Monday, September 21, 2020

Rest in peace Saito Yusuke

 

Just when you think 2020 can't get any worse, Saito Yusuke has passed away at age 69 from cancer that he kept quiet about. If you are one of the 10 people that visit this blog, his face should be quite familiar to you. He is always guest acting in single episodes as a kind ojisan or something like that. The above screenshot is from Big Wing, one of the earliest jdoramas that I watched.

And this is Saito Yusuke from Yami no Bansosha, one of my favourite jdoramas. The jdorama world is poorer without his presence.

Last screencap; Saito Yusuke from Dragon Zakura. He must have a 1001 stories to tell from so many years of acting. Rest in peace, Saito Yusuke.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

RIP. I remember Saito Yosuke best from a 1990s drama called "Koi no Bakansu," starring Akashiya Sanma and Suzuki Anju, in which he played Suzuki Anju's dad. At one point, Sanma and Suzuki's characters pretend they want to get married, but are actually trying to get Saito's character to object to the couple and thus sabotage any marriage talk.

So Sanma pretends to be a guy with spine and defies Suzuki's family, saying he thinks fancy weddings are just a load of bull. Ironically, this ends up making Saito see Sanma as a reliable man he can entrust his daughter to, and Sanma, humbled despite himself, ends up calling him "Otosan." I distinctly remember thinking back then how lucky it'd be to have a father-in-law as awesome as Saito's character was.