“I couldn’t stop smiling” — Matsuda Ruka on her Kamen Rider experience
Interviews with the actors of the past series!
She also played Poppy Pipopapo / Asuna Kageno in Kamen Rider Ex-Aid:
“I went to the final audition at Toei’s headquarters, and on my way out, I was told I had passed. I was so happy that I remember holding hands with my manager at the time and skipping home.
The character I played, Poppy Pipopapo, is a virus in a world where ‘Game Disease’ is spreading. It’s funny even to explain it: it can move between game machines and the real world, disguise itself as a human, and is a colorful, cheerful humanoid virus (laughs). At first, I focused on the difference between when it was disguised as a human (Asuna Kageno) and when it was Poppy. I also raised my speaking voice when playing Poppy, so by the end of filming, my voice was so high that even singing karaoke felt easy.
I was always carrying three scripts at once, my brain running full speed—it was a year with no margin for error. Even ten years after the broadcast, there are jobs I got because I appeared in Ex-Aid. This is thanks to everyone enjoying Ex-Aid, and it’s proof that it is still loved today. I can proudly say it was one of my major works. Thank you all!”
Ruka Matsuda, 30, from Okinawa.
Official X: @imrukaM, Instagram: @imrukam
©2025 Ishimori Productions, TV Asahi, ADK EM, Toei
From “FRIDAY”, Feb 20–27, 2026 combined issue.