A “fictosexual” man can no longer communicate with his “wife” of four years. Akihiko Kondo, a 38-year-old Japanese man, wed a holographic image of the blue-haired anime character Hatsune Miku in 2018. The character is described as 16 years old, the New York Post reported.
Kondo fell in love with the character in 2008 after he became ostracized from his peers following intense bullying at work. Technology made it possible for the anime fan to interact with her beginning in 2017 thanks to a Gatebox machine. This $1,300 device allows users to interact with characters using holograms. This was also how Kondo was able to “marry” the object of his affection.
It doesn’t matter if you understand this relationship. It only matters if this Otaku man is happy. Otaku is a person who is a manga and tech fan. Good luck to him. https://t.co/NDI14bB95b
— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) April 27, 2022
Recently, software support for the Gatebox technology was eliminated, according to Newshub. Kondo reacted by saying, “My love for Miku hasn’t changed. … I held the wedding ceremony because I thought I could be with her forever.”
The 38-year-old also discussed how he carries around a life-sized version of Hatsune now.
The fictionalized character is popular in Manga, anime, and video games, and she even went on tour with Lady Gaga during her 2014 Artpop Ball tour, the Post reported.
Meanwhile, Kondo became acquainted with her after being ostracized at work by two female co-workers who bullied him. He quit his job, and then “stayed in my room for 24 hours a day, and watched videos of Miku the whole time,” he told Japanese newspaper Mainichi.
Kondo says he then fell in love with the fictional character and spent 2 million yen (the equivalent of $17,300) on a wedding. His family did not attend, but other fictosexuals he connected with online did.
“There are two reasons why I had a wedding publicly,” he told BBC at the time. “The first one is to prove my love to Miku. The second one is there are many young otaku people like me falling in love with anime characters. I want to show the world that I support them.”
In general, the 38-year-old wants to raise awareness about his condition, which is why he’s telling his story publicly.
According to TheFocus, “fictosexual is also an umbrella term that encompasses a list of other identities including more specific attractions such as novel/visual characters (booklosexual) and vampire-related characters (tobousexual).”
They fall under the asexual spectrum because they’re not attracted to people. Unsurprisingly, this group has their own version of the pride flag.
Fictosexual flag from the LGBTA wiki: pic.twitter.com/fHrhMVy9Ys
— 𝔏𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔯𝔞 𝔈𝔦𝔯𝔴𝔶𝔫 🕮🖉 (@LanoraEirwyn) September 28, 2021
The black and gray stripes “reflect lack of attraction to real-life individuals, while the central purple stripe represents sexual attraction and fictosexuality’s tie to the asexual spectrum.”
Meanwhile, the pink circle is said to represent a “portal into the fictional world.”