Kohei Shoji:Kiramei Silver to star in "Kamen Rider Gavv" "I was surprised to hear that I got the role" Granute Lage 9/Kamen Rider Vlam to "add some spice"

Actor Kohei Shoji, who is affiliated with Oscar Promotion, was interviewed in his best clothes. He is currently appearing in the special effects drama "Kamen Rider Gavv" (TV Asahi, Sunday 9:00 am) as Granute Lage 9/Kamen Rider Vram. Shoji, who played Crystalia Takamichi/Kiramei Silver in the Super Sentai series "Mashin Sentai Kiramager" (2020-2021), spoke about his achievement of "regular appearances in two major special effects shows," saying, "I can't believe it's me. Although there are differences between Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, the atmosphere on set is similar in some ways, so I myself enjoyed coming back." We asked Shoji about memorable events from last year, his enthusiasm for transforming into Kamen Rider, and his aspirations for this year.

◇ What I want to ask the senior riders in the agency

Shoji is 25 years old, born on October 28, 1999. He is from Tokyo. He made his TV drama debut in 2020 with "Mashin Sentai Kiramager" and began his acting career. He is currently a regular on NHK Educational TV's "NHK Haiku."

Last year, he played Saito Hajime of the Shinsengumi in the TV Asahi drama series "Yukite Saku: Shinsengumi Seishunroku," which aired for two seasons. "I participated in the audition held at the end of 2023 for the drama, and I was involved in the work for a long time. I was able to create a wonderful work while competing with people of my age, and it was a really rich time. It was also an opportunity for more people to know me, so it is the work that left the most impression on me (in 2024)," he said.

Then, at the end of the year, she made headlines when she appeared in the latest Kamen Rider series, "Kamen Rider Gavv." She was selected for the role through an audition, and when asked how she got the role, she revealed, "I heard about the audition when I had just returned from Kyoto (from filming Kimi to Yukite Saku). It was at a time when my manager and I were talking about what I wanted to do next, and I decided to give it a try."

The audition was not only for the role that was intended for Lage 9, but also included scenes from other dramas. "It was difficult to know what kind of feeling I should give, and I felt like I couldn't adjust well. As soon as I finished and left the building, I called my manager and said, 'I'm sure I didn't make it.' I was surprised when I heard I'd passed a few days later (laughs)," she recalls, recalling that she had no confidence that she had passed.

Regarding the character he plays, Granute Lage 9/Kamen Rider Vram, he said, "The character often utters the word 'tired,' and I'm playing him in a way that properly expresses that tiredness, including my appearance. I'm conscious of conveying the differences between No. 1 (Kamen Rider Gavv) and No. 2 (Kamen Rider Valen) in terms of coolness and fear."

His agency includes Iijima Hiroki from "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid" and Okuno So from "Kamen Rider Zi-O," and when asked if there was anything he would like to ask his "seniors" about playing Kamen Riders, he said, "Both of their transformation poses are incredibly sharp. Lage 9 is not the type of character that gets too excited, but I would like to ask them what I should do to make (the transformation) look cool!"

◇ Kiramager members are like "family"

He said he continues to keep in contact with the cast of "Mashin Sentai Kiramager." He also announced his appearance in "Kamen Rider Gavv," and said with a smile, "I wanted to surprise them, so I purposely waited until the last minute before the information was released." "They were very happy. Those five are like family to me, so I was very happy to be able to announce this good news to them!" he said with a cheerful voice.

"Among the Kiramaiger members, pink Kudo Mio appeared in Kamen Rider Ghost, and blue Mizuishi Atomu also transformed into Another Rider in Kamen Rider Zi-O, so perhaps the Kiramagers have a lot of connections (with Kamen Rider)," he said with a smile.

When asked again about his enthusiasm for transforming into Kamen Rider, he enthusiastically replied, "Kamen Rider Gavv was already a wonderful work by the time I appeared in the story, so I hope I can add a little spice to it by being the new Kamen Rider."

As for his goals for this year, he said, "I think I've been taking one step at a time up until now. That won't change from now on, so I'll just try to improve the quality of each step. In that way, I want to live each day without regrets so that at the end of 2025 I can look back and say that it was a great year for both my career and my own life." (Interview and text: Endo Masaki)