Drama Recommendation: Shizuka-chan to Papa
Since a new batch of dramas started in April, a lot of new faces will be on our screen. Oricon announced their top 10 next breakthrough actors, and here are the results.
10. Suga Kenta
He’s 23 years old and has been acting since 2002, you can go and read his profile here (if you are like me and didn’t recognize him at all.)
Comments from the Oricon poll include:
“He’s a former child actor and now he’s a grown up, he’s calm, looking forward to his activities.”
“Hoping for a second breakthrough, nice performance skills.”
9. Hamada Tatsuomi
He’s 17 years old and has been acting since 2010 (he’s the child from Kaibutsu-kun which was his first drama!)
Comments from the Oricon poll include:
“He’s been acting since he was a child, and he came back as a good-looking guy. I want to see his acting skills now that he’s a grown-up.”
“He’s a former child actor; I think the atmosphere around him will change in a good way.”
8. Nakamaru Tomoya
He’s 31 years old and has been acting since 2005.
Comments from the Oricon poll include:
“I have liked him since long time ago; he’s been getting attention and getting recognition due to Holiday Love. He’s good at acting and I think he’s going to get more attention.”
“He looks like a different person depending on the role he’s performing; he’s recently appearing in lots of dramas and movies, looking forward to his activities.”
7. Yoshizawa Ryo
He’s 23 years old and has been acting since 2011.
Comments from the Oricon poll include:
“I got interested in him due to his cool character in Gintama! He’ll become more popular from here on.”
“He showed a great performance range in the movie River’s Edge.”
6. Wada Masato
He’s 38 years old and has been acting since 2006.
Comments from the Oricon poll include:
“I think he’ll have a long acting career, he has a strong presence and is good at acting.”
“He has an unexpected presence; it feels like he’s able to perform any kind of role so if he challenges a role he has never done before, he’ll be able to do it well.”
5. Takasugi Mahiro
He’s 21 years old and has been acting since 2010.
Comments from the Oricon poll include:
“I like all of his roles… he’s good with cool roles (Setoutsumi), he’s also good with roles with exciting personalities (Kakegurui). I want him to challenge all kind of roles.”
“I think he has a particular, cool and delicate presence.”
“His face looks like he came out from a shojo manga, adding to that his performance range is very wide.”
4. Nakagawa Taishi
He’s 19 years old and has been acting since 2010.
Comments from the Oricon poll include:
“I noticed him since the taiga drama Sanadamaru.”
“Due to his age, his roles as an adult increased so it looks like he’ll broaden his performance range.”
“He’s cool and his acting is good, he’s perfect.”
3. Mitsushima Shinnosuke
He’s 28 years old and has been acting since 2011.
Comments from the Oricon poll include:
“He has a strong presence that does not shy away even when co-starring with big stars, he’s acting is good.”
“Particular acting style, I think he can do comedy and serious roles.”
2. Kitamura Takumi
He’s 20 years old and has been acting since 2008. He was scouted when he was in third grade of junior high school.
“Since last year he’s been appearing in movies and dramas, his popularity is increasing.”
“His innocent high school role in I Want to Eat Your Pancreas was great. He has a nice voice and I’m looking forward to his gay role in Tonari no Kazoku wa Aoku Mieru.”
“He’s very charming and activates my maternal instinct.”
1. Arata Mackenyu
He’s 21 years old and has been acting since 2005.
Comments from the Oricon poll include:
“He’s currently very popular; I think he’s an actor who can be popular among men as well.”
“His role as Takauji in Todome no Kiss left a great impression on me.”
“His popularity is rising so he feels very familiar.”
“His pretty face leaves a strong impression. He has a strong gaze so he fits villain roles.”
This poll was held from March 7 to March 20, 2018. A total of 1000 people participated.
Personal comments
This ranking was about actors that the people being interviewed thought would have their big breakthrough this year. From this list, there were only three actors I did not recognize at all (Suga Kento, Takasugi Mahiro, and Wada Masato). I was especially surprised by Wada Masato since he's been acting for 12 years and from all his works, the only one I have seen is The Quiz Show 2 (though I do not remember him at all!) so I'm not that sure if this year will finally be his breakthrough year.
Another surprise for me was Nakamaru Tomoya since I do remember watching him a long time ago on H2 and I do remember thinking he was an interesting actor but after that, I did not see anything from him. So I hope it goes well for him since he's been in this business for some time already.
What was not a surprise for me was seeing Mackenyu and Nakagawa Taishi in this ranking since I don't think there's any doubt they'll be in the spotlight this year. It's definitely a breakthrough year for both of them, they have been very active and getting important roles all around. These two are the only ones I have seen several works from and I liked what I've seen so far (specially Todome no Kiss and Today's Kira-kun). The original article mentioned Mackenyu's participation on the Hollywood film Pacific Rim: Uprising as one of the reasons this year will be his breakthrough year but I personally was kind of disappointed in his almost non-existent lines and low screen-time.
I also hope this year will be a good one for Mitsushima Shinnosuke since I really loved him in Boku, Unmei no Hito desu, his character was so much fun to watch and he was quite charming. I also remember seeing him on the HanaKimi Remake but his character left no impression on me whatsoever. So I really think he has improved since then.
We'll still have to wait till the end of this year to know who were the actors that really got their big breakthrough this year, and let's not forget that new actors can appear any day at any moment!
What do you think about this ranking?
Do you agree or is there someone you think should be included?
Source: Oricon article
