Former first-generation AKB48 idol Atsuko Maeda makes gravure comeback after 14 years
It feels a bit like we are back in the second half of the 2000s, with all the recent gravure comebacks: Serina of SDN48, Yuka Kosaka, busty actor Megumi Kagurazaka, and Saaya.
And now comes another! Former first-generation AKB48 idol Atsuko Maeda has returned to gravure for the first time in fourteen years.
Her “last” photo book, Beste, is due for release in mid-February next year.
Some initial preview pictures were released on December 26, showing the ex-idol’s naked back and her buttocks framed by an alluring thong as she lies on a bed. Don’t expect actual nudity but it looks like the shoot will include some revealing pics of her body.
While the previews seem to show Maeda just in a hotel room that could be anywhere, the book was apparently shot in Vienna (hence the book’s German title). Themed around an “adult romance,” the photo book is published by Kodansha.
Maeda commented: “I’ve been working on my physique for over six months to prepare for this photo shoot. I’ve done everything I can, to the point that even if someone asked me to do it again, I couldn’t do it, so this is the last time. I worked hard with the same feeling as a bride putting on a wedding dress at her wedding.”
During her tenure with AKB48, Maeda was the most famous face in the supergroup and appeared in countless advertising campaigns. Since leave the group in 2012, Maeda has established herself as a well-known celebrity and a respected actor, with roles in lots of small indie films. This more or less began with Kabukicho Love Hotel, directed by Ryuichi Hiroki, who has also made Maeda’s latest film, No Matter What, I Love You.
Maeda has also got married (to actor Ryo Katsuji), had a child, and then divorced. Despite being part of our lives for what feels like eternity, she is incredibly a mere 34 years old. That’s what you get for starting your career when you’re still an minor.
