FIVE x sixxxxxx

[Andrenekoi]

So, I have a theory that Ayu mini albums tend to be "open letters", pieces of work where she communicate specific ideas to her public. As the post is going to be big, I will say that I believe there's a connection between FIVE and sixxxxxx, and explain why I think so...

Memorial Address would be, well, an address in memory of someone with who she had a chaotic relationship and who suddenly passed away... Starting from the happy memories (ANGEL'S SONG, Greatful days), going through conflicts and how they affected her (Because of You, ourselves, HANABI ~episode II~, No way to say), and when she was ready to get over all of this and reconect with the person (forgiveness), that person dies and makes it impossible for them to reconect again (Memorial address ~take2 version~)

FIVE would be an open letter to her fandom, starting with Ayu and her fans sharing a dream and giving eachother strengh during hard times (progress), being too close making one side hurting the other one (ANother song), the wounds caused by being too close and hurt pride making both asides growing slowly apart (Why...), resulting in feeling alone and feeling judged because the other side didn't understood why she acted the way she did (beloved), culminating on her deciding to move on alone, not because she doesn't love the other side anymore, but because it's the only path she is able to see so both sides can grow and mature (BRILLANTE).

FIVE was released after several controverses surrounding her personal life and professional choices, IMO it was she warning those who followed her that she would start to produce whatever she felt like producing, without worring about how the public would receive it or how well would that sell. It's interesting to remember that it was after FIVE that she released her most polarizing pieces and where a lot of people felt "she wasn't being herself".

When I got the chance to listen to sixxxxxx, I had this idea I have for her mini albums on mind... While listening the album with a friend and discussing the tracks and their lyrics, we decided to read the lyrics on order. Now, a lot of people are saying they are feeling Ayu back since A ONE, and IMO sixxxxxx is the continuation of FIVE on the sense that if FIVE was Ayu announcing she was taking a different path from those her fandom wanted, now she was coming back to walk together with them.

Ayu starts by taking the first step on getting closer, remembering of the dream once she and her fandom dreamed together (Step by step), and then all the good time they spent together, and how much she loved and felt loved (Summer diary), but once, even with all of that love, things went apart, and she felt like the best thing she could do was going foward on her own (Sayonara), and in order to reconstruct that connection, Ayu is beging for another chance, remembering of the dream shared in the past and saying she won't give up until she is reunited with the listener (Sorrows), but that she want them to know she won't give up on her personal life, on making mistakes, on living her own life, and falling in love and getting hurt how many times she needs to (Shape of love), but even so, she is here, sharing the same dream, treasuring the same promise she made in the past, asking you where you and her will go together from now on (Sky high).

IMO her duets with males usually are the songs where you have a dialogue between her and her fandom, represented by the male vocalists.

Now, here is where things get interesting: In order to be sure if the connection between FIVE and sixxxxxx really made since apart from the mini albums titles, I decided to re-read all of the FIVE lyrics, and noticed something... from tracks 1 to 5 both albums are mirrored, and it made sense that at first sixxxxxx would have only 5 tracks on it!

progress x Step by step: Both tracks talk about moving foward no matter what, and giving each other strenght on hard times to do so... Songs about using your problems and sadness as a fuel to keep going and make things get better with your own hands.

ANother song x Summer diary: Both songs about a summer filled with love from the past, with so much love it hurt, and about being apart on the present missing that feeling.

Why... x Sayonara: Both songs talk about a relationship that is about to end because both sides feel they aren't as loved as they love, where both can't share the same dreams anymore, and where pride is taking them apart.

beloved x Sorrows: Both talk about ayu asking for the listener to support her even if she is being judged, if people are pointing fingers at her, even if she feels alone, both songs where she wonders if she has been forgiven.

BRILLANTE x Shape of love: This is where things gets different... If BRILLANTE talked about the realization that the only way to go was alone, because there's no way of not being alone, Shape of love talks about the hope and the strenght that comes from union, from loving and being loved. So, it's a more hopeful take on the conclusion on what it means to live on this world.

So... this is why sixxxxxx is called sixxxxxx, because it comes after FIVE. ^^

[tsumekaze_]

This is VERY interesting! I admit that I believe that some are just coincidences stemmed from ayu's way of working on (and sometimes repeating) things. But it still is a very interesting insight, I was thinking about the two of them just the other day because of their titles being so similar. Ayu has an habit of linking her minis (see love and AGAIN) so your theory could be very on point. I believe we should wait for the next mini and see what happens. If it goes towards a totally different direction, then we can say that these two were definetely related as two parts of one project.

I was also thinking about how A ONE could fit in this whole theory.
I mean, is it more than a coincidence that all of a sudden she starts using numbers as titles? She used letters in the past and they did have a meaning back then.
So i was thinking, what should we make out of "FIVE" " (a) ONE" and "SIX"?
Theories?

[Andrenekoi]

Well, Ayu does have some recurrent themes and imagery, but I doubt it's just a coincidence when even the order on the tracklist is the same... On this case you have 5 songs on the same order talking about the same stuff using the same imagery. Also some stuff like "loving someone so much it hurts" isn't all that common... If she was talking about roads, one winged people or putting people under her wing I wouldn't see the tracks as related.

And them the fact that 6 actually does come after 5....