Honami Suzuki - Definitely the best there ever will be. Too bad she's retired.
Nanako Matsushima - At the top of her game.
Takako Matsu - Has potential to be the best.

Takuya Kimura - Nothing but quality. The man can do it all.
Takashi Sorimachi - Ditto.
Yutaka Takenouchi - Ditto, although a few more roles could help.

Actors:
Etsushi Toyokawa
Goro Kishitani


Actresses:
Emi Wakui
Takao Tokiwa
Eri Fukatsu
Honami Suzuki

Best Actor:
Dohmoto Tsuyoshi (Summer Snow, To Heart) - though I have only watched him in Summer Snow and To Heart, he was able to play both completely different roles very well.

Best Supporting Actor:
Ryu Raita (Hotman, Shota no Sushi) - Great, different performances in both.

Overrated:
KimuTaku (Good Luck, Long Vacation, Sleeping Forest) - c'mon, he plays KimuTaku. It's not bad, just like Harrison Ford plays Harrison Ford all the time. Still, it's not good acting.

Can't Act:
Nagase Tomoya (Yanpapa, Mukodono) - Oh man, so terrible. Each drama had me pulling teeth.

Kubozuka Yosuke (Go, Ping Pong, GTO, SOS) - with the exception of Go, he has pretty much played that weird guy with the accent. A different style of acting then most, but when it gets repetitive...

Best Actress:
Matsushima Nanako (Story of One Century, Yamato Nadeshiko, Toshii to Matsu) - though she sleepwalked through GTO, her other performances I've seen have been excellent.

Can't Act:
Fukada Kyoko - plays the rather dumb but cute girl all the time. Not a great actress.

Unfortunately lots of roles for women are pretty much the same. I'll have to consider more carefully...
_________________

Actors:
Dohmoto Tsuyoshi- only saw him in kindaichi, summer snow, to heart but they were more than enough to display the varied solid acting talent thats in him...hes nosy, caring and funny in one....hes quiet, cool, a lonewolf in the other...i just like his acting...its WIGGED

Sorimachi Takashi- watched GTO, virgin road and hotman...can be funny and serious when he needs to be...one of the part i still remember well in GTO, when Oguri Shun, as yoshikawa, undresses and reveals all the bruises he had to endure, the facial expressions from Takashi as he stood there...priceless...just how i imagined onizuka would be...
GOOD STUFF!

Oguri Shun- best supporting actor in jdramas...wigged...this guy can act very well...like VERY VERY well....check out the dramas hes in...strongly recommend Summer Snow...this dude is awesome

Actresses:
Hirosue Ryoko- watched her in summer snow, otousan, and shotgun marriage...she played the CUTEST, MOST IRRESISTABLE role i've ever seen in a jdrama as Katase Yuki in summer snow, wiping out all competition...k fine, her voice cracks at times when she yells (<ahem> most noticeable in shotgun marriage) but she has VERY CONVINCING acting talent to fool many on screen (especially as the lovely Yuki-chan....sigh)

Matsu Takako- finished Love Generation and watched a few eps of Hero...a very SASSY actress...pretty good at portraying her characters, conveying the emotions when needs to....her and kimutaku have good chemistry

Wakui Emi- only saw her in Virgin Road, nonetheless her acting was incredible...amazing as the pregnant, single woman...if u wanna see EXCELLENT ACTING, u'd prolly wanna take the time to check out her dramas...

Actor: Ren Osugi

My choice of best Actresses:
1. Matsushima Nanako
2. Nakama Yukie
3. Wakui Emi
4. Kuroki Hitomi
5. Kanno Miho

my chioce of best Actors:
1. Sorimachi Takashi
2. Oguri Shun
3. Takenouchi Yutaka
4. Kubozuka Yousuke
5. Takizawa Hideaki
6. Narimiya Hiroki

marienella wrote:

Best Actresses: 1. Matsushima Nanako 2. Nakama Yukie 3. Wakui Emi 4. Kuroki Hitomi 5. Kanno Miho Best Actors: 1. Sorimachi Takashi 2. Oguri Shun 3. Takenouchi Yutaka 4. Kubozuka Yousuke 5. Takizawa Hideaki 6. Narimiya Hiroki

you know for the real truth no one's perfect

that's my own opinion..and i guess everyone is entitled to one, right?

i like yukie nakama. she is such a sweet and versatile actress. love her!

best actor : kimura takuya

best actress: matsushima nanako

best actress got to be matsushima nanako.....

best actor: Fukuyama Masaharu

Here's my list

Best actor:
Takuya Kimura
Ninomiya Kazunari
Tsuyoshi Dohmoto
Takashi Sorimachi
Oguri Shun

Best actress:
Nakama Yukie
Matsushima Nanako
Makiko Esumi

best actresses:
Takeuchi Yuko
nakama yukie
Shibasaki Kou
koyuki

best actors:
Kimura Takuya
Tsumabuki Satoshi
Sorimachi Takashi

he, talking bout best japanese actors and actresses nee..

well, here's my list!

actors

tsutsumi shinichi! I think we faind it hard to argue about his acting skills. He's SURELY one of the best japanese actor. From Good Luck to Lunch No Jyoo, koi ni chikara to yamato nadeshiko, all of them showing the great acting capability of Tsutsumi Shinichi
tsumabuki satoshi
kusanagi tsuyoshi
karasawa toshiaki

actresses

nakama yukie
nakayama miho
matsushima nanako
ryoko hirosue
shibasaki kou

actor : Takuya kimura ( not overated!!!)
Oguri Shun
Eguchi Yosuke
Tsutsumi Shinichi

actresses: Kuroki Hitomi
Shibasaki Kou
Kanno Miho

The BEST catagory is tough because it means I have to leave out a lot of my favorites. A lot of the guys who stared in some of my favorite shows, and a lot of the actresses I have crushes on.

But in terms of best actor and actress, I'd say:

Best actress:

Yamaguchi Tomoko

Best actor:

Tsutsumi Shinichi

And boy isn't it hard to come up with just two, because there are so many really talented actors and actresses working in Japan. The advantage of having such a rich theatrical history.
_________________

Best Actress
Shima Iwashita: An icon in Japanese cinema and Yankumi's favorite actress (see Gokusen Special). Throughout her 40-year acting career, she has played regal and poor, heroic and villainous, virtuous and slatternly--all equally convincingly. In addition to her many movies, she has appeared in all types of dorama series: Taiga, comedies, and dramas.
Runner-up
Eri Fukatsu: Equally adept at comedy and drama. Often overshadowed by flashier-looking, commercially appealing idol-types, but when you watch her in a dorama series or movie, you can't help but come away knowing you've watched a damn good actress.
Honorable Mention
Yoko Nogiwa: Like Iwashita, a veteran, consummate actress. Always enjoyable to watch.
Nanako Matsushima: I had originally dismissed her as just another pretty face, but her performance in Toshiie and Matsu demonstrated her considerable acting talent.
Atsuko Asano: Dominates each scene she is in.
Tomoko Yamaguchi: Now that she has come out of semi-retirement, I hope she gets involved in dorama worthy of her talents.
Best Actor
Koji Yakusho: I first saw him in a TV mini-series, Takeda Shingen, that was made years ago. He has since gone on to act primarily in movies, although he does have several other dorama series to his credit. I am constantly trying to find English subtitled copies of these dorama, but so far no luck. I think many would consider him to be Japan's premier actor, and he is building a body of work which will eventually stack up against any in the history of Japanese cinema.
Runner-up
Sanma Akashiya: Known primarily as a comedian, he always does a great job in a whole host of dorama comedies he has appeared in over the years. But if you''ve seen him in a serious series like Sora Kara Furu Ichi-Oku no Hoshi, he is equally outstanding in dramatic roles.
Honorable Mention
Masahiko Nishimura: Always seems to play quirky characters. Always does a great job. Always entertaining.
Shinichi Tsutsumi: Excellent at both comedy and drama.
Sonny Chiba: Younger people will recognize him as the imposing father in Dekichatta Kekkon. He was good in that, but he was even better in earlier series from the 70's and 80's like Yagyu Conspiracy and Shadow Warriors where he was able to display his considerable martial arts talents in addition to his underestimated acting skills. Ex-husband of Yoko Nogiwa.

I really can't say who's best, but Koyuki is probably my FAVORITE female actress on this site.

I think some people are confusing "talented" with "most favorite" actor/actress here

Not talking about favourites here.. but i think

takeuchi yuko
mastsushima nanako
kimura takuya
kanno miho

are great.

I'm really very surprised no one has mentioned kanno miho. she's so versatile and convincing in every role she plays. true she may not look drop dead gorgeous, but she's really good i think. a lot of others i have in mind, but i'm not sure if i'm adding an element of favourtism.. so i'll just end here.. heh..