On the 2nd, talent Ruriko Kojima opened an Instagram post with, “So, do you actually prefer black hair?”, revealing a makeover from her previous blonde to brown hair. On 5ch’s Entertainment/Sports News+ thread, opinions split between “black hair forever” and “Team Blonde,” while other posts dug up nostalgic photos from her Sofmap days (the electronics retail chain where she worked as a promo model early in her career), argued that blonde never suited her, and brought up her departure from her major talent agency and past dating-scandal coverage. What started as a simple makeover announcement turned into a thread reminiscing about her entire career.
9/2 (Wed) 21:55
Talent Ruriko Kojima’s new hairstyle is making waves.
On the 2nd, Kojima opened an Instagram post with, “Um… do you actually prefer black hair?” Tagging it “#it’sbrownhairthough,” she revealed a makeover from her previous blonde to brown.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
I think Kojima wasn't really having an affair — she got unfairly slammed for it, framed by Becky and Sun Music.
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Even someone like this did time at Sofmap, huh
"She's Chilean, so of course…" — nah, doesn't quite work as an excuse! (Kojima has Chilean heritage on her father's side)
Re: #1
She's cute after all, lol
Black hair just attracts the creeps (lit. "trash").
But Chihaya from Chihayafuru (a manga/anime about competitive karuta) has bleached-blonde hair, and she's a serious honor student. If even she went blonde, that shows blonde has become totally normalized in Japan. Black hair barely even shows up in Chihayafuru — it's basically a Stone Age custom at this point.
Her contract period's probably already over.
The problem isn't her looks.
What's actually missing?
Something about it just feels fake.
Back then, Sofmap photos were basically guaranteed to turn out awful and disappointing. Despite that, Kojima actually looked cute in hers, which is exactly why it became a talking point.
There were two versions of the logo in the background — one was reserved for the agency's "top-tier" girls.
Was it blonde so people wouldn't underestimate her?
Whatever the reasoning, good luck out there.
If she'd just quietly quit, fine, but she burned every bridge on her way out. That alone wrecked her image.
Black hair is the best. Shame.
Akiko Yada can actually act, but Kojima…
Ryoko Shinohara vanished just as fast too — affair scandals really do brutal damage.
Kojiruri really had that natural-born star quality, though.
Was there ever really a moment she looked like she'd take over? At Kojiruri's peak she was still miles behind Becky, and even after Becky's scummy-affair downfall, when Kojima tried to muscle into that spot, it didn't work out.
For a while Horipro (her agency) seemed to be chasing after successful manga artists (like Nekomu) — maybe she was riding that same trend.
Over at Nekomu's place, the husband posts on social media about work and hobbies, and frequently posts about cooking meals or teasing his wife — and it actually seems to be going surprisingly well for them.
She torpedoed her own career over it.
Probably just the money.
Meanwhile Kingdom (the manga) still sells like crazy, even after getting mocked over the "Reebok Warp" scene lol
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Ruriko Kojima went independent from major talent agency Horipro following a relationship and career hiatus that were made public around 2018, and the “affair” and “agency departure” repeatedly referenced in the thread stem from that past reporting — though the detailed facts of what actually happened at the time are not part of this article’s source material. The thread mainly split along two lines: a simple matter of taste over whether blonde or black/brown hair suits her better, and the rights and wrongs of her image surrounding that past relationship and agency departure. On the latter point, readers should note that much of the commentary is speculation rather than confirmed fact. Some posts also dragged in unrelated private matters involving other celebrities, such as references to “former SPEED member Uehara,” but these were excluded from the article as poorly substantiated assumptions. Readers are advised to separate the main topic — her hairstyle change — from the speculation-laden commentary rooted in past media coverage.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “Ruriko Kojima’s Dramatic Makeover from Blonde — “Do You Actually Prefer Black Hair?” Sparks “Black Hair Forever” vs. “Team Blonde”.”
