Minami Hamabe

Minami Hamabe (浜辺 美波) 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 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


Hamabe was born on August 29, 2000, in Ishikawa Prefecture. She started off her career by winning the New Generation Award at the 7th Toho Cinderella Audition. 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. 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.



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.

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.

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. 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. 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. 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". She is close friends with fellow actors Takumi Kitamura and Kanna Hashimoto.