Saya puckers up while showing off a variety of uncannily lifelike facial expressions.

After a year spent blowing our minds with how much she looked like a real person in still images, CG schoolgirl Saya recently upped her game by appearing in motion. Our first look at the animated version of the CG model came earlier this month, when Saya’s husband and wife creators Teruyuki and Yuka Ishikawa agreed to let her appear as a spokesmodel for electronic manufacturer Sharp’s new high-resolution monitors at the CEATEC Japan trade show.

Now, the Ishikawas have shared a portion of another video of Saya, as she demonstrates her ability to make faces both serious and silly.

The clip starts off with Saya puckering her lips, but this doesn’t seem to be Japan’s oft-repeated scenario of fetishizing digital schoolgirls. Saya’s creators have said their eventual goal is for her to become an actress. Just like human beings who’re aspiring to make it in show business, she’ll need to be able to convey a variety of emotions, something that’s underscored when she makes a goofier face by comically sticking out her jaw later in the video.

It’s true that Saya’s hair still looks unnaturally stiff, and the steely set of her pupil size is also a subtle giveaway that she’s not a real person. Still, the muscular movements in her face and neck are practically indistinguishable from the real thing, and if the Ishikawa’s are going one step at a time in perfecting her appearance, they’ve done a great job with this stage.

Source: IT Media, Twitter/@mojeyuka