My words wouldn't do justice to Nagasawa Nao's legendary hotness.. She stands out amongst the unbelievably cute cast as the girl who's been there and done that many times over. You get the feeling that she'd use you up and move on to the next guy without any awkward long goodbyes. (So, Miss Nagasawa, if you're taking applications...)
Picking up where I left off, Nao (as Nami) saves Yua from certain creepiness with a couple select hits to the creepy guy. Beforehand he explains, "I'll go easy on you", and after a thorough ass-whipping, he falls to his knees and howls with laughter like any crazy masochist would (he's a good actor!).
As I mentioned before, even though Nami is a Lone Wolf type, she throws Yua an extra helmet (probably normally reserved for her 'catch of the day') and it's off to Girl's Box. She shows Yua around, introduces her to Mama, and gets Yua hired on as a waitress. Yua serves a table of businessmen whose behavior demands a little tweaking. After they pat Yua on the butt (hey, that's MY job!) Nami points out the 'Girls Box Rules', which include "hands off the waitstaff" and "if you're not going to follow the 'hands off the waitstaff' rule, prepare to get slapped." Already she's got to enforce both rules and she slaps the offender to the ground, to the amusement of his companions (and we, the viewers). Nami has Yua practice up a little bit until Yua's technique also lives up to the bar's fine man-slapping reputation.
Nao first appears at the audition in full punk-rock dress and boy, does she rock 'em good. The auditioners cut her off a little too soon and she replies with something like, "So you're looking for a few new girlfriends, is that it? What a crappy audition!"
Nao does such a good job with her role in this film, maybe because she really is the no-nonsense type, maybe because she's got a lot of acting experience, maybe because she had it rough growing up, I don't know. Her special talent here seems to be flipping people off, and she does so, twice! Whatever we did to push you over the edge, Miss Nagasawa, we take it back. Before that, you seemed like a really nice girl to take home to Mom, if Mom needed a few defensive karate lessons.
Nao has always been a darling of Girl's Box; she has style, she has class, and somehow it seems that she'd be equally comfortable hangin' out with the boys. You know: spitting contests, poker games, working on beer number 40-something long after you pass out. Every side of her comes off equally strong here, and although Nami doesn't really change from beginning to end, she certainly gives Mama and all the others a good example to follow of a chick who's truly 'with it' and keeps a 'real cool head'.
In summary, Nao may not be my favorite but she's gained more than a couple of notches with this role. I had to watch her bring down the house on the Girl's Box Natsu-Matsuri DVD yet again last night. Worship her -- or face her wrath!