Thoughts on Momentum PV

[gogirlanime]

It had some cool parts in it, like Ayu turning into snow, holding fire, etc. But I found it boring. I like the ending the most starting with the man comming out with the flowers Ayu's cry and face then are so beautiful.

[alt.total-loser]

Originally Posted by Syphex

What?! HANABI II was atrocious. She looked like she was trying to scream out some tears or something. It looked too wierd.

HANABI ~episode II~ had her best tears and most extreme sadness, I thought. In the CAROLS video she just screwed up her eyebrows and put her hand over her face, basically. In HANABI ~II~ she waved her arms around, clutched her nose, and pulled off the perfect crying frown~

It was lovely. =]

The crying in this pv was just... did tears fall? =/ I can't remember. I just remember her frowning and rocking back and forth kinda.

[orochicloud]

This PV is so emotional, and with the subtitles (Thanks Love Appears!), its really hard to fight back the tears while seeing ayu in such pain

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by meerkitty

HANABI ~episode II~ had her best tears and most extreme sadness, I thought. In the CAROLS video she just screwed up her eyebrows and put her hand over her face, basically. In HANABI ~II~ she waved her arms around, clutched her nose, and pulled off the perfect crying frown~

It was lovely. =]

The crying in this pv was just... did tears fall? =/ I can't remember. I just remember her frowning and rocking back and forth kinda.

Yes. The very first time that we've actually seen tears fall in a PV.. [well they might be computer generated but w/e]~

In the very end, just before the man comes out, you see them. You have to look closely, as they aren't "WOAH WTF STICKING OUT"~

[Misa-chan]

Originally Posted by BigAyuFan

why would she want to go back to visit??i mean in the begining she was just there crying and i dont belive she would go back to cry and i dont think she was expecting that man to go up to lay down flowers either.

I'm also puzzled as to what purpose the snow ayu has. And also, blue ayu only lights up a candle in the middle of the PV, while snow ayu was there right from the beginning. So unless the candle-lighting scene was a flashback, the theory that blue ayu let snow ayu return to the living world by relighting her candle falls flat. So I think I'll just live on the assumption that it was a flashback. :X

From reading what everyone has written so far and rewatching the PV, I have come up with a possible guess of what ayu's "secret" might be. I suspect that ayu's dead dad (remember MA?) is actually still very much alive, and ayu knows it.

Here's how the PV fits in with the theory:
In the beginning, ayu appears and cries. (ayu back in 2003 gets news that her dad has died and cries). Everyone watches ayu silently and sympathetically, but no one comes to care for her. (some people knew that ayu's dad is very much alive, but did not tell her) Blue ayu lights up a snuffed candle. (symbolises that dad has "come back to life", since ayu thought that he's dead) Suddenly, an old man opens the door to come offer her flowers. (dad himself approached ayu to let him know that he is still alive and remembers/loves her still) A gust of wind blows the candle off again. (ayu cannot acknowledge publicly that her dad is alive afterall, so he must continue to be "dead" in the public eye) Snow ayu tries to embrace the old man, but disintegrates before he even saw her. (ayu wants to acknowledge dad, but she can't, probably due to avex not wanting her to taint her reputation. So she can't even let him know that she forgives him)

Yeah, I know it's probably absurd, but this is what I think ayu's secret might be...

[truehappiness]

:<

Popular opinion:
momentum is a boring PV

[I like it, but symbolism or not, I think that many people didn't really like the sameness of the scenes ~_~]

[freedreamer]

Ayu saw her own dad?! i tot she never did..

this is wad AYu said about the PV (i got them from the translated SECRET interview...i wont post the full wan unless permission is given)

What I want to express through momentum is that our feeling (=heart) and actual behavior don’t actually follow each other. We know things in mind, but we do it anyway… that point, the director Takeishi-san understands it well and make it into the PV. I want to touch him/her but I can’t. I want to appear in sight of her/him, but I should not. I know it, but I can’t stop crying, something like that…

and for u guys info...

It’s a song that took me forever to record my singing. I’m usually quick when it comes to recording but it took 4 days just for this song! Confined myself in the vocal booth and never got out. It was like, I almost felt like sleeping in that place *bitter smile* This song has taken the longest time to make ever since “Hamasaki Ayumi history” started. So it really reminds me or, should I say, it makes me cry just by listening to it.
My impression of this song is that the melody’s pretty. Just like Secret, it has Yuku’s unique atmosphere that is “Sad because it is too beautiful”.

credits: blue bird (AYUNITE!) and friend

[HiruNoKaze]

I need to read/translate her comments...

One of my interpretations is that she died out there and the people put flowers in order to let the spirit rest and not linger around. They say spirits linger when they died in such a way to make them unfulfilled and they don't realized that they died. So perhaps everyone is afraid, and they put flowers where she died to help her move on. Perhaps the old man is the last one, and with his flower, she realizes that she's dead?

Last part is really stretching it for me, but depending on my mood, I like to interpret the PV as the people being aware of the spirit (but not seeing) and being a bit afraid. A sort of village/folk mood; everyone knows the routine.

I like the interpretation that the match girl and Misa-chan's insightful background post imply. It's really beautiful how two stories/myths are juxtaposed; they strengthen each other.

I did not think it was a boring PV at all. It sticks with the scenery and does it well. The heart of the PV are the story/twist and her expressions...so many, so beautiful.

[jamester]

man... i love this PV very much!!! kinda no way to say. her emotional expression... her tears... the snow effect... almost all the part of the PV make me cry.

This video actually had my in tears.
I'm not one for usually crying at videos either.
But when that olde rman brought out the yellow flowers.
Ayu hasn't done a powerful video like this for a long time. Not one that I can personally releate to anyway.
The music is perfect, the video is seamless.
I love it.

[immel]

The translated comment on the momentum PV from the interview:

Mr. Kaz: The PV also has that “sad/missing/lonely” and “fragile” feeling!

Ayu: What I want to express through momentum is that our feeling (=heart) and actual behavior don’t actually follow each other. We know things in mind, but we do it anyway… that point, the director Takeishi-san understands it well and make it into the PV. I want to touch him/her but I can’t. I want to appear in sight of her/him, but I should not. I know it, but I can’t stop crying, something like that…

Mr. Kaz: Yeah! That’s exactly like that. But for now we also have a dilemma that we want to tell the truth (answer) of the PV but we can’t say that, right? LOL

Ayu: Yup! There’s also something fun waiting to be discovered by you, too!

Credits: asako @ ayunite

So there's indeed something for us to discover... the locker? Flower? What can it be. She wants to tell us something special.

[jeffycue]

i just hate the way she tried to cry... i wish she didn't have to be so dramatic... hehehe. but overall, i love the PV!!

[Inspirelova]

I never knew that she saw her Dad............

[immel]

Ayumis dad lived together with her until she was almost 3 years old, so she has definitely seen him, but not since she was 3 by what I understand.

[makie_7]

Originally Posted by immel

The translated comment on the momentum PV from the interview:

Mr. Kaz: The PV also has that “sad/missing/lonely” and “fragile” feeling!

Ayu: What I want to express through momentum is that our feeling (=heart) and actual behavior don’t actually follow each other. We know things in mind, but we do it anyway… that point, the director Takeishi-san understands it well and make it into the PV. I want to touch him/her but I can’t. I want to appear in sight of her/him, but I should not. I know it, but I can’t stop crying, something like that…

Mr. Kaz: Yeah! That’s exactly like that. But for now we also have a dilemma that we want to tell the truth (answer) of the PV but we can’t say that, right? LOL

Ayu: Yup! There’s also something fun waiting to be discovered by you, too!

Credits: asako @ ayunite

So there's indeed something for us to discover... the locker? Flower? What can it be. She wants to tell us something special.

I wonder what's that funny thing she talks about. I have no idea

[elepop]

I saw the word "dead"! =O *shocked*

[SheFliesHigher]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

:<

Popular opinion:
momentum is a boring PV

[I like it, but symbolism or not, I think that many people didn't really like the sameness of the scenes ~_~]

Judging from this thread, it seems like the popular opinion is that it's an awesome PV o_o

For me anyway, I like Jewel better because it has such beautiful and interesting imagery. I just love how Ayu looks all huddled up in the tree with sparkly eyes!

[the angel song]

Duuude it seems like we're dissecting a Shakespeare play everytime ayu pops up with a dense PV.

But that's not a bad thing.

I'm loving all these interpretations everyone is coming out with.

[mlkrepublic]

i guess i'll be the only one disagreeing with you guys here. i think this is one of her worst pvs ever. she's never looked this bad in her pvs before...

[the angel song]

Different strokes for different folks . I remembered hating the 'CAROLS' pv AND the song to death, while everyone else was in love with it.