Skateboarding maids

If you're into manga and anime, chances are you've seen depictions of maids, such as this cute and very fall-appropriate illustration by Suzushiro:

Except Suzushiro's maids aren't typical. When they're not busy doing their duty as maids, they're enjoying their favorite hobby, which happens to be skateboarding...

The idea of putting maids on skateboards is a stroke of genius. In fact, we were so smitten by them that we felt compelled to introduce Suzushiro's illustrations two years ago on grape Japan.

Since then, Suzushiro has continued to grow his fan base both at home in Japan and abroad.

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A maid in Toyama

MiyaB (@MiyabiYuko) counts herself as one of Suzushiro's fans. It's easy to see why. She runs the British-style tea room "Melt" in Oyabe City, Toyama Prefecture, where she serves her guests dressed in classic Victorian maid clothes.

She makes her own jam...

...as well as scones (served with clotted cream, of course):

With the support of fans, customers and patrons (on her Fantia fan club page), she also produces beautiful photo books:

Although Melt is temporarily closed as she recuperates from an illness, she is still participating in various photoshoots and events.

It was clear that MiyaB liked Suzushiro's illustrations since she often retweeted him, but earlier this year, she surprised her followers by announcing that she was looking into buying a skateboard.

When life imitates art

Finally, on September 7th, MiyaB began posting pictures showing that she had been inspired by Suzushiro's art to begin skating in real life.

Although MiyaB didn't aim to reproduce specific illustrations in her photos (and she just started skating so she hasn't learned those moves yet), with her permission and permission from the artist, we've put a few images side by side. Please keep in mind we're not claiming that she's executing the moves shown in Suzushiro's illustrations. It's just to convey the idea that she has acted on the source of her inspiration.

(Some of the illustrations and photos are cropped, but you can view the originals by clicking on the link in the captions below)

If you'd like to the see the entire photo collection MiyaB posted on her Twitter account, please see the thread here.

Fans of both Suzushiro and MiyaB are probably excited to see this happening and will likely be wondering and perhaps hoping that she will continue to skate and update her progress with photos.

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Links

Suzushiro

• Twitter
• Pixiv
• Line Store
• BOOTH

grape Japan, Dec. 03, 2018:
"Japanese Illustrator Suzushiro Puts Maids on Skateboards And We Can’t Complain"

MiyaB

• Twitter
• Ameba blog
• Fantia fan club