[Scans] Sweet 2009 September

[ComatoseBunnySnatcher]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Ayu's nose isn't trying to put forth a point, the way the A BEST cover was. When ayu is using her CD covers to send a message, THEN looks matter. But not when we're talking about the physical details of her face. Then, it's superficiality.

It's not.

but when she's contradicting herself... pretty much an issue.

[octolina]

I would like to follow up my thoughts on Delirium Zero's post. Talks about her nose did not just come out of the blue here. We are looking at Ayu's latest photoshoot here. Majority of us hate it, we think she does not look like her usual self. Some say it's photoshop, pose, photographer's problem, but some say it's her actual face that changed. Then, both sides are posting pictures of how Ayu's nose is the same/different. Is that really so bad?

I actually wrote a huge essay in my post... but then edited it out. I guess Grace has the bravery to keep it in. Basically my point is... Ayu's strength is her image... she has a talent for that. I mean, I love how simple/heartfelt her lyrics are, and her catchy tunes, but she is no musical genius, mind you. If we judge her by musical talent then she loses to Utada Hikaru, who is undoubtedly musically gifted. But Ayumi's magic is largely visual. Her face is undeniably captivating and makes you sympathize with her. How would you feel if she in fact got plastic surgery and the result was not good? Would you not worry for her, and ask questions like "Why?" I mean, it's really unsettling to see her nowadays.

[Delirium-Zer0]

I'm trying to figure out how it would be a contradiction if she got plastic surgery. She's always done her best to do what she thinks people watching her would like the most. Her getting a nose job is no more contradicting than constructing an elaborate stage show rather than singing acoustically in small venues, or putting on clothes that flatter her rather than baggy t-shirts & jeans that are more comfortable. We know that's not the "real" ayu, but that's the image she wants to project. And we KNOW she's not above permanently altering herself in some way - she's gotten a tattoo, hasn't she?

If she feels she's doing her fans a disservice by letting her nose get bigger, then her getting work done on it isn't a contradiction at all.

In regards to her charm being her image, sure, it's part of it and always has been. And in that way, she's been falling short lately - she hasn't done a cover with alot of meaning the way "A BEST" did, not in ages. And yes, in that respect I agree she warrants quite a bit of criticism. But the criticism should be based on how "these covers have no meaning," not "she looks fat" or "her hair looks awful." In the case of magazine shoots, they've never been especially meaningful, but she used to look more alive, even when she didn't look happy. The "she looks dead" or "she really looks tired" things should be all that's discussed in this thread, not the nose job debate, which, honestly, should have its own thread so those of us who don't care can avoid it.

[GRACE]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Ayu's nose isn't trying to put forth a point, the way the A BEST cover was. When ayu is using her CD covers to send a message, THEN looks matter. But not when we're talking about the physical details of her face. Then, it's superficiality.

The nose is a prominent feature on the face. If it looks weird, the whole FACE looks weird, and boy does Ayu have a bad one currently. Whether it's photoshop gone MASSIVELY WRONG or an AWFUL nose job she should get her money back for, it's a problem. And you totally missed my point, my point was, She ISN'T trying to send messages anymore, she's substituting them for lazy glam shots. Which in and of itself is a frightening notion for someone who used every aspect of their product to make a point.

I would think the whole "I want her to look like a human being not whatever the hell she looks like now" issue comes in here too. She DOESN'T look real. Maybe she never WAS fully real, but at least she was able to pull off looking real. She looked human, you could connect to her by looking at pictures of her because she didn't look like an idol or a diva, she looked like a person you'd bump into walking down the street. That reality is GONE, in EVERY PHOTO now a days. These are no exception. She's gone and ****ed up her face and now she looks like an ugly panda instead of a human being.

I guess the fact that she looks like an ugly panda robot doesn't bother anyone else, but it bothers ME. Call me superficial, if that's what I am so be it. Nippon said it best "But guess I'm being shallow for expecting her to be human" (you're my hero for that btw)

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

If she feels she's doing her fans a disservice by letting her nose get bigger, then her getting work done on it isn't a contradiction at all.

That's EXACTLY what she's thinking, after all, I think about how awful her nose getting bigger would be every single second of my entire pathetic existence.

[naxxo.licious™]

@GRACE: i see your point and i kinda agree with u as well.

But at the same time i'm glad ayu's not all about looks. She's a singer after all. Some singers are only famous because of their looks, and that's why they have to care about their image so much.

I'm allll for great photoshoots and stuff like that. Graphics are my life, and, in this case, i agree that they have a huge impact on the fans, and the audience in general.

But it seems to me that right now ayu cares more about other stuff (like say, touring) rather than her image.

I guess it's only a phase, and even if it's not, well, she still delivers some amazing songs, so i couldn't care less if she ends up looking like a singing piece of poop.

[Tom Punks]

^ I'm pretty sure no one here is saying, "OMG AYU IS SO HORRIBLE FOR GETTING A NOSE JOB." In fact, I don't think any of us would be against it at all if not for the fact that it makes her face look less attractive.

And @ the last sentence... I'm sure Ayu really would think that her fans would like her less because she's "letting her nose get bigger"? What?

[ComatoseBunnySnatcher]

lol GRACE, thanks, though it's not something really to thank about lol

I mean, that's one quality i like/d about Ayumi; her modesty, honesty, and the ability to show that she isn't a cookie-cutter popstar.

but now, it's hard to tell wether it's these generic diva shoots or a nosejob, it just makes her feel like she gave up halfway. Her lyrics still rule, but it's wierd seeing them take a backseat to whatever this is. It's a big contradiction when she tells us to be ourselves and live our lives, to value ourselves and look over the pretty things when it's what she's doing now. baffling.

we still have her music, true... but image IS a big part of what made her. I mean, look at her! She was famous because of her fashion, cuteness, and junk... it's part of the whole package. If we are being shallow for judging her on looks, then so are you when you say "she's so cute!", and so is her fanbase because i know that they don't complain at having to see a pretty face.

[Delirium-Zer0]

Ayu's in the spotlight all the time. Who knows what things she doesn't like about her physical appearance? She's 30 years old in an industry where there's alot of pressure to look good. We can't know for sure if that's emotionally taken its toll on her. It could be worse - she could be falling apart from anorexia. We should be glad a nose job is all she does, if she's even done it. Honestly though, lighting & tans & makeup do alot to make a person's face look different. The Lumix FX-30 catalog & wallpaper had her looking very very strange in a way similar to how she's looked in these last two photoshoots, but the stuff she released afterwards didn't have her looking like that anymore. Sure enough, it was just the photographer & photoshopping & lighting that made her look so unlike herself. Only time (and probably a change of photographer) will tell whether the most negative of these physical changes are permanent.

There are times when I don't know why I still like Ayu... you're right in saying that her priorities have definitely changed over the years. The simpler things had more substance - now she focuses on the flashy & inconsequential. I don't feel like ayu has no message anymore, just that she's not using her music right this moment to say it.

I hold out hope all the time that she'll put something out that shows thought, planning, feeling, and love for the material, not just for the fans. I love reading her blog because her emotions that come out there are often surprising. There are plenty of feelings left in her and occasionally she still puts a song or video out that surprises me. Right now, yes, she's focusing more on the sparkly things than her feelings, but eventually she'll be able to show feelings and sparkly stuff at the same time. One day the paths of her two goals will cross, and she'll release something amazing again.

And my point is, she'll be able to do it no matter what her nose looks like.

[ayumitsuzuku]

I like them alot! There's something very... 'classic ayu' about them ^^

[naxxo.licious™]

Originally Posted by Delirium-Zer0

Ayu's in the spotlight all the time. Who knows what things she doesn't like about her physical appearance? She's 30 years old in an industry where there's alot of pressure to look good. We can't know for sure if that's emotionally taken its toll on her. It could be worse - she could be falling apart from anorexia.

This is true. I can't even tell how many times people have called ayu chubby on this forum. Ridiculous.

Now that i think about it, it's good that ayu doesn't really care about her image anymore (at least not that much), cause she'd probably be starving herself and god knows what more.

Like Delirium also said in the other thread, we should care about what she tries to convey in her covers, photoshoots, pv's, etcetera, not about her body/face.

Looking good is only a plus.

EDIT: LOL i'm sorry. I wanted to post this on the surgery thread xD

[me0wie]

diva -> plastic doll



she looks good in her diary entries and Today's Photos, as well as behind the scenes photos. why does she make herself look so bad in magazine shots and covers?

[ayu_ready?]

Originally Posted by GRACE

Considering Ayu's IMAGE used to be as important as her lyrics and views, it seems a bit hypocritical to revoke that now when she looks like an ugly panda. The fact is, Ayu used to use her videos and her CD covers to show a message just as much as she used her lyrics. A BEST is probably the best example of that.

Her magazine photoshoots were always glam shots in the end, HOWEVER, they never FELT like glam shots before. You always used to be able to look at her face and see a PERSON there, see that the high and mighty singer was actually a person underneath all the subtle brilliance and wonderful melodies. She was just like you and me, give or take a few million bucks and legions of fans.

NOW, on the other hand, all the pictures of her are the same thing. "Look at me I'm pretty~" "Look at me, I'm so young~" "Look at me, I'm Ayumi Hamasaki~" The same depth and value isn't there. You look at these photos and you might as well be looking at a corpse. Her CD covers are starting to do what, even her VIDEOS are starting to do that. It's like taking a HUGE portion of what Ayumi Hamasaki was and DESTORYING it. And we're just trying to look at why and what happened.

Call it shallow if you want, but we're not saying "oh my god she looks awful, her music must suck because of it." THAT'S shallow, this is just a healthy debate over a facet of her career that's going terribly wrong. She was a model, she loves fashion and all that jazz, she should know what looks good, she sure used to. Now she doesn't give a rats ass and it shows. She's taking pictures for the sake of taking pictures, which, could very well have been her intent from her very first photo shoot. I can't say that she didn't always think that way, I don't know her, but I can say it never looked that way until recently. Image is important in the music world, it's not the most important thing at all, but it's something that should be discussed. I mean, we can't all sit here and go "Ayu's so great, everything she does is wonderful, she is perfect." Because she's not, that's what *I* love about her. She's fundamentally flawed and she shows it. If she's letting crap pictures like this of her get published, if she's gone that lax with her control on her image, what's next that she'll get too lazy to bother trying to control? Her compositions? She already stopped composing years ago. Her lyrics? Who knows.

And as a celebrity, as a public figure, your personal decisions are never your personal decisions. They're always going to be met with fan approval or disapproval. I'm not saying she got work done, but even if you asked her she wouldn't admit it. Because of fan backlash. Actions create reactions, that's the life of a celebrity, as her fans it IS our business what she does because it affects the career we're fans of.

tl;dr: Ayu's image is currently imperfect, and as fans, we should discuss it, not push out those who are negative because they're "bad fans" or whatever

thank you!!! you said it so awesome
I disagree with Delirium post though :
post about..well, we shouldn't care about her image, but what she is conveying with her music & lyrics

I agree about that, but the problem is that she doesn't really nowadays convey anything. not in her lyrics, not in her covers

[pink_horse_088]

expressions is damm lol...
Maybe she is trying something new.

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

her styling in this shoot is amazing. probably some of the best clothing she's worn for a shoot in awhile. however, the dead look is about as appealing as, well, a corpse.

but i love the color scheme of this shoot and I like this more than ViVi. At least she doesn't look like a prostitute from the 1980's xD

OH and I really think she's had some type of plastic surgery lately. I denied during the ViVi book photos, but now I definitely think she did something. Her face changed a lot. her eyes look completely different.

either that or she's putting white eyeliner on her bottom lids (or a combo of both). something is different. something is off. Even comparing them to the pics in my signature she looks way different.

[Chef+Vanny]

No~~~AYu~~~~

[octolina]

lol the more I look at these the more they don't seem so bad...

[UHPlus]

where did this natural, beautiful ayumi hamasaki i used to love gone to???

2003 & 2004 Tokyo Walker


You don't need fish-mouth, thick mascara or blonde curly hair to look cute and young...

[Rocky Raven]

Oh... so this is what NEXT LEVEL she wanna bring out on the magazine?
I just want her to step back in time, Be herself and don't try to become CUTE/INNOCENT =/
Honestly I don't have enough brave to show the scans to my friends and say "Hey! She's one of the biggest J-Pop diva", =/ She looks like some new crazy chick in J-Pop industry.
I don't understand? She didn't look at how she look before they offically choose these picts or what? Totally Fail!

[lumieregrl]

You know, I like this photoshoot, especially the last picture, but if you hadn't told me it was Ayu...I'm not sure I would've known. She seems to look like the popular doll-like image here and looking dead would be part of that. lol Maybe her nose has changed, I don't know yet...

[Kilyk]

Oh geez these photos are weird but oddly for some reason I like them? I don't think it's because they are awesome or anything I believe it's more for the fact that her makeup is so light, and it's just overall weird & different?