From Gravure to Producer,” MEGUMI “Aims for the Top

The drama “Kusuburi Onna to Sundome Onna” (TV Tokyo) will start in October, starring Naomi Nishida (53) and Kanon (22). The drama will be produced by MEGUMI (41), and is currently attracting a lot of attention.

Last year, MEGUMI produced the drama “Ichiko is completely stuffed and has no choice but to become charismatic,” which was broadcast in the same slot. After taking the gravure world by storm with her big tits, she has been active in variety shows with her frank talk as a weapon, but in recent years she has also been highly regarded as an actor and businessman, and her beauty book released in April this year became a big hit and was in heavy print before its release.

(An advertising agency official) “MEGUMI initially took lessons with the aim of becoming a singer, but with the advice of those around her, she made her debut as a gravure singer.

She was taking lessons in order to become a successful singer, and gravure was a way for her to step up her career. I was very clear about that, so I was very conservative from that time. On the other hand, she was also very enthusiastic about studying gravure, saying, ‘If I’m going to do it, I want to be at the top.

In 2004, MEGUMI opened a pancake store in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture.

She is so busy that she is unable to go to the site, but she uses cameras installed in the store to check on the customers and the atmosphere of the sales floor. When the local media visit the store to cover the event, he enthusiastically gives them instructions through the camera. They are very professional in everything they do.

Eiko Koike, 42, who made her presence felt in NHK’s historical drama “Kamakuradono no 13-nin,” will play the lead role in “The House with No KOTATSU” (NTV), the first drama series to be broadcast on a commercial television network.

Koike, who aspired to be an actor, said that one of her conditions for entering the entertainment industry was that she would not do gravure. However, he was unable to pass the audition and, like Megumi, chose gravure as a way to step up.

After her debut, she appeared in the drama “Bishojo H” (Fuji TV) with Asami Mizukawa (40) and Rina Uchiyama (41), and participated in the workshop-style “Bishojo H Basic Actress Course” (CS) taught by Hiromasa Taguchi (55). The fact that she was able to learn acting here was a plus for her later success,” said an editor of an idol magazine.

An entertainment industry executive analyzes that “MEGUMI and Koike have in common that they are both highly self-produced and work as individuals (MEGUMI has a business tie-up with Sands Entertainment).

MEGUMI basically does her own makeup. She must always be thinking about how she wants to present herself. Nowadays, with the increase in Internet-related work, there are more and more situations in the entertainment industry where a sense of speed is required. If you are both well-known and well-produced talents like the two of you, it is better to be able to proceed with your work based on your own judgment.

If you are in a big company, there are many people in between, so judgments are delayed and work is taken away from you. To mention a cause for concern: …… Koike’s personal office has three other actors besides her, but they have no outstanding achievements. If she were to negotiate a blatant barter deal with them in order to promote them, Koike’s reputation would be at stake.

In the entertainment industry of the future, those with a sense of speed and the ability to produce themselves will win.

From the September 29, 2023 issue of FRIDAY