Nanoka Hara, a 19-year-old Japanese actress has become a part of the popular discourse of Anime, as she was cast as the voice of the lead actress of Makoto Shinkai’s newest marvel, Suzume no Tojimari. Hara was born on 26th August 2003 in Tokyo, Japan. She has previously worked in several movies and drama series.
Nanoka Hara and her Previous Work
Hara debuted as a child actress in 2009 under the J-Beans agency. She made her first appearance on television with a very small role of a child, in a series called Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. In 2014, she transferred to Ken-On. She is affiliated with Tristone Entertainment and is known for her work as young Muto Mitsuko in Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (2013).
She has also worked in several movies over the years. In 2021, she acted in the movie ‘Heart Beats‘ and played the role of Mayu Hasebe. She also played the lead role in the movie ‘Opening Night‘ in 2017.
Hara: an Underrated Actress Rising to Fame
Hara appeared in the TV series Night Doctor where she played Kokomi Fukawazawa and most recently, she played the role of Ginko Nanba, the younger sister of the protagonist Tsuyosh Nanba in the live-action TV drama adaptation of Toshio Ozawa’s manga Nanba MG5, which was aired in Japan from April to June 2022.
- Despite working in a diverse set of movies and drama series, Nanoka constantly was given a minor role in most of them. With the rise of anime in Japan, there has been a surge in the demand for voice actors for the same.
With the recent release of Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume no Tojimari, Nanoka acquired a new identity of Suzume Iwato, as she brought the character to life with her voice.
Hara’s luck or talent behind her role as Suzume?
- Makoto Shinkai previously has cast actresses with little to no experience in anime voice acting to play the lead role in his movies.
- In 2016, Shinkai had Mone Kamishiraishi voice the lead actress of Mitsuha Miyamizu in his film, ‘Your Name’, and in the 2019 film, Weathering With You, an amateur artist, Nana Mori voiced the lead actress Amano Hina’s character.
Hara was selected by Shinkai himself from an audition in which more than 1,700 people participated. Hara’s exceptional performance and her lively voice had given the idea of Suzume in Shinkai’s mind a glimmer of reality, making it the magical masterpiece that it is.
Conclusion
Suzume Iwato being her first voice-acting role in anime, Hara expresses her anxiety, pressure, and the joy of working in a Makoto Shinkai film. In an interview with the team, she shares an experience where she mentions that the first time she saw a Shinkai film in a theater, during the summer of her first year in middle school, was magical as well as unforgettable.
- Hara mentions how it feels like a dream to her to be working with Shinkai; from seeing his films during her middle school to now being a part of it.
- It is going to be worth watching Nanoka Hara’s growth as she is still a budding actress. With her rising young talent, she is set to find herself a solid ground in the Japanese Film Industry and it is going to be an exhilarating ride following her through this journey!
As Suzume hits the theatre, we revisit Makoto Shinkai’s work on the Fantasy genre
If you have any questions regarding Nanoka Hara and Suzume, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay with us, here at Spiel Times.
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