Mana Ashida

Mana Ashida ( Japanese 芦 田 愛 菜 , Ashida Mana ; born June 23, 2004 in Nishinomiya , Hyōgo Prefecture ) is a Japanese actress and singer.

She is the youngest actress in Japan to land a lead role in a TV drama and TV series. She has appeared in feature films such as Confessions (2010), Usagi Drop (2011) and Pacific Rim (2013).

Career

Early career

Mana made her acting debut in 2009 in the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation short film ABC Short Movie 2 .

2010

Her first appearance in a feature film was in the live-action adaptation of the manga Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora in 2010. The same year she also appeared in the feature films confessions and Gôsuto: Mô ichido dakishimetai , the Japanese remake of the movie Ghost - Message from Sam on . For her role in this film she received the Japanese Academy Award for Best Young Actress. In addition to her roles as an actress, she also worked as a voice actress. In Japan she spoke the role of Agnes in Despicable Me and the young Fang Deng in the feature film Aftershock (2010) .

For her role as Reika Michiki on the TV series Mother , she won the title of Best Supporting Actress at the Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix and the Special Award at the Tokyo Drama Awards.

2011

At the age of 6, she was the youngest actress in Japan to have a leading role in a feature film ( Sayonara bokutachi no yôchien ). She was also the youngest actress in a Japanese television drama ( Marumo no Okite ). Here she played together with the actress Fuku Suzuki of the same age, with whom she sang the theme song for the series. This song was released as a single and reached number 3 on the Oricon charts. This made them the youngest singing group in Japan to be in the top 10 of the charts. In addition to her appearances in these TV series, she played roles in the Japanese films Inu to Anata no Monogatari , Hankyū Densha , Usagi Drop , as well as in the TV films Toilet Goddess , Sayonara bokutachi no yôchien and Kono sekai no katasumi ni .

She was the youngest actress in Japan to be named "Best Newcomer" at the Blue Ribbon Awards .

In October 2011, Mana hosted the Nippon Television Show Meringue no Kimochi alongside Masami Hisamoto and Asako Ito . She was the youngest host of a Japanese talk show. She was also featured in several commercials for Nissin Foods , 7-Eleven and Canon .

On September 15, 2011 it was announced that Mana wants to release her first solo single under the label Universal Music . Her first single "Sutekina Nichiyōbi: Gyu Gyu Good Day!" Was released on October 26th. This song also ran on a commercial for the Seven & I Holdings company. The single was able to place itself in fourth place on the Oricon single chart. Your album Happy Smile! was released in Japan on November 23rd and reached number 8 on the Oricon album chart. This made Mana the youngest singer in Japan to be in the TOP 10 of the charts with a single and an album.

Mana and Suzuki Fuku appeared at the end of the year as the youngest participants in the 62nd edition of the Japanese New Year's Eve show Kōhaku Uta Gassen .

2012

Mana dubbed the main character Annie in the Japanese anime film Magic Treehouse , an adaptation of the book of the same name by the children's book author Mary Pope Osborne . For the anime series Jewelpet Kira ☆ Deco! she sang the theme song Zutto Zutto Tomodachi , which also appeared in the anime feature film Jewelpet the Movie: Sweets Dance Princess . In this feature film, she appeared in the role of Princess Mana . The song was released as a single and placed in the Oricon charts at number 17. In the Fuji Television TV series Beautiful Rain , she appeared in the role of Miu Kinoshita and sang the theme song Ame ni Negai o . On December 27th she gave her first solo concert at the Curian Shinagawa General Citizen Hall in Tokyo .

2013

Mana made her Hollywood debut in the role of young Mori Mako in the feature film Pacific Rim . She auditioned for this role in October 2011 and won over the jury with her acting skills.

Filmography

cinemamovies

• Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora (2010) as Mirai Natsume
• Confessions (2010) as Manami Moriguchi
• Ghost: In Your Arms Again (2010) as a young ghost
• Despicable Me (2010) Japanese dubbing voice of Agnes
• Inu to Anata no Monogatari (2011) as Mana
• Hankyū Densha (2011) as Ami Hagiwara
• Aftershock (2010) as the dubbing voice of Fang Deng
• Usagi Drop (2011) as Rin Kaga
• Magic Tree House (2012) as Annie dubbing voice
• Liar Game: Saisei (2012) as Alice
• Jewelpet the Movie: Sweets Dance Princess (2012) as Princess Mana
• The Floating Castle (Nobo no Shiro) (2012) as Chidori
• Pacific Rim (2013) as the young Mori Mako
• The Partner (2013) as Sakura
• Kujikenaide (2013)
• Entaku Kokko, Hitonatsu no Imagine (2014)

Dorama

• ABC Short Movie 2: Daibokenmama (2009)
• Ketto! Rojinto (2009)
• Tokujo Kabachi !! (2010, episode 3)
• Mother (2010) as Reina Michiki (Tsugumi)
• Toilet no Kamisama (Toilet Goddess) (2011) as a young Kana
• Gō (TV series) (2011) as a young Yodo-dono, Sen
• Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien (2011) as Kanna Yamazaki
• Marumo no Okite (2011) as Kaoru Sasakura
• Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2011) as Kaoru Sasakura
• Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni (2011) as Chizuru Hojo
• Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi (2011)
• Nankyoku Tairiku (2011) as Haruka Furudate
• Alice in Liar Game (2012) as Alice
• Beautiful Rain (2012) as Miu Kinoshita
• Asahita, Mama ga Inai (2014) as post
• Rugged! (2015) as Noa Fukami
• Our House (2016) as Sakurako Ban

Television shows

• Meringue (October 2011 to March 2012) hostess alongside Hisamoto Masami and Ito Asako
• Music Japan (August 14, 2011)
• 62nd edition Kōhaku Uta Gassen (December 31, 2011)

Video games

• Ni no Kuni: The Curse of the White Queen (2011) as the voice of Pia (Kokoru)

Discography

Singles

year	No.	title	Notes	position
				Oricon Weekly Chart
2011	1	"Maru Maru Mori Mori!"	Duet with Fuku Suzuki, theme song of the drama Marumo no Okite	2
	2	"Sutekina Nichiyōbi (Gyu Gyu Good Day)"	first solo single	4th
2012	3	"Zutto Zutto Tomodachi"	Theme song of the anime Jewelpet Kira ☆ Deco!	17th
	4th	"Ame ni Negai o"	Theme song of the drama Beautiful Rain	16
2014	5	"Fight !! / Yūki"		30th
	6th	"Maru Maru Mori Mori! 2014"		50

Albums

• Happy smile! (Universal Music, November 23, 2011)

Awards

2010:

• Japan Academy Awards: Rookie Of The Year for Ghost: In Your Arms Again
• Tokyo Drama Awards: Special Award for the TV series Mother
• The Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Newcomer to the TV Series Mother
• Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix: Best Supporting Actress for the TV series Mother

2011:

• 2011 Tokyo Drama Awards: Best Performance for Marumo no Okite and Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien
• Japan Record Award: Special Award for Maru Maru Mori Mori!
• Blue Ribbon Awards: Best Newcomer for Hankyū Densha and Usagi Drop

Web links

• Mana Ashida in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 芦 田 愛 菜 の シ ン グ ル 作品. In: ORICON STYLE. Retrieved July 21, 2016 (Japanese). 
2. ↑ マ ル ・ マ ル ・ モ リ ・ モ リ! 2014 薫 と 友 樹 、 た ま に ム ッ ク。 In: ORICON STYLE. Retrieved July 21, 2016 (Japanese).