Mio Hongo

Mio Hongo Gallery

Mio Hongo
[[ Tsukigimori Dark Moon |250px]]
Kanji	本郷 澪
Rōmaji	Hongō Mio
Live-action Name	Wei Xu
Information
Gender	Female
Age	16
Occupation	Student
Portrayal
Portrayed by	Hiroko Iizuka (Tsukigomori) Kyoko (Dark Moon)

Mio Hongo (本郷 澪, Hongō Mio) is a character and one of the antagonists in the drama Tsukigomori and also in it's remake version Dark Moon.

There are two versions of Mio, the original Mio portrayed by actress Hiroko Iizuka and the new Mio, portrayed by Kyoko. The two portrayals have significant differences.

Storyline

Mio is the younger daughter of the Hongo family. Mio enjoyed playing the violin, and was talented at it. Misao was extremely jealous of her talent and, due to this, pushed Mio off a steep cliff. Down the hill was lots of broken glass which caused the scar she has on her head. However, their parents do not know the truth, as Mio simply said that she just accidentally fell. She despises her family, especially her sister, Misao.

Mio（みお）is often compared to her sister by her mother and father. She is also teased by her classmates, calling her a "failure" compared to Misao, even down to missing a syllable in her name (the "sa" さ of Misaoみさお). 

Creation

Kyoko's Version

Kyoko had trouble trying to figure out Mio. She understood why Mio hated her family, but could not figure out why she hated Mizuki and Katsuki. However after given time, Kyoko managed to create her own Mio. Most of the cast, including Hiroko Iizuka, were irked by an inexperienced actress being recruited for Mio. When Kyoko formed a full characterization of Mio many felt it to be better than the original.

Characterization

Personality

Mio showed a great sense of hatred towards everyone around her.

Hiroko Iizuka's Version

Mio is shy, quiet and emotionless. She is a self-centered, reserved and introverted type. Ever since she was little, she has never truly laughed from her heart. She had an inferiority complex over her sister, Misao, who is more beautiful and loved than her.

Kyoko's Version

Kyoko's Mio is more intense than the previous version, not at all reserved or introverted. She is more sarcastic, even towards her mother. She is an elegant rich, young lady with great pride.

That pride later develops into an inferiority complex towards Misao and Mizuki.

Appearance

Hiroko's Mio

In Tsukigomori, the role of Mio was performed by Hiroko Iizuka. The original Mio had her hair long with her scar covered. It was only when the wind blew that one would see Mio's scar.

Kyoko's Mio

Based on the original concepts of Mio, Kyoko managed to create a Mio who showed more hatred and pride. Kyoko's Mio has short, black hair, which makes the scar visible for all to see. The reason for that is her scar symbolizes the ugliness of her sister Misao's true character.

Reception

The role received much positive response from the audience in both versions. It becomes the most talked about role in the hit series.

Hiroko Iizuka's Version

Though the role is that of a supporting character, the hugely positive response by the audience makes it equally attention-garnering as that of the lead roles. So much so that Iizuka's name becomes synonymous with Mio's and when the time came to promote Dark Moon, Iizuka's image was included on the poster.

Iizuka considers Mio as her own and too important for the newbie cast in Dark Moon to contaminate.

Hiroko Iizuka was asked to take on role of the Hongo matriarch in Dark Moon.

Kyoko's Version

Being a newbie actor, Kyoko didn't receive any special treatment, not even an interview, for the Dark Moon promotion in entertainment news. During her first take as Mio, Kyoko performed poorly due to lack of experience. But Kyoko's version won over the crew to adapt to many new changes brought out because of her portrayal.

But after the second acting test, Kyoko gained the acceptance of the crew. Soon the cast and crew members give much praise for Kyoko's artistic sensitivity and audacity in coming up with Mio and how she went about it. Hiroko lizuka also felt that Kyoko's version will surpass her own, giving credit to Kyoko's skill.The newbie extras and the cast of both Dark Moon and Box "R" nickname Kyoko "Mio-sama." When Mio became a popular subject she was invited to many talk shows.

Kyoko was soon overshadowed by Mio, since the subsequent roles offered to her are bullying types.The audience expected a more gloomy Mio in Box "R" and was greatly disappointed.

The Yappa Kimagure Rock explained that Mio is a double-edged sword and calls it Akari Trap, as it won't let the cast escape the shadow of the role. Having a hit role doesn't neccesarily mean it's good for an actor's career.

Etymology

• The name Mio means "water route, shipping channel" (澪).
• Mio's surname Hongo means "base, root, origin, source" (本) (hon) and "village, township, home town, village, native place, district" (郷) (go).