A Mostly Complete Guide to Risako's pre-Terrace House Drama Roles

Tanigawa Risako has had roles in four dramas prior to joining the cast of Terrace House. These roles are a testament to the power of her modeling agency, T-Tribe Entertainment, because all the roles she has been in are named, recurring characters with (in most cases) lines in almost all episodes of each series, and, in a couple of cases, her role persists well beyond the point where the plot-line it was supporting ends which likely indicates that there was some sort of contractual obligation around the number of appearances in the series. Furthermore, the series are good to very good in quality and are generally well worth watching on their own merits. All of these series have English subtitles provided by fans, and now can be found at streaming sites. I would not recommend watching these series purely to see her because her time on screen is quite brief in each of them, but two of them also feature roles for Terrace House panelists.

Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu (We Married as a Job - 2016)

MyDramalist Rating: 8.4

Synopsis: Mukuri loses her job as a temp and starts doing housework for a programmer, Hiramasa. They soon decide that it would make more economic sense to get married.

Risako plays: Yukari, an office worker at Mukuri's aunt Yuri's workplace. I did not spot her until episode 5 and so there is some chance that she appears in earlier episodes as well. She's in episodes 5, 6 and 9 and has, maybe, three lines throughout the series.

Also features: Hayama Shono as the liaison from management to the IT group that Hiramasa is in. He appears five or six times with a line or two each time. He and Risako are never in a scene together.

Misc.: The writer of the generally better regarded K-Drama, Because This Is My First Life, has been accused of plagiarizing from this drama, but, really, all the two dramas have in common is that they are both about marriages of convenience with socially inept programmers.

This drama is unusual for Japanese dramas in that Hiramasa's boss is pretty openly gay, and the character even gets a meet-cute in the final episode.

Dear Sister (2014)

MyDramaList Rating: 8.4

Synopsis: Problem child Misaki returns to her sister Hazuki's life with a secret agenda for her sister.

Risako plays: Yuko, one of two minions of Misaki's mean-girl rival at the hostess club where Misaki works for the first half of the series. The trio appear in almost every episode even after the plot-line involving the hostess club resolves. The three can also often be spotted at the restaurant where Hazuki hangs out.

Misc.: It's pretty soapy but charming, and has a nice little Christmas romance at the end.




37.5°C no Namida (The Tears of 99.5°F - 2015)

MyDramaList Rating: 8.2

Synopsis: Momoko has lost her job at a pre-school because she has a scary smile, and is now working for a company that provides childcare for children with fevers above 37.5°C which legally prevents them from attending preschool for the day. She learns her new job and then faces and addresses the emotional abuse from her mother that resulted in her unnatural smile.

Risako plays: Sato, the waitress and daughter of the proprietors at the restaurant where everyone hangs out. She appears in almost every episode and, generally, has a line.

Also features: Torichan as Yumika, Momoko's best friend. Torichan generally has at least one scene with multiple lines in every episode. Risako's character has a line directed at the two friends in one scene, and so Torichan and Risako met prior to Risako's joining the house.

Misc.: The child actor, Suzuki Rio, plays the daughter of Momoko's nicer boss and has appeared in number of other good J-Dramas including Woman (2013) and Ashita, Mama ga Inai (2014).


Sumika Sumire (2016)


MyDramaList Rating: 7.5

Synopsis: 65 year old Sumika accidentally spills her virgin blood on a screen featuring a painting of a black cat (as you do) releasing the demon cat spirit trapped within. (Yes, this drama was adapted from a manga, how did you guess?) He grants her wish to be 20 again and go to the college that her family's circumstances had prevented her from doing way back when. Using the name Sumire she returns to school, but every night she must return to her older form for two hours.

Risako plays: Rena, one of two minions of Sumire's mean-girl rival in love at college. Yes, she has played a mean-girl minion twice so far. She appears in nearly every episode even after a time jump takes Sumire beyond college, and her character usually has a line.

Misc.: The demon cat spirits are surprisingly benevolent in this series.