Minami Hamabe

Minami Hamabe (浜辺 美波, Hamabe Minami, born August 29, 2000) is a Japanese actress. Having starred in various blockbusters and popular television shows since her teenage years, she is one of Japan's most prominent figures in the modern-day entertainment industry.

Hamabe Minami
浜辺 美波
Hamabe at the 2023 Tokyo International Film Festival
Born	(2000-08-29) August 29, 2000 (age 24) Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2011–present
Agent	Toho Entertainment
Website	minami-hamabe.net

Hamabe won the New Generation Award at the 2011 Toho Cinderella Audition and subsequently began her film career the following year. She gained fame by playing Meiko Honma in the live-action version of the TV series Anohana (2015), and later made her breakthrough playing the lead in the romance film Let Me Eat Your Pancreas (2017); with the latter earning her Newcomer of the Year at the 41st Japan Academy Prize. Hamabe subsequently starred in The Great War of Archimedes (2019), Cursed in Love, The Promised Neverland (both 2020), Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler Part 2 (2021), and One Day, You Will Reach the Sea (2022). In 2023, she co-starred with Ryunosuke Kamiki in the television drama Ranman and Takashi Yamazaki's kaiju epic Godzilla Minus One. Her acting in Godzilla Minus One along with Shin Kamen Rider attained her international recognition and she won Best Supporting Actress at the 66th Blue Ribbon Awards.

Early life and career

Young Hamabe (front row, second from right)

Hamabe was born on August 29, 2000, in Ishikawa Prefecture.^[1] She started off her career by winning the New Generation Award at the 7th Toho Cinderella Audition.^[2] She has since starred in numerous films and dramas, with many of them being live-action adaptations of popular manga and video games.

Hamabe gained widespread fame for her role in Japan for her role in the live-action film Let Me Eat Your Pancreas, which tells the story of a terminally ill girl's relationship with her introvert male classmate who happens to find out about her illness by accident. The film was the 5th highest-grossing film in Japan in 2017.^[3] Hamabe was awarded the Newcomer Of The Year Award at the 41st Japan Academy Film Prize, with the film itself being nominated for the Picture of the Year award at the same ceremony.

Hamabe in October 2019

In 2019, Hamabe starred in the film The Great War of Archimedes. The film grossed over 1.9 billion yen in Japan is amongst the highest-grossing film of 2019 in Japan.^[4]

In 2020, Hamabe co-starred with Ryusei Yokohama and Yukino Kishii in the live-action adaptation of the manga Cursed in Love. Hamabe also appeared in the film Murders At The House of Death in 2020. The film has grossed over 1 billion yen and is the 20th highest-grossing film in Japan for the year 2020.^[5]

In December 2020, Hamabe starred in the live-action film The Promised Neverland. The film has since grossed over 2.1 billion yen in Japan, making it amongst the highest-grossing film of 2021 in Japan.^[6] Hamabe starred in the drama Dr. White in 2022. The drama is based on the novels Dr. White: Senrigan no Karute (published 2015 by Kadokawa) and Dr. White: Kami no Shindan (published 2019 by Kadokawa) by Shin Kibayashi. Hamabe also appeared alongside Sho Hirano in the SP drama Seito ga Jinsei wo Yarinaoseru Gakko.^[7] Hamabe again starred alongside Yukino Kishii in the film One Day, You Will Reach the Sea (Yagate Umi e to Todoku) which was released in April 2022.

Hamabe was chosen directly by NHK without audition as the 108th Asadora heroine by NHK whereby she starred alongside Ryunosuke Kamiki as the wife of Kamiki's character. Filming for the Asadora, titled Ranman (らんまん), began in fall 2023.^[8] She appeared in two major films in 2023: Hideaki Anno's live-action superhero film Shin Kamen Rider and played a similar character to that of Ranman in Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus One.

Personal life

Hamabe has a Pomeranian pet dog she calls "Popu-chan".^[9] She is close friends with fellow actors Takumi Kitamura and Kanna Hashimoto.^[10]

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2012	Ace Attorney	Young Chihiro Ayasato (Mia Fey)		[10]
2015	April Fools	Rika Etō		[10]
2017	Saki	Saki Miyanaga	Lead role	[10]
	Let Me Eat Your Pancreas	Sakura Yamauchi	Lead role	[10]
	Ajin: Demi-Human	Eriko Nagai		[10]
2018	My Little Monster	Chizuru Oshima		[10]
	My Teacher, My Love	Ayuha Samaru	Lead role	[10]
2019	The Great War of Archimedes	Kyōko Ozaki		[11]
	Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler	Yumeko Jabami	Lead role	[10]
	Murders at the House of Death	Hiruko Kenzaki		[12]
	Hello World	Ruri Ichigyō (voice)		[10]
2020	Love Me, Love Me Not	Akari Yamamoto	Lead role	[13]
	Love Me, Love Me Not: The Animation	Chiyo (voice)	Cameo	[14]
	The Promised Neverland	Emma	Lead role	[15]
	Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!	Haruko		[16]
2021	Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet	Ellie Ishioka (voice)		[10]
	Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette	Yumeko Jabami	Lead role	[17]
2022	One Day, You Will Reach the Sea	Sumire		[18]
2023	Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom	Sarah (voice)	Lead role	[19]
	Shin Kamen Rider	Ruriko Midorikawa		[20]
	Godzilla Minus One	Noriko Oishi		[21]
2024	Silent Love	Mika		[22]
	What If Tokugawa Ieyasu Became Prime Minister?	Risa Nishimura	Lead role	[23]
	6 Lying University Students	Iori Shima	Lead role	[24]
2025	Under Ninja	Ayaka Noguchi		[25]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2015	Mare	Asami Okesaku	Asadora	[26]
	Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day	Meiko "Menma" Honma	Lead role, TV movie	[27]
2016	Saki	Saki Miyanaga	Lead role	[28]
2018	Kakegurui	Yumeko Jabami	Lead role	[29]
	Hotel on the Brink	Haru Horai		[30]
2019	Ōoku the Final	Takehime	TV movie	[31]
	Pure! Idol Becomes One Day Chief of Police	Junko Kurobara	Lead role	[32]
2020	Alibi Breaker	Tokino Mitani	Lead role	[33]
	Cursed in Love	Nao Hanaoka	Lead role	[34]
	Talio: Avenger Buddies	Mami	Lead role	[35]
2021	Date My Daughter!	Sora Minase		[36]
	A School Where Students Can Start Over	Okabe Kaoruko	Lead role, TV movie	[37]
2022	Dr. White	Byakuya Yukimura	Lead role	[38]
2023	Crayon Shin-chan	Ruriko Midorikawa (voice)	Episode 1173	[39]
	Ranman	Sueko Makino	Asadora	[40]
2026	Toyotomi Brothers!	Nene	Taiga drama	[41]

Other television

Year	Title	Notes	Ref(s)
2023	74th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen	Host	[42]

Music video appearances

Year	Title	Artist	Notes	Ref.
2016	"Sora ga Aozora de Aru Tame ni"	Glay		[43]
2017	"Hana no Uta"	Aimer		[44]
2018	"I Want You Back"	Twice		[45]
2019	"I Beg You"	Aimer		[44]
2020	"Haru wa Yuku"			[46]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref(s)
2017	30th Nikkan Sports Film Awards	Best Newcomer	Let Me Eat Your Pancreas and Ajin: Demi-Human	Won	[47]
		Best Actress	Let Me Eat Your Pancreas	Nominated	[48]
	42nd Hochi Film Awards	Best New Artist		Won	[49]
2018	72nd Mainichi Film Awards	Best New Actress		Nominated	[50]
	60th Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Newcomer		Nominated	[51]
	27th Tokyo Sports Film Awards	Best Newcomer		Nominated	[52]
	41st Japan Academy Prize	Newcomer of the Year		Won	[53]
2021	45th Elan d'or Awards	Newcomer of the Year	Herself	Won	[54]
2023	36th Nikkan Sports Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Godzilla Minus One and Shin Kamen Rider	Nominated	[55]
	48th Hochi Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated	[56]
2024	66th Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Won	[57]
	47th Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Actress	Godzilla Minus One	Nominated	[58]
		Best Supporting Actress	Shin Kamen Rider	Nominated	[58]
	17th Asian Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Godzilla Minus One	Nominated	[59]