Based on the quality of this Kiki’s Delivery Service homage, it’s hard to believe that his day job is voice actor and not manga artist.
Japanese voice actor Kappei Yamaguchi is one of the most established in the industry. While his voice has been featured in a hefty portion of anime from the late 80s and on, he’s often associated with the works of Rumiko Takahashi for which he played titular characters Ranma and Inuyasha in Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha respectively. However, one of his earliest roles which often flies under the radar of many fans is that of the lovably geeky Tombo in Studio Ghibli’s 1989 film Kiki’s Delivery Service.
▼ Yes, the same actor that portrayed brash shonen characters Ranma and Inuyasha also played the bespectacled aviation fan Tombo.
After a late-March television airing of the Ghibli classic, Yamaguchi was apparently inspired to pick up the pen and draw a touching homage to Kiki and one of his earliest voice acting characters:
▼ You can almost feel Tombo’s overbearing enthusiasm grating on Kiki’s nerves!
Net users were quick to praise his delicate pen work and soft color gradations. In fact, this isn’t even the first time we’ve seen Yamaguchi try his hand at some other anime fan art. Almost two years ago, he also wowed us with his drawings of characters from One Piece and Detective Conan–two long-running series for which he has continued to provide voices (Usopp and Shinichi Kudo) since 1999 and 1996 respectively!
Who knows–maybe Yamaguchi has a second career in art ahead of him whenever he decides to retire from solving brutal murder mysteries in anime.
Source: Twitter/@ENma_Dororon via Nijimen
Featured image: Twitter/@ENma_Dororon
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