is a Japanese actress, '' talent'' and singer. Ashida's first appearance was in

Asahi Broadcasting Corporation is a certified broadcasting holding company headquartered in Osaka, Japan. Until March 31, 2018, it was a unified radio and television broadcaster serving in the Kansai region. On April 1, 2018, its radio and television broadcasting divis ...

's ''ABC Short Movie 2'', though she rose to prominence after acting in the television drama ''

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...

''. She became the youngest lead star in Japanese drama history when she starred in ''Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien''. She was the youngest lead actress in a television serial drama by appearing in the serial drama ''

Marumo no Okite is a Japanese television series which premiered on Fuji TV on April 24, 2011. This television series stars Sadao Abe as Mamoru Takagi, a public relations officer with a stationery company. It also stars child actor Fuku Suzuki and child actress ...

'' in the spring of 2011. She also appeared in Japanese films such as '' Confessions'' and ''

Bunny Drop is a Japanese manga series by Yumi Unita. The plot follows thirty-year-old Daikichi as he becomes the guardian of Rin, the illegitimate six-year-old daughter of his grandfather. ''Bunny Drop'' was serialized in Shodensha's monthly ''jose ...

''. Ashida and her co-actor

Fuku Suzuki is a Japanese actor from Tokyo. As a member of the talent agency Theatre Academy, he made his first appearance in 2006 on the NHK children's programme '' Inai Inai Baa!'' before earning a major role in '' Marumo no Okite'' and more recently th ...

sang the 2011 hit song "Maru Maru Mori Mori", the theme song for the television drama ''

''.

Career

Early career

Ashida made her debut appearance in

's ''ABC Short Movie 2. Bokenmama'' in 2009. Her first film was the live-action film adaptation of the

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

''Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora'' in 2010. In the same year, she starred in the film '' Confessions'', as Manami Moriguchi. She also appeared in the film '' Ghost: In Your Arms Again'', a Japanese remake of the 1990 film ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

''. For her role in this film, she became one of the winners of the "Rookie of the Year" Award at the 34th Japan Academy Awards. In addition to acting, Ashida did voice-over roles for foreign films released in Japan. She voiced Agnes in the Japanese version of the film ''

Despicable Me ''Despicable Me'' is a computer-animated media franchise centering on Gru (Despicable Me), Gru, a reformed super-villain (who later becomes a father, husband, and secret agent), and his yellow-colored Minions (Despicable Me), Minions. It is p ...

'', and she was the voice of the young Fang Deng in the Japanese release of ''

Aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousa ...

''.

Late 2010 – early 2011: Rise to popularity

Ashida rose to prominence after appearing in the award-winning television drama ''

'', as Reina Michiki, a young child abused by her mother. She won awards such as the Best Supporting Actress at the 14th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix and the Special Award at the 4th Tokyo Drama Awards for her role. At the age of 6, Ashida became the youngest lead actress in a

Japanese television drama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thrill ...

in the special television drama movie ''Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien'' in 2011. In the spring drama season, she became the youngest actress in a drama series when she starred in the television drama Marumo no Okite. She co-starred in this series with the then-6 years old actor

. The series received a viewership rating of 23.9% for its last episode, and an average rating of 15.48% for its entire run. She made her singing debut with Suzuki. They sang ''Marumo no Okite's'' theme song, "", under the temporary group name of . This song, recorded into a single, was released on 25 May 2011 by

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and it ...

and debuted third on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike i ...

charts, which made the duo the youngest group in history to achieve a top-10 position on the Oricon charts. The previous record was set by the group in 2006. They also participated in the summer edition of the FNS Music Festival, which was broadcast on 6 August 2011 on the

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network ...

network. On 14 August 2011, Ashida appeared in the NHK music television program ''

Music Japan Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

'' with Suzuki, actress

Nozomi Ohashi Nozomi may refer to: *Nozomi (given name) * Nozomi (book), a photobook by Nozomi Sasaki *Nozomi Entertainment, the anime license and distribution division of retailer The Right Stuf International *Nozomi (spacecraft), a failed Mars space probe *N ...

and actor

Seishiro Kato is a Japanese actor. He debuted when he was 13 months old. He became recognized after his breakthrough role as Higuchi Yoroku (childhood name of Naoe Kanetsugu, as well as Kanetsugu's first son, Takematsu) in ''Tenchijin'' the 2009 edition of ...

. It was the first time all three appeared in the same show, in its segment entitled "MJ Summer Holidays: Children's Special". In early 2011, Ashida appeared in several Japanese films, including ''

Inu to Anata no Monogatari is a 2011 Japanese film directed by Shunichi Nagasaki and it is the sequel to the 2005 film '' All About My Dog''. It opened in Japanese cinemas on 21 January 2011. Cast * Akira Nakao * Atsuko Takahata * Chiharu * Katsuhisa Namase * Kie Kitano ...

'', and ''

Hankyū Densha is a 2011 Japanese film. It is based on the novel ''Hankyū Densha'' by Hiro Arikawa and directed by Yoshishige Miyake. It was released in cinemas in the Kansai region of Japan on April 23, 2011, and then in other regions of the country from Ap ...

''.

Late 2011: Solo music and variety host debut

Ashida co-starred with actor Kenichi Matsuyama in the manga adaptation ''Usagi Drop''. She played the main character Rin, and was widely praised for her performance. The film's director, Sabu, praised her, saying that her laughter "was always echoing throughout the set, creating a peaceful atmosphere inside the set". ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

'' reviewer Mark Schilling said that she "seamlessly accomplishes her evolution from forlorn waif to perky if unusually perceptive kid, while effortlessly charming everyone.". Mana Ashida won the "Best Newcomer" award at the 54th Blue Ribbon Awards. She was the youngest person to receive this award, beating the 1983 record set by actress Tomoyo Harada. In October 2011, Ashida began co-hosting the NTV variety and talk show ''Meringue no Kimochi'' with the show's long-time hosts, Masami Hisamoto and Asako Ito. This made her the youngest regular host of a talk or variety show. On 15 September 2011, it was announced that Ashida would make her solo music debut with

. She released her first single with them in October 2011, and her debut album in late 2011. The album contained songs that "Mama (Mana's mother) wants Mana-chan to sing". Her official profile on Universal Music's website was unveiled during the announcement. The single, a lively dance piece with a cheerful rhythm and similar to ''Maru–Maru–Mori-Mori!'', was entitled . The single was released in Japan on 26 October 2011, and was used in a commercial for Seven & I Holdings Co. It debuted at the 4th position on the

weekly charts. This made Mana Ashida the youngest solo artist to rank in the Oricon weekly TOP10 charts at 7 years and 4 months old, breaking the previous record of 13 years old set by

Kumiko Goto is a Japanese former singer, actress and Japanese idol active in the 1980s. As an actress, she is known for starring in the ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' films and the Jackie Chan film '' City Hunter''. In 1995, she quit her artistic career and marr ...

in 1987. Ashida's debut album, entitled ''Happy Smile!'', was released in Japan on 23 November 2011. It debuted at the 8th position on the Oricon weekly charts, making Mana Ashida the youngest artist, at 7 years 5 months old, to have an album in the top 10 position. She beat the previous record of 13 years and 8 months set in 1974 by Canadian singer Rene Simard. Ashida and Suzuki became the youngest participants on the annual Kōhaku Uta Gassen singing competition by participating in its 62nd edition.

2012–present

Ashida voiced the female lead character of Annie in the Japanese

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

film adaptation of the Magic Tree House series in the first role in a 2012 film. She performed the theme song of the anime series '' Jewelpet Kira☆Deco!''. The song, entitled " Zutto Zutto Tomodachi", was also used in the 2012 anime film '' Jewelpet the Movie: Sweets Dance Princess''. Ashida also appeared in the film, as Princess Mana. The song was released as a single on 16 May 2012, and reached number 17 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Charts. Ashida starred as Miu Kinoshita, the daughter of a single father who suffered from juvenile

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

, in

's summer drama series '' Beautiful Rain''. She also sang its theme song, entitled " Ame ni Negai o". Written by singer Yumi Matsutoya, ''Ame ni Negai o'' was the first drama theme song Mana performed solo. The single was released in Japan on 1 August 2012. On 27 December 2012, she held her first solo concert at the Curian Shinagawa General Citizen Hall in Tokyo. Ashida made her Hollywood debut playing the role of young Mako Mori in the 2013 film ''

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of ...

''. She auditioned for the role in October 2011, when she reportedly impressed the judges with her rich expressiveness. She travelled to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

to shoot the film, where she also met

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and '' The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for ...

. Del Toro allegedly allowed Ashida to call him “ Totoro-san”, due to her being unable to pronounce his surname. Ashida also appeared in a Celebrity Kids Edition of the Japanese version of the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on January 2, 2013. She won the top prize, ¥1,000,000, and became the youngest top prize winner in the ''Millionaire'' franchise. In 2014, Ashida starred in the television series '' Ashita, Mama ga Inai'' as Post, a child abandoned at birth at a baby hatch. Her performance in this television series was highly regarded, with 50.8％ of viewers expressing high satisfaction with her performance in a survey carried out by

. In 2015, she starred in ''Rugged!'' as a 10-year-old company president in her first lead role in a NHK television drama.

Personal life

Ashida was born on 23 June 2004 in

Nishinomiya 270px, Nishinomiya City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center 270px, Hirota Shrine is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218948 households and a population density ...

, Hyogo Prefecture and is an

only child An only child is a person with no siblings, by birth or adoption. Children who have half-siblings, step-siblings, or have never met their siblings, either living at the same house or at a different house—especially those who were born consider ...

. She is commonly nicknamed Mana-chan, which is a combination of her given name and the Japanese honorific used when addressing children (

-chan The Japanese language makes use of a system of honorific speech, called , which includes honorific suffixes and prefixes when referring to others in a conversation. Suffixes are often gender-specific at the end of names, while prefixes are att ...

). Ashida revealed that she is a fan of

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, go ...

group Kara. She loves cycling unicycles, and reads over 60 books per month. In April 2017, Ashida was accepted into Keio Junior High school, one of the most top-notch Junior High schools in the

Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...

, after passing the entrance exam.

Filmography

Films

* ''

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora , subtitled ''looking up at the half-moon'' and also known as ''Hantsuki'', is a Japanese romance light novel series written by Tsumugu Hashimoto and illustrated by Keiji Yamamoto centering on two hospitalized seventeen year olds and the lov ...

'' (2010) as Mirai Natsume * '' Confessions'' (2010) as Manami Moriguchi * '' Ghost: In Your Arms Again'' (2010) as the child ghost * ''

'' (2011) as Mana * ''

'' (2011) as Ami Hagiwara * ''

'' (2011) as Rin Kaga * '' Magic Tree House'' (2012) as the voice of Annie. * '' Liar Game: Saisei'' (2012) as cool Alice * '' Jewelpet the Movie: Sweets Dance Princess'' (2012) as the voice of Princess Mana * '' Nobo no Shiro'' (2012) as Chidori * ''

'' (2013) as Mako Mori in her childhood * ''Kujikenaide'' (2013) as

Toyo Shibata was a bestselling Japanese poet; her first anthology ''Kujikenaide'' (″Don't lose heart″), published in 2009, sold 1.58 million copies. In comparison, poetry book sales of 10,000 are considered successful in Japan. Her anthology also topped Jap ...

in her childhood * ''Entaku'' (2014) as Kotoko Uzuhara * ''Takayuki Yamada 3D The Movie'' (2017) * '' Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us'' (2018) as the voice of Margo * '' Children of the Sea'' (2019) as the voice of Ruka Azumi * ''Under the Stars'' (2020) as Chihiro * '' Poupelle of Chimney Town'' (2020) as the voice of Lubicchi * ''

The House of the Lost on the Cape is a Japanese novel written by Sachiko Kashiwaba. It was initially serialized in the ''Iwate Nippo'' daily newspaper from May 10, 2014, to July 4, 2015. Kodansha later published the novel in print with cover art by Yukiko Saito on September 1 ...

'' (2021) as the voice of Yui * ''

BL Metamorphosis is a Japanese manga series by Kaori Tsurutani. ''BL Metamorphosis'' was serialized digitally in the monthly manga magazine ''Comic Newtype'' from November 17, 2017 to October 9, 2020. A live-action film adaptation premiered on June 17, 2022 ...

'' (2022) as Urara Sayama * '' Lonely Castle in the Mirror'' (2022) as the voice of Ōkami-sama

Television dramas

* ''ABC Short Movie 2: Daibokenmama'' (2009, ABC) * ''Ketto! Rojinto'' (2009, WOWOW) * ''Tokujo Kabachi!!'' (2010, TBS, episode 3) * ''

'' (14 April – 23 June 2010, NTV) – Rena Michiki / Tsugumi Suzuhara * '' Toilet no Kamisama'' (5 January 2011, MBS, based on

Kana Uemura , known professionally as Ka-Na, is a Japanese singer-songwriter, who debuted in 2004. She is best known for her song "Toilet no Kamisama", an acoustic ballad about her grandmother, which became a hit in 2010. Biography Uemura first became int ...

's song "Toilet no Kamisama") – Kana Uemura (childhood) * '' Gō'' (2011, NHK) – Chacha (Childhood), Sen * ''Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien'' (30 March 2011, NTV) – Kanna Yamazaki * ''

'' (24 April – 3 July 2011, CX) – Kaoru Sasakura * '' Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'' (10 July 2011, CX, episode 1) – Kaoru Sasakura (guest) * ''

Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni is a manga series written and illustrated by Fumiyo Kōno which ran from 2007 to 2009 in ''Weekly Manga Action''. It follows the life of Suzu Urano, a young bride with her new family living on the outskirts of Kure City during the Second ...

'' (5 August 2011, NTV) – Chizuru Hojo * ''Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi (2011 Summer Season Special)'' (3 September 2011, CX) * ''

Special'' (9 October 2011, CX) – Kaoru Sasakura * ''

Nankyoku Tairiku is a 2011 Japanese television drama series that premiered on TBS on October 16, 2011. List of episodes 1. "A Touching Story of Love and Life for the Revival of Post-War Japan/ A Miracle Between Dogs and Mankind that occurred 56 Years Ago, the St ...

'' (16 October – 18 December 2011, TBS) – Haruka Furudate. * ''Alice in Liar Game'' (5 – 8 March 2012, CX, Spinoff of '' Liar Game: Saisei'' film) – Alice. * '' Beautiful Rain ''(1 July 2012, CX) – Miu Kinoshita * '' Ashita, Mama ga Inai ''(15 January 2014 – 12 March 2014, NTV) – Post * '' Gin Nikan'' (10 April 2014 – 5 June 2014, NHK) – Otetsu Maho (childhood) * ''

Hana-chan no Miso Soup Hana as a given name may have any of several origins. It can be a variant transliteration of Hannah (given name), Hannah, which is the Jewish, French and Christian form, meaning "grace" in Hebrew associated with God. It is also a Kurdish name mea ...

'' (30 August 2014, NTV) – Hana Yasutake * '' Rugged! '' (21 February 2015 – 28 February 2015, NHK) – Noa Fukami * '' Our House'' (17 April 2016 – 12 June 2016, CX) - Sakurako Ban * '' Manpuku'' (2018 – 19, NHK) – narrator * '' Kirin ga Kuru'' (2020 – 21, NHK) - Akechi Tama

Japanese dub

* ''

'' (2010) as Agnes * ''

'' (2010) as young Fang Deng * ''

Despicable Me 2 ''Despicable Me 2'' is a 2013 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to ''Despicable Me'' (2010), it is directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, and ...

'' (2013) as Agnes * '' The Peanuts Movie'' (2015) as Little Red-Haired Girl * '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019) as Madison Russell * ''

Godzilla vs. Kong ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to '' Kong: Skull Island'' (2017) and '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019); it is the fourth film in Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, the 36th fil ...

'' (2021) as Madison Russell

Variety

* ''Meringue'' (1 October 2011 – 31 March 2012, NTV) – co-host with Hisamoto Masami and Ito Asako * ''Music Japan'' (14 August 2011, NHK) * 62nd '' Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' (31 December 2011, NHK)

Video games

* '' Ni no Kuni: Shiroki Seihai no Joō'' (2011) as voice of the Mysterious Girl (Kokoru).

Discography

Singles

Albums

* ''Happy Smile!'' (Universal Music, 23 November 2011)

Awards

2010

* 34th Japan Academy Awards: Rookie Of The Year for '' Ghost: In Your Arms Again'' * 4th Tokyo Drama Awards: Special Award for ''

'' * 65th The Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Newcomer for ''

'' * 14th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix: Best Supporting Actress for ''

2011

* 2011 International Drama Festival in Tokyo, Tokyo Drama Awards: Best Performance by an Actress for ''

'' and ''Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien'' * 53rd Japan Record Award: Special Award for ''

Maru Maru Mori Mori! is the first single by the group Kaoru to Tomoki, Tamani Mook, released on 25 May 2011 by Universal Music. This group is specially formed for the Fuji Television television drama series ''Marumo no Okite'', and consists of actor Fuku Suzuki and ...

'' * 54th Blue Ribbon Awards: Best Newcomer for ''

'' and ''

Usagi Drop is a Japanese manga series by Yumi Unita. The plot follows thirty-year-old Daikichi as he becomes the guardian of Rin, the illegitimate six-year-old daughter of his grandfather. ''Bunny Drop'' was serialized in Shodensha's monthly ''jose ...

Bibliography

* , (14 December 2010)

References

External links

* * on

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashida, Mana 2004 births Living people Japanese child actresses Japanese child singers People from Nishinomiya Japanese television actresses Japanese film actresses Japanese voice actresses Universal Music Japan artists Musicians from Hyōgo Prefecture 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese women singers