[Ai Otsuka] ✪ the 21st TRiCKY thread ✪

[CatGirl]

Wow, this album is phenomenal! My favorite track so far is TOKYO Sanpo. I just love how she blended electronic, Japanese and jazz influences throughout the album. It sounds very cohesive without being too "samey." I feel like she really perfected her style with this album too, but then again, I was never a fan of her more peppy pop rock tracks haha

[indigochild]

The opening track is such a fucking stellar track. Wow. It's been a while since I've instantly loved a song on first listen!!

[Sasha]

^ I think mine is Mousou Chop, lol.

[thinkingoutloud89]

kingyo hanabi or mirai taxi. equally excited whenthey come up

[oaristos]

I decided to listen to LOVE HONEY a couple times before giving my impressions. I think it's a beautifully done album, it's very cohesive as expected, and I feel like it mixes a little bit of LOVE FANTASTIC and LOVE TRICKY. I'm in love with the title track, QueeN, make up, and HEART BREAK (it's too bad many people didn't like this one). I'm excited to see what she's planning for the tour!

[ayu_ready?]

I really need this album to sell well

[inspire_rmx]

this album is sooo good!! Ai really did a excellent job to come up with an album with a good balance of Love Fantastic and Love Tricky style.

[XFER]

2552!? Wow... that's abysmal

I didn't like either Love Fantastic, not Love Tricky, but Love honey is really good. Wish it was selling well

[Bigtop]

Did the relationship scandal affect the sales? Hmm...

[koumori]

The sales are such a shame. It's a solid album.

[haraiso]

I think the album could've sold a little better if they had actually promoted it with a new PV or something.

The PV for Watashi already aired months ago for the single, so I don't think they aired it again for the album. And the PV for Sakura wasn't aired at all so idk how they expected people in the general public to know about the album lol.

But she seems to always rank in the 20s with the same 3k-ish sales so while I'm not sure if she's attracting any new fans, her current fanbase is probably loyal and follows her releases.

[taskinillusion]

Looking forward to getting this album on Friday, finally! Can't wait to hear it!

While I have a lot of favorite Ai songs, if I had to choose just one, I'd have to go with Shabondama. I loooove it and its PV.

[mi|kshake]

I finally got my copy of Love Honey last week!

I'm really enjoying the album and still getting to know it. I'm glad she stuck with the Love Tricky sound. So far my favourite songs are QueeN, Tokyo Sanpo and Monochrome or was it Make Up?

I understand why people weren't keen on FrogFlag. It does break up the flow of the album at first but it's growing on me. I also find Hey!Bear to be really cute. I like a lot of the ballads too but struggling to remember them right now!

Before Love Honey and Love Tricky, the last album I bought from Ai was Love Cook which was my favourite at the time. Which of her albums that I've missed should I buy next?

[dannysan]

LOVE HONEY TOUR 2017 ～誘惑の香りにYOUワクワク～ Setlist:

01.HONEY
02.サクラハラハラ (Sakura Harahara)
03.QueeN
04.FrogFlag
05.LOVE FANTASTIC
06.HEART BREAK
07.make up
08.ユメクイ (Yumekui)
09.未来タクシー (Mirai Taxi)
10.モノクロ (Monochrome)
11.ロケットスニーカー (Rocket Sneaker)
12.スターターピストル (Starting Pistol)
13.タイムマシーン (Time Machine)
14.女子シェルター (Joshi Shelter)
15.TOKYO散歩 (TOKYO Sanpo)
16.HEY!BEAR
17.私 (Watashi)
ENCORE
18.SMILY
19.フレンジャー (Frienger)
20.さくらんぼ (Sakuranbo)
21.日々、生きていれば (Hibi, Ikite Ireba)

[oaristos]

Originally Posted by dannysan

LOVE HONEY TOUR 2017 ～誘惑の香りにYOUワクワク～ Setlist:

01.HONEY
02.サクラハラハラ (Sakura Harahara)
03.QueeN
04.FrogFlag
05.LOVE FANTASTIC
06.HEART BREAK
07.make up
08.ユメクイ (Yumekui)
09.未来タクシー (Mirai Taxi)
10.モノクロ (Monochrome)
11.ロケットスニーカー (Rocket Sneaker)
12.スターターピストル (Starting Pistol)
13.タイムマシーン (Time Machine)
14.女子シェルター (Joshi Shelter)
15.TOKYO散歩 (TOKYO Sanpo)
16.HEY!BEAR
17.私 (Watashi)
ENCORE
18.SMILY
19.フレンジャー (Frienger)
20.さくらんぼ (Sakuranbo)
21.日々、生きていれば (Hibi, Ikite Ireba)

It sounds like a great setlist. I would give anything to be there, especially after watching some videos of her previous tour. I love the atmosphere of smaller concerts, and the songs she's been releasing since LOVE TRICKY are all amazing.

[Chibi-Chan]

Does someone own the album and could make a 320 kbps mp3 rip? If so, I would be forever thankful!

[Isicio]

I like Watashi, I'm going to buy the single and I don't know the bsides are tracks on the álbum so is better. The álbum is great but some chorus are weird on the songs but the music is great.

[Zeke.]

Also apparently Japan has a strong culture of cheating.

[Corvina]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

Also apparently Japan has a strong culture of cheating.

It happens there like everywhere else in the world (sadly).
The difference is - if a man does it, it's usually not much of a big deal. If a woman does it, it's the end of the world.

[orbitalaspect]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

Also apparently Japan has a strong culture of cheating.

Well, it was mentioned before when the news first broke about Ai's husband that Japan is still very much a man's society. Men are often excused for these behaviors in part because of the long hours and personal investment in work culture (salarymen) among other reasons. It's not so much considered "cheating", as I understand it, as it is a convenience because Ai isn't as readily available as her husband's assistant or whatever.

I'm sure they've hashed it out at this point. However, if I were Ai, I don't know if I'd make a different decision this time. The next time? Yeah. I'd be out. But she's probably thinking about the importance of a two-parent home for their child. And maybe to her, to this is a small sacrifice to benefit their kid as long as her husband doesn't do it again.

We know she's not broke. So, this is less about financial obstacles, and probably more about opportunity for their kid to fit in, to have dad and mom, and all of this can be swept under the rug at a time it would be extremely disruptive and confusing to the child.

Edit: Just realized I work more hours every week than the average salaryman. Oh well, I probably take home better pay too. So, there's that.