Plotboxes uploaded a classic J-drama from my "golden age" of J-dramas, a show called Ren'ai Hensachi (Love Quotient), and my GOSH was it filled with J-drama stars of old! Shinohara Ryoko, Nakatani Miki and even my beloved Zaizen Naomi, but the one that really brought back a wave of nostalgia was seeing Takako Tokiwa again.
You know, some of you may not know this, but back in the day (from about 1995 to 2000), Takako Tokiwa was REALLY the BEE'S KNEES and by just taking a gander at these screencaps, it’s still easy to see why!
Takako always had this playful, elegant, and vulnerable aura about her, and for fans of later actresses like Kitagawa Keiko and Ishihara Satomi, believe me when I say Takako was a definite trailblazer of the type- (of course Takako herself followed in the footsteps of actresses like Suzuki Honami and the queen of bubbly j-drama girls, Sachiko Sakurai), the girl with sass, determination and a helluva lotta cuteness!
Takako is one of the few female leads that I feel are right on par with the other male actors she cut her teeth with, Kimura Takuya, Fukuyama Masaharu, Oda Yuji, Takenouchi Yutaka, and Katsunori Takahashi, in every scene, this gal can definitely hold her own! In recent years, she has been cast in more motherly roles, (Tonbi, for example) and nowadays one can see Takako as the main character’s mom in the current NHK drama “Mare”! BTW, one other actress that appeared in this drama that I haven’t seen in ages- Naomi Hosokawa! Famous for her boyfriend stealing roles in shows like Hoshi No Kinka, I never DID get to see her in any starring roles…seeing her now, I have to wonder- whatever HAPPENED to her?
