Ruka Matsuda’s confession: “I was so happy that I skipped home.
Interviews with the actors of the past series!
She also played the role of Poppy Pipopapo/Akina Kakano in “Masked Rider Ex-Aid.
I went to the Toei head office for the final audition, and on my way home I was told that I had been accepted. I was so happy that I remember skipping home holding hands with my manager at the time.
I played Poppy Pipopapo, a virus in a world where a disease called ″Game Disease″ is spreading. I laugh when I explain it to myself, but it is a colorful, energetic, and bright humanoid virus that can go back and forth between the game cabinet and the real world and can even mimic humans (laughs). At first, I was aware of the difference between when it mimics a human (Akina Karano) and when it mimics a human. When I was a poppy, I changed my speaking voice to a higher one, so that by the end of filming, my voice was so high that I could sing any song at karaoke and feel at ease.
It was a year in which I always had three scripts and my brain was running at full speed, and I honestly don’t think I had much time to spare. Ten years have passed since the broadcast, but I still have jobs that were decided because I was in “Ex-Aid. This is because everyone enjoyed “Ex-Aid” and it is proof that people still love it. I can proudly say that this is one of my biggest jobs. Thank you all!
Matsuda Ruka 30 years old, from Okinawa, Japan.
Official X (@imrukaM), Instagram (@imrukam)
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From the February 20 and 27, 2026 combined issue of FRIDAY