The voting situation for the Best Leading Actor category was rather unpredictable as a number of actors took turns to hog the top spot so it was difficult to tell who might win the title until the last few days. It seemed that supporters were taking turns to vote in tandem so there were days when there was a concentration of votes for one actor before another wave of votes for a different actor came in the next day. As such, unlike what happened in the best leading actress where the winner was literally unbeatable, the competition here seemed comparatively more intense as there was no clear winner until the end.
Without further ado, here is the list of the top 5 winners in this category!
No.5 Matsuoka Masahiro - Kaseifu no Mitazono (38 points)
This drama was the last I watched in 2016 and it really exceeded my expectations in more ways than one. To be honest, I wasn't expecting too much from the story and wanted to watch this just for the sake of Mabo. If you know the Mabo in TOKIO and seen his dramas in this past, you would never have thought that he could pull this off because he always has a very masculine and cool image. I admit that I doubted him too. However, he looked so convincing as Mitazono not just in terms of appearance (he has such nice-looking legs and a great figure!) but also in terms of mannerisms and way of speech. Mitazono spoke in such a refined manner which didn't seem too out of place as Mabo had immersed himself fully into the role. Of course, his ability to switch between serious and comedic modes was pretty impressive. Barring the fact that his face just doesn't cut it as a woman, I thought that he had gone through a pretty convincing transformation for the sake of this drama.
Mabo didn't start off as a strong contender for the top 5 at first so I wasn't expecting him to make it into the list. However, for those who voted for him, I gather that they must have waited till they finished the drama so that's why the votes were concentrated in the second week of the voting period. And yes, he was my top pick among all the leading actors in 2016!
No.4 Ohno Satoshi - Sekai ichi muzukashii koi (39 points)
Similarly in Ohno's case, the votes for him came in at a pretty slow pace at first before there was a surge in the second week. As such, I also thought at one point that he might not make it to the top 5 but he managed to squeeze in to grab No.4 with just one point more than Mabo.
As I've only watched one episode of this drama, I can't really tell how well he did. However, since this is Ohno's first romantic comedy, I thought that it will be a refreshing change in his acting career so this could be why he has won the favour of those who voted for him.
No.3 Kamenashi Kazuya - Kaitou Yamaneko (85 points)
Kamenashi looked like he was about to grab the No.1 spot when there was a huge inflow of votes for him in the middle of the voting period. However, the eventual No.1 and No.2 turned the tables in the last few days thus making it a two-way fight in the end.
I haven't watched this drama so I am not in a position to comment on his performance. For those who have voted for him, perhaps you can let me know what you liked about his acting here?
No.2 Matsumoto Jun - 99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi (101 points)
Matsujun started off pretty strong at the beginning of the voting period and had a steady flow of votes unlike most of his competitors in this category. However, No.1 pulled ahead in the last minute thus pushing Matsujun down to No.2 on the last day. If Matsujun had received a few more votes then, the final outcome might have been different.
Likewise, I haven't watched this drama yet so I can't comment on how he performed. Much has been said in the media about how conscientious and hardworking he was when acting in this drama so I guess his effort did pay off in the end by contributing to the good ratings and generally favourable comments about this drama.
And here we have the final winner: Abe Hiroshi - Sniffer Kyuukaku Sousakan with 115 points!
Actually, Abe started off very strongly in the first few days of the voting but somehow lost steam in the middle when Kamenashi and Matsumoto surged ahead and took turns hogging the top spot. However, Abe's supporters launched a remarkable comeback towards the end and managed to bridge the huge gap in points before winning the title.
I haven't started watching this drama yet but I've always enjoyed Abe's works. As such, I will leave it to his supporters to tell me why you chose to vote for him.
Just saying though, if I had watched this drama before the voting period ended, I might have voted for him as well since Abe rarely disappoints. ^__^
And for those who are interested to know who else I voted for besides Mabo, there is only one other actor who I ranked as No.2:
Ito Hideaki - Boku no Yabai Tsuma
Although Ito didn't make it to the top 5, I thought he put up a very different and interesting performance in this drama partly due to his good chemistry with his co-star Kimura Yoshino. For a long while, Ito had been projecting this passionate, rash and righteous image thanks to the success of his Umizaru series. Then again, you are sometimes a victim of your own success because it was getting so difficult for him to produce equally memorable like Senzaki Daisuke to show the world that he can act. However, in this drama, his character who thought that he was smart, ended up being twirled around his scheming wife's little finger so it was a refreshing change to see him being reduced to such a pitiful state. Towards the end of the drama when the story made him become a bit wiser to his wife's true nature, the "intellectual battle" between him and Kimura was rather interesting to watch too. Frankly speaking, if his co-star was not that powerful, it might not have brought out the best from Ito but I thought that he still put up a fairly decent performance here.
Please feel free to share your comments about the winners here or via the Facebook page!
Title: Kaseifu no Mitazono 家政夫のミタゾノ (The male housekeeper Mitazono)
The production press conference of TV Asahi Autumn 2016 drama "Kaseifu no Mitazono" was held on 17 October which was attended by cast members Matsuoka Masahiro, Shimizu Fumika, Yo Kimiko, Shibamoto Yuki, Hotta Akane and Hirata Atsuko. The drama which begins its run from 21 October in the Fridays 11.15pm timeslot, features Matsuoka as a super housekeeper who dresses as a woman and exposes the dark secrets in the households where he works at so that they can rebuild their crumbling families.