Intro to Cute Japanese Child Actresses

Be honest. Whenever a drama includes a little child in the lead role, you're tempted to watch it just because they are that cute.
Well, at least that works for me!
I have seen quite some dramas with little children in a lead role or as a supporting role, and I'm here to introduce you to my Top 3 Japanese female child actresses.
Be aware of cuteness overload!

3rd Place – Yoshida Riko

I fell in love with her when I watched the drama Oh! My Girl!. She was acting as the spoiled daughter of a famous actress, being a child actress by herself. Since her mother suddenly disappeared, her uncle (Hayami Mokomichi) was taking care of her and she was having fun ordering him around.



Although she played a quite annoying child, she was overall lovable. Her acting was wonderfully refreshing, and I was amazed that a girl of 9 years could act her role so professional and believable.

I loved her in particular when she wasn't the little famous actress anymore, but the child that was longing to see her mother, wondering why she had left her alone with her uncle. The sad look on her face made me feel like hitting the mother and taking her into my arms. On the other hand, she was able to be overly happy and hyper in the next moment again, driving her uncle insane. Watching her smile and laugh with him made my heart happy as well and I couldn't get enough of her.



Now that I knew her from this drama, I realized that I have seen her in dramas before.
She's acting as a little genius lady in the drama Mei-chan no Shitsuji

As well as in Yamada Taro Monogatari where she's plays the role of one of Taro's many sisters.

In both dramas, she plays, again, a very hyper, quirky girl and you have no choice but to immediately like her a lot.

Other works of hers are Hagane no Onna, Beautiful Rain, Yakou Kanransha and may many more.

Give this little lovable girl a try and watch one of her dramas! I'm sure you'll come to like her as well very quickly!

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2nd Place – Kobayashi Seiran

This little girl totally swept me off my feet when I watched Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku. (I admit that I watched it because of Jun and I have to say that I do not regret it!).

She was merely acting as the sweetest, but a bit shy daughter of a widow and was living together with her mother happily until Taiga came and destroyed the order of their normal day life. What made me love her immediately was that she acted so naturally and cute though I had the feeling there was not much acting as she is like that in real life too.

Her emotions were shown openly on her face which made her acting absolutely enjoyable. Even if a lot of people were quite disappointed with the drama, you should watch it just because of her, and you'll like her as soon as she smiles.

NatsuNiji was the only drama I ever saw her in, but I watched some TV Shows with her, and Seiran-chan is really naturally cute and sweet.

Also, she's part of the duo Star Flower with her best friend and child actress Tani Kanon. They had their debut as singers in August 2012 with a cover of “Younger Boy”.

If you've fallen in love with her too, you could watch some more of her work that include Paji ~Jijii to Magomusume no Aijo Monogatari~, Ikkyu-san, and Ikkyu-san 2.

I'm sure she'll be happy!

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1st Place – Ishii Momoka

My absolute favorite is Ishii Momoka because to me, nobody can beat her cuteness. I got to know her when I watched Aiba Masaki's drama My Girl where she acted as Kazama Koharu, Aiba's daughter.

Her mother had kept her a secret in front of the father, but when she passed away Koharu was brought to her father to live with him. Masamune was 23 years when he found out that he had a daughter, and his life changed drastically. However, he tried his best in raising his little daughter.

Momoka played the most adorable daughter I've ever seen. Since her dad had never encountered living together with a child before, he was quite helpless, but Koharu was always understanding, forgiving him every mistake even when he hurt her feelings. I loved Momoka's acting because it was convincing in every scene. Her emotions were not only shown on her face, but also in the way she moved or held her body. You couldn't help but adore this little girl and pray that Masamune will finally realize what treasure he had been given to take care.

Unfortunately, this drama was the one and only time Momoka got a lead role. All her other roles are minor supporting roles or guest roles. Still, whenever she pops up, I'm super happy!

You can also watch her in Papa to Musume no Nanokakan, Hotaru no Hikari 2, Hagane no Onna 2 and some others.

Still, I am hoping that in the future I will be able to see her more often, and as a lead again, because her smile just makes me go “Kawaii~~!” the whole time.

So, director-san, please give her another big role again!!!

She'll be happy too and reward you with one of her cutest smiles!

So, those were my Top 3! They are all so super cute! Let's hope we can see more of them!