Roundtable to Decide Title of Strongest Bad Woman Actress

Bad women roles are a stepping stone to stardom for popular actresses.

Editor T: There are also actresses who embody their roles as bad women. Recently, I’ve been paying attention to Marika Matsumoto (39). She became famous for her role as Rina, the bad woman in “Holiday Love” (TV Asahi). She engages in outrageous behavior, such as stealing the heroine’s husband and loudly confessing her affair in the company lobby. In this summer’s drama, “Until I Destroy My Husband’s Family” (TV Tokyo), she plays a “sarewife” who has been cheated on for 15 years. Her transformation as she decides to take revenge is remarkable. There are scenes where she laughs and cries while stabbing a fork into her husband’s photo or fantasizing about stabbing him with scissors. The scissors scene was pure horror.

Hiyama: I was overwhelmed by the scene where she cries with snot dripping down her face. She’s an incredibly entertaining actress who goes all out.

Wakana Matsumoto (40) is also an actress who embodies her roles. Currently, she plays a refreshing rom-com heroine in “Mr. Saionji Doesn’t Do Housework” (TBS), but she gained recognition for her role as the bullying sister-in-law to Tao Tsuchiya’s (29) heroine in “Yango tonaki Ichizoku” (Fuji TV).

Shimada: “Don’t get carried away!” she confronts, locking the heroine in the sauna and dramatically singing “Happy Bad Birthday to You♪” on the heroine’s birthday. Her over-the-top performance has been dubbed “Matsumoto Theater,” becoming a topic of discussion every time she appears. That role allowed her potential to explode, marking a turning point in her acting career. In her case, it might be more accurate to say she can embody any character rather than just fitting the bad woman image.

Hiyama: This also applies to W Matsumoto, but roles as bad women often serve as a stepping stone for popular actresses. Riho Yoshioka (31) gained attention for her bad woman role in “Quartet” (TBS), where her performance was marked by a psychopath-like portrayal that was skillfully delivered, even without explosive outbursts. Her famous line in the final episode, “Life was easy,” is still talked about among drama watchers today.

Mio Imada (27) also shone in a bad woman role. In “Hana no Chihare: Hana Otoko Next Season” (TBS), she played a devilish beauty with twin tails, rivaling the heroine and being mean to her. Fans of the original manga praised her for her high level of fidelity to the character. Despite being a villain, there were even voices expressing a desire to support her.

Editor T: Nao (29) played the mysterious resident Ono-chan in her breakout role in “Your Turn” (Nippon TV), and she was quite frightening. She stalked the protagonist, who has a wife, and repeatedly engaged in bizarre behavior, like dropping a TV on fellow residents, showcasing a particularly strong presence in this talked-about series.

Nao previously portrayed a mischievous childhood friend of the heroine in the morning drama “Hanbun, Aoi,” but her performance in “Your Turn” was so drastically different that it’s hard to believe it’s the same person. She excels at anything she takes on, but it’s a shame she hasn’t played many bad women lately.

Hiyama: “Your Turn” also featured another remarkable “bad woman”—Tae Kimura (53). Her portrayal of a character who confines residents and attacks the heroine while wielding a hand mixer exuded pure madness. While she can deliver explosive villainy, she also excels at playing bad women that leverage her image as a “tragic actress.” In “You Have a Home to Return To” (TBS), she skillfully portrayed a seemingly faithful housewife who secretly seduces men. The protagonist, played by Miki Nakatani (48), aptly described her as an “innocent-flirtatious old lady.”

Shimada: I also like another Kimura, Midoriko Kimura (62). Her eyes, devoid of laughter and seemingly always harboring some venom, are captivating. Just her presence makes you instinctively brace yourself. She gained public attention for her role as a tormenting sister-in-law in the morning drama “Gochisōsan,” where she upended the heroine’s (played by Anne, 38) cooking and even tried to make her lick food-soiled floors. Her intense performance drew so much outrage from viewers that complaints flooded NHK.