This touching story brings a whole new meaning to the term “fan service“.
Japanese voice actor Toru Furuya has brought life to hundreds of well-known anime characters, including Sailor Moon‘s Mamoru Chiba (or Tuxedo Mask), Dragon Ball‘s Yamcha, and the protagonist of the Mobile Suit Gundam series, Amuro Ray. To mark his 50th year of working in the industry, Furuya appeared at an autograph and photo session at an Animate store in Chiba Prefecture last week, and the event for fans turned out to be even more memorable for the voice actor himself, thanks to an incredibly precious and surprising gift from a kind Japanese visitor.
After sharing the photos of the event above on his Twitter account, Furuya then went on to tell the story of a touching encounter with a male fan who came to the signing with the script for the 1988 anime film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack.
Furuya, who says he used the script 23 years ago, assumed the fan brought it in to have it signed, but instead, the man was conscious of the fact that it must’ve been lost by the voice actor and had brought the precious item in to return it to its rightful owner, saying it was “the way it ought to be”. Furuya says he was incredibly moved by the noble gesture, openly expressing his gratitude to the fan by sharing the story of their encounter with more than 86,000 followers on Twitter, telling everyone it was an act of kindness he will never forget.
Realising his mix-up with the years, Furuya corrected himself soon after, saying the RX-93 ν Gundam mobile suit from Char’s Counterattack made him think the movie was made in 1993, when it was in fact made 28 years ago, in 1988, which only makes the gift even more precious!
Furuya’s followers on Twitter were equally touched by the fan’s beautiful act of kindness.
“Wow – what an incredible story!”
“I can’t believe they handed over such a valuable treasure!”
“If that were me I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from asking you to sign it!”
“This is a great story. Otaku geeks really are essentially filled with love!”
“This is amazing. Only a true fan of your work would be able to do such a selfless thing!”
By returning the precious piece of memorabilia, the fan actually received something far more precious than the item itself, the gratitude of Amuro Ray’s voice actor. Now the kind gesture is something that will bond the two together forever, as a memorable moment that both of them will never forget.
Source: Buzzmag
Top Image: Twitter/@torushome