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The story
Singer and actress Yui Yoshikawa revealed in an interview that she’s now marking 15 years since her debut. Having gone solo at the height of the group-idol boom, she’s built a career that neither skyrocketed nor disappeared — a trajectory friends apparently describe as mastering “low-altitude flying.” The remark was picked up on 5ch’s Hello! Project board, sparking a flood of mixed reactions touching on how hard it is to survive in showbiz, comparisons to Manaka Mitsui (who once auditioned alongside her), and questions about her current income and workload.
Yui Yoshikawa (34), who works as a singer and actress, is marking her 15th debut anniversary this year.
She debuted as a solo act at the peak of the group-idol boom, carving out her own niche by moving fluidly between an idol’s youthful freshness and the expression of a grown woman.
Her trademark is also her blunt, unfiltered way of speaking and down-to-earth personality.
Source: asahi.com / Original article here
What people said
I don't think she's making any income at all.
What is she actually doing right now?
unless you want to end up like this.
That's pretty much how showbiz works — it gets you to dive headfirst into someone else's youth and never lets you climb back out.
Though she does put out new songs via streaming.
You're way too hung up on CDs.
Showbiz gives everyone a shot,
but the moment you sense there's no future in it, you have to quit, or you end up miserable.
Entertainment is the one field with no fallback option.
No marriage, no income, no trade skills, no academic credentials.
That's precisely why you have to judge early whether you've got a real shot — otherwise you end up like this.
Parents really ought to set a deadline, like 3 or 5 years,
since the person themselves can never bring themselves to quit.
Maybe that was actually the start of the decline.
Maybe the stock will go up tomorrow, maybe the stock will go up tomorrow
It's the same thing.
If you can't cut your losses, you can't win.
Sanma (comedian Akashiya Sanma) says this a lot too — that life comes down to nothing but how fast you can cut your losses.
And she can host well too, as long as she doesn't veer into crude jokes.
the fact that's kept going this many years is honestly pretty impressive.
What's she even doing?
Probably mostly part-time jobs, I'd guess.
She's actually never had a part-time job.
but that world is brutal for actresses — one heroine, everyone else male, only one seat up for grabs.
Well, the crowd that shows up for 2.5D stage plays is women who are into good-looking guys anyway.
Friday, Oct 30 — 1:00 PM (private booking) / 6:30 PM*
Saturday, Oct 31 — 1:00 PM / 6:00 PM*
Sunday, Nov 1 — 1:00 PM
*An after-talk session will be held following the performance.
https://www.arttowermito.or.jp/sp/yorupic2026/
She's genuinely talented, though, so if she keeps grinding away a chance could still come around eventually.
Honestly, she might end up suiting the 'older woman' phase even better anyway.
I wonder just how far down they're looking at actors who've actually crashed and burned. Maybe once you're that far below, you don't even register anymore.
That's just you being cynical.
She's gorgeous and has a great personality, and showbiz is still brutal.
Forget showbiz in general — she was never even Up-Front's top pick to begin with.
She definitely had her chances.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Yui Yoshikawa debuted solo in 2011 and has continued working independently without belonging to a group ever since. Many Hello! Project alumni lose their footing in the industry after their group disbands or they leave it, so continuously landing work in music, stage, and variety TV for 15 straight years is, within the industry, a fairly rare form of staying power. Where the thread split was over how to take her self-assessment as a “low-altitude flyer” — some read it as humble, down-to-earth honesty, while others pushed back, arguing the remark presumes she’s steadily employed in showbiz to begin with. It’s also worth noting that the comparison to Manaka Mitsui over the old Morning Musume. audition isn’t backed by any concrete evidence, and the details of who passed or failed were never officially disclosed by either party or their agency. Likewise, speculation in the thread about her income and workload reflects only posters’ impressions, not anything she or official sources have actually stated.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread: “Yui Yoshikawa: ‘I’ve been active for 15 years without a big drop, but no big rise either. My friends call me a master of low-altitude flying.’“
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