Riho Yoshioka is Expected to be No.1 Lead Actress this Autumn after Her Long Absence in Drama

Autumn dramas for the October season are finally starting.

The general entertainment website “Crank In!” conducted a survey of readers on the leading actresses they are looking forward to seeing in October season dramas. The top choice was Riho Yoshioka (30), who stars in the drama “Toki wo Kakeru Na, Koibito-tachi” (Kantele/Fuji TV), which starts on October 10.

Yoshioka plays the main character, Maki Tokiwa, who works as an art director at an advertising agency and is adored by her junior colleagues, but is not good at love. The first-place winner was selected by the respondent who said, “I saw this movie in a ‘Y-mobile’ commercial.”

The respondents who chose No. 1 said they had high expectations for the two actors, who were well known for their comical performances in the “Y-Mobile” commercials, because they are working together again.

I’m looking forward to it because Shizuka and Papa were so good in the re-run of the terrestrial TV program.

I thought she was just a cute actress, but the sign language between Shizuka and Papa is very natural and likable! I didn’t expect her acting to be this good.

Many people commented on Yoshioka’s performance in “Shizuka-chan to Papa,” which aired on NHKBS Premium in March 2022 and was rebroadcast on NHK Sogo until September.

The drama was a home comedy that won various domestic awards, including the Hoso Bunka Foundation Award,

On social networking sites, people said, “She looked so natural that it didn’t look like she was acting.”

She is getting more beautiful as she gets older. It was wonderful.

Even women, who are often said to be anti-actors, commented on the actress’ performance. Speaking of Yoshioka, she got her big break in “Yutori kanaka nakana” (NTV series) broadcast in 2016 and “Quartet” (TBS series) broadcast in 2017, in which she played a woman who makes the most of her mockery and does not read the air.

However, in June 2017, while her popularity was soaring, Yoshioka mentioned her past gravure activities in an interview in a women’s magazine called “She is,” and only her words, “I hated gravure work,” were cut out and spread. In the article, Yoshioka was bashed for making fun of gravure and dissing gravure. Furthermore, reports of her love affair with Takeru Sato also appeared, and the female anti-gravure sentiment spread rapidly.

The following year, in ’18, she starred in “Kimi ga Kokoro ni Nishikittsu” (TBS) and “Kenko de Bunka-teki Minokunin Seikatsu” (Fuji TV), both of which were flops, with many on SNS pointing out that her acting is subtle and that Yoshioka is the type who shines in supporting roles. ‘ In 2021, she played the heroine in “Ren’ai Mangaka” (Fuji TV), which also flopped, and she was labeled as an actress who can’t get ratings in her main roles.

However, playing an ordinary girl does not bring out the best of Yoshioka’s charm. She is an actress who originally honed her acting skills at a small theater in Kyoto, and she is good at improvising in comedies and playing strong characters. In that sense, ‘Tokigake’ may be the perfect role for her,” said a theater magazine editor.

The script for the drama was written by playwright Makoto Ueda, organizer of the Kyoto-based theater company Europe Kikaku. The company has consistently produced SF fantasy-based comedies, and Yoshioka, a Kyoto native, has been a fan since she was a teenager and even tried to take the theater company’s entrance exam. In an interview with “Mynavi News,” Yoshioka talked about the script,

I think it will be the best work of Makoto Ueda, who has been writing science fiction for a long time.

He also praised the script as “the best work of Makoto Ueda, who has been writing science fiction for a long time. He also mentioned that he will play the lead role in the film,”

I’ve always wanted to work with him, so I’m very happy that my wish has come true. I think I would have been surprised if I had known when I was a teenager: ‘You will play the lead in a work written by Mr. Ueda of Europa Kikaku!’ I want to take a moment to do exactly that now! I want to go see my old self and tell her.

This is exactly what it means to be a fish out of water. We hope that Yoshioka will make a full comeback in this Kyoto-based comedy, which could be called a “return to her roots!”