Yuji Oda: ‘Aoshima Shunsaku Is the Role of My Acting Life’ — Overwhelmed by First New Film in 14 Years

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The story

Yuji Oda, star of “Bayside Shakedown N.E.W.: Race Through the Metropolis,” held an opening-day stage greeting at TOHO Cinemas Hibiya on September 18, telling fans, “Aoshima is back.” The franchise has run since the drama series began in 1997, and this marks the first new installment centered on protagonist Shunsaku Aoshima in about 14 years. In the wake of this news, a thread on 5channel’s Entertainment/Sports News+ board buzzed with opinions about Oda’s signature roles, with users bringing up past dramas like “Look Back and He’s There” and “No Money” one after another, while views were split over his increasing variety-show appearances in recent years.

September 18, 2026

An opening-day stage greeting for the latest installment of the “Bayside Shakedown” series, “Bayside Shakedown N.E.W.: Race Through the Metropolis,” was held at TOHO Cinemas Hibiya on September 18, attended by Yuji Oda, Shuri, Jin Shirasu, Takahisa Masuda, Kayo Noro, Shiori Tamai (Momoiro Clover Z), Karin Fujiyoshi (Sakurazaka46), Nagisa Saito, and director Katsuyuki Motohiro. Fans who had eagerly awaited the franchise’s newest entry packed the venue on opening day, with some even spotted wearing “Aoshima coats.” Surveying the crowd, Oda waved broadly and declared, “Sorry to keep you waiting so long. Aoshima is back!” — sending the audience into cheers.

Since the TV drama series began in 1997, “Bayside Shakedown” has won legions of devoted fans and sparked a nationwide “Bayside” boom across Japan. This new installment — the first story centered on Shunsaku Aoshima in about 14 years — is set in Tokyo, one of the world’s great megacities (metropolis). Newly assigned to the Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigation Division, Aoshima finds himself confronted one after another by some of the worst cases in the department’s history.

Source: press.moviewalker.jp / Original article here

What people said

3AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:04
This one, and the one where he wore a cowboy hat
plus that doctor show — that's basically all I picture him in.
4AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:04
Now that you mention it, aside from Aoshima and
'Look Back and He's There,'
I don't really know
any of his other roles.
5AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:05
Re: #4
He also starred in a movie called 'Graduation Trip'
that flopped.
25AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:13
Re: #4
Can't believe you
don't know 'No Money.'
58AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:24
Re: #4
I was really hoping for a 'Best Guy 2.'
6AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:05
The diplomat one —
he really put a ton of work into that role.
8AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:06
No matter how you slice it, it has to be 'All's Quiet on the Job-Hunting Front' (a 1991 hit film of his).
10AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:06
Honestly, I didn't want to watch yesterday's show.
Oda's weirdly hyped-up energy during World Athletics broadcasts used to be funny,
but seeing him just show up on a normal variety show bantering with comedians? I can't get on board with that.
13AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:08
Re: #10
Same with Masahiro Motoki — guys who
protected their image and avoided variety shows when young
really do end up changing their image a lot once they start doing variety later in life.
23AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:12
Re: #10
Same here —
seeing him grinning and laughing on a variety show honestly felt unsettling.
11AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:07
Not knowing when to quit while ahead just piles up duds.
14AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:08
Didn't he do some mystery show with a really bizarre character?
78AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:32
Re: #14
Yeah, on a Sunday Theater drama he played this creepy character —
a rich guy with too much free time living in a mansion who's obsessed with solving mysteries.
16AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:09
Yuji Oda gives off this huge 'top-tier star actor' vibe, but
his only signature roles are really Aoshima and that doctor drama with Saburo Tokitani.
18AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:09
Sounds like he dislikes Tokyo Love Story, so I guess Kanchi ranks dead last for him.
22AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:12
Re: #18
That kind of role, pretty much any young guy could pull off.
19AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:10
Aoshima's just a non-elite-track officer who joined mid-career, but he's an Aoyama Gakuin grad, stands close to 180cm — actually a pretty high-spec guy.
20AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:10
Re: #1
A dud of a movie for putting out a sequel after 'The Final.'
21AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:10
My favorite is Kentaro Hagiwara from 'No Money.'
24AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:12
The only signature works I can think of are this one and 'Shonan Bakusozoku.'
26AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:13
'No Money'
and 'Look Back and He's There'
are the real masterpieces.
27AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:13
I liked 'Look Back and He's There' better.
30AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:13
He's probably a serious, sincere guy in real life.
31AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:13
Apologize to Kanchi, damn it — without Kanchi he'd never have gotten past 'Shonan Bakusozoku'!
32AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:14
Honestly, I wish he'd stayed a bit more edgy.
35AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:14
His first cop role was in
'Aitsu ga Trouble,'
starring Yoko Minamino and Ken Hagiwara —
Oda was just a young supporting actor.
36AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:15
It's understated, but it's 'No Money' — that's the one after the doctor role that really broke him out as an actor.
38AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:16
It was 'Graduation Trip: I Came from Japan,' wasn't it —
he was totally into it, singing 'Pepper Keibu' (the old Pink Lady hit).
47AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:20
I learned how to read the kanji '喜屋武' (Kyan) from an Oda drama.
75AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:31
Re: #47
Man, that takes me back lol
60AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:25
Yuji Oda, Eisaku Yoshida, and Taishu Kase were the original 'Big Three' of the Heisei era.
Back then, Kase was overwhelmingly the most popular. These days he's apparently left showbiz and become some kind of jack-of-all-trades.
80AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:33
Re: #60
Eisaku Yoshida also had a comeback on 'Money no Tora,'
split up with the model he was dating, remarried Rina Uchiyama,
and they had a kid born last year.
93AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:37
Re: #60
The jack-of-all-trades guy isn't Taishu Kase, it's 'Shin-Kase Taishu' (the 'New Kase Taishu').
95AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:38
Re: #60
Oda was the only one who was a genius kid out of Toin Gakuen — his brains were on a whole different level.
66AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:27
'Bayside Shakedown' really was great.
That scene where, since writing down all the bills' serial numbers was such a hassle, someone just says 'let's photocopy them instead,'
and they start running the cash through a copy machine — I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
71AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:29
Re: #66
Watching the recent special reminded me just how good 'Bayside Shakedown' was.
Still not planning to watch the new one though lol
107AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:47
As an actor, though, 'Suikoden' is the one I really rate.
108AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:48
Re: #107
Nice try shilling.
Nobody knows that one,
first I've ever heard of it lol

Background and Key Points of This Topic

“Bayside Shakedown” is a franchise that began as a Fuji TV drama in 1997 and went on to spawn multiple films, sparking a nationwide “Bayside” boom. This marks the first new installment centered on protagonist Shunsaku Aoshima in about 14 years, and the sheer volume of activity in the thread reflects just how long that gap has been. Debate centered on how to weigh Yuji Oda’s career: some commenters cited 1990s dramas like “Look Back and He’s There” and “No Money” as classics, while others voiced discomfort with his recent variety-show appearances. A few posts grouped him with Eisaku Yoshida and Taishu Kase as the “Big Three of the Heisei era,” though claims about Kase’s current activities are based on hearsay and aren’t corroborated in the article itself, so they should be treated with caution.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “Yuji Oda: Aoshima Shunsaku Is ‘the Number One Role I’m Glad I Got to Play in My Acting Life’ — Overwhelmed Ahead of First ‘Bayside Shakedown’ in 14 Years.”

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