Toda Erika digs her nose for "SPEC"

Actress Toda Erika (22) and actor Kase Ryo (35) took the stage at TBS today to present their new drama "SPEC".

Toda stood out in her role as Touma Saya, a weird woman and genius with an IQ of 201 who always has her left arm in a triangular bandage and never stands straight. "About 3-4 years ago I realized that while I need to have pride as an actress, I don't need any kind of womanly pride for acting," Toda was fully motivated about her role. "The director gave me instruction like, 'I want you to pick your nose'. Of course it was a bit shocking at first, but no matter what filthy or cruel things he wants me to do, if he requests it, I'll do it," she explained and stated all the fun she had during the filming while not thinking about her image as a woman.

The drama is a sequel to the series "Keizoku" that aired 11 years ago and has almost the same staff as well as a few actors that already appeared in the original, including veteran actor Ryuu Raita (70). Of course the story will be similar as well and focus on a special team that handles unsolvable cases. That team is being led by Touma as mentioned above and Sebumi Takeru (Kase), a former commandant of the special forces.

Kase had some interesting stories to share from the filming. "Toda has been on a rampage lately. She goes way beyond what is written inside the script, starts to do a lot of ambiguous things, but she's so great that almost everything will make it into the final version," he described her acting.

Toda also said a few things about Kase, "He is always very straightforward, during his performance and in private. However, recently I think he started to reveal his actual true self. He has a very unique side to him and often comes up with the craziest ideas about Touma. It's just fun doing all those absurd things together with him."

"SPEC" will air every Friday and have its premier on October 8. As usual, the first episode will be 15 minutes longer. (Kawaii Joyuu)

Toda Erika and Kase Ryo for "Keizoku" sequel

Toda Erika (21) and Kase Ryo (35) will co-star in a TBS drama series this fall. The show, titled "SPEC," is described as a sequel to the 1999 series "Keizoku," which starred Nakatani Miki (34) and Watabe Atsuro (42).
The full title of the new series is "Keizoku 2: SPEC ~ Keishichou Kouanbu Kouan Daigoka Mishou Jiken Tokubetsu Taisakugakari Jikenbo." Like the original series, "SPEC" will revolve around a pair of police detectives as part of a special division solving difficult cases. Toda plays the part of Touma, a woman with an IQ of 201 with a touch of sadism and an inability to "read the atmosphere" ("kuuki ga yomenai") in social situations. Her character uses little makeup, has poor posture, and is always pulling around a small suitcase with wheels. Due to a previous case, her left arm is in a sling.
Meanwhile, Kase had to shave his head for his role as Touma's partner, a fellow detective who considers her unreliable. This will be his first time in a lead role on a television series.
Other cast members include 70-year-old veteran Ryu Raita (who also appeared in "Keizoku"), Saki Fukuda Saki (19), Shirota Yuu (24), and Kamiki Ryunosuke (17). The show will be directed by Tsutsumi Yukihiko, who also handled the original series.
TBS will air "SPEC" on Friday nights at 10:00pm, starting in October. (Tokyograph)

Toda Erika has an new boyfriend? (Ayano Gou)

After the high-profile breakup between actress Toda Erika (21) and Murakami Shingo  (28), popular member of Johnny's boyband Kanjani8, in January this year, it appears that Erika has recovered enough to have a new boyfriend... Ayano Gou!

On a weekend night in early July, Toda Erika and her friend Ayaka Nishikawa (A-chan, 21) from electropop group Perfume went for dinner at an upscale sushi establishment just off the main street of Ginza. They were accompanied by

At the restaurant, Ayaka and Erika had a rather interesting conversation about love and marriage. The two spent some time discussing about the wonderful feeling of being in love and having someone you could trust. A-chan mentioned that Shingo was "too serious, but you two still had a good relationship". Toda Erika replied, agreeing with her that it had been a good relationship, although media reports might say otherwise...

Toda Erika themn mentioned actor Ayano Gou (28), whom she said she had met a while back. Ayano Gou recently acted in "Crows Zero II" and "Surely Someday" (hey their both Oguri's shows!)

Anyway, this is a pretty drastic change for Toda Erika, who was just last year photographed by tabloids when she was passionately in love with Murakami Shingo. But then, she has always been known for being strong-willed and generally not very concerned about her agency's opinion. (Entame)

And here's a tabloid photo of Erika and Shingo!