Ruirui Tsukishima Aspires to Co-Star with Idol Ryohei Suzuki

Among drama watchers, she has become a topic of conversation with the question, “Who is this girl?”

Rui Tsukishima (16) was chosen as the 20th support manager for the “National High School Soccer Championship,” a position that has previously been held by young actresses such as Yui Aragaki (36), Haruna Kawaguchi (29), and Mei Nagano (25). Rui is an up-and-coming star who made her debut in November 2022 with “Kamen Rider Geats” (TV Asahi).

“I received a letter from my manager one day, and there were three pages of stationery. The first page had encouraging words saying, ‘You’ve worked hard so far,’ and on the second page, I saw the words ’20th generation.’ I immediately thought, ‘Could it be?!’ and when I saw the official title of the event written on the third page, I was so happy that tears filled my eyes. I had played soccer when I was in elementary school, and I had always admired becoming the support manager.”

In April 2024, Rui starred alongside Kurokawa Soya (15) in the live-action drama of the popular manga “Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san” (Shogakukan) on TBS. Her portrayal of a middle school girl who continuously teases the boy she likes earned Rui a lot of attention as an actress. Her mature and dignified aura, despite being a middle schooler, created a buzz among drama watchers and fans of the original manga, with many asking, “Who is this girl?”

Rui recalls her audition for her breakout role:

“There were three rounds of selection, but what stood out was the final round. Director Rikiya Imaizumi (43) told me to keep two to three hours free, and I nervously headed to the venue. We started with an icebreaker game. Everyone had to say the same word, but there were five levels, and the person who drew level 1 said the weakest word, while the person who drew level 5 said the strongest. The people watching had to guess which level each person was on. It was a fresh experience to play a game during an audition, and it helped me relax and perform well during the acting test. It was a valuable experience.”

The filming took place in nature-filled Shodoshima.

“It was my first time being away from home for a whole month. The character of Takagi-san was very different from my usual self, so it took me some time to get the hang of her speech patterns and tempo. However, Takagi-san and I share a common trait of laughing a lot, so I focused on that as the core and immersed myself in the role, enjoying the experience. On days off, I went to Olive Park with my co-stars, and it felt like a school trip, which was fun.”