An infamous social media personality dubbed “the real-life yandere” has made headlines for her shocking crime and more.
A screenshot from the video game “Yandere Simulator.” | YandereDev
‘Yandere’ is a portmanteau of two Japanese words. The first is ‘yanderu,’ which means ‘to be sick,’ and the second is ‘deredere,’ used here for ‘lovestruck.’ A yandere is often sweet, caring, and innocent before switching into someone who displays an extreme, often violent or psychotic, level of devotion to a love interest.
— Dictionary.com
In May 2019, a Japanese woman named Yuka Takaoka, then 21 years old, stabbed her boyfriend with a kitchen knife in their apartment in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
After police arrived, she was photographed at the scene calmly smoking a cigarette while sitting beside her critically injured boyfriend, Phoenix Luna. Soon after, the photo went viral.
| Medium
The ill-fated couple met while working in the Japanese Bar and Service industry. On the night of the attack, Takaoka saw photos on Luna’s phone of Luna entertaining women at work.
Phoenix Luna
Takaoka, who believed Luna was cheating on her, waited for Luna to fall asleep. Out of “love,” she attempted to murder him with a kitchen knife.
| @uyupekochan/Instagram
Since I loved him so much, I just couldn’t help it. After killing [him], I, too, wanted to die.
— Yuka Takaoka
Following the attack, Takaoka became a social media sensation. Her physical appearance and real-life similarities to the fictional yandere archetype sparked an unlikely following. Fan clubs, fan art, and more were created by social media users who became fascinated with her.
| @uyupekochan/Instagram
Luna was hospitalized and remained in a coma for five days, but he has since made a full recovery. Takaoka was found guilty of attempted murder in December 2019 and sentenced to 3 1⁄2 years in prison.
Now, having served her sentence, Takaoka is out of prison and active on social media. Takaoka goes by the username uyupekochan on X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch.
Understandably, the reactions to Takaoka’s return have been mixed at best.
| @uyupekochan/Instagram | @uyupekochan/TikTok
