 |
| The Beautiful, Beautiful Aoi Yu |
Just finished watch 100 Million Yen Girl, and I have to really stand back and ask myself: Have I EVER seen ANYTHING I haven’t LOVED actress Aoi Yu in? Seems like whether it be movie, commercial or drama, even if the project itself is mediocre, Aoi Yu always blows me away and steals my heart! And when you consider how long and how much I've loved this girl, it's almost RIDICULOUS that I've never made a proper "Crush Of The Day" homage to her til now!
 |
| for SHISEIDO |
There are some people who, when you see them in a movie or drama, it takes a while for you to see them as the character they’re playing rather than the actor him/herself, but I have to say, I’ve NEVER had this problem with Aoi Yu. It seems like the MINUTE she appears onscreen, she instantly makes me believe it’s a character I’m seeing!
 |
| in 1,000,000 Yen Girl |
Furthermore, as soon as you see her character onscreen, you’re IMMEDIATELY interested in who the person is and want to know more. Like, in 100 Million Girl, as soon as they showed this girl getting out of prison, and she walks out the gate and squints up to the sky, I thought to myself, OH MY GOSH! WHATS THIS GIRL’S STORY?!
 |
| as Hagu in HONEY and CLOVER |
That’s the power of Aoi Yu. I’ve been captivated by her talents from the first time I laid eyes on her as Hagu in the 2006 Sakurai Sho movie HONEY AND CLOVER, and since then she’s always been an apple I’ve been keeping an eye on. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that she looked about 12 years old (she was actually 22), she woulda been my very first “Crush Of The Day” way back then, (if I’d been doing that thing at the time, anyway) she was THAT cute and captivating.
 |
| Hula Girl |
From there of course came the mighty Hula Girl, and I have to admit, It was ALL OVER for me- I TOTALLY fell in love with her! Sooo frickin’ pretty, (and yet, quite plain and wholesome at the same time) and yet she seemd to exude this warm and compassionate vibe from her that made you feel at once like she'd understand and relate to you and you’d get along GREAT together…I think that’s called “Otaku’s Delusion” AHAHAHA! Anyway...
 |
| Hito No Sex O Warauna |
By the time she appeared in the Nagasaku Hiromi movie Hito Na Sex O Warauna, I was already prepared for the Aoi Yu love, and she didn’t disappoint! Brash and Sassy, she blundered her way through Matsuyama Keninchi’s obsession with older lady Hiromi Nagasaku, laying into him and knocking sense into his hard head! SHE TOTALLY STOLE THE SHOW!
 |
| "BAAAKKKKKAAAA!!!!!" |
I’ll tell you one really awesome thing about her acting is that when her character gets wound up and lets loose, NO ONE can scream out a barrage of ferocious retaliation better than her! Something about the scratchy way her voice gets when she’s yelling at the top of her lungs (and she REALLY DOES scream at the TOP of her Lungs, FULLY cutting loose!) TOTALLY makes you feel the anger and resentment she’s feeling for her intended target!
 |
| in CAMOUFLAGE |
She was FAST 0n her way to becoming one of my FAVORITE little actresses EVER with terrific movie after terrific movie, the only thing I was waiting for was to see her in a TV DRAMA worthy of her talents! But, ya know…for SOME REASON, she just hasn’t been in that many of ‘em!
 |
| in KOU KOU KYOUSHI |
I think one of the first non-movie roles I ever saw her in was the uber-icky 2003 remake of Kou Kou Kyoushi where she played a tease-gets-her-come-uppance role, and I thought it was SUCH a mediocre role that wasted her talents. Fortunately, the next thing I saw her in was the terrific drama OSEN starring Aoi as the titular character (and a fine, fine job she did in THAT role!)
 |
| as Osen |
As the adorably eccentric proprietress of an old-school Japanese restaurant, she was everything that appealed to my senses: airheaded and absent-minded around the staff, and yet soft, feminine and refined as the head of the place. And ooooh, so kawaii!
 |
| after a night of too much sake in OSEN |
This was, to me, the defining moment of my love for Aoi Yu, for I finally felt like she was “mine” as only diehard fans can feel when they know they’ve passed beyond what could be called a “casual” fan! Additionally, it was in OSEN that I fell in love with how Aoi Yu looked draped in a Kimono, I tell You! She was soooo beautiful!
 |
| as Risa in TIGER and DRAGON |
And though it was more of a bit part, special mention must be made of how wonderful Aoi was as the character of Risa in TIGER and DRAGON. Remember that ferocious temper I was talking about earlier, well, you get to see her passionate fury unleashed once again! Seems Junichi Okada’s character has been calling her “Ugly Cow” for a while (she’s even taken count in her notebook!) , and one day she’s finally had enough, and TOTALLY GIVES IT TO HIM! Oh my GOSH did THIS scene KICK ASS!!!
 |
| Okada Junichi gets clobbered in TIGER and DRAGON |
Next came her alluring role of savvy geisha Omoto in the Masaharu Fukuyama NHK Taiga Drama RYOMADEN,(where she showed she could REALLY ROCK the Edo period garb) as well as delightful comedic turn as Setsuko in UNUBORE DEKA, a “Black Widow" of sorts who seems to have the misfortune of having all of her husbands suspiciously MURDERED once she's placed as beneficiary on their wills!
 |
| as Omoto in RYOMADEN |
 |
| As Setsuko in UNUBORE DEKA |
 |
| in WELCOME TO THE QUIET ROOM |
 |
| in ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU CHOU |
 |
| in TOKYO! |
And from there came the artsy drama CAMOUFLAGE and back onto even MORE terrific movies: TOKYO, HANA AND ALICE, WELCOME TO THE QUIET ROOM, even her early debut as hauntingly tragic Shiori in ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU CHOU, if Aoi Yu was in it, I HAD to see it, and every single thing I’ve seen her in has just reaffirmed what I’ve believed since that very first time I saw her:
Aoi Yu is fricking amazing. She’s absolutely one of my favorite Japanese actresses OF ALL TIME!!
 |
| in HANA and ALICE |
* * * * * * * * *
PS: In an interesting twist of Fate, a scene in All About Lily Chou Chou features Yu as student prostitute who’s just stolen her customer’s wallet, and is enjoying the fruits of her labor at a nearby eatery. He finds her, however, and gruffly demands his wallet back, but not before she’s coyly told him to make sure and pick up the tab on his way out!
 |
| Sugimoto Tetta and Aoi Yu, All About Lily Chouchou, 2001 |
The scene’s interesting to note because the client is none other than Tetta Sugimoto, and in seven years time, he and Aoi would go on to star in OSEN as (respectively) the Restaurants’ Head Chef and Madame!
 |
| Sugimoto Tettao and Aoi Yu, Osen, 2008 |
Like a Fine Wine, it seems Aoi Yu is only going to get even better with time!
