is a former Japanese actress and

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

. She is best known for starring as Fumiyo Nabekura in television series ''

Guren Onna is a 12-episode Japanese TV series released in 2008 starring Ai Takabe. Plot A teacher, who is not happy with her job, pretends to be the ghost of a murder victim. Little did she know that she would meet the real ghost, the actual murderer and ...

'' and voicing Agiri Goshiki in anime television series ''

Kill Me Baby is a Japanese four-panel gag comedy manga series written and illustrated by Kaduho which began serialization in Houbunsha's ''Manga Time Kirara Carat'' from July 2008. It follows the school lives of a high school girl Yasuna Oribe and her f ...

''.

Career

Ai Takabe won the Gravure Award at the 10th

Japan Bishōjo Contest The is a beauty contest and audition contest name that has been held every year since 1987 in Oscar Promotion, and is the sister pageant of the ''Japan Beautiful Girl Contest''. When a bishōjo wins the Japanese Girl pageant, the first runner-up b ...

in August 2004. The following month, she joined , an idol group composed of Japan Bishōjo Contest winners (8th through 10th). In May 2005, she won the Grand Prix award at the 1st Miss WPB Contest. Takabe's first acting role was in the 2006 P&G Pantene Drama Special: ''True Love''. She played a lacrosse player and acted alongside

Yui Aragaki is a Ryukyuan Japanese actress, model, singer and occasional radio show host. She has been selected several times as the most desired girlfriend and the most desired female celebrity face in Oricon's yearly survey. Early life She was born on J ...

. She also played various minor roles in ''Gachi Baka'', ''Teru Teru Ashita'', ''Shimokita Sundays'', and ''Kosodate no Tensai''. In October 2007, she played a supporting character in the television series ''Flight Panic''. In 2008, Takabe played the leading role in ''

'', as a high school teacher who dresses up as the ghost of a murder victim. Takabe was also affiliated with

Oscar Promotion is a Japanese talent agency headquartered in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo. It was founded in 1970 and manages talents in a variety of fields including modelling and acting. The company has a large roster of talents, making it one of the largest talent ag ...

, until 2015.

Personal life

Takabe graduated from

Horikoshi High School is a private high school in Nakano, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Nakano City.

Arrest

On October 15, 2015, Ai Takabe was arrested for alleged cocaine possession, effectively ending her acting career. On March 30, 2016, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office (PPO) dropped the charges against her. The PPO reported that the exoneration was not "due to a lack of evidence or condolence," but to a "comprehensive consideration of the very small amount of narcotics in her possession, as well as the social sanctions she has already received."

Filmography

Bold denotes leading roles.

Film

* ''Yoru no Picnic'' (2006) – Ryōko Uchibori * ''Waruboro'' (2007) – Sayuki * '' Gu-Gu Datte Neko de Aru'' (2008) – Kyoko * ''Looking for Anne'' (2009) * '' Liar Game: The Final Stage'' (2010) * ''Joshikōsei Zombie'' (2010) – Airin * '' Sue, Mai & Sawa: Righting the Girl Ship'' (2012) – Chigusa Maeda

Television

* ''True Love'' (2006) – Kana Suzuki * ''Gachi Baka'' (2006) – Yūko Kageyama * ''Teru Teru Ashita'' (2006) – Yoshiko Yamada * ''Shimokita Sundays'' (2006) – Futaba Tadokoro * ''Kosodate no Tensai'' (2007) – Miyū Kamiya * ''

'' (2008) – Fumiyo Nabekura * '' Cat Street'' (2008) – Nako Sonoda * ''Fukuoka Renai Hakusho Part 4'' (2009) – Maya Ebihara * ''Reset'' (2009) – Sachiko Akigusa * ''Mirai wa Bokura no Te no Naka ni'' (2009) – Mika Higuchi * ''Arienai!'' (2010) – Miwa Yamamoto * ''

The Legend of Yang Guifei ''The Legend of Yang Guifei'', also known as ''The Secret History of Concubine Yang'', is a Chinese television series loosely based on the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty and his consort Yang Yuhuan. The series was directed by ...

'' (2010) – Yuriko Watanabe * ''

Freeter, Ie wo Kau is a Japanese television drama series that aired on Fuji Television and on Kyodo Television in 2010. It is based on a novel, ''Freeter, Ie wo Kau'' written by the Japanese author Hiro Arikawa. Cast * Kazunari Ninomiya * Naoto Takenaka * Atsuko ...

'' (2010) – Michiru Toyonaka * ''Ihin no Koe o Kiku Otoko 3'' (2012) – Karin Sawaguchi * ''Shirato Osamu no Jikenbo'' (2012) – Yumi Yanagisawa * ''Yo Nimo Kimyō na Monogatari: Dressing Room'' (2012) – Maiko Kawai * ''Renai Kentei'' (2012) – Kako Sekine * ''Michinoku Mengui Kisha Miyazawa Kenichirō 2'' (2013) – Umi Aoyama * ''

Tada's Do-It-All House is a 2011 Japanese drama film directed by Tatsushi Ōmori, based on a 2006 novel by Shion Miura. It rotates around a down-on-his-luck handyman who reunites with an old friend from his middle school days, who winds up joining his business. A se ...

'' (2013) – Saya Takeuchi * ''

Neo Ultra Q is a 2013 Japanese television drama broadcast by WOWOW and produced by Tsuburaya Productions as the 24th entry in the Ultra Series. It is billed as a second season of the 1966 drama ''Ultra Q'', which began the Ultra Series. It premiered on Janua ...

'' (2013) – Secretary * ''Keishichō Minamidaira Han'' (2013) – Kyōko Shinjō * ''Kakushōa'' (2013) – Sayaka Hiyama * ''Depāto Shikake Hito!'' (2013) – Rina Hayama * ''Sai Sōsa Keiji Yūsuke Kataoka'' (2014) – Minako Kurayoshi * ''Black President'' (2014) – Misaki Tōyama * ''Dekachō'' (2014) – Sakiko Inagaki * ''Zeimu Chōsakan'' (2014) – Yū Tagami * ''Yōjū Mameshiba Bōkyō Hen'' (2014) * ''Hōigaku Kyōshitsu no Jiken File no Tōjō Jinbutsu'' (2014) – Chihiro Shimanuki * ''Nishimura Kyōtarō Travel Mystery no Tōjō Jinbutsu'' (2015) – Miyuki Tsubaki * ''Kyōto Ninjō Sōsa File'' (2015) – Kayo Hoshino * ''

Mito Kōmon is a Japanese ''jidaigeki'' or period drama that was on prime-time television from 1969 to 2011, making it the longest-running ''jidaigeki'' in Japanese television history. The title character is the historic Tokugawa Mitsukuni, former vice-''sh ...

Special'' (2015) – Okoi * ''Konkatsu Keiji'' (2015) – Saori Shinohara

Anime

* ''

Aoi Hana is a Japanese yuri manga series written and illustrated by Takako Shimura. It was serialized between November 2004 and July 2013 in Ohta Publishing's manga magazine ''Manga Erotics F'', with its chapters collected in eight ''tankōbon'' volume ...

'' (2009) – Fumi Manjoume * ''

Hourou Musuko is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takako Shimura. It was originally serialized in ''Comic Beam'' from the December 2002 to August 2013 issue, and published in 15 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Enterbrain from July 2003 to August ...

'' (2011) – Maiko * ''

Sacred Seven , is a 2011 Japanese science fiction anime television series produced by Sunrise under the direction of Yoshimitsu Ohashi. Script supervisor is Shin Yoshida with mechanical designs by Ippei Gyōbu. The series began broadcasting in Japan start ...

'' (2011) * ''

'' (2012) – Agiri Goshiki * ''Kill Me Baby OVA'' (2013) – Agiri Goshiki

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Takabe, Ai Japanese voice actresses Japanese idols Voice actors from Hachiōji, Tokyo Voice actresses from Tokyo Metropolis Living people 1988 births Horikoshi High School alumni