Mana Ashida

Mana Ashida (芦田 愛菜) is a Japanese actress, talent and singer.

Her first appearance was in Asahi Broadcasting Corporation's ABC Short Movie 2, though she rose to prominence after acting in the television drama Mother.

She became the youngest lead star in Japanese drama history when she starred in Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien.

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

Ashida rose to prominence after appearing in the award-winning television drama Mother, as Reina Michiki, a young child abused by her mother.

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.

She also appeared in the film Ghost: In Your Arms Again, a Japanese remake of the 1990 film Ghost.

The previous record was set by the group Kigurumi (キグルミ) in 2006.

Bokenmama'' in 2009.

Her first film was the live-action film adaptation of the manga Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora in 2010.

In the same year, she starred in the film Confessions, as Manami Moriguchi.

She was the youngest lead actress in a television serial drama by appearing in the serial drama Marumo no Okite in the spring of 2011.

She also appeared in Japanese films such as Confessions and Bunny Drop.

Ashida and her co-actor Fuku Suzuki sang the 2011 hit song "Maru Maru Mori Mori", the theme song for the television drama Marumo no Okite.

Ashida made her debut appearance in Asahi Broadcasting Corporation's ''ABC Short Movie 2.

At the age of 6, Ashida became the youngest lead actress in a Japanese television drama 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 year old actor Fuku Suzuki.

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, "Maru–Maru–Mori-Mori! (マル・マル・モリ・モリ!)", under the temporary group name of Kaoru to Tomoki, Tamani Mook (薫と友樹、たまにムック).

This song, recorded into a single, was released on 25 May 2011 by Universal Music and debuted third on the Oricon charts, which made the duo the youngest group in history to achieve a top-10 position on the Oricon charts.

They also participated in the summer edition of the FNS Music Festival, which was broadcast on 6 August 2011 on the Fuji Television network.

On 14 August 2011, Ashida appeared in the NHK music television program Music Japan with Suzuki, actress Nozomi Ohashi and actor Seishiro Kato.

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, and Hankyū Densha.

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 reviewer Mark Schilling said that she "seamlessly accomplishes her evolution from forlorn waif to perky if unusually perceptive kid, while effortlessly charming everyone.".

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 Universal Music.

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.

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.