Ayaka Komatsu promoting PGSM out of costume in various magazines and photobooks, 2003-2004.

Rina Koike for Up to Boy, June 2010.

Preview of Ayaka Komatsu’s upcoming Up to Boy shoot.  Photos from her blog.  Also, she’s appearing in an issue of Weekly Play Boy released February 5th.

Ayaka Komatsu Television Appearance

Ayaka Komatsu is currently involved in the production of “Please Don’t Shoot! Gravure Idol Backstory.”  If I’m reading the translations correctly, it began broadcasting February 6th.  She also frequently mentions auditions - including a dance audition - so it seems as though she’s auditioning to participate in the drama/series/whatever it is.  So perhaps it’s kind of an American Idol/Pop Idol thing?  But for gravure models?  This is my best guess.

(I have to say though, if it’s dependent on a dance audition, I don’t know that she’ll do that well.  I love my Ayaka-bb, but she is not the most graceful.)

Anyway, it aired February 10, and as of my writing this up, I still don’t know.  By next Friday, I should have a clearer idea of what she’s talking about.  I hope? ^^;

Recent blog photos from Rina Koike!  And because her blog posts are remarkably straightforward and yet still so very vague, I have the following news:

• She asks people to look in the newspaper she broadcasted in.  I have no idea what this means.
• She’s appearing in recent issues of Ex, Smart, and Friday Dynamite
• She will be appearing in Up to Boy, on sale January 27th.
• She also mentions something called “V Dream (Asahi)” and something about judges?  Some kind of TV appearance maybe?
• She mentions something called “Pre-Week” starting in January.
• She is apparently a fan of the Play Station Vita.  This is probably some kind of tie-in with her Bandai deal.
• She’s continuing to plug “Three Sister’s Nightlife,” so that is still broadcasting.
• She misses summer.
• I want the t-shirt in the fourth picture.

Rika Izumi appearing in various issues of Up to Boy to promote PGSM.  View the full photoset to see captions of where everything comes from.  Images provided by Three-Lights.Net.

We begin at the beginning of Rika Izumi’s career, back when she was known as Chisaki Hama.  These are some of her first appearances in Japanese media, including her very first issue of Melon.  Images provided by A Fruitful Spring.

Two totally gorgeous pictures of Rika Izumi (then Chisaki Hama) for Up to Boy, June 2004.  Seeing how much she was doing during PGSM’s run really makes me think about her mini-retirement while she finished school.  It must have been clear that if Rika was going to enter the industry, she was going to be big, and it might have been overwhelming at her age.  Taking a break really was a smart thing to do, especially since it impacted her career not at all.

Rika Izumi (then Chisaki Hama) in Up to Boy, March 2004.  Again, famous photos, but they’re famous for a reason.

Keiko Kitagawa in Up to Boy, February 2004.  Yes, this is one of those ‘gravure’ magazines, but this is one of the few times Keiko got even remotely close with that aspect of Japanese entertainment.  I would love to have a candid conversation with her to see how much of that was happy accident and how much of it was calculated on behalf of her agency.  Well, I’d love to have a conversation with her period, because, Keiko.