Playback ’93] The “pure” smile of Eimi Wakui! When Eimi Wakui, the “honor student actress,” was just so cute!

What did “FRIDAY” report 10, 20, or 30 years ago? In this edition of “Playback Friday,” we take a look back at the topics that were hot at the time. This time, we look back at “Smile No. 1 of ’93” from the December 31, 1993 issue, which was published 30 years ago, and ask: “I forgive everything! Eimi Wakui’s smile is effective!

In 1988, she made her debut in the entertainment industry with the drama “Hana no Asuka Gumi! (Fuji Television Network) in 1988, Eimi Wakui was active mainly in TV dramas. In 1991, she also made her mark by winning the Japan Academy Award for Best New Actor and Best Supporting Actress in films such as “Son” (directed by Yoji Yamada) and “Shushoku Sensen Ijokusei” (directed by Shusuke Kaneko). Then, in “Niji no Hashi” (directed by Zenzo Matsuyama) in 1993, she won the Japan Academy Award for Best Leading Actress at the young age of 23. The article reports a direct interview with her at the Japan Film Critics Awards ceremony held on December 13 (the phrasing and other expressions in the article remain as they were at the time).

Playback!　Wakui, an “honor student” with an iron-clad guard

Coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, she’s so cute! Eimi’s smile is a little bit “cute!

The smile you see here is the one she showed at the award ceremony when she said, “Thank you very much. I will do my best again in the future,” she said with such an honor student-like smile. (I want to get even closer to Eimi!). With this ambition in mind, we attempted a direct interview with Eimi, who was listening to Junko Ikeuchi and others at the party held after the awards ceremony.

─ ─ Congratulations on receiving the award. Please tell us about your work as an actress.

It’s been seven years since I started this job, but I still have a long way to go. Today’s award will encourage me to keep working hard.

─ Don’t you work too much with movies and commercials?

I love working on location. Commercials bring out things about me that I can’t show in movies and TV dramas.

─ ─ If you are so busy, you don’t have time to play with your boyfriend …………….

Just as I was about to ask her that, a female manager suddenly “interrupted” with a smile, saying, “Please refrain from asking questions that have nothing to do with today’s award. She was smiling on her face, but her eyes were scary. I had heard rumors that her guard was tight, but I had no idea it was this tight.

Eimi, on the other hand, was reserved throughout the interview, like a well-behaved young lady. Her polite manner made us feel as if we were meeting members of the royal family. She gave a polite nod to every actor who passed by her and never stopped smiling! And this never-ending smile! I forgive all of them, even if they have a tight guard or make an honorable remark. The No. 1 smiling girl of 1993 was Eimi!

Wakui’s rapid rise to fame continued, and in 1994, she starred in her first drama series in “Natsuko no sake” (Fuji Television Network). She starred in numerous dramas, most notably in “Pure” in 1996, “Virgin Road” in 1997, and “Punching Woman” in 1998, and was one of the supporting actresses in Fuji Television dramas during its golden era.

In 1995, she married actor Masato Hagiwara (52) and had a child together, but they divorced in 2003. However, she continued to appear in more and more TV dramas, and currently plays the role of Nene in the historical drama “Dou de Ieyasu” (What to do, Ieyasu). Wakui has a slightly natural air about her, but 30 years ago she was even more “pure.