I’m completely obsessed with the manga Chainsaw Man right now. It’s such a goofy, ultraviolet story with the zaniest characters and wildest plot beats you’ll never see coming. But beneath all of that is the beating heart of strong characterization and poignant, emotional storytelling. As we’ve said before, if you aren’t reading this manga already, you should ASAP.
Everyone has their own favorite character, though I couldn’t possibly pick one. Makima is one of the most beloved characters in the story for … strange reasons I won’t talk about here. But nobody is a bigger fan of her than her Japanese voice actress Tomori Kusunoki.
Kusunoki, age 23, has been in the anime industry for some time now. Her debut role was in the anime Eromanga Sensei. Since then, she’s gone on to have many other roles in shows like Sword Art Online, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, Girls’ Last Tour, Wonder Egg Priority, Spy Classroom, and so on.
But by far, her biggest role to date is as Makima. The story behind her getting the job is actually pretty interesting and kind of hilarious. Twitter user @mkmcsm compiled a thread of the many ways Kusunoki is completely obsessed with Makima. For one, Kusunoki actually prayed to a photo and altar of Makima when she auditioned for the role. “I will play the role with all my love so that you can feel the same makima that i have fallen in love with,” she said.
She’s also talked about how happy she was getting the role. She auditioned for both Power and Makima, but her true love was clearly the latter. What’s really hilarious is that Kusunoki actually has a life-size cardboard cutout of Makima that she took with her to the Chainsaw Man cafe.
She also buys a ton of Chainsaw Man gachapon, but unfortunately hasn’t gotten a Makima toy yet. Kusunoki has also managed to get her parents into reading the manga. They’re proud of their daughter and her voice-acting chops, and for good reason
Kusunoki has styled her hair in the same fashion as Makima numerous times as well.
In an interview with Tomoriru, Kusunoki was asked what makes Makima so great and so personally important to her. She responded, “She is a cool place to be as an adult. Makima is never in a hurry, no matter what happens, so I feel that there is room for everything.”
It’s always great when a voice actor gets so passionate about the character they play. Chainsaw Man is filled with so much love and attention from everyone on the production. Kudos to Kusunoki for embodying the full spirit of Makima and absolutely nailing the performance.
(featured image: MAPPA/Crunchyroll)
