Can you imagine being loved by a mythical creature? This is a popular fantasy among many young people, with the rise of tv-shows and pop-culture in the fantasy fiction genre.

Such is the story of Yuka and Luna… Power, privilege and money, all wrapped up in a romantic hue.

Welcome everyone! Welcome to a new episode of Love and Murder – the weekly true crime podcast discussing relationships gone terribly wrong. Where our motto is [you’re either someone’s last love or first murder]

I am your host Ky and as you can see, we’ve changed the dynamics of the show a bit since season 3 started. What do yall think about it? Me doing these episodes and Rick doing our Basically Detectives segment. I kinda like it, but I wanna hear from yall; what do you think about it?

Our show discusses true crime cases told in the form of a story with mystery and suspense.

Everyone knows that love stories in real life come with ups and downs… its not all rosy rom-com movie stuff. People fight, they patch things up, and there are compromises. Like every type of relationship, it can be complicated.

But what if that complication is controlling your life?

In today’s episode, we delve into a Far Eastern love story, with mystical elements and your usual dose of dark romance.

But first, be sure to follow and rate us on the Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you’re listening to us. Rate us 5 stars if you please so we can continue churning out true crime stories for you.

Also, head on over to our exclusive LaM group at www.patreon.com/loveandmurder. Our last bonus episode was a video of an interview with a hitman who discussed killing a pregnant woman AND we had a cute and funny “getting to know the host” episode. This week’s bonus we’re talking about people who have met serial killers. Come on over and join us www.patreon.com/loveandmurder.

And now, we’ll dive into the young love of the case Yuka Takaoka and Phoenix Luna

Yuka

Yuka Takaoka was born on 28th January 1998 to a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Yuka lived in China until she was about two years old when her parents decided to move to Tokyo, Japan, and that is where Yuka grew up, an only child that was on the right track by “Asian parent” standards. She had a very pleasant disposition and is often described as a fun-loving, easygoing person.

Tik Toks 🦋Yuka Takaoka🦋

Yuka grew up with good grades and went to Teikyo University to study Childcare. Unhappy with the pressures of college and family, she dropped out in 2017 and realized she would rather work than spend her time studying so she started trying to find ways to make a lot of money.

Tokyo City is incredibly colorful as Japanese culture usually is. Technological advancements in Tokyo give it a futuristic feel if you are in the right part of the city. Alive with electronics, LED screens, and Neon Lights, it’s a city that will amaze you, and you’ll get pulled into Japanese culture.

One important part of this culture is Anime. Anime is a style of Japanese animation that is targeted towards children and adults alike, with different genres. The art style is usually along similar lines, with large eyes, small noses, and thin lips.
Apart from that, in Japan, its normal to find high-pitched, school-girlish women attractive. It’s like a different beauty standard there, as every country has their own beauty standards.

Japan is also the land of cosplay; young people and adults alike indulge in costumes and extreme makeup looks. Elves, Shinigami, vampires, dragons, fairies… the list goes on. Kinda like what’s becoming a norm here as well.
One such look is a Yandere (pronounced yaan-drey) It’s a blend of two Japanese words, yanderu which means to be ill and the other word is deredere, which means lovestruck. It is a term used to describe a beautiful girl, with large eyes, and petite features, who falls in love in a way that she is possessed. Initially, she is depicted as a sweet, innocent, typically loving caring partner. The other side of a Yandere is her psychotic level of devotion and aggressive jealousy of anyone who even looks at her love interest. Outwardly cute, they become violently obsessive because of their love. Wow! You don’t want that!

Yuka was really into cosplay, and would often dress up as a Yandere, with vampire-like teeth, big contact lenses, silvery hair… But, as I understand, that’s common in Japan. Am I wrong? Let me know in the comments below. I’m only going by what I researched and have never actually been to Japan. Anyway, She was a part of the anime crowd, and loved reading comics and watching anime tv shows.

After dropping out of college, she got a job at a cram school. Cram schools are after-school programs in Japan that help students get into better junior high or high schools. But she wasn’t happy being a teacher, and the pressure of studies was too much for Yuka. Which is OK. When you’re young, you’re still trying to figure out what you want to do in life.

By 2018, Yuka got a job at a girl’s hostess club in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. Girls Hostess Clubs are very popular in Tokyo. Men pay an entrance fee to have coffee and conversation with the attractive hostesses employed by the club, usually women in early twenties.
Japanese work ethic can be incredibly busy, and a lot of people pay to have conversations, possibly not having time for relationships or the need for commitment.

Yuka felt that her life was great. At the club, she made more in a day than she did in a month at the cram school! The tips helped feed her cosplay hobby.

While working at the hostess club, she met a boy named Phoenix Luna.

Phoenix Luna

He worked at a Fusion Nightclub bar in the Kabukicho red-light district area. His work was similar to Yuka’s; women would pay to have a conversation with a young man. He wasn’t a sex worker, that is an important difference. Neither of them were.

Born with the name Ryutski, Phoenix Luna grew up in Tochigi prefecture and had a rough childhood. Now, I had to look up what a prefecture is. It’s defined as a district under the government of a magistrate. After his father left his family, his mother, unable to afford to raise him, sent him off to live in an institution for boys. He started working in construction just after middle school… but had to quit a few years later and became homeless.

Luna was incredibly good-looking, and so when he turned twenty he found himself working as a bar host at “Fusion”. Tokyo’s Kabukicho district is a typically red-light area where there are a lot of bars and clubs, especially “hosuto kurabu,” where female customers pay to have a male worker as a bar host. They pour drinks, flirt and talk. It’s usually all very light-hearted, and hosts might know simple tricks, funny stories or show off other talents such as singing or dancing.

Hosts are typically anywhere between eighteen to twenty-seven years old. The main appeal of hosuto kurabu is, they are generally young, good-looking men who know how to be good company.

Much like the other hosts, Phoenix Luna took his stage name from a favorite manga.

He was always among the top 3 hosts, trying his best to rise to the top, always forming new connections. He didn’t want to do this for the rest of his life as he was actually an ambitious person.

Sparks fly

Yuka was a manager at the girl’s hostess club. Her long working hours didn’t allow her to meet many people her age, so she thought about frequenting host bars which was familiar to her. She felt depression slowly seep into her life… Until October 2018.
One day, she noticed a man walk into her bar. His chiseled features and dark hair immediately caught her attention, and she felt her heartbeat in her chest as he asked for her. After exchanging pleasantries, they sat and they talked. The next day, he started messaging her on social media.

He wanted her to visit him at his clubs. Typically, if a customer comes especially to the club to visit a particular host, they make more money. It’s possible Luna was only in it for the money… at least he might have been in the beginning.

Yuka put it off for months, always finding an excuse not to go. One day, in March of 2019, finally done with being lonely, she visited him at his bar.

She found herself completely intoxicated by his bar persona and she fell in love. Luna was incredibly nice to her and agreed to meet her whenever she wanted, which suited their similar working hours. It meant they were able to spend more time together. Now, I wonder if he was nice to her so that she would come around more and spend more money on him OR did he really like her.

Yuka started buying off all of his evenings at the club, to ensure he wouldn’t have to date other women at all and be all hers. Of course this cost her alot of money – which also answered my question – it cost her almost a million Yen or $10,000 a week. So basically it seems like she was only working to pay him now! While Yuka made a lot of money, she quickly realized if she was going to keep this up, she would need more sources of income.

Yuka and Luna were involved in a somewhat unconventional relationship, as Luna was a host and Yuka would pay for his time. Despite this, Yuka had developed feelings for him and hoped that Luna would quit his job to be with her. She would frequently visit Luna’s host club and spend hundreds of dollars to ensure he was ranked highly, as the top spot came with extra bonuses, privileges, and power in the club. She was ready to help him in any way she could, and her world quite literally revolved around him.

Talk about spoiling someone. I’m sure that she didn’t take time to notice that he wasn’t doing the same for her.

By April 2019, Yuka gifted Luna a bottle of champagne at his host club, which led to the start of their sexual relationship. Wow money and booze that’s all it took huh? LOL During this encounter, Yuka expressed her feelings to Luna and confessed her love for him. Luna told her he felt the same way, and they started talking about their future together. Its unclear whether he was doing this because he was her designated host, or if he was serious. Theirs was a fast-moving romance, and they talked about getting married, as Luna wanted to quit his job and move in with her.

Yuka’s devotion to Luna got even more serious when she publicly confessed her love to him which resulted in her spending a staggering 2.5 million yen or $25,000. So, she had to spend money to tell the world that she loved him? Yea – guess I would be single for the rest of my life. Also, has she yet stopped to see what HE’S doing? Is HE professing his love? Is HE spending any money on her or going to her job – minus that one time he went to request her?

By May 2019, Yuka went a step further and rented an expensive apartment in Tokyo, close to Luna’s host club, hoping that it would encourage him to spend more time with her. So he’s not even spending time with her?!

Within a month, Yuka was ready to do anything for this guy. By this time, she’d found two ways to fund her love life. Which should never be a sentence you utter.

First, she started going on dates with older men. Many of them were regular customers and were more than thrilled to be able to pay for a real-life date. Like a sugar daddy concept, she would get paid or get expensive presents that could later be resold. This was a little like being an escort, something Yuka had never thought she would do… But anything for love I guess?

The other thing was called Delivery Health. It’s like a loophole for legal prostitution in Japan, and men typically pay girls for “delivery health”.
Delivery health, also known as “deliheru,” is a popular service in Japan that offers unique health-related services to men to ensure their well-being and sexual health.

It’s actually an easily available app in Japan. Now legally speaking, it touted as being the to provide sexual healthcare service BUT in reality, these include all forms of acts since it is an unmonitored service. The government probably looks the other way knowingly, just to keep the social environment stable.

So now, for Luna and for love, Yuka was prostituting. Not for love – obsession. She would spend hundreds and thousands of dollars to buy out his evenings, go on expensive dates, and buy him presents. This was all very flattering for Luna, nobody had treated him this way before, or indulged his wishes and dreams. Coming from an impoverished background, he wasn’t greedy but he valued what Yuka did for him.

Now, quick question for you to sit and ponder. Does this sound weird because Yuka is a woman? What if the roles were reversed? What if HE was doing all of this for HER. In society, it’s typically romanticized when a man spends so much on a woman, but ridiculed when a woman does it for a man. Personally – IN MY OPINION that I’m allowed to have – I don’t think either party should do this if the other party isn’t reciprocating in kind. You buy me a diamond and I buy you a teeshirt; kind of not equal.

Do you think someone spending their entire paycheck on one person in the name of love is healthy though?

Tension

Yuka became increasingly obsessive regarding all things Luna. She would go through his phone whenever they met, objecting over his female friends and at times any friends at all. Luna’s friends knew about Yuka, and they weren’t very comfortable with her. Her feelings might be true, but there was something dark hovering over their relationship. Remember that Yuka called herself a Yandere and would cosplay and post pictures as a Yandere and it seemed that she wasn’t just cosplaying.

Luna didn’t take it very seriously, he was happy with Yuka and was flattered by all the attention he was getting. He was generally an easygoing guy, and one of the reasons he had started talking to Yuka was her similar personality. But she was quickly changing. Initially, he had started off the relationship purely as a professional, finding her to be a potentially lucrative client. He was thinking about quitting his job in September 2019 to move in with Yuka while he looked for better options. He thoroughly enjoyed being taken care of. However, in May, he saw a terrifying side of her personality when, one day, she called him to the rooftop, and hysterically threatened to jump off the building. This scared him a little, but typically they didn’t argue or fight so he thought things were okay. Mistake number 1.

He went ahead and moved in with her anyway and their first night in their new apartment on May 20th, Yuka said that she had a lot of expectations that weren’t being fully met.

She picked him up from his club, having bought the entire evening, and they went to a Japanese version of IKEA called Nitori. They shopped for their new home, and Yuka was closely watching Luna’s reactions and involvement in the process. In her opinion, he was just going with whatever she picked out, and not actually offering his own input. This annoyed her, she felt he wasn’t really interested in living with her.

When they got home, Yuka was even more disappointed.

Luna stayed on his phone the entire night, texting, going through apps, and playing games. It was his night off from work so he was just relaxing.

To Yuka, the only reason she had rented this place was to get Luna’s attention, and it seemed to have failed. She explained this to him, and he assured her his feelings were the same, he was just very tired from work and wanted to relax. Sounds reasonable to me.

This relationship was quickly turning into a dark obsession for Yuka. The very next day, May 21st, just a day after moving in together, Yuka was at work when a friend texted her that Luna was out with another girl.

It was like a slap in the face. Yuka was furious, and she confronted Luna immediately. He assured her it was just for work, purely for money. There were no sexual encounters, he wasn’t even attracted to his client. It was all very professional.

Yuka was heartbroken but chose to trust Luna, believing he wouldn’t deceive her after all she had done for him.

The day it all ended

On May 23rd, Yuka called a co-worker at her club to vent about Luna. She was furious and frustrated with his lack of interest, and she was angry that while his words were dripping honey, his actions said otherwise. When Yuka tried to call Luna after his shift, he explained he was meeting another client who had paid for his night at the club, and promised to meet her as soon as he got free. He had promised to help clean the apartment at 12 pm.

Angry, Yuka typed a memo in her phone, that was later translated by Tokyo Reporter – she said

“I want to be a tragic heroine. How is it possible for him to look at a woman other than me? I know killing [him] is for the best. If I kill [him], it will be eternal, and there will be no pain [after]. I don’t need anything other than you.”

Luna came to Yuka’s apartment around 3 pm that day, three hours late. They fixed up the apartment, ate, and had sex. Luna took a shower and went took a nap becaue he exhausted from his long night at work.

Unbeknownst to him, Yuka was extremely and unbelievably angry. In her mind, Luna had failed to acknowledge her feelings, and she was so upset about him meeting another woman; Luna should have known this would upset her. If he truly loved her, he would have said no to the other woman.

She unlocked his phone and started going through it… And saw pictures of him with another woman.

At this, Yuka calmly went to the kitchen and sat thinking.

She had been nothing but good to Luna; all she had done for him, all the money she’d spent on him. THIS APARTMENT close to him! In a blind rage, she grabbed a knife off the countertop.

Luna woke up with intense pain in his abdomen. He looked down and saw a knife sticking out of his belly. Yuka had used both hands to stab him with a huge kitchen knife.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Yuka asked him if he loved her. Luna started crying and said yes, he did love her and wanted to be with her forever. She slid the knife under the bed, immediately regretting what she had done. As soon as she turned her back, Luna grabbed his phone and tried calling for help, pushing Yuka away, he ran downstairs, screaming.

Yuka grabbed her phone and cigarettes and went after him, finding him on the floor in the lobby, blood pouring from his body. Before losing consciousness, with a manic Yuka leaning over him, Luna begged, “Please don’t kill me. I really do like you.” And then, because of all the blood-loss, he fainted.

The reality of what she had done set in, and she quickly called emergency services at 110 – the 911 of Japan.

A crowd of people had gathered by then. Yuka was sitting beside Luna’s body with both of them covered in blood. She was smoking a cigarette and talking on the phone.

People took pictures of Yuka, with Luna’s stomach sliced open… Pictures that would go viral. Who would do that?! I can’t imagine ever witnessing a murder or even just someone sitting there injured and the first, second, third, or fourth thing I think of is to take a picture. And then IF I did take a picture, it would be to show the cops or something, NOT to put it on social media! What is wrong with people these days?

Anyway, Yuka had written a letter with his blood, saying I love you over and over again, and then at the end it said “I love you so much I want to kill you.” What the fffff.

When officers arrived the noticed that she seemed to be in a daze, quietly cooperating with them and constantly repeating that she didn’t want to hurt him. She was drenched in Luna’s blood.

She was immediately arrested and police took the weapon from her apartment.

Yuka Takaoka Real life Yandere

In the police car, Yuka started smiling which, if you were there to see it or even just thinking about it, is very disturbing considering she had nearly just disemboweled her boyfriend. When police questioned her as to why she did it, Yuka claimed she loved him so much, she couldn’t help it. Obviously. “I thought I would kill him because I thought that was how I could be with him. I thought that expressions such as ‘I like you’ and ‘I would like to be with you’ would become a reality if we both die. I did not want to go anywhere, so I sat down at the outside staircase, I did not call emergency services because I intended to kill myself after watching him die from the stabbing”

Internet goes crazy over “too beautiful criminal”

After this, and for some insane reason, Yuka became an internet sensation; she became known as a real life Yandre. People seemed more fixated on how she looked, rather than the heinous crime she had committed. People were calling her, “Too beautiful to be behind bars.” So beauty and crazy can’t mix? People’s perceptions are weird.

This was a killer, a woman capable of murdering someone she loved, and internet users were fawning over a potential psychopath. Just like that guy, some years ago, who went to jail and people went crazy over his mugshot. Now, I agree he looked good, but what does his looks have to do with the acts he committed? People signed a petition saying he was to handsome to be in jail; he got out and got a million dollar job as a model. Then abandoned his wife and kid and went off to be with some random billionair woman. Yeah, sounds like a catch.

Anyway, when her bail was set for $4700, a campaign similar to go fund me started for her, raising around $3800, almost as much as was needed to bail her out. However, with a lot of online petitions, the campaign was finally shut down. Crazy!

Despite her public crime, she was allowed to roam free on bail. During her trial she was allowed to live with her parents, and she started studying to become a care-taker for the elderly.

Really?! I thought all of this school and caring for people was too overwhelming? I guess murder can change a person’s mind.

Aftermath

Luna had a 20% chance of survival, having been stabbed in the liver. He was in a coma for 5 days, and doctors were unsure if he would make it out alive. After fighting for his life, going through a lot of surgeries to recover the damage caused to his internal organs… Luna recovered. He went through alot of counselling to deal with the anxiety the murder attempt had caused him, and initially couldn’t speak, walk or eat. It really put his life in perspective and he vowed to do better at his second chance at life.

Can you imagine, while he’s going through all of this, people are online petitioning for his would be murderer to be free because she was pretty?

On his release, he tweeted a photo captioned “Sorry I’m alive and back. Since I was stabbed in the liver I can’t drink” No offense, but that’s a weird post.

He claimed he held no grudges against Yuka since she gave him enough sales in a year than was realistically possible. Ummm… that’s an excuse?

This incident had brought his family close together… with his brother and sister visiting him at the hospital. The siblings stayed in touch after this life-threatening attack. Upon full recovery, he went back to hosting at the club and became even more popular than before. Wow! People…

Yuka’s trial was held at Tokyo District Court, where she pled guilty. On December 3rd, 2019, she was found guilty, charged with attempted murder and received a sentence of 3 years and 6 months, which is less than the maximum sentence of 5 years. REALLY?! That’s it?! Do you think this is because of her looks and things people were saying online?

She also told the court she was working to turn her life around and apologized to her parents, Luna, and his family.

The judge claimed that he believed in people not letting one act define their lives, so he sought a chance for her to make things right. I mean, it was just attempted murder right? Yuka cried during her sentencing and appeared moved. Ugh yall can’t see how HARD I’m rolling my eyes right now.

Yuka was order to pay a settlement to Luna so she paid around 5 million Yen… $50,000 in settlement to Luna, with the help of her parents and lawyer. WITH. THE. HELP. OF. HER. PARENTS. AND. A. LAWYER. So she didn’t pay this by herself. I gotta tell you, I’m not helping my kid with this kind of payment.

This story is a definitive face of our society. Those with money, power, and fame can get away with anything. Luna and Yuka’s fans online have turned this into a popularity contest, adding to their fame with their theories, and fan drawings of Yuka, romanticizing the idea of an abusive relationship.

Again, had the genders been reversed, would people be so accepting of this crime?

The horror of Yuka’s attack is washed over and lost in anime art and lengthy discussions.

Perhaps people really like living in a bubble. Maybe facing the gravity of such a heinous crime would reflect just how messed up individuals can be.

Sometimes, love can turn into an abusive obsession, and people just don’t want to deal with that.

These crimes won’t stop until the perpetrators are held accountable, and it’s evident from Yuka’s story that the privileged don’t have to face any consequences.

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