Why Juri Ueno Cast as 10-Year-Old Gou Doesn’t Matter

February 27, 2011 — 7 Comments

There’s been a recent item talking about Gou’s lowering ratings, and mostly pointing out Juri Ueno’s miscasting or her lacking experience in period dramas.

Of course, I cannot form an opinion on whether Juri’s use of Japanese is appropriate for the era or not, and neither are most of us. However, I do understand why it would turn people off.

I cannot for the life of me, however, understand why would people say they don’t understand Juri Ueno playing a 10-year-old version of Gou, when for the past few Taiga dramas it’s been used. I just began watching Taiga dramas just a few years ago, and I do understand why it would throw people off. It’s weird to you, I get it.

You cannot say Ueno is miscast as a 10-year old when Masaharu Fukuyama played a much MUCH younger version of Ryomaden at the beginning of the show, Satoshi Tsumabuki played a much younger version of his character in Tenchijin, Hideaki Takizawa (Tackey from Tackey & Tsubasa) played pre-teen Yoshitsune when he was 20-something…

and obviously, Aoi Miyazaki (and Eita) played little kids early on Atsuhime, as well as playing them as 40 or 50-ish year-old people.

Also, I want to admit it. I don’t feel passionate enough about Gou. I love Juri, Asami Mizukawa and Rie Miyazawa, I do. But I’m not feeling the story. The three sisters, though they married very important people, feel like simple pawns in the story instead of being the players.

It felt different in Atsuhime.

They made Atsuhime interested in history, learning, and go strategics. She was constantly sent to places, and did things on her own to change her purpose in there. In the show, she was sent to be able to control the Shogun, to disintegrate the Ooku… yet, when she marries into the family, she sets to protect her new family. It’s conflictive.

It was engaging. It was good.

And this is me telling you I like Juri Ueno more than Aoi Miyazaki.

Plus, you don’t need to be a kid to play a kid convincingly.

7 responses to Why Juri Ueno Cast as 10-Year-Old Gou Doesn’t Matter

  1. Lo que me molesta es que Aoi Miyazaki siempre trabaja con directores reconocidos y por lo general terminan haciendo buenas películas, ella tiene buenos agentes y ahora filmará con Kiarostami. Juri Ueno y Yu Aoi en ese aspecto son muy quedadas.

    • @GD, estas en lo correcto, mi querido watson. xD

      En realidad las peliculas q Miyazaki ha hecho no me han dejado sorprendida, pero si sus papeles. Aunque debo admitir que su papel como Atsuhime se mi convencio. El hecho de que Juri estuviera trabajando con el mismo equipo que trabajo en Atsuhime, nos subio las expectativas del proyecto.

      A pesar que Juri no tiene una extensa filmografia, creo que Yu Aoi tiene uno que otro proyecto que resalta. Despues de todo, tiene en su lista a Shunji Iwai y a Yoji Yamada xD – si anade Tetsuya Nakashima y/o Koreeda… considero su lista completa xD

  2. The problem is really not that she is playing a child, but that she is centered to much. Gou should be a passive and watching figure in her childhood, not somebody who shows up in places where she never was in reality, pointing her fingers at historical figures like Nobunaga and trying lecturing them. This is where it´s goinig over board and makes you groan.

    Ueno Juri´s acting is average, nothing that impresses you or makes her remarkable for me.

    • @Rabi en Rose, I didn’t talk about the historical accuracies on the show. I’m merely stating that Juri playing a 10 year old is what people in the comments are focusing on. With things like “she’s playing a 10 year old!”.

      I still believe the fault of the show is mostly in part directors and writers, and that characters are passive… if it’s issues on how Ueno is playing Gou, the director and the writer should be able to tell her to stop it. Those historical mistakes are obviously written in because how boring would a show centered on a passive character be! I’m sure Atsuhime wasn’t accurate either, but yet it was a popular taiga in 2008.

      Ueno’s acting up to this point on the show is average, I agree. I do think that she’s got range. She just needs the right vehicle and an agency that lets her pick better projects. That’s what we’re discussing above in Spanish.

      The fact that she did Last Friends, cut and dyed her hair, and acted completely different to Nodame as Ruka, tells you that there’s something there, that given the right people, the right project, it would let Ueno have something to work with. Her agency is wanting to have it both ways… they want her popular so they can make money, so they pick projects like Sunao… which smelled of Last Friends, but they let her play Nodame. Didn’t work like that.

  3. Claro para ti Yu Aoi es perfecta y razón no te falta, tiene una interesante filmografía pero puede mejorar, ahora leo que participará en una nueva versión de Tokyo Monogatari (seguro firmó el contrato cuando estaba drogada), bueno un traspié cualquiera lo comete. Sobre Ueno creo que lo mas resaltante en cine fue Swin Girls que tuvo relativo éxito y eso fue hace muchos años, ella tiene talento ya lo demostró como Ruka pero necesita hacer producciones serias, dedicarse al cine y con personajes interesantes y que la desliguen como una joven idol de teve del montón. Ya no puede estar haciendo series como Sunao ni Narenakute, que la vi solo por JJ y aún así me pareció aburrida. El caso de Aoi Miyazaki es distinto, ella no me despierta ninguna simpatía, solamente veo sus películas porque trabaja con directores interesantes.

    PD: Me gustaría dejar mis comentarios en inglés pero lo mio no pasa del básico, preferí dedicarme a estudiar coreano.

    • @GD, LOL Sunao xD aun pienso q su agencia la metio a hacer ese drama para capitalizarse de LF.

      LO de Tokyo Monogatari se lo doy a razon de Yoji Yamada. Pienso que si Yoji Yamada dice “quiero a Yu Aoi en mi remake de Tokyo Story” pues seria una locura que le diga que no, cuando uno de sus films favoritos en Hidden Blade.

      No hay problemas con los comentarios en espanol xD con tal q se entiendan… no mas no los dejes en coreano. LOL Ahi si estariamos en rayitas xD

      Btw, esta semana es el Korean Film Blogathon. YAM va a estar posteando cosas toda esta semana sobre films coreanos.

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    […] haha. Anyway, as you know I was pretty pumped [1][2][3] for Gou and I defended Juri through it all [1], but I knew Gou’s […]

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