I don’t watch a lot of Japanese TV, but every night when I get home from work, I sit down to eat dinner and watch whatever Japanese drama is on. This is a pattern I’ve followed for three years now, so I’m getting better at recognizing some of the actors and actresses that appear, reappear, and then appear again.
My favorite actor is Smap’s Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, but for this post I want to tell you about my favorite Japanese actresses, most of whom I like for reasons other than their acting, but aren’t we all guilty of that?
1. Shaku Yumiko
Shaku is 29 years old and, like most Japanese actresses, is also a model. I thought her role in Himitsu no Hanazono was the first time I had seen her, but apparently she co-hosted Eigo de Shabera Night, which I’ve seen a few times. This was a show asking famous people whether or not they can speak English, but unfortunately I can’t find a video clip showing Shaku speaking English, if indeed she can.
From JapanSugoi.com:
She’s most famous to overseas audiences for her role in the Godzilla movie Mega Godzilla, where she had extensive self-defense training and managed 300 sit-ups a day! She is a self described fan of anime and gaming and has played one of the characters in the 2003 Playstation 2 game Kidou Senshi Gundam Meguriai Uchuu.
Find Shaku Yumiko on Google Images and on Youtube.
2. Inoue Waka
This 27 year old Japanese idol is mostly known for her above average bust size, and she is sometimes referred to as the “Japanese Monroe”, due to her measurements being similar to Marilyn Monroe’s. Perhaps that’s how she got my attention when she was in the first season of Oniyome Nikki (Diary of Life with a Devil of a Wife ).
Since Oniyome, she’s been in a string of dramas whch I’ve mangaed to miss, but I did catch her naked in a Wood One commercial.
Waka was once the star of TV commercials for the loan company, Promise. Generally, people see these kind of companies as unethical, so it would be interesting to hear what she thinks about them. If you can read Japanese, you might want to take a look at her blog, but I don’t think she explores anything more controversial than her the best foods and desserts.
Find Inoue Waka on Google Images and on Youtube.
3. Ayase Haruka
Ayase is the youngest of the three at only 22 years of age. Ayase is a singer, actress, and like the two before her, a bikini model. According to JDorama.com,
Pretty face and body to die for, it’s no wonder she was selected from 723 girls to play Aki in the unforgettable Sekai no Chuushin de Ai o Sakebu (04), for which she won best supporting actress. This led to major roles on the big screen and her award winning performance in the drama Byakuyakou. She was also one of the top 10 celebrities of 2004 by Yahoo Japan Entertainment Awards.
I’ve only seen Ayase once in a drama, and that was the recent Hotaru no Hikari, which has been my favorite Japanese drama of 2007.
Find Ayase Haruka on Google Images and on Youtube.
Those are my top three favorite actresses at the moment. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my rss feed.
If you like, you can find me on Twitter at @nick_ramsay. I'd love to hear from you!
Does your wife know you’re looking at other women? Hehehe.
Hey, you looked at them, too! 🙂
Those girls are pretty nice but you know what they say… beauty is temporary and dumb is forever. 🙂 Yeah don’t think Im gonna explore such “explosive and highly controversial” subjects as Inoue Waka’s favorite desserts on her blog… As far as I’m concerned she might as well write posts about Coupon Chief!
Ah, but they’re more than just a pretty face Mike, they can act, too! I suppose they’d be the Japanese equivalent of the cast of “Friends”.
I love Waka Inoue. It bummed me out when she stopped appearing in the Promise television commercials. I mean, she’s really cute and has an amazing body.
I have to confess, I almost bought one of her DVDs at 7-Eleven a couple of years ago.