Kōji Seto

Japanese actor and singer (born 1988)

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Mizuki Yamamoto

(m. 2020)

Children1RelativesSaori Seto (sister)WebsiteOfficial website

Kōji Seto (瀬戸康史, Seto Kōji, born May 18, 1988) is a Japanese actor and singer. His major works include lead roles as Wataru Kurenai in Kamen Rider Kiva; and supporting roles as Satoru Okura in Atashinchi no Danshi, Ariake Yamato in Otomen, and Eiji Kikumaru in Tenimyu. He starred as Mori Ranmaru in the drama, Gō: Hime-tachi no Sengoku.

In 2010, he was named one of the most promising actors and actresses, placing 7th in a poll conducted by Oricon.^[1] Through his role with Kamen Rider Kiva, he was also the lead vocalist of the J-Rock band Tetra-Fang. Seto is a member of D-Boys.

Life and career

Born in 1988 in Kyushu, Kōji Seto grew up as the oldest child with two younger sisters. His childhood dream of becoming a vet changed suddenly with the end of his Junior High School time, when he watched with 15 years the TV series Orange Days. The praised drama and performance by Satoshi Tsumabuki inspired his wish to become an actor. After discussing his plans with his parents, they decided to support their son and enrolled him to a local acting school.^[2]

After one year in training, he was cast in 2005 as Makoto Kanno, the snobbish main antagonist the comedy TV Series Rocket Boys. Although the series was filmed earlier, it would take over six months until its broadcasting. Meanwhile, after the filming ended, his parents surprised their son with a letter that stated the teenager made it to the final round of Watanabe Entertainment's 2nd official D-Boys audition. With his interpretation of Masaharu Fukuyama's song "Himawari" won Seto the Grand Prix 2nd Winner Award on July 31, 2005. He debuted as a Junior member just shortly afterwards in December at the 3rd D-Live Event - an entertainment show featuring only D-Boys members.^[3]^[4]

In spring 2006, at the age of 17, he finally moved after constant commuting from his rural and idyllic hometown in Fukuoka to live by himself in Tokyo. Seto starred together with all his fellow D-Boys members in their first own TV production "DD-Boys" and won, at the same time, the audition for the part of the hyperactive acrobatic tennis player Eiji Kikumaru in Tenimyu. In 151 performances the name Setomaru was established (the nickname was his own idea, by combining his own surname (Seto) and Eiji's (Maru)) and took its place in the hearts of fans in Japan and all over the world until his graduation alongside the members of the 3rd Seigaku-Generation on September 9, 2007. He and his stage partner Yukihiro Takiguchi were honored with a Best Actors Album and praised by the creator of the original work Takeshi Konomi as perfect cast.^[5]^[6]

Seto's official D-Boys logo is a chameleon, in reference to his versatility. In late 2006 the young actor was chosen as Thursday's-face of OhaStar, a children's TV show airing live every morning on TV Tokyo. He co-hosted the show constantly from then, once a week together with Kōichi Yamadera, until his graduation on April 28, 2008. Seto was not just a boy in an old-fashioned green uniform - he also had the ability to change his persona with the use of his "Miracle Glasses". This way, he was able to act out his part in eight different ways. He starred in his first leading part in spring 2007, as the dallying greenhorn Kyoichi Segawa, a young gentleman Butler in Happy Boys. The drama followed Makoto Tateno's script, which was published alongside the TV series in Manga-form. Manga artist Tateno created the character design originally based upon the actors - a very rare occurrence. Right after this series, the teenager was offered his first starring role in a movie, as the meekly salesman Tibe-kun, who tries to deal with the yaoi passion of his girlfriend in the comedy Tonari no Yaoi-chan, a self-parody movie based on a real-life blog that centered on the 801-chan phenomenon.

The part of Izamu Hayama in the feature film Tenshi ga Kureta Mono was his first cinema production in autumn 2007. He then co-starred in winter 2007 with Aya Ueto and Yo Oizumi in his first Golden Time TV series Abarenbo Mama as a kindergarten teacher. From January 2008 to 2009 he starred as one of Toei's Tokusatsu Heros, the young violinist and half-vampire Wataru Kurenai, the protagonist in Kamen Rider Kiva. About the same time, was Seto chosen among 1000 competitors in an audition for the leading part as the rebel Hiroki "Hiro" Sakurai, in the TV series adaption of Koizora (after the bestseller book by Mika), making him the leading actor for two TV series filmed and broadcast at the same time. Both works earned him a nomination for the renowned Elan d'Or award as Best Newcomer of the Year 2009.^[7]

In early 2009, Seto started filming for the latest Ju-On movie Ju-On - Black Girl. He reprised his role as Wataru Kurenai for the first and last episode of Kamen Rider Decade, as well as in Decade: Last Story, the last part of the storyline, as a guest star. Afterwards, he starred as the hotheaded genius-magician Satoru Okura in the Fuji TV drama Atashinchi no Danshi as one of Maki Horikita's six sons, followed by his part as the cheerful, but delusional junior Ariake Yamato in the drama adaption of the Hit-Manga Otomen in Summer. At the end of October, he finished filming with Yusuke Yamamoto for their roles as brothers (having previously starred as brothers in Atashinchi no Danshi) in the award-winning TV movie Rinne no Ame, in which Seto portrayed the mentally disabled, autistic Shuhei Mikami.^[8]

In early 2010, he played Shunta Matsumoto, a young medical student in the BeeTV drama Gift, a part that was written for him, as an alternative version of himself. In the spring TBS TV series Tumbling, Seto is starring as Yuta Takenaka, captain to the boy's rhythmic gymnastics team at Karasumori High, alongside Yusuke Yamamoto again. For the 10th anniversary commemoration of Watanabe Entertainment, he was selected with fellow D-Boys members Shunji Igarashi, Yuichi Nakamura, and Hirofumi Araki to represent all members of the group in a special unit with a new fifth member determined through the 2010 D-Boys Audition. Recently,^[when?] he's been filming and played as Mori Ranmaru for the latest Taiga drama Gō for 2011.

Personal life

In 7 August 2020, Seto married his costar in TV dramas Hope: Kitai Zero no Shinnyu Shain and Perfect World, Mizuki Yamamoto.^[9]

On 29 January 2022, his wife, Yamamoto, made the announcement that she was expecting their first child.^[10] The couple's first child was born on 16 May 2023.^[11]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2008	Kamen Rider Kiva: King of the Castle in the Demon World	Wataru Kurenai / Kiva(Lead)	Motion picture	^[12]
2011	Runway Beat	Biito "Beat" Mizorogi	Lead role	^[13]
2014	Haganai	Kodaka Hasegawa	Lead role	^[14]
2018	Asako I & II	Kushihashi		^[15]
2019	No Longer Human	Harube Ima		^[16]
2021	Daughter of Lupin the Movie	Kazuma Sakuraba		^[17]
2022	The Confidence Man JP: Episode of the Hero	Marcel Marimura		^[18]
2022	Love Nonetheless	Kōji Tada	Lead role	^[19]
2023	Maboroshi	Akimune Kikuiri (voice)		^[20]
2023	Fly Me to the Saitama: From Biwa Lake with Love	Kenta Wakatsuki		^[21]
2024	Worlds Apart	Shingo Kasamachi		^[22]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes	Ref.
2008	Kamen Rider Kiva	Wataru Kurenai / Kiva	TV Asahi	Lead role	^[17]
2011	Gō	Mori Ranmaru	NHK	Taiga drama	^[23]
2015	Hana Moyu	Yoshida Toshimaro	NHK	Taiga drama	^[23]
2016	Hope: Kitai Zero no Shinnyu Shain	Shinji Kiriake	Fuji TV		^[24]
2018	Princess Jellyfish	Kuranosuke Koibuchi	Fuji TV		^[17]
2019	Daughter of Lupin	Kazuma Sakuraba	Fuji TV		^[17]
2019	Perfect World	Hirotaka Koreeda	Fuji TV		^[17]
2022	The 13 Lords of the Shogun	Hōjō Tokifusa	NHK	Taiga drama	^[23]

Discography

Year	Title	CD details	Track list
2006	Tenimyu - Advancement Match Rokkaku feat. Hyotei Gakuen	OST of the Musical as Eiji Kikumaru	Track list
2006	Tenimyu - Absolute King Rikkai feat. Rokkaku: First Service	OST of the Musical as Eiji Kikumaru	Track list
2007	Happy Boys Image Collection 1: Yasashisa	Single as Kyoichi Segawa	Yasashisa Yasashisa unplugged Version Voice Message
	Tenimyu - Dream Live 4th	OST of the Musical as Eiji Kikumaru	Track list
	Finalist	Special Single for the Tenimyu Hit	Finalist Finalist - Forever With You Version Finalist - Instrumental
	Tenimyu Best Actor's Album 007	As Eiji Kikumaru together with Yukihiro Takiguchi as Syuichirou Oishi	Track list
	Tenimyu - Absolute King Rikkai feat. Rokkaku: Second Service	OST of the Musical as Eiji Kikumaru	Track list
	Tenimyu Best Actor's Collection 010	Extra Seigaku Memorial Edition	Track list
2008	Destiny's Play	Tetra-Fang (Kamen Rider Kiva ED Single)	Destiny's Play Destiny's Play NEO Romanesque Guitar Edit Destiny's Play Additional Kivat-bat the 3rd Edit Destiny's Play instrumental
	Individual-System	Tetra-Fang (Kamen Rider Kiva ED Single)	Individual-System Individual-System technical guitar fist Individual-System instrumental Individual-System Nago advance fist
	Circle of Life	Solo Vocalist (Kamen Rider Kiva Movie ED-Single)	With you - Wataru feat. Crimson Fang
	Supernova	Tetra-Fang (Kamen Rider Kiva Mini-Album)	Entrance Procession Supernova (Tribute to Emperor form) Shout in the Moonlight (Tribute to Garulu) Innocent Trap (Tribute to Basshaa) Silent Shout (Tribute to Dogga) Message (Tribute to Father)
	Roots of the King	Tetra-Fang (Kamen Rider Kiva ED-Single)	Roots of the King Individual-System acoustic fist Roots of the King instrumental Individual-System acoustic fist instrumental
	Destiny	Tetra-Fang (Kamen Rider Kiva Album)	Mind Garden Destiny's Play Roots of the King Lightning to Heaven Exterminate Time Eternity Blood Supernova Individual-System Rainy Rose Prayer: Message2 No matter who You are
2009	Kamen Rider Kiva Re-Union	Tetra-Fang (Kamen Rider Kiva Album)	Destiny’s Play Re-Union This love never ends (Emperor Edit.) Roots of the King (Acoustic Edit.) Beginning: Message 3

Official photobooks

Year	Photobook title	Description	Publisher	Release date	ISBN
2005	D-Boys	D-Boys First Photobook	Tokyo News Agency	April 27, 2005	ISBN 4-924566-42-X
2006	Start!	D-Boys 2nd Photobook	Gakken Co., Ltd.	March 15, 2006	ISBN 4-05-403035-1
2007	Kōji Seto	Kōji Seto First Solo Photobook	Gakken Co., Ltd.	April 2007	ISBN 4-05-403376-8
2008	Dash	D-Boys Third Photobook	Kadokawa Marketing Co., Ltd.	December 2008	ISBN 978-4-04-895035-0
2009	SetoBook	Kōji Seto Second Solo Photobook	Shufu-to-Seikatsu Sha, Ltd.	April 2009	ISBN 978-4-391-13765-1
2010	Darling	D-Boys Fourth Photobook	Shufu-to-Seikatsu Sha, Ltd.	March 2010	ISBN 978-4-04-895035-0
2010	Et Cetera	Kōji Seto Third Photobook	Tokyo News Mook, TV Guide	11 November 2010	ISBN 978-4-86336-116-4

Official DVDs

Series	Title	DVD details	Distributor	Release date
Prince Series D-Boys Collection	Koji Seto	Volume 2	Pony Canyon	May 16, 2007
D-Boys Boy Friend Series	Set Out	Volume 10	Geneon Entertainment	May 26, 2010

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Work(s)	Result	Ref.
2023	44th Yokohama Film Festival	Best Actor	Love Nonetheless	Won	^[25]

References

^ Oricon: Promising Actors and Actresses for 2010
^ Interview in Pash Vol. 8
^ Information from the official D-Boys Fanclub Book 6
^ "D-Boys Audition History". Archived from the original on 2008-01-02. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
^ Information from Tenimyu Supporter DVD 6 Interview
^ Look at Star Vol. 10 Interview
^ 33rd elan d´Or Awards
^ 21st Best Young Scriptwriter Winner "Rinne no Ame" Archived 2009-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ "瀬戸康史＆山本美月が結婚発表「大切な存在なのだと確信しました」【コメント全文】". ORICON NEWS. 2020-08-07. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
^ "山本美月、第１子妊娠を発表「温かく見守って頂けましたら幸いです」20年に瀬戸康史と結婚 - 芸能 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-21.
^ 高橋洋平. "山本美月＆瀬戸康史夫妻に第１子誕生山本「信じられないくらい愛おしい」瀬戸「涙しました」 - 芸能 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-21.
^ "劇場版　仮面ライダーキバ　魔界城の王". eiga.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
^ "ランウェイ☆ビート". eiga.com. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
^ "僕は友達が少ない". eiga.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
^ "寝ても覚めても". eiga.com. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
^ "人間失格太宰治と3人の女たち". eiga.com. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "瀬戸康史の一番好きな作品は？ "圧倒的美"の女装男子から泥棒一家に翻弄される警察官まで【#ファンに聞いてみた】". Oricon. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
^ "「コンフィデンスマンJP」瀬戸康史が国際警察に、真木よう子や徳永えりも初参加". Natalie. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
^ "城定秀夫×今泉力哉「愛なのに」主演は瀬戸康史、さとうほなみや河合優実も出演". Natalie. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
^ "瀬戸康史と林遣都「アリスとテレスのまぼろし工場」で世界の秘密に関わる重要な人物に". Natalie. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
^ "翔んで埼玉琵琶湖より愛をこめて". eiga.com. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
^ "違国日記". eiga.com. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "「鎌倉殿の13人」瀬戸康史 7年ぶり大河！主人公・義時の弟・北条時房役". Sponichi. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
^ ""HOPE" starring Yuto Nakajima The heroine is Mizuki Yamamoto A work drama with no romantic elements". Oricon. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
^ "第44回ヨコハマ映画祭 2022年日本映画個人賞". Yokohama Film Festival. Retrieved February 5, 2023.