Nanaka Yano, who gained attention for her appearance in TV Tokyo's drama series "The Revenge of the Cheated-on: The Wives Who Formed an Alliance" (Wednesdays at 1 AM), which deals with themes of infidelity and revenge, is also receiving a great response for her improvisational skit "An Extremely Annoying Woman" on former TV Tokyo producer Nobuyuki Sakuma's YouTube channel, "NOBROCK TV by Nobuyuki Sakuma." Yano, who says she "wasn't that bad at improvisational acting," spoke to us about her feelings on the video going viral, as well as her thoughts on gravure modeling and her vision for the future as an actress.
◇"I never thought this 'extremely troublesome woman' story would last this long"
The hugely popular "Super Annoying Woman" is one of the segments from "Nobuyuki Sakuma's NOBROCK TV." It has gained popularity not only for Yano's skillful and comical acting as she improvises the role of a "super annoying woman," but also for the way the comedians who confront her become exhausted by her "annoyance."
It all started with the "annoying woman audition" held earlier. Yano admitted that she secretly had confidence in her abilities, saying, "Personally, I wasn't that bad at improvisational acting."
She approached the project with the mindset of "just doing things as usual and fairly neutrally," and as a result, her talent was discovered, and before she knew it, "The Super Annoying Woman" had become a popular content.
"I never expected it to be so well-received, and I certainly didn't expect it to last this long, so to be honest, I do have worries like, 'I'm running out of ideas,' but I'm also happy that I've been praised for my acting skills, and that the 'Super Annoying Woman' project has led to other video productions, so I'm really glad that I was able to showcase myself."
◇People who have worked hard little by little are strong.
Yano, currently 20 years old, is active in magazine photo shoots and other media, making the most of her adorable looks and outstanding figure. "People sometimes ask me, 'How long are you going to keep doing this?' But I want to keep doing it as long as I'm wanted," she says.
"Having a job like gravure modeling, where I can express myself, helps me to stay grounded. Having a moment where people can see 'this is the kind of person I am' outside of acting is incredibly valuable to me. I really feel that it's one of my most important jobs."
In the currently airing drama "Revenge of the Betrayed - The Wives Who Formed an Alliance," she brilliantly portrays an adulterous woman who possesses both boldness and cunning, and eventually becomes the target of revenge by the main characters, the "betrayed wives," and she also brilliantly depicts the "destruction" of the woman.
Shortly after entering the entertainment industry, Yano stood on stage in a small theater and, along with the difficulty of acting, felt a thrilling excitement and anticipation. Since then, he has cherished that feeling and built his career one project at a time. His goal as an actor is "to one day appear at the Japan Academy Prize awards ceremony."
"The other day, there was a broadcast (of the 49th Japan Academy Awards in March), and one of the winners said something like, 'A few years ago, I used to watch the Academy Awards on TV,' and I remembered watching the Academy Awards on TV a few years ago, so I was really inspired and motivated, thinking that it might be a goal I could reach if I worked hard, just like that person. In addition, I watched some of the past works of the people who were standing there, and they started out with small roles. But that's precisely why I thought that people who have worked hard little by little like that are strong, so I really decided not to take any shortcuts."
