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Voice Actress Ayana Taketasu Joins Akio Ohtsuka as Capybara, Tapir in Videos
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Voice actor Akio Ohtsuka (Black Jack's Black Jack, Ghost in the Shell's Batou, Bleach's Shunsui Kyōraku) debuted as a capybara in a promotional video for Japanese building materials and housing equipment company Lixil last month. Ayana Taketatsu (Oreimo's Kirino, Sword Art Online's Leafa, Dagashi Kashi's Hotaru) is joining Ohtsuka in Lixil's latest "animal feeling" promotional videos that debuted last week. This time, the pair play both capybaras and Malaysian tapirs.
In the new capybara video, Taketatsu plays a capybara who hates the cold. The creature accidentally jumps into a cold bath and quickly realizes the mistake. The capybara relocates to the appropriate warm bath and relaxes as a warm flow of water washes over his shoulders. The bath gets crowded as more capybaras join the first one in the warm water.
In the tapir video, Otsuka plays the father tapir, and Taketatsu plays the child. The pair are bored; they laze around with nothing to do. Suddenly, they get the chance to enjoy a shower from overhead. They play in the water and get soaked. The video ends with them planning to have the experience again.
The capybaras and tapirs in the videos live at Nagasaki Bio Park in Nagasaki. Various zoos throughout Japan feature capybara hot springs during cold months, and the world's largest rodent is also the star of a popular character goods line. Tapirs are part of Japanese folklore, and the baku spirit appears in popular culture. For example, the Pokémon Drowzee is based on the supernatural being.
Ohtsuka and Taketatsu may be leading a new trend of popular voice actors appearing as real animals in promotional videos. Jun Fukuyama and Takahiro Sakurai have starred as chipmunks in videos to promote Tokyo-area apartments.
[Via Nijimen]
