Former Morning Musume singer Ai Kago cosplays as “failed idol” manga character
The former Morning Musume idol Ai Kago has collaborated with Young Magazine for a cosplay shoot where she became the title character from the “sexy manga” Heisei Haizanhei Sumire-chan. It is part of a series of winter shoots recreating alluring female characters from six manga with different models.
The striking images have attracted both media headlines and social media buzz because of the seemingly superhuman ability of a woman who is almost 40 to transform into a schoolgirl. While makeup and Photoshop no doubt help a lot, mother-of-two Ai Kago has apparently drunk from the elixir of youth and never seems to age.
Over the course of her rollercoaster life in the public eye, from losing her music idol job for smoking to having an affair with an actor, and marrying an alleged extortionist, Ai Kago has struggled to maintain a positive reputation. Just recently, she was again accused of mixing with yakuza.
As such, the choice of cosplay character, Sumire Tojo, is quite apt: a former idol now in her thirties. Ai Kago is now 37 and maintains her celebrity status as an influencer. She has two children from two different husbands, the second of which she divorced in 2022.
It’s tempting to see this shoot as a gravure comeback for the baby-faced Ai, though we are not sure if the mainstream is ready to welcome her back yet, nor if she is willing to settle down into a scandal-free life.
In Heisei Haizanhei Sumire-chan, the eponymous “defeated straggler” finds success again when she relaunches a career on her own terms. Can Ai likewise succeed?
