If there's anyone here who happened to discover Non from Miss King... This is the most recent feature about her on Yahoo Japan. In Japanese, but auto-dubbed & closed-captioned translation are available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8E1X7ROXBA
From Rena Nounen to "NON": A 10-year journey she carved out for herself
In 2013, with the memory of the Great East Japan Earthquake still fresh, actor and artist Non burst onto the scene like a comet in the NHK morning drama "Amachan," becoming a bright light for people. This marks her 10th year since changing her stage name from her real name, Rena Nounen. During this time, she has broadened her horizons, including music, art, and filmmaking, where she has written, directed, and starred in films. What motivates her to persevere through adversity and pursue what she loves? We spoke to her about it.
She is active in a wide range of genres, including acting, music, filmmaking, and art. She voiced the main character Suzu in the 2016 animated film "In This Corner of the World," for which she won the Special Jury Prize at the 38th Yokohama Film Festival. In September 2022, she won the Best Actress Award at the 46th Japan Academy Awards for her starring role in the film "Sakanako" ("The Fish Tale"). In recognition of her creative work, which has continued to challenge free expression without being bound by convention, she was awarded the 16th Itami Juzo Award in 2024. In September 2025, the ABEMA original drama "MISS KING" was released. In terms of music, she released her third full-length album, "Renarrate," in September 2025.
I had to look up her bio she looks amazing young to be 32 in real life
Yes! That's one thing that sets her apart from her peers ๐ She doesn't even change much compared to when she was around 18 (second from right, holding a kitten): https://kisskh.at/photos/jl3zb
in terms of quality Abema Studio is like WOWOW. cinematography is like a movie. I donโt know how to play shogi,…
Abema normally has great cinematography work, but in terms of story, I always thought they were still not on-par with WOWOW, until this one! I really hope they can even out-wow WOWOW with Miss King! So far Episode 1 can make me impressed like "wowowow". It's wowow + Non (which gave me an extra "wow!"), even I don't understand shogi at all.
I feel that this is going to be Non's best serial drama (outside of Amachan). From 1 episode alone, the intensity of the scenes have surpassed anything I've watched in any other Japanese dramas. It's got the top cinematography, direction, editing, and of course Non's ability to get into the Asuka character.
Watched until ep. 7 so far. It has Yua Shinkawa as a guest... Holy kappa! That girl is even looking prettier now at almost 32 than back in 2018. She does not seem to age at all.
Makita Aju ๐She's very underrated. Need more recognition.
Dropped. Sorry. Bad story, kind of distasteful... I feel bad for Aju Makita (I was here for her) having to agree to be involved in this type of movie. SMH.
This might be seen as "favoritism", but honestly I wish Anna Yamada to be in the role of Sakura instead of Kaya Kiyohara. She can balance the strong acting + very attractive aura/energy of Hana Sugisaki (everytime Hana cries in her movies, for some reason I found myself in tears) and the cute/pretty look of Suzu Hirose, because she has both qualities. But I know she's been in a much popular movie with Ryusei already (Shotai/Faceless), so it can't be in both.
How does everyone think of the dynamic of the family? I feel thereโs something creepy. Even their closeness…
This is realistic actually. If you encounter wealthy families (business tycoons, etc.) you'll find out that most of them are creepy. They live in their own bubble & only socialize with other wealthy clans. I've worked in a few big private group of companies (those with over 1000 employees), and the family-clans who own these companies are definitely strange and creepy (even more than the family in the drama). Everything seems fake because they wanted to be portrayed as "nice & cool" to the public.
Need motivation to continue ๐ญ Watched till ep 3 and I feel like it's going bit slower than I expected
The story is actually quite interesting, a mix of typical Japenese "detective-style" genre with a bit of psychological thriller & romantic comedy. Something fresh. But the downside is that only Sadawo Abe here that delivers top-notch acting (as expected from him) who can switch between paces & intensities. The rest of the cast are not quite up to his "standard", definitely not on-par with him. This is the main issue, not the story but the selection of other casts. In comparison, his previous drama, Extremely Inappropriate!, is really good because the other supporting casts really deliver top-notch acting that can "balance" his acting style.
Yuna Taira shines here. Not only she's very cute & visually attractive, but she embodies the role perfectly here, without being too much or overwhelming.
What kind of movie is this? is it good? they dont have a synopsis yet above
This movie has a two-fold meaning, which is really good IMO. On the "surface level" it is about juggling between personal aspiration vs friends, a typical drama focusing on friendship dynamics. There's also the more "deeper, esoteric/spiritual level" which is very intriguing, because it's all about recognizing life itself, and once we set intention that we no longer want to be running-around in an endless vicious cycle, we would be given a chance to escape the "merry-go-round", but when the chance does happen, we need to face the reality of leaving the old, incl. relations with those we currently cling to (friends, family, etc.). To me, this is 100% spiritual movie.
She's completely out of character on this one TBH, and as a fan of Non myself, I found it rather "cringey" to watch. Not sure why she decided to take the role on this movie (??) I agree with the review on Japan Times, Non is way too "high-vibration" to ever be involved in a manipulative, dirty schemes in the role given to her in this movie (maybe someone like Nagano Mei would better fit for this kind of role, and she knows how to make good chemistry with Tanaka Kei).
Non's best 'most-recent' movie is still Hold Me Back, IMO. She did perfect on that one, fits her character very well.
This is the most recent feature about her on Yahoo Japan. In Japanese, but auto-dubbed & closed-captioned translation are available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8E1X7ROXBA
From Rena Nounen to "NON": A 10-year journey she carved out for herself
In 2013, with the memory of the Great East Japan Earthquake still fresh, actor and artist Non burst onto the scene like a comet in the NHK morning drama "Amachan," becoming a bright light for people. This marks her 10th year since changing her stage name from her real name, Rena Nounen. During this time, she has broadened her horizons, including music, art, and filmmaking, where she has written, directed, and starred in films. What motivates her to persevere through adversity and pursue what she loves? We spoke to her about it.
She is active in a wide range of genres, including acting, music, filmmaking, and art. She voiced the main character Suzu in the 2016 animated film "In This Corner of the World," for which she won the Special Jury Prize at the 38th Yokohama Film Festival. In September 2022, she won the Best Actress Award at the 46th Japan Academy Awards for her starring role in the film "Sakanako" ("The Fish Tale"). In recognition of her creative work, which has continued to challenge free expression without being bound by convention, she was awarded the 16th Itami Juzo Award in 2024. In September 2025, the ABEMA original drama "MISS KING" was released. In terms of music, she released her third full-length album, "Renarrate," in September 2025.
She doesn't even change much compared to when she was around 18 (second from right, holding a kitten):
https://kisskh.at/photos/jl3zb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB1iymudeog
I feel that this is going to be Non's best serial drama (outside of Amachan). From 1 episode alone, the intensity of the scenes have surpassed anything I've watched in any other Japanese dramas. It's got the top cinematography, direction, editing, and of course Non's ability to get into the Asuka character.
Is this a student project? Too bad it flew under the radar.
But I know she's been in a much popular movie with Ryusei already (Shotai/Faceless), so it can't be in both.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzuV0q8cEzw
Official Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sx3P1uXI_4
Non is so beautiful here in the interview session ๐๐
Check out the movie Nemurubaka, you'll love her even more!
https://kisskh.at/777674-nemuru-baka
For full synopsis, you can read here (but be aware that might give a bit of spoiler):
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/03/13/film/nemurubaka-hypnic-jerks/
Non's best 'most-recent' movie is still Hold Me Back, IMO. She did perfect on that one, fits her character very well.