Riko is an up-and-coming Japanese actress and model who was born on December 4, 2002. She began working as a fashion model in 2014, while still in elementary school, and started acting in 2018, when she appeared in the drama series “Tokenai, Summer.” In 2020, she starred in the hit drama “Distortion Girl,” following up with the series “Black Cinderella” in 2021.

Riko

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Yoshioka Futaba (Deguchi Natsuki) was once a middle school student who fell for her warm-hearted classmate Tanaka Kou (Sakurai Kaito). But young love proved to be cruel, and the duo was separated due to circumstances beyond their control – with Kou moving to Nagasaki. Fate reunited them in high school, however. As her school days are about to draw to an end, Kou transferred to her class. But the Kou she once knew changed – adopting an unfamiliar surname and an unexpectedly cold and aloof personality.

Now, with the end of their academic year in sight, Yoshioka Futaba and Kou begin to draw closer to one another again. But things get complicated when she learns that a classmate (originally from Nagasaki) also had her heart broken by Kou during her middle school days. Is a love triangle in the cards for them, or could other classmates confuse the situation yet further? And will Yoshioka Futaba and Kou’s reunion lead them to love...or fresh heartache?

This drama is based on “AO HARU RIDE,” a popular manga series written and illustrated by Io Sakisaka.

“AO HARU RIDE 2” is a 2024 Japanese drama series that was directed by Kimura Masato.

AO HARU RIDE 2

The Blue Spring Ride Team

In middle school, Yoshioka Futaba (Deguchi Natsuki) fell in love with her tender-spirited classmate Tanaka Kou (Sakurai Kaito). For a while, they were inseparable, enjoying the thrills of first love. But this happiness-filled relationship was not to last. One day, Tanaka Kou was gone, and Yoshioka Futaba was left alone, nursing her broken heart.

Three years later, Yoshioka Futaba is approaching the end of her high school days when Kou unexpectedly transfers to her class. Things have changed, however. Kou’s surname is now Mabuchi. And his personality has totally changed – the kind boy she once loved now has a hard, frosty exterior. Over time, Yoshioka Futaba starts to piece together what happened to Kou to change him so in their time apart. But could they rekindle the flames of love? Or will further disappointment ensue?

This drama was based on a hit manga series of the same name by Io Sakisaka. Its sequel is named “AO HARU RIDE 2.”

“AO HARU RIDE” is a 2023 Japanese drama series that was directed by Kimura Mahito.

AO HARU RIDE

Murai (Ryubi Miyase) is a high schooler who has long dark hair. He is incredibly clever and regularly gets top grades in his class. He is also madly in love with his famously cold and aloof homeroom teacher Tanaka (Hikaru Takahashi). One day, Murai asks the students to fill in a form explaining what they want to do when they leave school. Murai writes “Marry Teacher Tanaka” on his form. Tanaka scolds him and tears the paper into shreds – telling him that she dislikes men with long, dark hair.

But Tanaka hides a secret that she shares with nobody. She is madly in love with a video game character named Hitotose, from an “otome” (female-targetted) video game named “Feudal Era Love Scroll.” The day after she rejects Murai, however, Tanaka gets a shock – Murai turns up at school looking every inch like Hitotose, replete with the very same bleached blonde hair as her video game crush. Will she be able to resist his charms now?

This drama was based on a hit 2018-2022 manga series of the same name by Junta Shima.

“MURAI in LOVE” is a 2022 Japanese drama series that was directed by Yamamoto Daisuke and Matsuki Aya.

MURAI in LOVE

🎏We all love MURAI 💝

Abema TV

When Kamiya Manaha (Riko) was very young, she attended a beauty contest with her family, and got separated from her mother. The stunning beauty queen winner of the contest took pity on the young child, and brought her on stage to help her find her family. This incident bewitched her, and ever since she has harbored secret dreams of becoming a beauty queen herself, much to her family’s displeasure. Now aged 17 and in high school, she has grown up shy and lacking in self-confidence, convinced that she is a plain Jane who wouldn’t stand a chance in a beauty competition. When a local cultural fair organizer announces that it will hold a beauty pageant for high schoolers, she dreams of entering, but dare not – convinced that the school’s most stunning students will be crowned king and queen.

But when a chance occurrence takes place at a bus stop, she gets to talking to Tachibana Keigo (Kamio Fuju), an incredibly handsome, but preening and vain classmate. Over time, she starts to form an unlikely friendship with him. She also meets a newcomer to the scene, Shimamura Sora (Mizuki Itagaki), an equally dashing recent transfer student that few in the class know very much about. Against all odds, the two boys start to develop feelings for her, and she starts to consider entering the pageant – but will her beauty dreams ever come true?

“Black Cinderella” is a 2021 Japanese drama series that was directed by Kawamura Taisuke.

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