<figure id="attachment_338228" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-338228" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="04927a12"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/10/be9d420c3ef1f64a71d06c219a39e9c6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-338228" class="wp-caption-text">Yu Aoi chose NHK&#8217;s morning drama &#8220;Boogie Woogie&#8221; as her comeback film after giving birth. What is her &#8220;thought&#8221; behind it? &#8230;&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
 Yu Aoi will appear in the NHK morning drama &#8220;Boogie Woogie,&#8221; in which Shuri plays the heroine, in her first film since returning to work after the birth of her first child, a girl, in August.
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 The model for the heroine Suzuko Fukugi (Shuri) in this morning drama is Shizuko Kasagi, a great star of the postwar era who sang many famous songs such as &#8220;Tokyo Boogie Woogie&#8221; and &#8220;Kaimono Boogie&#8221; and was called the &#8220;Queen of Boogie. It is a human story in which she brightens up a damaged Japan with her singing, dancing, and natural cheerfulness.
 In the story, Aoi plays Reiko Yamato, the top star of &#8220;Umemaru Shoujo Kagekidan (USK),&#8221; whom the heroine Suzuko admires. When she performed &#8220;Butterfly Dance&#8221; in the fifth episode, many viewers were struck by her overwhelming presence even though she did not have any lines.
 Shuri, who plays the heroine, also said, &#8220;Ms. Aoi has been around for a long time.
 Ms. Aoi has always been my idol. It has been one of my goals to act in the same space with her, so this is really like a dream come true.
 I&#8217;ve always wanted to be in a play with her. Reiko Yamato, played by Aoi, is the origin of Suzuko, who will become the &#8220;Queen of Boogie&#8221; in the future, and is the key person who will eventually take over Reiko&#8217;s passion for entertainment.
 Although Aoi now has the air of a &#8220;major actress,&#8221; her life as an actor has not been smooth sailing.
 Aoi grew up in a family environment where she was not allowed to see movies or TV dramas, while she enjoyed classical ballet and classical concerts. In order to become an actor, he learned about movies by renting videos at a local video rental store.
 However, she made steady efforts and auditioned for movies and TV dramas, but she was unsuccessful in each audition.
 She wondered if she would never make it as an actress if she continued to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.
 Such thoughts crossed her mind, and she even considered quitting acting. However, God did not give up on Aoi.
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 At the age of 19, she appeared in &#8220;Hana to Alice,&#8221; a film directed by Shunji Iwai. She walked the red carpet at the Pusan International Film Festival and was welcomed enthusiastically by movie fans. She dropped out of college to pursue her acting career.
 Aoi&#8217;s struggles led her to appear in &#8220;Hula Girl,&#8221; directed by the brilliant director Lee Sang-il, in 2006. Aoi became known as a &#8220;monster actress&#8221; and won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the Japan Academy Prize. In 2010, she appeared in the historical drama &#8220;Ryomaden&#8221; (NHK), in which she played the role of Omoto, a geisha in Nagasaki, and also appeared in Yoji Yamada&#8217;s &#8220;Tokyo Kazoku&#8221; and &#8220;Kazoku wa Tsuraiyo&#8221; series, and is now considered a talented young actress.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Aoi&#39;s &quot;determination&quot; to make a comeback in morning dramas"></div>
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And in &#8217;17. In 2005, Aoi was introduced to the fateful film &#8220;The Birds She Doesn&#8217;t Know Their Names,&#8221; which won numerous awards including the Japan Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
 Aoi plays the role of Towako, a woman who never goes out to work and leads a self-indulgent life, relying on the earnings of a man 15 years her senior, Jinji (Sadawo Abe). She cannot forget her old man Kurosaki (Yutaka Takenouchi) and has a relationship with Mizushima (Momori Matsuzaka), a man with a wife and child, who also has Kurosaki&#8217;s image.
 The film is said to have &#8220;0% sympathy and 100% displeasure. Director Kazuya Shiraishi, who has worked on socially-conscious entertainment films such as &#8220;Wicked&#8221; and &#8220;The Worst of the Wicked&#8221;, was drawn in by the original story and made an enthusiastic offer to Aoi even before it was made into a screenplay&#8221; (producer, production company).
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 This is the first love story by Shiraishi, who has made only masculine films in the past. By having Aoi play the heroine &#8220;prepared to be hated,&#8221; &#8220;The Birds She Doesn&#8217;t Know Their Names&#8221; is reborn as a crazy love story.
 Rie Miyazawa, who has performed with Aoi on stage, said at an awards ceremony
 She said, &#8220;The grace with which she thoroughly lives her role is so cool and manly.&#8221;
 She was generous with her praise.
 Since then, Aoi has been known as a &#8220;solitary actress&#8221; who never compromises in her choice of films in which she appears. After her marriage and childbirth, she chose the morning drama &#8220;Boogie Woogie&#8221; as her first film after returning to work. Why in the world did Aoi choose &#8220;Boogie Woogie&#8221; as her first film after returning to work?
 Mr. Toshitake Fukuoka, who worked with Aoi on the historical drama &#8220;Ryomaden,&#8221; said, &#8220;Aoi has a dignified and beautiful figure. Aoi&#8217;s presence, appearance, acting, and dancing all bring Yamato Reiko to life and infuse the drama with a compelling spirit,&#8221; he said.
 Aoi herself expressed her passion for this production, saying, &#8220;It is a dream come true for me to be able to work with the teachers whom I have admired in the world of revue, which I have loved since I was a child.
 The review scene in this production is fully supported by the OSK Nippon Opera Company, which was the model for the Umemaru Shoujo Kagekidan (USK). The NHK Hall in Osaka is the stage for this production, which features an array of stage directors, music providers, choreographers, and other specialists who have worked with Takarazuka and OSK. It is truly a dream come true.
 Aoi, who plays the role of top star Reiko Yamato in this production, was prepared for the role.
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 Aoi, who has been away from acting for many years, sings and dances with an inner resolve, and the role of Reiko Yamato is like seeing the origin of Yu Aoi as an actress. In the third week of the performance, which Yamato directed for the first time, many members of the troupe asked to quit because they could not keep up with the rigorous rehearsals.
 Many viewers were moved by the scene where Aoi bows to everyone and tearfully pleads, &#8220;I don&#8217;t want anyone to quit,&#8221; &#8220;I want to have fun with everyone,&#8221; and &#8220;That&#8217;s why I want everyone to continue.
 (Director of a production company) Yu Aoi&#8217;s &#8220;second chapter&#8221; as an actress began with &#8220;Boogie Woogie. What kind of impact will this have on the heroine Suzuko? I would like to see more of the singing and dancing Reiko Yamato, the top star of the show.

 He is involved in program production in a wide range of genres, including variety, news, and sports programs. He has also planned and published many books on female TV announcers, idols, and the TV industry. While working on documentary programs, he became interested in history and recently published "Ieyasu was dead in Sekigahara" (Takeshobo Shinsho). She has also published the e-book series "Ibun chakurezuregusa" (Different Stories about Craftsmen).

 Ukon Shima (Broadcaster and video producer)

 Saki Hotta

 NHK's morning drama "Boogie Woogie" depicts the life of Shizuko Kasagi, a major star of the postwar era who was called the "Queen of Boogie. The role of the great actress whom the heroine Shuri admires is played by Yu Aoi, who reported the birth of her child in August. ......

Yu Aoi, who reported the birth of her baby girl in August, chose NHK&#8217;s morning drama &#8220;Boogie Woogie&#8221; as her first film after returning to work.

Yu Aoi, who reported the birth of her baby girl in August, chose NHK’s morning drama “Boogie Woogie” as her first film after returning to work.

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