Voice actor Imamura Norio (56) has been arrested for posting lewd photos of himself on his blog. Best known as the voice of transvestite “queen” Emporio Ivankov on the popular anime series “One Piece,” Imamura posted photos of his full-body tattoos on his blog in early April. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police report, a complaint was filed by someone described as a male company employee (37) from Tokyo, and Imamura was arrested yesterday. Police also said that Imamura has spent several million yen over the last ten years getting his entire body covered in tattoos, and that he runs a bar in the Shinjuku 2-chome gay district of Tokyo, where tattooed bar staff wear only fundoshi (loin cloth).
Like many of the cartoon creations that populate the anime world of “One Piece,” the Emporio character is over the top, and no doubt influenced by the Dr. Frank-N-Furter character from the 1975 cult movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”