Should We Call Child Actor Kokoro Terada With Honorific Titles “Kun” or “San”?

The “kun” or “san” problem occurs in the transition from a child actor to an adult actor.

The “kun” or “san” problem occurs in the transition from a child actor to an adult actor.

Except for cases such as Ashida Aina, who reached the status of not “Aina Ashida-chan” but rather “Aina Ashida-sama” a long time ago, or “the nation’s child”. Also Ryunosuke Kamiki who is now known as “Kamiki-kun”. The former child actresses’ names such as, Miyu Honda, Rio Suzuki or Haruka Fukuhara, remain “chan” for a long time. There is no sense of incongruity. For boys, however, a curious phenomenon tends to occur: people around them get confused, not knowing what to call them or how to treat them, and they become somewhat moseyed around.

And now, in the midst of such confusion is 14-year-old Kokoro Terada, who has been gaining media exposure to promote the movie “Fullmetal Alchemist: The Complete Works”.

Just by looking at the headlines and image captions of the following articles, which were probably written through the same joint press conference and interviews, we can see the hesitation.

The media companies are having a hard time dealing with:

• Kokoro Terada’s voice has changed & he’s grown 20 cm taller, Ryosuke Yamada is amazed at his growth over the past two years, saying “Kokoro-san‘” ( Daily Sports, June 13)
• Kokoro Terada‘s smiling face has become more mature (Yahoo! Japan)
• 14-year-old Kokoro Terada has grown 20 centimeters taller and has a lower voice in two years ( Oricon News, June 13)
• Comments from Ryosuke Yamada, Keisuke Watanabe, and Kokoro Terada on “Fullmetal Alchemist: The Complete Works”! New scene photos also released (THE FIRST TIMES, June 15)
• [Image] Dark Kokoro Terada
• Ryosuke Yamada says ‘Kokoro Terada-san” and squints as he senses his growth ( Eiga Natalie, June 13)
• [Image] Ryosuke Yamada Squints at Kokoro Terada’s Growth

Basically, the article should have been compiled based on the fact that “he has grown 20 cm taller in two years” and “his voice has changed” from the officially announced comments of the actors and their interactions at the press conference. However, they somehow described him as an “adult” by saying, “Kokoro Terada, whose laughing face is now all grown up.” They asked for “dark Kokoro Terada-kun,” the same image of Kokoro who has not changed since the TOTO “Neorest” commercial. He also picked up on Ryosuke Yamada’s comment, “I’ve become Kokoro-kun,” while treating him as a child by introducing him to a third party and saying, “I’m squinting at how much he’s grown up.

Suzuki Fuku is called “kun” and Ashida Mana “sama”

However, it is felt that such hesitation and confusion is not only due to age, but also largely due to the peculiar character of Kokoro Terada.

For example, in the case of Fuku Suzuki, who celebrated his 18th birthday on June 17 and became a “new adult”. He said in an interview last March (Oricon March 6), “I hope you will call me what you like to call me” and “I want you to call me ‘Fuku-kun’ forever.” The call was approved.

Following such a trend, the next turn seems to be coming for Kokoro Terada-kun (san), but there is another difficulty with Fuku Suzuki-kun (san).

In the case of Fuku Suzuki, while his co-star in “Marumo no Okitei” (2011, Fuji TV), Mana Ashida, went from being a “child prodigy” to a smart and wonderful woman and a perfect superhero, many people naturally called him “kun” because of the ease and familiarity of his face and atmosphere, which did not change much. However, the “kun-san” problem arose from the confusion of the fact that they were already one step ahead of adults in terms of age.

Incidentally, he is now in the top class of tokusatsu geeks along with Tatsuomi Hamada (21 years old), who also came from a child actor background, and is at the point where he can talk with men who are much older than him on an equal footing. He has reached the stage of “Fuku Suzuki-kun” by keeping his “Fuku Suzuki” feeling fresh and vacuum-packed.

In the case of Kokoro Terada, however, the gap between his very young appearance and his adult-like composure and polite words and mannerisms gave him a strong sense of professionalism. In this sense, he is in the same category as Mana Ashida, who has also been called “Ashida pro” for many years. However, while Mana Ashida quickly developed a dignified and mature look, Kokoro Terada has been called “Conan-kun” (Detective Conan) of indeterminate age, partly because he was petite and had a young face for a long period of time. Putting aside his acting ability and other characteristics, many people in the industry accepted him as a universal character.

In addition, in the case of Kokoro Terada, his slow speech and politeness give him the air of an “oldman,” as if he has already accumulated many bags of wisdom, beyond his adolescent and young adult years. He is a genuine “grandma’s boy” who has said in several interviews that he loves his grandma and plays with her a lot, so his vocabulary selection and appearance may be influenced by his grandma.

Kokoro Terada, who is going forward on a path that he doesn’t share with anyone else.

Incidentally, when we interviewed him last year, he began to talk about his school life in a straightforward manner, while some male reporters asked him questions from the perspective of an older brother, and some female reporters treated him as an adult in a flat, nonchalant manner. Then he was suddenly given a quiz. He was attentive to the faces of all the reporters in the room as he spoke, and he had the dignity of a seasoned veteran in command of the situation. When asked about the buzz on social networking sites that he had become handsome, he covered his wide-open mouth with his hand and said, “I can’t believe I’m handsome. No way. No way.” He waved his hands out to the side in front of his face in a gesture of humility.

While he has the calmness of an enlightened hermit and the dignity of an emperor, his childlike charm and politeness still give him the air of a well-behaved child. He seems to be in between “kun and san,” but in reality, he is moving forward in a path that no one else can match. Rather than “kun” or “san,” perhaps the most appropriate honorific title for him is “master”.