Maeda Atsuko (Acchan) / 1st Generation

Back in June, Acchan appeared on the stage greeting for the premiere of her movie To The Ends Of The Earth! I found a video about it! Acchan looks really adorable in this, she's so cute, her smile ;w; and I just realized, this movie has Sometani Shota, Acchan acted with him before in the movie Kabukicho Love Hotel, they were playing a couple in that movie! it's interesting the amount of times Acchan acts with the same actors again, I think it's really nice.


if the video does not show watch the video here

Along with director Kurosawa Kiyoshi, Acchan attended the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland in August for the movie To The Ends Of The Earth. There is an interview of them on Locarno Live Tv, it has english subs too! it's very interesting. Acchan (and the articles about the movie) often talk about that scene where she sings Hymne à l'amour (Hymn to Love). it makes me really curious about it. The director also talked about a scene where Acchan is on a ferris wheel, they talked about this in the video above too at the movie premiere, it seems like everyone found it scary. Acchan is so brave to do it haha. I can't wait to see this movie! and that close-up of Acchan at the end of the video when she was signing, she looks so cute


if the video does not show watch the video here

I'll share more updates later, Acchan has been really active lately >.</

 

Like it was said earlier, back on 17th August, Acchan and director Kurosawa Kiyoshi attended the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland for the movie To The Ends Of The Earth! Here are videos of them at the event, first the interview on stage, everything they say is translated to english by the translator btw! Looks like it was the last movie that was played there, nice! Acchan talked about how she worked with this director 3 times, and this movie was the first time that he invited her to play the main role. it's great to know that he thought of Acchan for this movie's lead role, so glad to know that directors recognize Acchan's skills!


if the video does not show watch the video here

Here is the press conference that they did! Again there is the translator so everything is translated to english and this is nice to watch. it's around 30 minutes long. Acchan was talkative before they started, cute! She looks so pretty and classy, she smiled often through the interview, she has the cutest smile >.<


if the video does not show watch the video here

Lastly here is the short video Acchan posted on her IG on that day!


if the video does not show watch the video here

 

I have captured her fantastic smile in my smartphone


if the video does not show watch the video here

 

@Gianni wow You're so lucky to have met Acchan in real and to see her smile from so close! Her smile is so adorable ;_;



More Acchan updates! This time it's promotion for her movie The Funeral Master (Soushiki no Meijin). Back in 11th July, there was a press conference for the movie and here is a short video of it! This is really adorable! First of all, Acchan looks so cute in the pink outfit >.< and the way she was introduced as Acchan mama in the beginning, it's so cute! in the movie, she plays the role of a single mother. The actor who plays the role of her son talked about her during the conference and it's too cute! First he said that Acchan was very cute when she practiced the kansai dialect, and Acchan laughed and thanked him, then he said that both him and Acchan love tomatoes so they ate it during the breaks. and he called her as Acchan mama too XD the way Acchan paid attention to him and smiled to him when he talked, it's so sweet. Now she has a son, so this feels like seeing her with her son in the future LOL she must be such a great mom ;w;


if the video does not show watch the video here

Photos from that day, she looks so pretty!




There have been more events and interviews to promote this movie, I will post them later!

 

There are some great news for Acchan! She's going to a lot of shows in the recent months (I will try to watch them and post them all here eventually!), and 2 days ago on 9th September, Acchan was on Shabekuri 007! I saw some cuts of it and she talked about being a mom and other things, she also got to eat and more (she eats well so I like seeing her eat on shows LOL).

2019/09/09 Shabekuri 007
https://48idol.net/video/15705



During the show, Acchan trended on Twitter in Japan ^^/



On the show, they showed a photo of Acchan from 2010 when she appeared on Shabekuri 007. Her cuteness never changed!



As you can see on the photo, it says her current age (28 years old). This started some discussions on Twitter and Acchan trended once again, this time it was "Maeda Atsuko doesn't look 28 years old" LOL people started to make all kind of tweets related to that! For example this one from a furniture brand, it says something like "There is a topic about Maeda Atsuko not looking 28 years old, speaking of staying youthful, please look at the King File-sensei who are 55 years old this year" along with photos of furniture XD There's also this one from a train line's official Twitter, it says something like "I saw this topic from a follower. There is a topic that Maeda Atsuko doesn't look 28 years old, our organization is also 28 years old, what do you think" along with photos of the train LOL. There are many more but these ones got a lot of likes since they're from official accounts!

It was great to see so much attention and love for Acchan ;w; She is having such a great year. I'm glad that she's going to many shows and the response is always positive. From what I saw, many people talk about how she gives the feeling of a mom now, like the kind and warm feeling! I have to agree, she gives more of this feeling now and it's very sweet. There's so much positivity everytime I read what people write about her, I love it ;w;

Btw, HKT member Yamashita Emiri watched the show and she tweet about it:

"Maeda-san is really cute...
Too cute...
#Shabekuri007"

Not related to Shabekuri, but more love for Acchan, from NMB member Shibuya Nagisa at the end of August, her subunit Queentet had a tour and Nagisa performed Time Machine Nante Iranai! She posted photos of herself and she wrote this:

"For my solo, I performed Maeda Atsuko-san's 『Time Machine Nante Iranai』 I really love this song〜♪"

 

Acchan's It has a mother's face.

I would say that is exhausted for caring of the baby and this program for her is a break because of the way he laughs.

 

More about the promotions for the movie The Funeral Master! on 16th August, there was a stage greeting for the movie, in Ibaraki. Acchan was there with the producers and cast of the movie! She looks so classy :3 There are videos of it, first a very short one where Acchan is talking:


if the video does not show watch the video here

and here is a longer one, that also includes the part from the short video:


if the video does not show watch the video here



I found from a korean fan of Acchan, a translation from a part of an interview with The Funeral Master's screenwriter Hiroyuki Ono and the actress Izumi Chinu, where they mentioned Acchan. I tried to translate from korean to english with the help of the online translator. This is interesting to read! There's a lot of praises for Acchan ;w; The part about the scene in the movie, I guess it's a crying scene, but the translation said "wail" which means more or less the same, so I left it like that. I'm looking forward to see this movie and that scene!

ㅡㅡMaeda Atsuko's breakthrough in movies has been spectacular in recent years. What is the charm of Maeda Atsuko that brings offers from many directors?

Hiroyuki Ono: It's hard for someone like me to talk about Maeda Atsuko. Maeda Atsuko is watching many movies, including minor ones, she is studying very hard. It's amazing that she can grasp the essence of things very quickly. She has a lot of intelligence and emotions. Normally, things need to be explained to understand the meaning. I think it is natural that world famous directors will fall in love with Maeda-san.

Izumi Chinu: We acted together in Agatha Christie directed by Izumi Seiji, as expected I thought she is a good actress.

(about The Funeral Master)

Hiroyuki Ono: There is a scene of Yukiko, played by Maeda Atsuko, that was done 4 times including the practice, and all 4 times she wailed.

Izumi Chinu: Everyone around us was crying. It was impressive.

Hiroyuki Ono: That concentration was amazing.

 

Some magazines updates!

Acchan has a page in Ray magazine, for the October issue!
The photo is pretty! and you can see a little promo for The Funeral Master at the bottom.



Acchan will be in the November issue of the magazine Ginger!
According to the IG post, it's for the make-up section, she's with her friend Tanaka Minami.
Here is an off-shot, you can tell from the styling that this is for make-up XD Pretty!





I found out that Nagisa of NMB also made a IG post on the day she performed Acchan's song. I thought it would be nice to translate it, because she said more about her love for Acchan! it's always nice to see idols admiring Acchan, and I always feel the same. I remember that time Nogi's Miona said that she loves all of Acchan's solo songs, it's the same for me, they're really all so good! and here I feel the same as Nagisa, I love Acchan's singing voice a lot, and Time Machine Nante Iranai is also one of my favorite songs!



"Maeda Atsuko-san's 『#Time Machine Nante Iranai 』
I performed this song❤

The lyrics and the melody are really cute,
this is my favorite song☺️

I love Maeda Atsuko-san
I always watch videos of her solo performances,
it makes my heart flutter♪

Along with the cuteness, the beauty
I love her singing voice that is full of feelings✿

I want to be like that too someday！
and I hope to have a solo live someday, too☺️"

 

Short part of an interview with Acchan and the director of the movie The Funeral Master:


if the video does not show watch the video here

Acchan is so cute in this, I love that part when she got excited LOL her laugh is adorable!

Acchan is appearing on more and more shows, it doesn't end :O
on 15th September, she was on the show Potsun to Ikken'ya, watch her cuts: #01 / #02
Now, on 19th September, she will be on Sakurai Ariyoshi THE Yakai, here is the preview!
We will get to see Acchan eating again haha this looks funny

 

Magazines updates!

From Spur September issue, looks like it's for make-up!



From Sweet October issue, an interview!
You can see a promo for The Funeral Master at the end.





in other news, Acchan is on more and more variety shows these days. Sakurai Ariyoshi THE Yakai aired, I only saw some cuts and I wait to find the full version, it looks like Acchan talked about her pregnancy and how much weight she gained, then her diet to lose it, it's interesting! it's also on this show that she's eating, LOL. I feel like Acchan becoming a mom at young age when she's a former top idol, it's bringing a lot of attention and curiosity. When she's on these shows, they ask a lot about her pregnancy and her life as a mom! it's really sweet. and I think Acchan is getting more support now from other women (and moms) who can relate to her or who are interested in her lifestyle now. Acchan is having a lot of fun in all these shows and I'm glad she is so active everywhere!

Upcoming variety appearances for Acchan:

2019/09/25 Ie, Tsuite Itte Ii Desu ka? - Photo preview
2019/09/27 Futto World 10 - Video preview! Acchan looks SO cute!

 

TvLife posted an interview with Acchan on their site, with photos too! it's a part of The Funeral Master promotions. I tried to translate the interview really quickly, some sentences might not be 100% correct (and I left 1-2 short sentences out), but this is more or less correct! I think this was interesting especially the part where Acchan talks about how she got a 1 month break 2 years ago, but she refused to rest and asked to get roles of any sizes. I think that's a great mindset to have, and even in movies where she has very little appearances (in some of her movies in the past 3 years, she had 1 or 2 scenes), but the movies are usually good, and I think she made the right decision to accept it. She gets to act in good movies and with popular actors, and with movie directors that might appreciate her and cast her again (it happened already!) any opportunity like this is worth it. Her hard work and determination really paid off and she's now more successful in acting and more busy, I'm really happy for her! Here's the interview:

Interview with Maeda Atsuko 「I couldn't imagine that I could go so far in the world of movies」



Based on the novel by Kawabata Yasunari, 「The Funeral Master」. Maeda Atsuko, who plays the role of a 28 years old single mother, is interviewed about her memories during the shooting of the movie, and her career as an actress "now".



◆ This is your first mother role.

The role of a mother is not strange at all for my age, at that time I thought "I got this role in the right moment". I met with the child actor Abiru Shota-kun, we directly felt like we were playing the roles. Even though it was Shota-kun's first time acting, he was very earnest, friendly, and had good communication skills. He could remember the dialogues well, it helped me.



◆ What kind of discussions did you have with Shota-kun?

He was excited talking about cars with Kora Kengo-san, and how he could recognize a car model just by hearing the sound of the engine. He talked to me about how he likes fishing, and he talked about various types of fishes, but then he said he never caught anything, it's too cute!



◆ By the way, is this your first time playing a role with kansai dialect?

I heard from Kora-san that he had a hard time in the morning drama Beppin-san, it was almost all in kansai dialect, the pronounciation was a bit difficult. Shota-kun also helped me, and writer Ono Hiroyuki helped me as well, the script had arrows written on the words to help for the rhythm.



◆ What was the most difficult part of this work?

During the shooting, there were many scenes done in series, to have so much concentration was difficult. Director Higuchi was aiming for a movie with the feeling of "the point of view from a 3rd person", when I saw the finished work, I understood it. I felt rewarded, the difficult shooting was worth it. I had a strong feeling.



◆ How do you relate with the character Yukiko?

The reason Yukiko works hard in everyday life, I think it's because of her child. After shooting, I became a parent myself, I realized the existence of children is amazing. It makes you feel something you never felt before. While playing Yukiko, I thought "The feeling of having a child, so it's like this!"



◆ Even looking at this year alone, you have a lot of works, a supporting role in Machida-kun no Sekai, a cameo appearance in The Confidence Man-JP, the works and appearances keep coming.

Two years ago, I got a one month break for the first time. At that time I thought "I shouldn't rest". I told my agency "I want to play any role regardless of the size of the role". To be able to play various roles is interesting and fun.



◆ It's been 12 years since your acting debut, 7 years since your graduation from AKB48. Could you have imagined yourself in this situation?

This world of movies that I love, I didn't imagine that I could get so far into it. At first I keep saying "I want to play in a movie!", then this changed to "What should I do to get 2 movies in 1 year?" and I thought it would be so great. At that time, I spoke about my love and interest for movies to everyone, I said "I love movies!", "I want to watch a lot of movies!". Without being shy, I asked others "Please tell me about movies!". After I graduated from AKB, I received as a present a DVD collection of best romance movies. The directors around me told me "What do you think of this movie?", I learned a lot. Meanwhile I was called on site. At that time, I was watching alone, I didn't think I could be in the situation that I am now.

Original: https://www.tvlife.jp/pickup/240640

 

Acchan's photoshoot for Numéro Tokyo September issue!



I really love this photoshoot! She's so classy and pretty
My favorite photos are the 2nd one (black & white) and the 4th one (with the 2 photos on it)

 

Acchan's photoshoot for Ginger November issue!



Some off-shots from Ginger's official Instagram:





There was a survey on former idols who became more beautiful after graduation and Acchan ranked at #7!
I'm glad for her that she is doing even better lately and getting a lot of positive response too.

Japanese survey web site Rankingoo announces its "Former Idols Become More Beautiful after Graduation?" rankings
(Note: Rankingoo conducts an opinion poll asking 500 people (Age 20 to 40) from 26 to 27 July 2019)

1. Kawaei Rina (AKB48): 73 votes
2. Hashimoto Kanna (Rev. from DVL): 70 votes
3. Satoda Mai (Hello! Project): 54 votes
4. HIKARI (Folder5): 37 votes
5. Yamamoto Sayaka (NMB48): 30 votes
6. Goto Maki (Hello! Project): 28 votes
7. Maeda Atsuko (AKB48): 27 votes
7. Watanabe Mayu (AKB48): 27 votes
7. Abe Natsumi (Hello! Project): 27 votes
10. Miori (SweetS): 26 votes

 

Acchan has a new Cm!!! it's for Nagareyama Otaka no Mori.
Their official site posted some photos and the Cm video as well.

Photos:



the Cm:


if the video does not show watch the video here

She's singing in it! I love when she sings in her Cm's haha.
She sounds so nice and cute and she's adorable, in the end too!
She really gives a calm feeling and her smile is the best ;w;

 

The winners for the 11th TAMA Film Awards were announced, and Acchan is one of the 2 winners for Best Actress! (the other winner is Aoi Yuu) That's awesome, congrats Acchan! There is a modelpress article about it, I translated the part about Acchan:

"Maeda Atsuko （『To The Ends Of The Earth』 『The Funeral Master』 『The World Of Machida-kun』 etc.）：playing the female lead role in the movie 『To The Ends Of The Earth』, actress Maeda Atsuko had a synchronization of vivid qualities and charms, and unleashed a rare presence。"

Congrats again! She's doing so well!

 

Some more achievements from Acchan in 2019:

"Early April, Docomo noted that Acchan was the most popular female idol in the Heisei era (1989~May 2019 was the Heisei era)." (source)
"Also in April, Music Station noted that Acchan's last stage as an idol would continue to be watched by Japanese citizens for the next 40 years." (video)

I posted a while ago about Acchan being represented in posters about the Heisei era, as the top idol of the Heisei era. I didn't know that there is even more of that! Here in Docomo, from what I understand in the photo, they mention about being center of AKB, and her speech in 2011 elections ("Even if you hate me, please don't hate AKB"). it's amazing that she is still discussed for her past as idol and at the same time she is successful as actress now, and as a person too. Because there is a lot of interest for her after becoming a mom and she talks about many things on shows, she's been on so many variety shows too. ^^/



Here's a message from Acchan about AKBINGO!



"「At the time when 『AKBINGO！』 started, I remember that I was shooting a drama and I couldn't participate。 I think there was a life-sized panel of me to replace me (laughs)。 At that time, in a state where we still didn't know ourselves well, for each one of us, our personnalities were brought out, thanks to Mori-san (Mori Shinobu producer) and all the staff, I want to say a big big big thank you！」

This is so sweet. I think Acchan is talking about 1ji 59fun's first episodes for the time when she was busy with a drama and they used a life-sized panel of her, haha. You can watch the episode here. A few episode later, some members went to visit Acchan in her drama shooting too. Good memories ;w;

 

The dorama in question he mentions in @Mana's post, is called "Shiori to Shimiko no Kaiki Jikenbo" is of the genre of horror comedy. The protagonists are Nao Minasawa and Atsuko Maeda which is based on the manga "Shiori to Shimiko".


The humor is surreal and there are episodes that remind Cthulhu Mythos of Lovecraft.

if the video does not show watch the video here

It also appears in some episodes Yuko Oshima.

 

@hiroto Oh right, this is the drama that was subbed recently! I think it was last year, some fans subbed it for the 10 years anniversary of the drama. so it has english subs now! I was planning to watch it, I will do that soon :3 For those interested, you can watch it in streaming here with english subs.



I tried to find the recent variety shows with Acchan, but not all of them are uploaded in full online. >.< Here are some of the shows that got uploaded, enjoy!

2019/09/20 Ariyoshi Japon
https://48idol.net/video/15832

2019/09/25 Ie, Tsuite Itte Iidesuka?
https://48idol.net/video/15909