Aki vs. Kissy
Who is more beautiful?
My answer is ... TIE !!!!!
They are both so delicious.
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MovieChat Forums > You Only Live Twice (1967) Discussion > Aki vs. Kissy
I read that the actresses who played them actually switched roles.
shareI read that the actresses who played them actually switched roles.
A career mistake, in hindsight. Kissy is generally considered the "Bond Girl" of this film, whereas Aki is just "the other one that died". The whole subplot with Bond getting married and "turning Japanese" was absurd on its face and her death added nothing to the film, in my opinion. Her method of death was cool, but the decision to have her be the victim and replace her with the less interesting Kissy never worked for me. share
They did so because the character of Aki was a larger part with more dialogue, and Akiko Wakabayashi actually learned English well enough to deliver her own lines, while Mie Hama couldn't quite manage it -- you may notice that her lines were all dubbed (by Nikki Van der Zyl, who had also dubbed Ursula Andress, Shirley Eaton, Claudine Auger, et al., in several other Bond films).
Personally, I always thought Wakabayashi was the prettier of the two, and it's a pity her character got killed off.
The whole "you can't marry Aki, you must become Japanese and marry a village girl" thing was all rather absurd. There was really no reason to kill Aki off half way through the film. The other girl was a bit of a dud, and the whole idea of turning Bond into a Japanese and having a big public wedding (as if that would be a good cover) is absurd on it's face anyway. The "death-by-poisoned-molasses" thing was cool, but they could have used it in some other way.
shareAccording to my quick research, the girl playing Kissy couldn't learn english fast enough, so the producers decided to let her go. However, after the girl threatened to kill herself (what a manipulator!), they let her have this smaller role as Kissy.
I like Aki better, but neither girl looks particularly japanese or pretty in my opinion, but there are attractive japanese women in this movie.
Aki. Kissy was a bore. True, she looked good in a bikini... but so did Aki.
shareAki was gorgeous, but Kissy was adorable.
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