Hatsune Miku is the perfect girlfriend! Reality or unreality?
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
In Japan it is sometimes difficult to understand the concept of life and death in a nation where more than 30,000 people kill themselves a year. Yes, despite the brutality of the March 11 earthquake which unleashed the tsunami and which swept away so many people; the sad reality is that more people will kill themselves this year in Japan than the devastating tsunami.
Alongside this brutal reality is hikikomori which is a real social problem because many people want to hide away from the outside world. Hikikomori and suicide may be small when we think about the population of Japan and both problems can be overly dramatized but something is going wrong?
After all, 300,000 plus people killing themselves every ten years is serious and the same applies to people who desire to withdraw from society. Therefore, if you understand aspects of Japanese culture and this also applies to sexless couples, otaku, huge social pressure because of long working hours then Hatsune Miku does make sense.
Of course many females also commit suicide and get hikikomori but males outnumber females and around 70% of all suicides are done by men. It is even suggested that the number of suicides is higher because definitions vary but the government acknowledges that over 30,000 people kill themselves every year.
One interesting fact is that while people with hikikomori withdraw themselves from society they still interact but through the internet. Indeed, for many people with hikikomori it is clear that they enjoy anime, comics, video games and the internet.
Often in Tokyo you will see young men and ladies with small teddies attached and sometimes people who are much older. Therefore, immaturity, the power of anime, high technology, hikikomori, high percentage of sexless couples, the stresses of conformity, strong social pressures, otaku, cosplay, maid cafes, Hello Kitty, hentai anime, and other areas of society, is clearly catering for Hatsune Miku to become the perfect girlfriend.
This does not imply that anime is negative because it certainly isn’t and I really like Japanese anime and this applies to Ghost In The Shell and many other high quality anime which is made in Japan.
However, for a minority of people the world of reality and unreality is difficult to define and this is why Hatsune Miku is so popular. Therefore, when you think about all the inner-social problems in Japan and how society and younger men appear to becoming more feminine then a perfect girlfriend which isn’t human is appealing and understandable.
It must be stated that in Japan it is factual that young ladies are desired and the pop culture caters for teenage girls dressing sexily and so forth. Therefore, aspects of anime and manga do have sexual overtures and hentai manga is big business in Japan.
Hatsune Miku unlike any other figure in the history of anime crosses the world of reality and unreality. Also, Hatsune Miku is extremely cute and her persona changes for the individual who adores her.
Therefore, the digital avatar is creating a sensation and the popularity of Hatsune Miku is growing. The lovely eyes and pony tails appeal and unlike a real girlfriend you have no arguments or wasted time and given the social pressures in Japan then this in itself is a winner.
The fan base of Hatsune Miku runs into the millions and major companies like Toyota want to join the bandwagon because of the marketability of “adorable Miku.”
Given my reality I might join the club!
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Lee Jay Walker 