Satsui no Michinori continues to be one of the best dramas on right now, and a HUGE part of that is due to the wonderful charisma of actress Mayu Hotta! This past week’s show is the best one yet, continuing on with the story of two cousins (the wonderfully mundane team of Bakarhythm and Arata Iura) who are planning an elaborate murder/revenge on a corporate bigwig. Episode 3 featured the return of Konoha, the pretty cabaclub hostess with the sensible attitude towards all things to do with true crime and MURDER! MAN, Mayu Hotta is absolutely PRECIOUS as Konoha, and if I thought she stole the show in episode 1, it may well be that Mayu ends up running away with the WHOLE DRAMA, she is SO doggone CHARISMATIC here!!!!!
So spunky, sassy and so PRETTY that I was beside myself watching her in action as she simultaneously entertains the guys in her capacity as the cabaclub hostess (prepping drinks,etc) as well as advising the hopeless Kazuma over his choices of murder implementation! When Kazuma mentions strangling as a possible choice of murder, Konoha sagely tells him that it takes a lot of resolve to strangle someone as you're staring them right in the eyes.
"Hmmmm, here, try strangling me," she suggests, and Kazuma's heart can't help but flutter as his hands touch her neck and she commands him to stare into her eyes as he does it.
"See? Hard to choke someone when you're looking right at them, right?" If only she knew! So mesmerizing and captivating is Konoha that Kazuma cannot help but fall under her spell, and we are falling in love right there next to him!!!
There is a brief kerfuffle when he hears Mitsuru tell the other hostess Yuzuki (Yui Sakuma) the murder plans, but in the end they decide to trust her since she’s a friend of Konoha... indeed, she is completely sympathetic to their ordeal, and in the end, the four end up going to sing Karaoke! Next comes one of the FUNNIEST scenes where Konoha is advising Kazuma about HER personal choice of which route they should go murdering Murooka, while at the same time Yuzuki is belting out the Gen Hoshino theme song “Koi” from the Yui Aragaki drama “Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu” , OMFG I was laughing so HARD!
Cannot believe how fast I’ve been falling for Mayu Hotta- seems it was just a few weeks ago that I had seen her for the first time in Kiken Na Venus, which, though she was elegant and attractive, didn’t hint at how awesome she could be!
Mayu in Kiken na Venus with Satoshi Tsumabuki
At this point, it looks like I’ll HAVE to watch Itoshi no Nina and am downloading it even as we speak, but I wonder if her character of Nina can even halfway compare to the awesomeness of her role of Konoha- this is THE role of hers!!!
Mayu as the titular Nina in "Itoshi No Nina"
As always in my “Crush of The Day” posts, I like to look over past stats and see what else I might have seen the girl in before, and looking at Mayu’s Asianwiki credits, seems I’ve seen her in a handful of shows, none of which I really remember her in, though she looked as lovely as ever~
Looks like one of her earliest roles was a guest appearance in Keiko Kitagawa’s "Ie Uru Onna"... Another Patient role in "Hakui No Senshi" Then a flashback scene in "Cold Case": I only saw one episode of Cheer Dan, but re-watching it, there she was! Part of the Nurse staff in Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Dokomade mo: A cute cameo in Shinitai Yoru ni Kagitte: as well as an appearance in the movie "Korosanai ~He Won’t Kill She Won't Die”, as yet ANOTHER adorably precocious girl…. Yep, Mayu is really making her mark and it looks like we’ll be seeing much more of this FINE filly in the months to come! Hahaha, hey, she’s even in the new NHK asadora “Yell”, LOL! Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com
