Crush of The Day: Yui Natsukawa

Yui Natsukawa as Dr. Natsumi Hayasaka

 (Kekkon Dekinai Otoko Rave Pt.III)

And there’s Dr. Natsumi Hayasaka. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love, love, LOVE  this character, she is definitely one of the BEST and most believable characters I’ve seen!! 

Quite a twist when you consider that when I first began watching it, though I was in love with both Ryoko Kuninaka and Reiko Takashima's characters, Natsumi was portrayed as this this plain, middle aged gal who spent nights playing pachinko and visiting manga cafes, so at first, though pretty in her own way, she just didn’t interest me. 

Natsumi Hayasaka, a woman well versed in omiai...

Dining in Ramen Shops Alone...

and frittering her evenings at the Pachinko Parlour

 But then, a funny thing happened. They began to pair Natsumi up with Michiru as good after-work friends where their hobby became spying on Kuwano and making fun of his uncool and quirky ways. OH MY GOSH, these scenes were the most HILARIOUS bits EVER, Kuwano is SUCH a dork, and the girls’ reactions when they see his eccentricities come out are so Fun and ANIMATED!

Meeting For the First Time

Bonding over the eccentric Kuwano

Becoming Best Buddies

Frank Discussions

Spying on Kuwano

 Take this one scene where the two of them come across Kuwano trying out hats. They’re all terrible hats and they have fun at his expense, but when he really buys one, their laughter turns into incredulation:

 It was scenes like this that made me realize how great Natsumi’s character was- while Michiru was giggly and flighty, Natsumi always had a practical take on things. And at some point of course, you realize that despite Kuwano’s faults, Natsumi really likes him, and little by little I began to cheer her on, til she grew into my favorite character on the show!

Doctor/Patient Relationship...and maybe more?

 I said how this show is made by its three female leads, but when you get down to it, it’s really Natsumi who is the show’s “romantic lead role” against Hiroshi Abe’s Kuwano character. And in fact, looking for pictures online, I’ve noticed that some of the DVD Box Set case artwork does indeed feature Shinsuke and Natsumi’s image  as the “main” picture, with the rest of the cast smaller beneath them, validating her as the "main girl", LOL

I was SO invested in their story, can’t remember the last time I was LITERALLY WRINGING my HANDS during the last episode ‘cause I wanted so, so badly for them to get together and have a “happy ending” (Whether they DID or not is for you the viewer to find out, let’s leave it that I WAS satisfied with the way it turned out)...!

Man, Yui Natsukawa is soooo soooo great in this role, she made you as the viewer understand and know exactly what she is feeling with just her eyes, whether she is happy, confused,  serious. And, Oh MAN, the times when her feelings are hurt by some cruel offhand thing Kuwano has said to her, I’d be there with my heart breaking right next to her. I fell SO IN LOVE with her!

After about halfway through the show, I had to run over to dramawiki to see if I’d seen any other dramas that she appeared in, where I was surprised to see Aoitori listed as one of her early dramas. AOITORI? Aoitori is one of my favorite dramas, but for the life of me, I just could NOT remember seeing her in it. 
I dug up my old Aoitori discs to try and see which minor character she might have played…where I was stunned to realize that Yui was THE MAIN FEMALE CHARACTER! WHAT! Ye GODS, my memory of what the “woman-on-the-run-from-her-abusive-husband”  in Aoitori looked like was so hazy, perhaps someone who looked like Noriko Sendo variety, I would NEVER have guessed that the actress playing Kahori Machimura was Yui!   

As Kahori Machimura in "Aoitori (1997)

    Although only roughly 9 years earlier than Kekkon Dekinai Otoko, Yui looks SO much YOUNGER here, and in fact at times I couldn’t even associate this woman with the loveable Natsuki Hayasaka…until she SMILED! Then those wonderful dimples of hers came out, and I could see that it was indeed the same girl I’m loving so much!

Yui and Etsushi Toyokawa in Aoitori

 So strange to think that all the while I was watching Kekkon Otoko Dekinai, getting obsessed with Yui Natsukawa and wondering why I hadn’t seen such a terrific actress in anything before, while all along she was in my memories just waiting to be re-discovered and loved!

with An Suzuki in Aoitori

I really want to check out some of her other dramas, and a good candidate to seek out is 2011’s Shiawase no Kiiroi Hankachi, which she once again co-starred with Hiroshi Abe, this time as husband and wife! (She also guested in two episodes of Abe's "Shinzanmono" series)
Ah me, if I didn't make this clear already, Yui Natsukawa is the best reason why Kekkon Dekinai Otoko has resonated so strongly with me. She reminded me just what it is I love about Japanese Dramas, characters and stories you care about and really take to heart. Cheer, Yui!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com