Is there anywhere that compiles the complete list of hard copies & complete album downloads?
In regards to all of this, I don't consider this a #1 album (I dislike the vast majority of the music), but I
do think the sales figures largely reflect bad marketing more than people's musical preferences, at least in terms of the most
immediate sales. And by marketing I mean everything from cover art, to videos, to single releases, to tv schedule appearances, etc.
The concept of this album is great, imo, but the execution was terrible. I know some people say "look deeper" at the cover art, but there are a thousand ways to execute the same concept and this one just looks like nobody was even trying. If I saw it on the shelves and didn't know Ayu's lyrics or music, I would not glance twice. If I saw NaNaNa or Shake It on TV, I would change the channel. I love her, but those are the facts for me. Nothing about any of these visual promotions suggests there is something more than what you see with your eye... and you can say there is an art to them all you want, but art =/= good marketing.
It's like how I feel about modern art;
that canvas you painted blue can have the most profound vision of the universe that we've seen in 50 years, and I might even agree with you, but that still doesn't mean I want it hanging on my wall for several thousand bucks.
Combining that with essentially no singles, or TV appearances, plus the most massive departure from the musical styles that made and maintained her status for so many years (she's been leaving them behind since Guilty/Next Level, and I think that this is also partially the reason for her overall decline in sales) - well, this pretty much explains the situation to me.