Commentary:"JRSKISKI" Who was the "Winter Heroine" 10 years ago? She was chosen for one "gateway" after another and was highly regarded as the "hottest young talent" at the time.

On December 19th, it was revealed that actors Natsuki Deguchi and Yuzu Aoki have been appointed as the main cast for JR East's "JRSKISKI" 2024-25 campaign. This is the first time they have been double-cast in five years, since the 2019-2020 season, when Minami Hamabe and Koji Mizukami (then known as Kenshi Okada) played the roles. Going back five years from Hamabe and Mizukami, who was chosen as the "Winter Heroine" 10 years ago? We would like to introduce them, including their comments from the press conference.

◇ "Zexy" CM girl, former high school soccer cheering manager

"JR SKISKI" is a ski trip campaign that JR East has been running since 1991. In recent years, it has also been called a "stepping stone for young actors," and has used Hiyori Sakurada, Sara Minami, Honoka Matsumoto, Kentaro Ito, Hinako Sakurai, Maika Yamamoto, and Yuna Taira.

Ten years ago, in the 2014-2015 season, Hirose Suzu appeared on posters and in commercials as the campaign's "winter heroine."

At the time, she was a 16-year-old high school freshman. The previous year, she had appeared in the TV drama "Yuukana Kanojo" (Fuji TV), taking her first steps as an actor, and in May 2014, she was selected as the seventh CM girl for the marriage information magazine "Zexy" (Recruit).

In addition to being the "Zexy" commercial girl, she was also appointed as the cheering manager for the All Japan High School Soccer Championship that same year, and it seems that she was being appointed as a "stepping stone" type of character one after another, which shows that at the time Hirose was attracting a lot of attention both inside and outside the industry as the "hottest young talent."

Incidentally, 10 years ago, when Hirose was unveiled as the "Winter Heroine" at the "JR SKISKI" campaign commercial announcement event, she said, "I watched last year's commercial (featuring Kawaguchi Haruna) a lot, and it was a hot topic, so I was happy and excited when it was chosen." She innocently expressed her enthusiasm, saying, "I'll do my best to catch up with my seniors," and there is no doubt that at this point she had solidified the foundation for a great leap forward in the following years.

◇The origins of his rapid progress that has led to his current success

Hirose made her debut as a lead in a serial drama in "Kaidan no Gakuen" (NTV) which aired in January 2015. That same year, she appeared as one of the main cast members in the film "Our Little Sister" directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, and made her debut as a voice actress in the animated feature film "The Boy and the Beast" directed by Mamoru Hosoda. Her performance in "Our Little Sister" was particularly well-received, winning multiple newcomer awards.

In 2016, his first lead role in the film "Chihayafuru" was released. Furthermore, in the film "Rage" directed by Lee Sang-il, who is famous for his strict acting instruction, he played a difficult role without losing his presence even among famous co-stars such as Ken Watanabe, Aoi Miyazaki, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Go Ayano, and Kenichi Matsuyama.

Hirose also teamed up with Director Koreeda again in the 2017 film "The Third Murder," for which she won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 41st Japan Academy Awards. The origins of her successful career, which continues to this day, can be said to date back to around this time 10 years ago.

◇ This year's "Winter Heroine"Natsuki Deguchi is also "Miss Seventeen"

Ten years later, Deguchi, who will be playing the role of the "Winter Heroine" this year, is now 23 years old. In 2022, she will appear in the latest film in the "Galileo" series, "Silent Parade," and in 2023, she will be selected to star (with Mori Nana) in the Netflix original drama "Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san," directed by Hirokazu Koreeda.

Furthermore, this year she also made headlines for playing the heroine in the April drama series "Blue Moment" (Fuji TV), the films "How I Met You, Who Had Only One Year Left to Live," and "Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards."

Will she be able to perform as well as her senior "Miss Seventeen" and "Seventeen Model (STmo)" Hirose? In a previous interview, Deguchi said, "I still don't really know if I enjoy the acting itself, the set, or the preparation period, but I know deep inside that 'the job of an actress is fun.'" We'd like to continue to keep an eye on her future.