Rina Onuki plays the role of Nasuka Nagumo , an elite career detective, in the latest installment of the special effects drama "Kamen Rider" series, " Kamen Rider Zeztz " (TV Asahi, Sunday 9:00 AM). We spoke to Onuki, who will be appearing in this Kamen Rider work following " Kamen Rider Geats" (2022-2023), three works ago.
"Kamen Rider Zeztz" tells the story of Baku Yorozu(Ryutaro Imai), an agent who infiltrates people's dreams to carry out missions, and Kamen Rider Zeztz, who protects people from the monsters known as Nightmares that appear in their dreams. Onuki plays Nasuka Nagumo, a detective who has just been assigned to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Public Security Bureau's Mystery Division, where he investigates unsolved cases (black cases) involving Nightmares.
Born in Ibaraki Prefecture on May 29, 2001, she is 24 years old. She has served as the "third generation Pocari Girl," the image character for Pocari Sweat (Otsuka Pharmaceutical), and is also active as a model and actor. She also appeared in episodes 17 to 21 of the previous series, "Kamen Rider Geats," in the role of Kamen Rider Ropo/Ganaha Sae.
Influenced by his father, who was a fan of Kamen Rider, he watched "Kamen Rider Den-O (2007-08)" and "Kamen Rider W" (2009-10) as a child. After appearing in "Geets," he still wanted to appear in a Kamen Rider as a main character, so he auditioned for this production.
"I failed the final audition for the heroine in Geets, but later I was told that there was a role that was perfect for me, so I played Sae-chan. But I always wanted to become a regular cast member, so I tried out for the audition again this time."
She said she had intended to keep auditioning for Kamen Rider until she was selected as a regular cast member, and when she heard she had passed, she confessed, "I felt a great deal of relief." When asked about her memorable audition memories, she recalled, "I thought that to appear in a special effects film, I should be able to do action, so I started learning action after appearing in 'Geets.' I remember saying at the audition, 'I've been doing action for a long time, so I can do it!' (laughs)."
Perhaps due to this appeal, there are many scenes in which Nasuka "kicks," and she revealed, "Normally, I think you often just pretend to kick, but (in this film) there are many scenes where I actually kick. Of course, not only the opponent (who kicks), but I also endure the pain while kicking (laughs)."
It has not yet been revealed whether Nasuka will "transform," but when it comes to cool, fighting female characters, she is similar to Kamen Rider Valkyrie/Ya Yua, played by Igeta Hiroe in "Kamen Rider Zero-One" (2019-2020).
Onuki herself smiled and said, "I thought we looked alike somehow." She continued, "I felt a bit of a closeness to Igeta because we co-starred in another drama, and Yaiba Yua is a very popular character, so I'm inspired to do my best too."
He explained that the appeal of this work is "the gap between everyday life and serious scenes." He appealed, "I'm consulting with Kenta Mishima, who plays Fujimi (Nasuka's boss), and acting in a way that will make the everyday scenes enjoyable. As this is the first Kamen Rider work to be "released simultaneously worldwide," the staff are all very enthusiastic about the work. I would appreciate your support throughout the year!"
