just dropped here to say she was amaaaazing in kimi ni todoke. I hope to see her as a lead!
The MVP of the show literally (even better than the leads). Can't believe she can act that well, perhaps either I haven't seen her enough previously or simply because her previous portfolio isn't as challenging as this one.
Finally got a chance to watch it in early April 2023 - got lucky since the screening period was *extended* due to its popularity.
It's nothing sort of amazing how the narratives can pack a lot of powerful yet subtle emotion across a time span of 2 days and 4 different story arcs happening in the same time. A bit like an omnibus but not like quite like it, because the characters in each arc are somewhat connected although not directly to each other. The title itself is spot on, where the young characters are right in the middle of transition of their lives - be it staying in their hometown or moving elsewhere upon graduation, or dealing with some *really* profound changes/events during their high school that affect it. The main twist, which only happens in one arc (which is unique, not gonna spoil it further), hits like a truck and make sense of what had shown on screen beforehand. Fantastic performances all around from the cast members, which are well-complemented by camera works and most importantly sound design (including the use of silent moments to accentuate actors' performance in certain scenes, especially at the very end).
One of the best coming-of-age shows produced by Japan in the last 5-8 years. Easy 9/10 for me.
She is stunning. Definitely a visual-type actress.
EDIT: After watching Netflix' Kimi ni Todoke and Oshibudo LA (and her bits in asadora Ranman), I'm convinced that she is an actress with decent acting IQ trapped in a super-visual appearance (which rather unfortunately work both ways to herself). She is DECEPTIVELY versatile.
A bit of trivia: Mayu and the director (an ex-child actress) once had TWO projects together when they were younger (Suzuki Sensei series and Zekkyou Gakkou).
I found his best pairing on screen to date is Ishii Anna. Idk but I feel this list feels odd without her. Go check Aogeba Toutoushi and their JT commercials (it's of a series of CM with continuous story).
Definitely frustrating at times but never overwhelmingly so, Nao's lead performance anchors everything and stops…
The Sorcerer deserves all the acting awards this season for this feat. Seriously, JP dorama and movie awards almost never pay attention to reward actors and actresses who go extra miles under more challenged (flawed) scripts and successfully prevent those ships from sinking. It's absolutely bonkers.
2 
It's nothing sort of amazing how the narratives can pack a lot of powerful yet subtle emotion across a time span of 2 days and 4 different story arcs happening in the same time. A bit like an omnibus but not like quite like it, because the characters in each arc are somewhat connected although not directly to each other. The title itself is spot on, where the young characters are right in the middle of transition of their lives - be it staying in their hometown or moving elsewhere upon graduation, or dealing with some *really* profound changes/events during their high school that affect it. The main twist, which only happens in one arc (which is unique, not gonna spoil it further), hits like a truck and make sense of what had shown on screen beforehand. Fantastic performances all around from the cast members, which are well-complemented by camera works and most importantly sound design (including the use of silent moments to accentuate actors' performance in certain scenes, especially at the very end).
One of the best coming-of-age shows produced by Japan in the last 5-8 years. Easy 9/10 for me.
EDIT: After watching Netflix' Kimi ni Todoke and Oshibudo LA (and her bits in asadora Ranman), I'm convinced that she is an actress with decent acting IQ trapped in a super-visual appearance (which rather unfortunately work both ways to herself). She is DECEPTIVELY versatile.
Cheek Merchant ><
https://kisskh.at/profile/lontongstroong/feeds/eJzmDFy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgD3UeXGDyE
https://twitter.com/dobodz/status/1581073512420155392