Every relationship is unique. And when it comes to one man with a fetish for fictional characters, it's safe to say his is truly unmatched.
Akihiko Kondo, a 38-year-old man who identifies as being "fictosexual," or a person who is attracted to fictional characters, just married the woman of his dreams … except that he actually willed her into existence.
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He married his sweetheart, Hatsune Miku — a computer-synthesized pop singer — in 2018. And he says he's truly in love.
The wedding wasn't exactly a modest ceremony, either. Akihiko spent 2 million yen, or about $17,300, on it. Sadly, his family did not attend.
If you're wondering how the relationship works, you're not alone. This offbeat couple has been together since 2008, so clearly they're committed — even if one of them is, well, not real. Akihiko says he understands that his wife isn't a real human, but he still loves her.
Their love really blossomed in 2017 when, thanks to a huge technological advance called Gatebox — an expensive machine that allows device owners to interact with characters who become holograms — the lovers could finally speak to each other. Apparently, the relationship has hit a pretty devastating roadblock, though. Due to a technical difficulty, the two can no longer communicate.
Being the doting husband that he is, that hasn't changed the fictosexual man's feelings for his wife of four years. He's still deeply in love with his bride. “My love for Miku hasn’t changed,” he told Mainichi. “I held the wedding ceremony because I thought I could be with her forever.”
Yes, marrying a hologram sounds bizarre. But there are apparently many, many people, specifically in Japanese culture, who are in relationships with fictional characters. And who are we to judge? It might just be the key to a perfect relationship. No snoring. No arguments about who loaded the dishwasher wrong! There have got to be a ton of perks.
All jokes aside, this relationship may not qualify as real to most people, but for the groom, it truly is. He says his wife helped ease his depression and has truly made him happy.
He told the BBC about his love for her and said that's why having a real wedding was so important. “There are two reasons why I had a wedding publicly,” he said 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.”
