2021: Reflecting on Ayu's career

[Zeke.]

I feel like Ayu had always appeared reachable throughout her uprise. She was a marvel and yet there was something so relatable about her. It was a mix of the relatability-factor and the desire-to-emulate factor. She appeared as if she could synthesize success and happiness out of turmoil. And she could do it well. Seemingly effortless.

Then her celebrity struggles started to manifest in her works. It also appeared significantly more chaotic, messy and less polished. The desire-to-emulate factor disappeared, as did most of her relatability-factor. She lost resonance.

Ayus works ALWAYS reflect her soul. She manifests her desires through them. Early on, what she wanted was what everyone wanted. Later on, her struggles changed, and likewise so did her desires - or at least, the context of them. Her life suddenly appeared shakey, as did her vision for herself. That’s not something anybody wants.

Additionally, and this is a big part, her actions appeared highly unexpected. I think people felt betrayed in a way. The girl that everyone wanted to emulate because she seemed to have figured so much out... wasn’t so? Now that the public felt they had a better handle on things than her. They felt they knew better for a change.