Oshima Yuko’s first official photobook to look behind cheerful appearance

Oshima Yuko, member of idol group AKB48, is going to release her first officially titled photobook as a member this month and so far it sounds like a must-buy for anyone remotely interested in this young woman and full-time idol.
The book is simply called “Yuko” and will, of course, contain a countless spread of cute and sexy pictures. However, that’s not all as it’s also been reported that she spent more than 10 hours talking about various topics with three of the most important people in her life, resulting in lengthy text passages with more than 20,000 characters.
Some might be surprised that this is actually her first official photobook since joining the idol group, despite being one of the most popular members, but keen fans of Oshima already know that she already released photobooks as a junior idol around 10 years ago.
The main part of the photobook is said to be titled “TRIP to OKINAWA” and was shot with the theme of an intimate vacation with only the two of you in mind. The pictures in this part are said to show an Oshima you have never seen before – cute, erotic, heartrending and simply beautiful. She didn’t try to hide anything from the camera.
Other special passages of the book include a photo-documentary, following Oshima as she returns home to the place where she spent most of her childhood, various snapshots of Oshima with her friends and a self-portrait together with a deep analysis of her inner thoughts. Fans, who are used to see the cheerful and vigorous Oshima most of the time, will be surprised to see a much more reserved side of her in this photobook.
The highlight, as mentioned above, is the very detailed interview where she didn’t just look back at her life so far, but also talked about her future and her part in AKB48 from now on. Furthermore she had some very intriguing discussions with her father, Akimoto Yasushi – her second father in a certain sense, and one of the best friends, fellow member Takahashi Minami.
On her blog, she commented about the book, “Please get to know me even better!”
It should also be noted that several big names, all fans and supporters of Oshima, worked on this photobook, including well-known film-director and documentarian Iwai Shunji, the exceptional photographer Ninagawa Mika and producer Motohiro Katsuyuki (“Bayside Shakedown,” “SP”).
“Yuko” will be released on June 17th and cost 1,200 Yen (around $15).