
The voice acting legend whose voice never ages celebrates Maid Day.
The string of Japanese holidays collectively called Golden Week came to an end on May 6, but the country still had a special day to celebrate on May 10. Thanks to a quirk of the Japanese language, the number 10 can also be read as “do,” and so “May 10” can transform into “May do,” pronounced just like meido, the Japanese word for “maid.”
Though it’s not an official holiday, those with such tastes annually celebrate May 10/Maid Day with online salutes to maid-inspired fashion and culture, often with salutes to famous maids of the anime and video game worlds. Video game franchise Danganronpa even doubles down on the maid allusions by listing the birthday of character Kirumi Tojo, known in-universe as “the ultimate maid,” May 10.
▼ Kirumi Tojo
OHOHOHO
— イジエル || PHVtuber (@izzielbaksai) May 9, 2020
Kirumi Tojo's birthday!!!
I hope she has a day off...
Happy birthday, Kirumi! pic.twitter.com/7UQ2owmYma
This year, Kirumi’s voice actress decided to join in the fun by cosplaying as the character, dressed in a maid outfit, naturally, on May 10, and she looked great doing it.
5月10 日は #メイドの日 そして
— 井上喜久子&スタッフ (@atmanbow_staff) May 10, 2020
ニューダンガンロンパV3
超高校級メイド、東条斬美ちゃんのお誕生日ですヾ(* ´▽`*)ノ✨🎂💕
久しぶりのコスプレ楽しかった〜😆 pic.twitter.com/8cp9DUqV8Z
But while voice actresses giving a shout-out to their characters isn’t so unusual, those already in the know, or who recognize the actress’ name in her Twitter account, are probably doing a double-take right now. That’s because Kikuko Inoue, Kirumi’s voice actress, is 55 years old!
Granted, Inoue is famous for her ability to continue playing serenely voiced young ladies of refined etiquette well past the age when most anime voice actresses bow out of the industry. Even still, it’s startling to see how youthful she looks while pulling off a cosplay of a character who’s a teenager, enough so to make one think that Inoue’s oft-repeated tongue-in-cheek claim that she’s eternally 17 years old might not be a joke after all.
Source: Twitter/@atmanbow_staff via Otakomu
Top image: Pakutaso
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