The Most Interesting Idol Movies of the ’80s! Akio Nakamori, Ken Terawaki and Masahiro Kitagawa, the “Three Wise Men,” discuss the most interesting idol movies of the ’80s.
Since her debut in “Proof of Wildness,” she has been a signature actress for Kadokawa Pictures.’ She appeared in 14 films in the 80’s alone.
Kadokawa’s Three Daughters, Seiko, Gokumi, Nanno, and a host of other star names.
The idols of the 1980s, who charmed young people with their singing and gravure magazine appearances, chose the movie theater screen as their next stage of success. A succession of masterpieces starring idols, such as “Sailor Suit and Machine Gun” starring Hiroko Yakushimaru (61) and “The Grave of the Wild Chrysanthemum” starring Seiko Matsuda (63), were produced and became a new source of vitality in the Japanese movie industry.
What were the most interesting films of the golden age of female idols and idol movies in the ’80s?
This time, FRIDAY invited idol critic Akio Nakamori, film critic Ken Terawaki, and female idol researcher Masahiro Kitagawa for a roundtable discussion. The three men, all well versed in the world of entertainment, engaged in a heated discussion about the “best idol movies of the ’80s.
Terawaki: Japanese cinema enjoyed its golden age in the 1950s. However, with the advent of television in the ’60s, the film industry gradually declined.
Kitagawa: I often say that “the era of movie stars is changing to the era of TV idols,” but until the ’60s, movies were the center of entertainment. Then, around the early 1970s, the era of TV idols began in earnest, led by Momoe Yamaguchi (66).
Terawaki: The film industry, in dire straits, came up with the idea that if they cast people who were popular on TV, they would be able to attract an audience. From there, the film industry began to produce “idol films,” so to speak, as a way to take advantage of television.
Nakamori: Originally, film actresses were considered “stars of the silver screen,” a status higher than that of TV celebrities. However, as you both mentioned, after the 1960s, a situation emerged where films were made using idols who had existed only on TV. In that sense, “idol films” have been a kind of contradiction from the beginning.
Kitagawa: Momoe, who was a national star as both a singer and a film actress, retired in 1980. Since then, the baton of star has been passed to Seiko in the world of singing and to Yakushimaru in the world of movies.
Nakamori: When talking about idol movies of the 1980s, Yakushimaru cannot be left out. She made her debut in “Proof of Wildness” in 1978, but the first time she played the leading role by herself was in “The Flying Couple” in 1980.
Other masterpieces include “Detective Story” in ’83 and “The Tragedy of W” in ’84. However, the biggest hit was probably “Sailor Suit and Machine Gun” in 1981. When Yakushimaru came to Osaka for a stage greeting at the time of the film’s release, the fans rushed to the theater, causing a panic and the riot police were dispatched.
Kitagawa: The commercial featuring Yakushimaru firing a machine gun and muttering “Ka-i-ka-un” was very powerful. The method of running a large number of TV commercials to lead to a hit was a unique strength of Kadokawa Films at that time.
Nakamori: However, when you watch the film, the machine gun scene ends without much fanfare, and there are no close-ups of Yakushimaru, as in the commercials. I’m sure there were many people who were disappointed (laughs). Mr. Terawaki, what do you think?
Terawaki: I didn’t think so highly of it at first, actually. The way director Shinji Somai (53 years old) shot the film, including the long shot in front of Isetan in Shinjuku, was so innovative for the time that I was puzzled. It wasn’t until later that I began to understand how great it was.
As for Yakushimaru’s works, I would recommend “The Tragedy of W”. The research students of the theater company in which she plays the role train hard in acting in order to get a role in the performance, and memorize the lines of the supporting characters to prepare for the understudy’s appearance. One girl’s growth as an actress through suffering was linked to the real-life Yakushimaru. For “The Tragedy of W,” Yakushimaru won four film awards, including the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actress. With this film, Yakushimaru’s reputation as an actress was assured.
Nakamori: “The Tragedy of W” is certainly a masterpiece, but “Sailor Suit and Machine Gun” had a tremendous social impact.
Following in the footsteps of Momoe, Seiko embarked on a film career, also starring in “Eve in Summer Dress” and “Symphony of Love in the Caribbean”.
She is a representative of Kadokawa Pictures along with Yakushimaru.’ In “Take Me Out Skiing” in 1987, she helped spark the skiing boom.
Tomoyo Harada” created the image of the heroine in “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Kitagawa: Kadokawa films dominated the ’80s. The signature actresses Yakushimaru, Tomoyo Harada (58), and Noriko Watanabe (60) were known as the “Kadokawa Three Daughters. Harada also left behind several historic films, including “The Island Closest to Heaven” (1984) and “Take Me Out to the Snowy Mountains” (1987), but is “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” your debut film, your favorite?
Nakamori: “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” was screened at the same time as Yakushimaru’s “Detective Story. At the time, Harada had not yet made his big break. Everyone came to the theater to see Yakushimaru. However, by the time the movie was over, many people had become Harada fans.
The fusion of youth and science fiction, which was a novelty at the time, got a lot of audiences hooked. In the original novel, there is no mention of the main character having a short cut, but the image of Harada’s short cut was so strong that when the film was later adapted into live-action and animation, it was also short-cut.
Terawaki: “Early Spring Stories” from 1985 was another good work with a high level of perfection. It tells the story of Harada, who is in his late teens and falls in love with his own mother’s former lover. The director, Shinichiro Sawai (83 years old), was so strict with Harada’s acting that he said, “I don’t even want to see his face anymore,” and a making-of video shows Harada in tears on the set. It may have been a painful one for Harada, but I like it.
Kitagawa: Watanabe, another of the three girls, won the Japan Academy Award for Best New Actor for her role in “Sekigokuzushi” in 1983. The following year, “Hare, tokidoki homicide” was a hit, as was the theme song sung by Watanabe.
Nakamori: “Harure to tokidoki kakusa” is very good, isn’t it? It is Watanabe’s first starring role, and her physical acting is excellent, such as wearing a leotard in the film and challenging a scene in which she is attacked by a man who has a crush on her. Film director Shunji Iwai (62) made a comment to the effect that he wished he had been born 10 years earlier and made a film with Watanabe. I have the impression that he was a latecomer compared to Yakushimaru and Harada, but he was highly regarded by people in the industry.
Terawaki: “Lovers’ Time,” released in 1987, was directed by Shinichiro Sawai and written by Haruhiko Arai (78), a masterful duo. Initially, Watanabe was offered the role of the heroine, but she declined because she disliked the intense nude scenes, and Michiko Kawai (57) was selected instead. If Watanabe had appeared in “Lovers’ Time,” history might have been changed.
From the January 30/February 6, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY
Her breakthrough came when she was chosen to play the heroine, a delinquent girl, in “Tsumiki kuzushi” in 1983. The following year, her first starring movie was released.
PHOTO： Shuichi Masuda (Harada) Takeshi Kinugawa (Matsuda)