, also romanised as Akiko Ohku, is a Japanese film director and screenwriter.
à Âku was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa. In high school, she joined a rakugo group. While studying Politics and Economics at Meiji University, she was part of a student theatre troupe. After graduating, à Âku briefly had an office job at a subsidiary of the Ministry of Labour. She then entered a comedy acting school for one year and performed as a stand-up comedian, and afterwards, at age 27, she entered Eigabi School, a film school where director Kiyoshi Kurosawa taught, among others.
While still at film school, Ã Âku won a screenwriting contest with a script that would become her theatrical feature film debut as director, (Igaito shinanai, literally "don't die unexpectedly"). The film was released in 1999. It is about an elementary school teacher troubled by pupils, parents, colleagues and a stalker.
Lost After School (original title Hà Âkago rosuto) is an anthology film released in 2014 consisting of three episodes about high school girls. The film is based on the shà Âjo manga World Gaze Clips by Ran Igarashi. Each episode was directed by a different female director, the other directors besides à Âku being Chihiro Amano and Ai Nagura. à Âku's segment is titled (baion, literally "overtones").
Fantastic Girls (original title DÃÂrÃÂ gÃÂruzu) was released in 2015. It is adapted from the novel of the same title by Maha Harada. The word dÃÂrÃÂ in the title is Okayama dialect and means "very". The story is about two high-school friends in 1980 who reunite 30 years later.
(Katte ni furuetero) is a romantic comedy released in 2017. It won the Audience Award at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival, and its leading actress Mayu Matsuoka was nominated for a Japan Academy Film Prize.
Further films by à Âku include Bijin ga konkatsu shite mitara / Marriage Hunting Beauty (2019, based on the manga by Arako Toaru) and Watashi wo kuitomete / Hold Me Back (2020, based on the novel by Risa Wataya).