This post is a horrible idea and you should not read it. Ashida Mana is a child star. There is a good chance that you have seen her, and did not know it. She has played two characters that you will remember for the rest of your life if you seek out those performances. She is an actor. She is currently taking a break. (And by break I mean she's only done voice work as the narrator of the asadora. Manpuku) She is in middle school.
This post is a horrible idea and you should not read it. The world is not kind to child stars. Their job is to create personas that we will love. But with that love comes expectations. We suck at separating the person from the persona for all actors, and we are even worse at doing so with young actors. The annals of Hollywood are strewn with childhoods marred by early success and the attendant fame and expectations. Ashida Mana is that famous in Japan. She should be that famous here. She is that good.
This post is a horrible idea and you should not read it. She was six.
I'll let that sink in.
This post is a horrible idea and you should not read it. I mean, it's not unprecedented. Shirley Temple was five when she was in the film that launched her career. Shirley Temple was a hugely talented individual. Ashida Mana is the better actor. Oh, she can be inconsistent, and directors can let her overact. But when she's on ...
This post is a horrible idea and you should not read it. This post is about the legendary career of Ashida Mana who is 14 now, and who has already created two more indelible characters than most actresses ever will. I will talk through all the roles that are available for viewing with English subtitles. I will start with the few that you can avoid - not because she wasn't good (she's always a pro and welcome to see on screen), but because she is not given much do.
What to avoid:
Happy Together, All About My Dog (2011) is an anthology film about dogs with segments that vary wildly in tone. The comedic segments generally fall flat, and the one melodramatic segment is overlong. Ashida appears in the final segment, and has maybe three lines. One of those lines is meant to summarize the film, but even her talent cannot salvage this mess.
Liar Game Reborn (2012) is actually a fun film, particularly, if you like the game-theoretic analysis of one particular variant of musical chairs performed by a collection of OTT manga cliches. And who wouldn't? Ashida plays Alice, a member of the mysterious organization that runs the game. It's a perfectly serviceable performance, but the role is just part of the exposition machine.
Alice In Liar Game (2012) is a series of four short promotional segments for the film that gives the backstory for her character. She plays a prodigy well as one might expect, but there is not much for her to do here beside try to entice people to watch the film.
Support Roles:
Because of her breakout in Mother, Ashida became the go-to casting choice for children of broken families. Her character has a single parent in all these roles except in two cases, and in one of those case it's actually uncertain since the character's father is never seen or referred to. This next set of productions are all well worth watching but Ashida's character is not the protagonist. She generally has some moments in each of these where she shines, but the story is not about her character.
Ghost (2010) Yes, there is a Japanese remake of my high school classmate Demi Moore's film from 1990 (she only attended our freshman year and I didn't know her). It has some interesting twists on the original including the fact that Ashida plays the equivalent of the Vincent Schiavelli character.
Bunny Drop (2011) The focus here is squarely on Ashida's character Rin's much older nephew as he decides to adopt his unexpected and unknown aunt after his grandfather's death in this film. We do not get much of her side of the story which would seem to me to be far more interesting. Instead, the film tells the story of his learning to be a parent to Rin.
Pacific Rim (2013) Yes, that Pacific Rim. This is where you probably already saw her. She played the young version of Mako in flashbacks.
Beautiful Rain (2012) is a surprisingly upbeat drama about Early Onset Alzheimer's. Ashida plays Miu the young daughter of a machinist and widower, Keisuke, who is facing the disease. Understandably, he lies to her about his prognosis as he tries to deal with the disease and prepare for Miu's future. And so she has to grapple with the truth as it comes to light. The focus is squarely on Keisuke, but Ashida is essential and excellent in it.
Hanachan no Misoshiru (2014) is a pure but effective melodrama in which a man falls for a woman, Chie, with breast cancer, and they marry and have a child despite the risk that doing so will increase her chances of the cancer recurring. Ashida plays Hana who learns to make misoshiru from Chie before the cancer recurs. Ashida takes over the role of Hana at about the half-way point of the film, and she does have a couple moments, but the film largely focuses on her parents. Michiko Ono plays Ashida's mother for a second time here in a much more extensive role and is great as usual.
Marumo no Okite (2011) is a story in which the talking dog proves to be surprisingly irrelevant. Instead, this drama is mostly the story of Mamoru who works in the complaints department of an office supply manufacturer having been banished there after a customer complained of sustaining an injury after trying to use the pen cap he designed to clean her ear. His best friend dies, and Mamoru learns that the surviving family wants to separate his friend's twins. Mamoru volunteers to take care of the children, and every episode he writes a rule (okite) for their new little family which now somehow also includes a stray dog who talks occasionally. Ashida plays the smarter twin, of course.
Our House (2016) is Ashida's most recent drama appearance (she was the narrator on the asadora, Manpuku, but voice-over work is much less of a time sink). In this comedy she plays Sakurako, the oldest daughter, of a musician whose wife who died six months prior, and who has just returned from Las Vegas with a new gaijin wife, Alice, who he has neglected to tell about his previous wife and their four kids. Sakurako goes head to head with Alice trying to get her to leave even as Alice tries to win over her unexpected new family. Ashida overacts in spots in this one, but she also hits the series' highs in her performance.
Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien (2011) is a movie that I watched with very low expectations, but is very much a kind of live action Miyazki Hayao film. And then I discovered it was written by Sakamoto Yuji who I have written extensively about because of Mother. It's the fable of five kindergartners who, in the face of the dissembling of all the teachers and adults in their lives, set out on their own to visit their terminally ill friend at a hospital three substantial train rides away. Mitsushima Hikari plays the teacher who lets the five escape from the kindergarten when she takes an illicit smoke break. One by one the five are recovered until only Ashida's character, Kanna, reaches the hospital. Along the way the kids have adventures and encounter strange adults.
The Great Roles
Ashita, Mama ga Inai (2014)
