Fantastic discussion so far, although just a suggestion: I think there are too many threads open for a deeper analysis of Ayu's work. Perhaps it would be more conducive if we dedicated a month to each album? So that we can make the most out of these threads
Also, it might be helpful if the opening post contained links to relevant images, interviews, lyrics, quotes, and events of note in Ayu's life?
Anyway, I think Next Level is a brilliant album that was unfairly under appreciated when it came out. It's such a breath of fresh air, especially after the severe introspection and heaviness of Guilty. Obviously, it seems to mark a moving away from the emotions, the turmoil, the sense of "guilt" that gave birth to Guilty, striking a more hopeful note in the process. I think this is best exemplified by the very different uses of landscape between Guilty and Next Level.
I do think that deserts (or desert-type) landscapes have a negative connotation throughout Ayu's work, from the Vogue-Far Away-Seasons trilogy PVs (the desert is a ruined landscape that reflects the themes of endings and transience in the lyrics) to the I Am... booklet's use of the desert as a great sea of hopelessness. (Although Ayu has used the desert to symbolize freedom, or at least as a place to escape to i.e. the Surreal and Dearest PVs). On the Guilty covers, it actually looks as if Ayu is overwhelmed by the desert landscape, looming menacingly in the background with its shadows and crags. I think this is reinforced by the heavy animal print dress Ayu is wearing, as though she is "locked" into this landscape, as opposed to the sleek animal print outfit she wears for the Duty album and the Surreal PV (both containing messages of escape: freedom as a natural, primal, "animal" right).
Contrast the negative image of the desert with the use of landscape in the Next Level PV. Again, Ayu is in the middle of a desert landscape, but instead she is behind the wheel of a car. So now there is a different understanding of the desert: Ayu is driving across this landscape, in control of the direction she is headed in, able to determine the path she cuts across a previously harsh environment. The wind is in her hair. She's reclaimed her freedom, moving away from the imposing desert of Guilty, toward a more hopeful outlook. In her lyrics, she often mentions open landscapes as means to look toward the future with optimism and hope. It seems like she has finally realized it here.
"When we feel the wind, let's make a strong step
Let's go with the same speed, looking at the same scenery"
It's the same desert, but now she understands what it means to be free: freedom is not escape; it's choosing where you are going.