[truehappiness]

Looking at Ayu's last 20 or so PVs, it's interesting to note that most of them only have one 'look' in them as opposed to the two or three we used to get in older videos or even just one or two 'scenes/backdrops' as opposed to a lot of different cuts from different angles which we normally see in music videos nowadays and even in her 1998-2006 videos. Maybe it's just due to Masashi Muto's changing habits as a director since he directed like 90% of the videos.

MOON - Hideaki Sunaga - two Ayus (ink Ayu + Ayu with dog) but mainly in the same two rooms
blossom - Takahide Ishii - no Ayu at all
crossroad - Masashi Muto - two Ayus (burning Ayu + TV Ayu) but mainly in the same room with the chair or the room with the lights
Virgin Road - Masashi Muto - A few Ayus in different large dresses with Mannie and lots of scenes in the same general area of the CA desert
Sweet Season - Luis Hernandez - "two" Ayus (mom Ayu + trashy Ayu in the end) in the same house, lots of kids...
Love song - Masashi Muto - two Ayus (wig Ayu + long hair Ayu) featuring Mannie on a backlot set
Last angel - Masashi Muto - four Ayus (Mannie Ayu + long hair Ayu + Virgin Road Ayu + parking lot Ayu) featuring Mannie at the backlot set, hotel, and parking lot
do it again - Masashi Muto - two Ayus (bed Ayu + dog-walking Ayu) in B&W room and War of the Worlds set
progress - Masashi Muto - "two" Ayus (hat Ayu + curls Ayu) in two scenes on a white backdrop and green screen at the end
ANother song - Masashi Muto - one Ayu (fedora/cornrow Ayu) featuring Urata Naoya on a set
Why... - Masashi Muto - two Ayus (sleeping Ayu + butterfly Ayu) featuring JUNO and lots of different angles on a studio set with green screen
beloved - Leslie Kee - two Ayus (B&W dress Ayu + children Ayu) on a beach and in a plain studio
BRILLANTE - Leslie Kee - one Ayu (superman Ayu) with Timmy and a LOT of guys in various studio shots
Shake It♥ - Masashi Muto - one Ayu (UK Ayu) with Timmy and a lot of extras in an apartment
NaNaNa - Masashi Muto / Hiroki Yokoyama - same as above at a club
Return Road - Masashi Muto - one Ayu (black dress Ayu) at a power plant
how beautiful you are - Masashi Muto - one Ayu (white dress Ayu) on a plain backdrop
You & Me - Masashi Muto - a lot of casual Ayus with Maro
Song 4 u - Masashi Muto - four Ayus (queen Ayu x 2 + pawn Ayu x 2) on a chessboard in the same 'scene' for the entire PV
Missing - Masashi Muto - one Ayu (messy hair Ayu) in field with floating men
Sweet scar - Wataru Takeishi - one Ayu (white blouse Ayu) on a studio set one-shot PV
(we haven't seen Wake me up and snowy kiss yet, but they'll probably be like You & Me, just with another guy involved along with Maro)

And looking at these PVs, there are only really about two or three PVs (bolded) that I think are similar to older PVs (2006 and before, I suppose... maybe 2007) she's had in terms of pacing and 'feel' but it's not a bad thing necessarily that most of the PVs are not like her older ones or even just like most pop PVs in general, it just makes for some underwhelmed fans.

She needs to experiment with more directors, I think. After years of working with Wataru from 1998-2002, she switched things up and hired new talent in 2003 for & and that was really refreshing for the years afterward. Perhaps she needs to do that again at some point in the next year or two? Up until NEXT LEVEL or Rock'n'Roll Circus we had at least three directors per release compared to now where it's essentially all Masashi Muto. He's not bad but he's done almost eveeeeerrrryyything for the last 2+ years.

Oh, it probably also doesn't help that the majority of the songs were medium in some way or a ballad.