Man, I've been reading this thread and boy is it exhausting.
I question the motives in doing things in this medium, and think there's obviously more here than any of us know. It seems a bit messy, but I don't have any major problems with it. To be honest, I'd really prefer another documentary interview with her, or a memoir - but it is what it is.
With regards to any negative feedback, or her going against her cultural norms, I'm not going to write out the same thing I've written in many threads before, so I'll just paste it here.
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Ayu was the voice of the "lost generation" in Japan. People always connected to her on this really personal level for her lyrics, her attitude, etc. During her prime, Ayu was a "bad Japanese woman" because she broke out of the mold in so many ways, and that was exactly what the general public was feeling and wanting during that time. Now, those people have all grown and settled into the more "expected" roles they play in life, and the current younger generation in Japan is really much more insular than the previous. Now Ayu's actions and behaviors as a "bad Japanese woman" are something to insult her for, it's not something they want to see in a Japanese popstar. I also contribute this to Namie's success - despite the bumpy rode she faced earlier in her career, but scrubbing her private personality from things (like, literally having her tattoos removed), she became this aspirational image of a cute, beautiful, talented, hard-working Japanese woman. And all of those things are certainly true, but it's a very specific image that she's portraying, and exactly what the general public want.
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