Japan’s number-one cosplayer Enako sparks heated debate after revealing insane 2020 income

Not everyone was happy about Enako revealing her riches during a year that’s been financially tough for many.

Getting paid to cosplay is all in a day’s work for Japan’s “number one” cosplayer Enako, who earned the informal title after continually drawing massive crowds at big events.

▼ Take a look at this crowd surrounding her at Summer Comiket 2018.

▼ And here she is again, at the centre of what one witness estimated to be over 1,000 people, at Winter Comiket last year.

Crowds aren’t the only thing the 26-year-old has been amassing over the years, however, as the attention has been bringing her a considerable amount of wealth as well. Back in 2016, she blew everyone’s minds by announcing on television that she earned more than one million yen (US$9,640) a month through cosplay, and then followed up with similar revelations about her staggering earnings in 2018 and last year as well.

Now, Enako has come out yet again to let everyone know how much she earned this year, sharing this tweet on her Twitter account on 27 December.

The tweet above reads:

“I was having a review meeting this year with Yoko Inui (the management office president) and when I saw this year’s annual income, it exceeded 50 million yen!”

In case you were wondering how much 50 million yen is, it’s roughly US$482,000.

That’s right — Enako earned almost half a million dollars in just one year through cosplay and merchandise sales, proving that with each passing year, her bank balance has been growing exponentially.

It’s quite a feat, considering Enako’s biggest money-earners–Summer and Winter Comiket–had to be moved online this year due to the pandemic. The coronavirus situation has hit a lot of people hard financially this year too, which may have been what prompted one Twitter user to leave this comment in response to Enako’s joyous tweet:

“This might be rough but I wish you’d stop exposing your income. I know you work hard, but I’d like you to remember there are people whose income doesn’t increase no matter how hard they try and try at work.”

While that Twitter user did have a valid point, Enako’s fans rushed to her defence by making equally valid, yet harsh, points of their own:

“So it’s okay for male celebrities to talk about their earnings but Enako can’t?”
“I think it’s inspirational to hear about people doing things they love and being successful!”
“Money doesn’t come to people who sit around and complain about not having any.”
“Instead of being jealous, we should be happy for her success.”
“Half of this will probably go towards tax anyway.”

Enako did follow up with a tweet reminding everyone that she belongs to a management company and properly files all her taxes, so while her gross earnings may seem like a lot, there are a lot of deductions to consider.

Another thing to consider is the fact that despite Enako’s current success, which included her first cover and gravure spread in Weekly Shonen Champion this year, there’s still plenty more room for her to grow and increase her earnings in years to come. After all, if cosplayer and gravure idol Yoko Inui is the president of Enako’s management company at the age of 39, who knows what the future holds for Enako as Japan’s number-one cosplayer?

Sources: Hachima Kikou, Otakomu 
Featured image: Twitter/@enako_cos
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Credit:
at 18:14

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