Akiko Iwase

Actor · Tochigi, Japan

Akiko Iwase was born and raised in Tochigi, Japan. After high school, she pursued higher education in the U.S. and graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Upon graduating, Akiko returned to Japan and began her acting career in Tokyo. She has been acting on stage, in film, and on TV ever since. In 2008, she founded her own theater company called "Bion," where she serves as an actor, writer, and producer. Since its establishment, "Bion" has been producing one or two productions every year. In 2017, Akiko was awarded Best Actor and Best Script Writer at the Kamome One-Act Play Festival, a national competition in Japan. Her first appearance in an international film was in "The Forest" (2016), directed by Jason Zada, followed by the Netflix movie "Earthquake Bird" (2019), directed by Wash Westmoreland and produced by Ridley Scott, in which Akiko worked alongside Oscar winner Alicia Vikander. She later appeared in "Minamata" (2020), directed by Andrew Levitas. When it premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, she participated in the press conference and walked the red carpet with Johnny Depp, Bill Nighy, and Hiroyuki Sanada. Akiko also stars in the popular TV series "Tokyo Vice," appearing in both seasons as the mother of a leading character, Sato. As a writer, she has penned numerous plays and some TV dramas, including the popular Japanese detective series "Tokuso 9." Her screenwriting and film production debut occurred in 2021 with the mid-length film "Lunar Maria," followed by the feature film "A Matter of Sharing" (2023).

What are Akiko Iwase's films like?

Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight

Morality

31%

Self

28%

Survival

28%

Society

13%

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films

ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Earnest

Tone · Sincerity

ironicearnest

Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3

Dark

Tone · Weight

lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 1 · Dark 2

Grounded

Tone · Style

naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Intense

Feel · Intensity

gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 3

Shifting

Feel · Swings

steadyswings

Steady 0 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced

Feel · Humor

noneconstant

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Even-paced

Demand · Pace

slowrelentless

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Engaged

Demand · Attention

casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Heavy

Demand · Emotional cost

easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 2

Open-ended

Demand · Resolution

resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 1 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense

3

Dread

2

Melancholic

1

Hopeful

1

Bittersweet

1

How their films linger

Haunting2 Unsettling2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Akiko Iwase's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Subscription and free streaming for Akiko Iwase's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

12 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.

Sunny(2024)
Show 1 episode · as Crisis Manager
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all shows
シェアの法則 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Producer · Screenplay · Actor
Nikko Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Actor
Prelude (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
as Ayuka's Mother
Chibiham, Juicy & Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
as Juicy's mother (voice)
Tokyo Vice(2022)
Show 3 episodes · as Rie Sato
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Lunar Maria (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Screenplay · Actor
Minamata(2020)
as Masako Matsumura
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Earthquake Bird(2019)
as Ms. Katō
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Ninomiya Kinjirou (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Actor
The Forest(2016)
as Head Teacher
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
A Sparkle of Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 74^th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 12 titles from 2013 to 2024; peak year 2020.

Biggest box office

The Forest (2016)

$40M worldwide

Highest rated

Minamata (2020)

Midcredits 90^th

Film career

20132024

Peak 2020 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

2016Screen debut· The Forest

By role

only this rolewith another role

Acting12 of 12 · 41^stWriting2 of 12Producing1 of 12

By decade

2010s4 · acting2020s8 · 8 acting · 2 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Akiko Iwase's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 41^st percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 43^rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

43^rdpercentile

Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

39^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

91^stpercentile

Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 5 titles, by percentile

75^th and up2
25^th to 49^th2
Below 25^th1

Shape of the crowd

None of their 5 titles divides audiences: 2 are Universally Loved.

Universally Loved2
Crowd Pleaser1
Broadly Agreed2

Most loved · actor

Tokyo Vice (2022)

Midcredits 93^rd · 92% liked

Reviewers score the acting 72/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 82, detractors 53. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Akiko Iwase's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films

Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 62 · intense

Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 20 · mild

Profanity3 titlesmedian 31 · mild

Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 33 · mild

Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 53 · moderate

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Akiko Iwase work with?

People who share at least 2 of Akiko Iwase's MovieCove titles; Andjelija Vlaisavljevic shares the most, 2.

Andjelija Vlaisavljevic2 titles See all 2 shared titles with Andjelija Vlaisavljevic
Georgina Pope2 titles See all 2 shared titles with Georgina Pope