As a former model and in-demand actor, it's no surprise that Takumi Saitoh has a sizeable fan base. A Google image search of the Tokyo native produces a large number of photos in which his smoldering gaze locks eyes with the viewer.
The 35-year-old may have inadvertently learned "the look" as a teen, however, after he challenged himself to watch every video at his local rental store.
"I started off with a number of titles beginning with 'ai' (the Japanese word for love), so there was a lot of romance to sit through," he tells The Japan Times on the sidelines of an event for the Nara Film Festival. "Quite a few of the films I didn't want to watch, but overall it was fun."