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[truehappiness]

For some reason I feel like laughing. XD Either that or I'm misinterpreting it as hilariousness and it's actually anger.

Nami: I agree that Ayu's looked her age in previous photoshoots, but I guess it depends on the photographer sometimes. I dunno, it just seems like Ayu changes her looks a lot really often. I mean, Ayu looked kinda like a homely girl when she first debuted, kinda like how YUI is portrayed, but now she's like this glamorous figure that people look up to. Has the Caucasian-ness really not been that evident before? I thought it was the most evident around the RAINBOW era. Her light light strawberry blonde combined with some of the hairstyles of that time made her look really Americna. O_O

[namiie]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

For some reason I feel like laughing. XD Either that or I'm misinterpreting it as hilariousness and it's actually anger.

Nami: I agree that Ayu's looked her age in previous photoshoots, but I guess it depends on the photographer sometimes. I dunno, it just seems like Ayu changes her looks a lot really often. I mean, Ayu looked kinda like a homely girl when she first debuted, kinda like how YUI is portrayed, but now she's like this glamorous figure that people look up to. Has the Caucasian-ness really not been that evident before? I thought it was the most evident around the RAINBOW era. Her light light strawberry blonde combined with some of the hairstyles of that time made her look really Americna. O_O

Who, me? XD Oh no I'm not angry. When I have an idea in my head I just have to present it (with visuals when possible, of course) XD It's the speech & debate side of me, lol.

Hmm, that's a good point. The person who Photoshopped the Startin' cover probably isn't the same as the person who did these covers, and it's most likely the photographer changed too...and now that you bring it up, I suppose it has been more evident before. The big blonde curls in 2002 did seem quite classic American...I guess I'm just taken aback by these covers because they present the Caucasian-ness in a different form; I don't remember an actual cover in 2002 being this flashy in this sense XD; Just Ayu in lives and such.

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by namiie

Who, me? XD Oh no I'm not angry. When I have an idea in my head I just have to present it (with visuals when possible, of course) XD It's the speech & debate side of me, lol.

Hmm, that's a good point. The person who Photoshopped the Startin' cover probably isn't the same as the person who did these covers, and it's most likely the photographer changed too...and now that you bring it up, I suppose it has been more evident before. The big blonde curls in 2002 did seem quite classic American...I guess I'm just taken aback by these covers because they present the Caucasian-ness in a different form; I don't remember an actual cover in 2002 being this flashy in this sense XD; Just Ayu in lives and such.

WHY DO I KEEP TYPO-ING OMG.

Anyways, I do the same thing you do. XD Except visuals are harder for me to create since my laptop and desktop are slow as hell. ;_;

The photographer makes a big difference... like Leslie Kee who did the Startin' cover really knows how to play with lighting and wind effects to make hair look extra voluminous, while some photographers like Kazuyoshi Shimomura who did A BEST 2 and such... are very fashion oriented and tend to make the models look plastic.

If I were to choose Ayu's best photographers, I'd rank them like this:
1) Leslie Kee
2) Keita Haginiwa
3) ND CHOW

Keita Haginiwa did some of Ayu's most poetic single covers, but Leslie Kee has done an amazing job with albums, and all-around shoots [magazines/singles/albums] are very well done by ND CHOW.

List of who worked on what single:
Toru Kumazawa:
Boys & Girls
kanariya
Fly high
Far away
SEASONS
SURREAL
AUDIENCE
M
evolution

Keita Haginiwa:
NEVER EVER
Endless sorrow
UNITE!
Dearest
H
Moments

Mitsuo Yamamoto:
Voyage

Leslie Kee:
Daybreak
&
INSPIRE
Startin'

Toru Kogure:
Free & Easy

Tadashi Ura:
[illustrator, aka painter of vogue's cover]

Me Company w/ Gregor McGregor:
forgiveness

Takashi Miezaki:
CAROLS

Kazuyoshi Shimomura:
STEP you
fairyland
talkin' 2 myself

ND CHOW:
HEAVEN
Bold&Delicious
BLUE BIRD
glitter

HIJIKA:
Together When..


Judging from the looks of this cover, it could be Kazuyoshi Shimomura, since he directed the PV..

[bluegie]

Originally Posted by namiie

...and now that you bring it up, I suppose it has been more evident before. The big blonde curls in 2002 did seem quite classic American...I guess I'm just taken aback by these covers because they present the Caucasian-ness in a different form; I don't remember an actual cover in 2002 being this flashy in this sense XD; Just Ayu in lives and such.

Reading 6 pages all at once ain't funny at all . I read you and TH's talk and lemme bring up another story. Back in 2001 or 2002, my brother use LOVEppears as his class presentation (in elementary school...@@). Most of his classmates didn't believe that ayu was a Japanese at all. They all think ayu as a western. Ayu has always been using Western image since LOVEppears I think. Of course I think she looked like western the most during the end of 2002. No, she didn't have any single cover portraying as a western, but her image after during releasing Voyage --> the end of the year was totally a wetern... Platinum hair color, the make up.. etc.

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Back in 1999-2002 she had just as much confidence. Two covers with no clothes and just hair covering her breasts, one cover with a cat-bodysuit on, topless in UNITE!'s cover AND a completely naked cover aka RAINBOW done with a sort of crystal body finish. Ayu is no stranger to risque photoshoots [tasteful ones]~

Your forgot the I am... cover with only leaves cover her body... LOL


Back to the topic.. Today I was mad that I didn't order CD+DVD (deluxe YOU version) when I saw the cover (newspaper version). cdjapan still had the deluxe Depend on you, but I didn't order.. cuz I dun like Depend on you

Now I see the cover... Well I still dun like Depend on you, but I love that side shot cover, so I ordered it in the end..

And this will be my first ayu single ever.. (kinda embarrassed to say that... Have been her fan for 9 years but I never owned a single... )