Yoshida Reika:The year 2014 marked a turning point for her as she took on the challenge of swimsuit gravure modeling. The much talked about "new heroine": "Mentally, it's still my first year, so I'll keep my original intentions in mind"

In 2024, actress Yoshida Reika made her first foray into swimsuit gravure modeling and attracted attention as a "new heroine." In the same year, she co-starred with Komiya Rio in the unique romance drama "First Love Harassment: There's No Way My Love Can Be This Hellish," produced by Chukyo TV, which also became a hot topic online. However, she said, "Rather than feeling a sense of accomplishment that I'd done my best in acting, I had a lot of things to reflect on." Nevertheless, five years have passed since her debut, and Yoshida said, "My motivation has been growing every year." We spoke to her.

◇ I think you should try anything at least once.

Yoshida is 22 years old, born on April 5, 2002. Until March 2024, she served as the "Imadoki Girl" on the Fuji TV morning information program "Mezamashi TV."

In 2024, in addition to playing the heroine in the aforementioned "First Love Harassment," she also made her "idol debut" as Tonomachi Sayuri, a member of the delinquent girl idol unit "Fukusai Machikado no Delinquent Girls (commonly known as Machisuke)," in the TV Asahi drama series "Densetsu no Atama Shou."

"I think 2024 was a turning point for me in many ways. It was my first time doing gravure modeling, and it was a new challenge for me to take on a TV drama, singing and dancing as a delinquent. I never thought I'd do that."

Yoshida sees 2024 as "a year of new challenges," but he is originally the type of person who "doesn't like to try things without even trying."

"I'm not very good at trying new things, and when it comes to food, I'm the type who doesn't try new products and just keeps eating the things I've always liked. I can't step into a new world unless I have the momentum, but 2024 was the year I was able to do that, and I've come to think that I should try anything at least once."

◇ Gravure modeling brings a different sense of accomplishment than acting

One of the new worlds she has entered is gravure.

"I was approached once about doing gravure modelling after 'Wolf' ended, when I was 19. I was still in my teens at the time and thought it wasn't for me, so I stayed away from it, but when I actually gave it a try, I found it fun. The staff, cameramen, and makeup artists were all very nice, and the atmosphere was different to that of the drama set, so they made sure I was comfortable during the shoot, and I felt a sense of accomplishment that was different from acting."

Yoshida's top priority remains the same as before, but she reflects, "It was interesting to hear all kinds of reactions, like 'beautiful' or 'cute' or 'unexpected,' and I was also happy to receive praise from people of the same gender."

"I have a strong desire to continue as an actor, but I also want to be multifaceted and try my hand at a variety of things, so even if it's not consistent, if I can get in shape and am able to create something good with confidence, I would definitely like to do gravure again."

◇ "I wish I could improve more" in the area of ​​communication

After "Hatsukoi Harassment," she appeared as a regular in "Densetsu no Atama Sho," in which she experienced "full head bleaching" for the first time in her life to prepare for the role. She dyed her hair pink and became the "Menchi Queen" Sayuri Tonomachi.

"I received a lot of surprised comments from people, which led to the word spreading at other locations. People said things like, 'You were screaming,' or 'You looked so handsome,' because they saw me in a completely different state to my usual self. I also received contact from people. There was a time when the song 'Machisuke' was playing at the DAM karaoke, so they took pictures of it and sent them to me. It was a lot of fun."

While Yoshida is aware that her enthusiasm for acting has been "growing stronger every year," she also thinks, "mentally, it's still my first year. In that sense, I want to never forget my original intentions."

In 2025, he is already set to appear in ABC TV's January drama "Love Revolution" (Kansai local) and the movie "Akuki no Virus" (released January 24th) starring Anna Murashige, but his big goal, as always, is to one day appear as a guest voice actor in the movie version of his favorite anime, "Detective Conan."

"In 2024, rather than feeling a sense of accomplishment in terms of having done my best in acting, I have a lot of things to reflect on. In order to make use of those reflections next time, I would like to exchange opinions with the director, express my thoughts, and improve my communication skills. I would also like to be able to improve the level of my acting to the point where I can confidently tell my friends, 'Look at me.'"