Review by Pekka

ok, the reason this one get 4 stars is because last year's countdown was and still is THE best and so it deserves the only 5 star-rating. But to the concert, I have no complaints on the performances, they've been on the same level for some years now, which is awesome. The tracklist was very surprising like usual for a CDL, and I think it's cool. The best songs were definately endless sorrow, because of you, theme of a-nation '03, love ~destiny~ and heaven. It was nice to hear startin' live as well. Oh yeah, bold & delicious was great too. The whole encore was pretty neat actually. So what I didn't like about this one was the sound mix. It was kind of uneven at times, changed in the middle of some songs, which wasn't really pleasing. This doesn't bother in all of the songs though. Well the director could have made some better choices with the cameras or whoever is in charge. When yoshio was doing a solo in some songs they showed the dancers dancing or whatever, which I really didn't like. Yoshio's screentime has been in a decrease lately, which makes me sad. Well the concert is great all-in-all, if you're a fan, you know what to do.

Though not a big fan of jrock, or the kamen rider, but a fan of Yoshio Nomura, I had to get this new album. It features many good tunes with variety of styles. To my please, Yoshio's guitar playing stands out more than anything, though not mocking the rest of the band, they're great, it wouldn't be the same without them. I'm not a big fan of male-singers either, but Ricky is very good, though I had to adjust a little. I also got to credit the drummer which does an excellent job. The keyboard-player isn't on the cover for some reason, he's only seen on the inside-cover. Overall this was a good album, waiting for some more of their stuff in the future.

Bold & Delicious is ayu's contribution to gospel, and a good one it is. I was immediately impressed with the song the first time I heard it. I was thinking 'totally new' and I always like it when she tries new stuff. The song is VERY powerful, the chorus could hit you unconcious if it could, you know, with the choir and all. When I heard ayu sing this live, I thought she couldn't do that in the studio, but I was wrong, she sings with such power, it's amazing. This funky gospel song is very loose and makes you want to clap your hands or stump your feet, it's catchy. Pride is a nice tune as well. It also has a choir and is somewhat different as well, but not as new as BnD. Ayu sings it beautifully and it's really impressive. A good single all-in-all, I didn't care much for the techno remixes but I never do.

This movie is beautiful. The cast did their jobs nicely, visually it's awesome and the soundtrack is great. The fighting and the drama are well balanced and the plot has some twists which are surprising and good. The movie succeeds to touch the viewer with it's story and characters, though the credit goes to the novel which the movie is based upon. I solely bought this movie for the theme song HEAVEN but I knew this was a blockbuster and had high hopes for it, and it surely didn't let me down. One of the most beautiful and touching movies I've ever seen.

This is her best album to date. I think her every album has been better than the last, if you agree with me, then this is a must-buy. The album consists of variety of songs like has been a trend for her since 'I am...', though a definite ballad is missing like 'Voyage' or 'forgiveness' but her recognisable sound is there, you know this is an ayu-album. And with songs like 'Bold & Delicious' and 'Pride', she has taken a new step off the normal course. There is a all the single-videos on the dvd plus 'Ladies Night' and 'rainy day' and lots of making off material which is nice. I'm recommending this to all ayu-fans.