Revealing newspaper costume draws eyes and puzzled comments too.

Manami Takahashi followed a not uncommon path to fame in Japan. The Yamagata Prefecture native made her debut as a swimsuit model in her teens before branching out into acting in commercials, TV series, and movies, as well as making frequent appearances on variety programs.

Now 33, Takahashi has been working in the entertainment field for more than a decade and a half, and while she may not be at the top of the A-List of celebrities, she’s still a well-known, successful member of the industry, so one would assume she’s doing pretty well financially. And yet, Takahashi herself recently shared a sexy picture from her recent photo shoot where she describes herself as “homeless.”

“Manami Takahashi has become homeless, LOL,” the message begins, as part of a tweet promoting Takahashi’s appearance in the upcoming issue of Weekly Playboy magazine.

But as much as Japan likes sexy cosplay, this particular “outfit” left some online commenters questioning its appropriateness.

“Are you teasing the homeless?”
“Making fun of homeless people? Not cool.”
“Not really sure that’s such a nice thing to say.”

Others, though, took the tweet less seriously as a piece of social commentary, and focused purely on the visuals themselves.

“Sexy homeless.”
“Super sexy homeless.”
“You know, even homeless people wear clothes. But I can still see what you were going for, and I can’t say I mind.”
“Wait, why are the newspapers flying?”
“Stupid newspapers. Get out of the way!”

▼ Takahashi, in more expensive attire

Actually, it’s not entirely clear if Takahashi’s newspaper photo is actually intended to show her as a homeless person. While she appears to have no clothes on, she is wearing a pair of high heels on her feet, and also a cheerful smile on her face, neither of which are commonly considered trappings of vagrancy, and so perhaps the newspapers are merely an attempt to outdo “sexy Frappuccino” for most unusual costume.

Source: Twitter/@manami84808 via Otakomu