Interest
Kouichi Yamadera's 'Date' Picture Leads Voice Actor Twitter Trend
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Multi-talented voice actor Kouichi Yamadera, also known as "the man with the seven-colored voice," is currently trending on Twitter. He got a huge response after tweeting the following on Wednesday.
彼氏とデートなう。
— 山寺宏一 (@yamachanoha) May 31, 2017
に使っていいよ。 pic.twitter.com/cEvJBDszRS
In the tweet, Yamadera says of the picture of himself, "You can use this as 'On a date with my boyfriend.'" The tweet apparently bewildered fellow voice actress and Yamadera's wife Rie Tanaka. She responded to his post with one emoticon: (^o^).
Although Yamadera posted the tweet without explanation or context, his fellow voice actors immediately responded en masse. Here are some of their tweets:
「彼氏とデートなう」
— 緒方恵美@25thAnniversary (@Megumi_Ogata) May 31, 2017
に、使っていいよ…?
(て書き方でいいのかな?( ̄▽ ̄;))>皆様 pic.twitter.com/nOoj4g2UY0
彼氏とデートなう
— 竹内良太(34) (@takeuti_ryota) June 1, 2017
に使ってえぇで pic.twitter.com/1lxdECPrHN
間違った、こっちこっち!
— 竹内良太(34) (@takeuti_ryota) June 1, 2017
彼氏と以下略 pic.twitter.com/XBjkZdxYQd
彼氏とデートなう。
— 江口拓也の俺癒!&西山宏太朗の健僕 (@oreiya_info) June 1, 2017
に使っていいよ。#俺癒 #健僕 pic.twitter.com/VyIjOHOO6X
Where did this all start? Yamadera was apparently parodying a series of tweets by idol Rin Kaname. In an ongoing series of tweets, Kaname posts pictures of herself in a variety of locations while she is apparently with her boyfriend. For example, she has posted such photographs of herself at a yakiniku restaurant, hotel, buffet, game center, and on a trip.
After becoming a sensation on Twitter, Yamadera tweeted an explanation. He said that Ciao Bella Cinquetti musical group leader Robin Shōko Okada told him that the trend was popular with idols and young people in cars. (Yamadera hosts "The Bayline" radio program with Odaka on Wednesdays.) He posted the tweet as an experiment. Yamadera said, "I'm perplexed by the overwhelming reaction." He also said that social media is amazing and added that his wife momentarily suspected an affair.
Japanese companies are also getting in on the fun:
彼氏とデートなう。
— SHARP シャープ株式会社 (@SHARP_JP) June 1, 2017
に使っていいよ。 pic.twitter.com/PR6V8FPA5I
彼氏とデートなう。
— 映画『デッドプール』 (@DeadpoolMovieJP) June 1, 2017
に使っていいよ。
ただしギャラは寄越せよ‼️ pic.twitter.com/5LaK4xzBLg
彼氏とデートなう。
— コイケヤキャンペーン【公式】 (@koikeya_cp) June 1, 2017
に使っていいよ。 pic.twitter.com/IOsqeZwj5t
Yamadera is a popular voice actor who has been making waves for years. He got a unexpectedly strong response from voice actor Shuuichi Ikeda when they were recording Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack. After an off-handed comment, Ikeda called Yamadera an idiot, but a round of drinking helped make amends between the two.