J-actress Aragaki Yui is one of my faves since her debut and it’s been a sweet ride seeing her career new high in this recent year with hit doramasĀ Nigeru wa haji daga, yaku ni tatsu (We Married as a Job) followed by Code Blue 3. Her next project is the October 2017 romantic comedy sports movie Mix about a ping pong prodigy who finds her roots and love of the game again back in her hometown. Costarring Eita, the movie has been getting unexpected attention for Gakki’s high school years makeover as a “109 girl” meaning she plays a delinquent type high school student favoring blond hair and insane amounts of self-tanner. Thank god Japan doesn’t have a black face cultural taboo otherwise this would be so un-PC, but there really is a subset of Japanese teens who prefer a Western dark tan look with light colored hair that is very active in Tokyo’s Shibuya district with the famous 109 building. Gakki’s 109 girl transformation is truly unrecognizable (below) but the movie Mix looks like a lot of fun! Continue reading
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