An accompanying music video was directed by Wataru Takeishi, which displays Hamasaki walking around New York City and observing people.

The song's instrumentation consists of guitar by musician Naoya Akimoto and keyboards by Japanese pop band HΛL.

[5][6] Two separate 12" vinyls were distributed by Japanese label Rhythm Republic, featuring remixes of both "Appears" and "Whatever".

[7][8] It was Hamasaki's first single to be distributed in North America, which was remixed by American DJ Junior Vasquez and released on May 27, 2001.

[9] It was furthered distributed by Drizzly Records throughout Europe in 2005–06 under Hamasaki's Western alias Ayu; it was released on 12" vinyl and CD single formats.

[10][11] The artwork for digital and Japanese formats featured a darkened skin version of Hamasaki's portrait on Loveppears; like both covers, it garnered controversy due to its provocative nature.

AllMusic's Alexey Eremenko, whom contributed to writing Hamasaki's biography on the website, selected the track as some of her best work.

Though the editor commended the club inspired composition, he/she criticized how it took over Hamasaki's vocal performance and felt the sound was slightly "geeky".

[15] It debuted at number two on the Count Down TV chart hosted by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), stalled from the top spot by Hikaru Utada's "Addicted to You".

[20] In January 2000, the single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of 200,000 units.

During the first verse, it has her in an apartment, sitting on a couch with a butterfly hair clip; this scene is used throughout the entire video.