Sometimes, when I'm watching a series because a certain actor is in it, I'll discover the talent of another actor in that series and will start to follow their career as well. That's how I discovered all of the actors so far, and Ikuta Toma is no exception. I found him while watching a series that guest starred Shirota Yu, and have followed his work from some of the wackiest comedy I've ever witnessed to some pretty damned depressing drama.
Ikuta has been in the TV camera's eye since he was a child. Joining the male idol agency Johnny's Entertainment at a young age, he performed in several variety shows and singing groups before settling firmly into acting. Most of the shows he's in are available online, but I'll concentrate on four of them in which he's a primary character:
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
Possibly the most famous series he's acted in, and the one he became best known for outside Japan. In this unlikely but likeable story, high school girl Ashiya Mizuki disguises herself as a boy to sneak into the school her idol Sano attends, in the hopes she can convince him to return to the sport of high jumping. Ikuta plays Nakatsu, Sano's dorky but sincere best friend who suddenly finds himself in a quandry when he falls for Mizuki--who he thinks is a boy. (And speaking for the entire Hana-Kimi community, I don't think anyone will ever hear the phrase "Ore wa homo ja nai!" again without giggling.) Be on the lookout for Shirota Yu, who plays Sano's main high jump rival.
Maou
Links to all episodes: http://www.mysoju.com/maou/
Watch it. Just...watch it. If you never see a single other Japanese drama in your entire life, WATCH THIS ONE. It has everything a drama needs, all wrapped up in eleven episodes. Out of all the shows I've seen, this one has stayed at #1 on my list ever since the finale. Ikuta stars alongside fellow Johnny member Satoshi Ohno (best known as the leader of the Japanese boy band Arashi, who also performs Maou's opening theme "Truth") in this remake of the Korean drama Ma Wang. Ohno plays the devious lawyer Naruse Ryo, who masquerades as a hero of the people to hide his plans for revenge against police detective Serizawa (played by Ikuta) who killed Ryo's brother as a wayward youth. Sending messages via tarot cards, he proceeds to terrorize Serizawa and threaten everyone he holds dear.
Akihabara@DEEP
If Maou is the greatest series ever, this is by far the weirdest. I wish I could say more, but I honestly don't know what I would say. Maybe someone needs to understand the otaku culture a little more to "get" half of what was happening. At the same time, there were certainly elements that didn't need any translation: the story focused on social outcasts fighting a big corporation (sometimes literally) as they discover who they really are inside. But some of the scenes, not to mention the subject matter, got surprisingly intense for something that seemed to be along the lines of a bizarre comedy. Ikuta plays a graphic designer named Box, with an OCD that requires him to wear gloves at all times and a severe phobia of women to the point he foams at the mouth if one touches him. And he's one of the more normal characters. Like I said, weird.
Hachimitsu to Kuroba
I haven't finished this series yet, so I can't say too much about it. But the story is told mainly from the POV of Ikuta's character Yuta Takemoto, an art student who falls in love with the shy but gifted "Hagu" but doesn't know how to express it. So far it seems to be a cute coming-of-age type story, although the characters are in college.
Next up: a few other actors who caught my attention while watching Hana Kimi.
