Kanna Hashimoto is starring in the NHK morning drama "Omusubi" that began airing in the second half of 2024 on September 30th. There are already three morning drama heroines in the same year, including Wakana Aoi, Suzu Hirose, and Haruka Fukuhara, and Hashimoto will be the fourth. The 1998 generation has been attracting attention for its talented members in the entertainment industry, and has been called the "miracle generation." Here, we will introduce the candidates who are likely to follow in Hashimoto's footsteps as morning drama heroines.
◇Mayu Hotta with outstanding expressiveness: "Young veteran" Yuri Tsunematsu
The first person I would like to mention is Mayu Hotta, who stars in the currently airing drama series "Little Women - Sisters in Love and Me Who Doesn't Fall in Love" (Nippon TV, Sunday 10:30 pm). In school dramas such as "Cheer☆Dance" (TBS, 2018) and "3-nen A-gumi: Ima kara Mina wa, Hitoji Desu" (NTV, 2019), she has gradually gained recognition for carefully portraying the emotional turmoil and complex feelings unique to teenage girls, and in recent years, she has shown more mature acting, mainly in NHK's historical dramas such as "Kamakuradono no 13-nin" (2022) and "Drama 10 "Ooku"" (2023). It seems that she has made a big leap as an actor.
She has appeared in morning dramas "Warotenka" (2nd half of 2017) and "Yell" (1st half of 2020). In "Warotenka," she played the younger sister of the heroine played by Aoi, who is in the same grade as her. In the past, Tao Tsuchiya, Hana Sugisaki, and Kaya Kiyohara have followed the route of "younger sister of morning drama heroine → morning drama heroine," so it would not be surprising if Hotta followed in their footsteps. With her outstanding expressiveness, she will surely entertain viewers for the next six months.
As an actor with a talent that is no less than that of Hotta, the presence of Tsunematsu Yuri cannot be ignored. A child actor who started acting at the age of 7 and whose career is already approaching 20 years, this "young veteran" has the depth to handle both comedy and serious roles, and her "powerful eyes" that can sometimes pierce the other person are also attractive.
To morning drama fans, Tsunematsu is also known as "Su-chan" from "Okaeri Mone" (first half of 2021). Director Kurosawa Kiyoshi, known for films such as "Tokyo Sonata" and "The Walking Invaders," once described her as a "frightening actress," so there is no doubt about her talent, but...
◇ "Kumkum" "Kinu-chan" Ono Karin, Sekimizu Nagisa, Shiraishi Sei, Okamoto Natsumi... and more!
Another former child actor like Tsunematsu is Karin Ono, also known as "Kinu-chan," who will appear in the morning drama "Kumu Kum Buddy" (2021 fall season), which will be rebroadcast on NHK General TV from November 18th. Ono's popularity rose sharply around the time of the serial drama "Oyakobaka Seishun Hakusho" (Nippon TV, 2020), and since "Kumu Kum Buddy," she has played more heroines and leading roles. She also won the Newcomer of the Year Award at the 46th Japan Academy Awards for her performance in the movie "Haken Anime!" (2022), and has been showing a gentle but steady rise in her career.
In addition to her solid acting ability that allows her to portray a wide range of roles, Ono is also an actor who is easy for viewers to sympathize with due to her natural adorable atmosphere and familiarity, making her a strong candidate for the heroine of the morning drama.
Other interesting names born in 1998 include Sekimizu Nagisa, who appeared in last year's taiga drama "What Will Ieyasu Do?", Shiraishi Sei, who has an outstanding sense of transparency, and Okamoto Natsumi, who is co-starring with Hashimoto in "Omusubi", but if we were to add one more person to the list, it would be Nagahama Neru.
She was a popular member of the idol group "Keyakizaka46" (now Sakurazaka46), and after graduating from the group, she has been gradually but steadily gaining experience as an actor over the past few years. This includes the morning drama "Maiagare!" (2nd half of 2022), in which Fukuhara, who is the same age as her, starred.
In 2018, when she was an idol, her signature program "Neru Nechikei ONLINE!" was broadcast on NHK, and she has frequently appeared on the station's programs since then. I'm sure there are fans who are secretly hoping for a big promotion. We will continue to keep an eye on her.
