to the audience were live...

Either way, this performace looked VERY fake @_@

^ As for me, I do hear a difference in the backtrack parts and the parts where she is singing, but it is very slight. But basically everyone sounds about a trillion times better than in those news clips, haha and it can't all be put down to just a difference in the sound quality. Some performances appear more edited than others, the Lick Me performance probably the most.

Wow...I just realized...that To Be totally stole the show from ASFXX vocally....what happened? @_@ How did Ayu suddenly become so great vocally? Definitely my favorite performance of the night.....cept....OMG get out of the camera stupid flailing old man x_x

^editing/voice filters/autotuning xD

wow, ive just see it. ayu really sounded great. great for her standards i mean. i really enjoyed in every song especially TO BE [even it was shouted], Sunrise and Rule. Rule was so powerful.

If you cry like that and get on TV, please let everyone know. We would make gifs for you.

Gosh, she's like that girl who cried over Sanjaya at American Idol. :laugh

All right, here we go. :)

First off... I finally understood why Ayu was given all her songs on the broadcast while the rest were cut to 2. IMO, Ayu = climax of a-nation, like seriously.

Rule:
The opening was made of win... ninjas scurrying around and the traditional Japanese music in the back... just wow. And it opened with a bang. Pretty epic performance, and Ayu's ad-libbing at the end was so awesome too! Maro & Shu-ya looked really hot. :P

A Song For xx:
Amazingly, for a performance that was exactly the same as her previous lives such as AT 08 and a-nation '08, I really enjoyed this. Her vocals were amazing and I really really really liked the way she's singing this song now.

BLUE BIRD:
I am so jealous of her stomach/waist in that blue dress. :headache

I think it's an okay performance... but it's really nostalgic. It's BLUE BIRD!

Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~:
Ha, again, I think this is an okay performance... she sounded a little weird and I LOL-ed at her facial expressions after the first chorus. XD

TO BE:
This takes the cake for the best performance... I love her voice here omg! And when Shu-ya came in, my heart stopped for a second cos his arms so smexy and his tanned bod... :luv2

But I really like this performance... it feels like a long time since Ayu has sung this well imo.

Boys & Girls:
Omfg, when the cart first came out, I thought, "Wedding Cake!!!"... it's so huge and really epic! And it turned out to be a ship of some sort lol.

The energy level was high and once again, I liked the new style she's singing B&G. Less shouting; more singing. I like. :thumbsup

Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~:
I screamed when she flashed the Tohoshinki towel! And then, at that moment, seeing all the Ayu and Tohoshinki towels swung around... there's something really moving about that.

The energy level got higher and it's like... wow really, and when she got off the ship and started running about... omg!!!

And I think it's from Sunrise that my body started to shiver... and I feel like crying. :shakehead

July 1st:
This was all right too; I just really missed this song as well. XD

P.S: Ayu & Shu-ya did the same movements. ;)

I think this is really her best a-nation performance yet... really good and she outdid herself imo. TO BE was especially well sung!

I also realized that I really missed Ayu lol. It's been ages since I've listened to her songs, or watched her live, or felt her tugging at my heartstrings. Way to go~ :D

OMG awesome A nation! She literally rocked the show!

Highlights~ Definitely To Be and Rule and SUNRISE!
To Be was the best vocally, I cried!
Rule was just pure awesome with ninjas and what not.
Sunrise was just FULL of ENERGY!

Haha I love ayu.

i never knew that sunrise LIVE will be that good.its much more better than the cd and also the performance she did in the tv shows

Ayu looks like Peco.
Ayu's performances looks like she owned the concert.
This A-nation looks like Ayu-nation which i like.
Rule was power.
Sunrise was fun.
Ayu owned Japan.

^ but Shu-ya ruined TO BE :weep
*punch me Shu-fans XD*

Ayu owned the show! Definitely one of her best performances. I'm going to give some of the other artists the benefit of the doubt because many of them only got one or two songs broadcasted. But if they were truly as great as Ayu was this year, they would have gotten more air-time!


a-nation = ayu-nation xD;

^ lol yeah people talking bout this too
ayu-nation with guests from avex trax XD~

Very nice and stedy show :) Her vocals were at least quite pleasant even during her bad vocal moments, which I don't think there were many. I have to say that while watching this live I really realized that Ayu really has that "professional singer diva" feel to her. I don't mean that diva part in a negative way, but in a way that is hard to explain.. xD I guess everyone can see it just by watching. Like, she is very calm and elegant and has that certain aura to her. It's easy to see she's been in the same situation thousands of times before. Oh and I know this is nothing new to her but I wan't to say: I just LOVE it when she does those rocker moves/performs in a "rocker" way... xD Like when she does that slight headbanging once a while.

Rule: Like I've said before, I love this outfit. Though I think the boots should've been darker red but well that doesn't really matter.. I was really expecting amazing vocals because of all the comments I read, but she sounded just good. Not great, definitely not bad but, well, good. The adlibbing in the end was mindblowing though. I loved the beginning with the ninjas. I agree with whoever said the lightshow should've been bigger and crazier xD
A Song For XX: I absolutely loved her vocals here. Even though last year's performance was stunning with the rain and all, I have to say I think I prefer this one because she reduced the amount of dramatic moves and expressions, so it was a little bit more genuine imo.
BLUE BIRD: I loved it. It was a little bit odd in the beginning with the dancers seeming to do just some random dance moves around, but when the choruses kicked in it was just great. :yes The performance reawakened my love for this song.
Sunset ~LiA~: I didn't like this as a studio record and was pretty bored throughout the live version too.
TO BE: Yet another performance that I loved... She did seem to exaggerate a bit during choruses but it was a very beautiful and touching performance. ...Until Shuya popped out of nowhere to the background to jump around like a very drunken rabbit. Did I say Ayu's figure looks stunning in this dress yet?
Boys & Girls: I love the platform thingy. :laugh Otherwise a very basic, good performance of B&G that got the audience pumped up.
Sunrise ~LiA~: I love this song...! And the tohoshinki towel part was so hilarious and fun even though I'm not their fan. Seemed to really make the audience more connected with her :laugh Such a feel-good performance.
July 1st: This was also very basic-Ayu and a really nice performance. I liked it.

I'd say this concert made my love for her a tad bigger. xD

Its good to see Ayu close to her best again. She's been like looking tired, her concerts late last year weren't even close to what she's capable of delivering, what with her injury and all.

I've been watching her eyes and her left hand express her emotions throughout this performance. Her eyes are focused and her "eye of the tiger" look is back. Her left hand speaks volumes instead of being just limp or going through the motions.

I've not seen that depth of feeling since the live performances of Mirrocle World last year.

Catch her expression before she launches into the chorus of To Be. Her eyes narrowing and lightly bouncing on her heels and you'd know she's about to kick ass, to nail every note even if it kills her.

I can't wait to see what Ayu's lined up next..... minus that "flailing old man". :yes

It's funny, but I've noticed that as well. The way her eyes and face were reminded me of her LOVEppears days a lot, I am not sure if it's the bangs, but she seemed different than during the past few years.

ASFXX's vocals blew me away. So perfect, one of my favourite vocal performances of that song.

I also really enjoyed TO BE and Sunrise. Sunset and Blue Bird were kinda boring.

Rule wasn't bad - but I think she does it better on the tour.

Overall, I think one of her best a-nation performances. On par with 05.

BEST A-NATION !!! -period-

she really proves she's the queen! oh my god

Rule : AWESOME. I LOVE how she opened the show.

ASFXX : GREAT...I dunno how to compare with last year's as there's no rain this year ^^

BLUE BIRD: Cute and sweet

Sunset : Kinda boring, her vocal in the CD is way better...but still kinda emotional

TO BE : Now I know why people like this, it's one of the hi-lite of the show. she's perfect. I wonder why she sounds better in TO BE but not Sunset. AND SHE SHOULD JUST SING ALONE!!! Without shu-ya there...gosh...

B&G, Sunrise, July 1st: These are just...WOW WOW WOW. sooo super energetic!!!

That's it, I must look up this performance of "TO BE" that everyone's raving about. :laugh

EDIT: After watching it on YouTube, I finally feel in the loop and ready to give my opion. XD

Rule: Great opener for a-nation! I really loved her body language after she finished the a cappella. It gave an air of, "Yeah, I own." lol :P I was mesmorized by the dancing performed by the dancers during the last few choruses, and I got chills at the end. :D

A Song for XX: Fantastic performance, really. But I agree with everyone else on the fact that nothing will beat last year's performance. :P But don't get me wrong! It was still great! (And, God, that verse before the second chorus never fails to blow me away.) Actually what I really liked was the extended camera time she got. I enjoy seeing her actually sing through a whole chorus without seeing a shot of someone else or the audience.

BLUE BIRD: O_O That choreography is BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, this is really showing me how seriously she takes a-nation. It's not just some little summer concert she partakes in. I love the effort she puts in! And, ooh, everyone's hands at the end was beautiful!

Sunset: The only I don't care for is her "breathy" sound. She used it in the studio version and now I hear it in every TV performance. =\ I don't like it... Other than that, nice performance.

TO BE: Her wave. God, she looks cute already. ^^ *watching the first verse* God, I miss this song... *continues watching* Wow. The verse before the chorus? The first part. GREAT. *continues* Oh, my God. I'm going to cry. This is... ugh, I don't want to use the word beautiful. It's an understatement. *continues* O_O I had to stop and rewind when she did that "waratte ta yo-o-o-o..." I dropped everything I was doing and went, "Oh, my God!!" WOW. I'm so glad I watched this.

The last three songs were fun to watch. I like the platform. ^^

I've only just watched Rule and ASFXX performances, but wow. Ayu, I'm so sorry my faith in you ever diminished. You are a goddess, and you're my hero. I think the ASFXX performance did it. It was so powerful - very much like the one from last year, I believe (or was it from countdown live?). AYU!!


I'm also not as disappointed in the costumes as I thought I would be. They looked pretty crummy from the Deji Deji Diary pictures, but they actually work quite well on stage. I'm still adjusting to the fishtail dresses - I do hope there will be some hoop/princess-skirted ones again, someday! - and a style that emphasizes Ayu's chest. :P

I had almost the same reaction! That was so unexpected, but wow!

I remember when everyone said To Be would be very boring... haha.
Interesting!

i only watched the Rule... very nice... i dont like the air that's all~

just watched the entire show
ayu definitely own this show...she is just so cool...she is diva but she still looks humble...
Rule performance definitely highlight of the show...its really COOL!!!
To be performance is really nice too...i think people like her vocal, because she didn't use too much vibration when sing this...and i think her singing way is kinda different too than she used to...
ITS JUST SO COOL!!!

Her performance was stellar. It blew me away.

I've only watched through it once so far, but I'm going to watch it again soon with my good friend! :) I may post more specific thoughts on each performance after that.

hmm,everyone seems like bored and feel frustrated with the shu-ya dancing solo part but no one feel bored with yo-chan guitar solo part?
i thought both are more or less same.solo.
but no one complain bout yo-chan?

Why would anyone by bothered by Yocchan?

nah...i'm just curious as ayu always let yochan do the guitar solo,like what shu ya did for dancing solo.
shu-ya showing off his dancing and yo-chan is showing off his guitar :p

so i was like "both are doing solos but why not many like shu-ya and not many complain for yo-chan"
lol

just my opinion :p

Well at least you can see Yo-chan's talent at playing the guitar...and not shuya twirling around

Yo-chan doesn't touch ayu's body :P

:D but ayu touches him...at least his shoulder :tired
lol

Yo-chan is an accomplished musician in his own right. He has played with other bands and released albums on his own. I'll check for his website and provide the link later.

Edit : Apologies but I can't seem to locate Yo-chan's orginal website but here's a fanpage that has most of what I referred to.

http://ayu-the-artist.tripod.com/yo_chan.html

He still plays for Rider Chips and there's a list of albums he released. Check it out.

To me, his guitar solos always have some variation which I enjoy trying to figure out and identify, plus together with Shingo, he provides leadership for the band.

I think Ayu is lucky to have him and the rest of the band, solidly backing her for the AT & CDL concerts. He's been with her so long and yet his guitar playing has not deteriorated or gone stale, although I've noticed he's gone offline sometimes in TV performances.

I think Yo-chan's rapport with Ayu's fans is fantastic and if he were to leave, he would be missed as much as for his mc-ing as his guitar solos. His showmanship and his guitar "messages" at one stage was one of the highlights of the concerts.

Shu-ya ? Okay, he dances well with Ayu and .. and.. give me a week and I might come up with something else.... On the minus side however, he's been overused and to some extent rubs fans the wrong way.

If ever either one has to go, I much prefer Ayu choose Shu-ya. It may be hard to replace Shu-ya, and the dancers may be affected but I think its even harder to replace Yo-chan and the band and Ayu may take longer to recover.
I'm sure good guitarists exist in Japan, but to build up that rapport all over again ?

Anyway, you asked "both are doing solos but why not many like shu-ya and not many complain for yo-chan" so that's my two cents.

I agree with ihulk completely. Yoshio's guitar talent outweighs Shu-ya's dancing talents. I'm pretty sure anyone could do Shu-ya's solos, in fact in school we studied modern dance and I found it incredibly easy to do what he does and I'm not even good at dancing...whereas guitar solos are completely different. A good dance solo is breath-taking, and sadly Shu-ya's solos are awful whether it be down to his dancing talent or Maro's choreography. XD

ohh,okie....
lol...just ignore me XD
just curious to know what you guys think bout yo-chan solo guitar =P

and i agree that ayu is lucky to have them (include enrique,yusuke and others) as their band

I happened to like it, it was better than the ones he performed at AT08 and PCDL 08-09. I liked it because this one had more moves in his repertoire and there are less moments where hes trying to grab at the sky or give frowny faces at Ayu because he can't have her yet shes just 5 feet away from him. I agree though it wasn't necessary for him to pop out midway through TO BE, its not really a love song, he could have just popped out at the end and do his outro.

Well... at least Shu-ya's good at being sad and dramatic... Ayu likes things exaggerated these days. :P

Shuiya is far from being a bad dancer... But coreographies always were a problem on Ayu concerts ~~'

But they are getting better since at07

The overacting it's a theater thing... The concerts are not planned to look good on dvd, they are planned to look good live... And when you need to act in front of a big audience where you can't rely on recording zoom ins, emotion needs to be exagerated in order to being noted for people far from the stage

Which is why she's using Shu-ya right? :) Since he can really throw emotions on his face... like when he dances, he has this ":( + :eyes" look.

hmm i actually enjoy yo-chans solos, i think he's really good. shuya is a pretty bad dancer when he dances during ballads.. but he's really not that bad with other stuff (like the Rule dancing for example). i think some people have a problem with him because his dancing is so girlish and it usually never goes with the music during the ballads he's dancing in, so it just seems pointless and can get irritating and "ruin" the mood. i feel like he seriously butchered her HANABI performance at last years a-nation, it probably would have been great for me if it wasn't for him.

yo-chan doesn't seem to ruin any performances like that, so i have no issue with him.

yo-chan is god xD;

I thought last year's a-nation HANABI was pretty good, but the AT08 is just too...ugh XD The rain probably helped the mood of the song too. And I agree with lfe, at least TO BE outro was good, I really liked it, it's really more than tolerable compared to his other solos! The choreography was nice, I thought this time it actually went well with the background music.

And another reason Ayu chose shuya was probably because only his dramatic-ness can match hers XD

Yeah, except I much preferred her concerts when she didn't do all that; it seems most people feel the same way as well. The lyrics, her voice, and the music are already enough to get the emotion across. All the pulling faces is just annoying. Plus nowadays, even in concerts they have screens that show Ayu throughout the performance so, she doesn't really have to do all the over acting for fans to be able to see her face. I remember groaning at all of her AT08 faces during the ballads section when I went to the show; it's just not necessary.

I was explaining why she does it, not that everyone must like it xD IMO it's pretty cool when it's well done, and pretty stupid when it's poorly done

About the screens, I would hate going to a concert and watching it from screens in order to see something xD If i will watch it from screens, i can do it at home