'Fictosexual' Japanese man celebrates sixth wedding anniversary with fictional Vocaloid wife

A Japanese man who married a fictional anime character in 2018, is gearing up to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary. Akihiko Kondo calls himself a fictosexual, a person who is attracted to fictional characters.

He made headlines when he tied the knot with the fictional Vocaloid Hatsune Miku. His relationship with an anime raised eyebrows everywhere, and no one thought the marriage would last.

However, Kondo recently proclaimed his love for his wife through an Instagram post where he shared the receipt for a cake he bought for their anniversary on November 4.

The message on the cake reads, , “I like Miku very much. Happy six-year anniversary”.

Miku is a hologram singer and is officially known as a Vocaloid, a type of singing voice synthesiser software. The character was released in 2007 and Kondo fell in love with her instantly. The 16-year-old pop singer is known for her long, turquoise twin tails.

He told the Japanese news outlet The Mainichi Shimbun that he was interested in women before secondary school. However, he was rejected on seven occasions with people laughing at him and bullying him for being obsessed with anime and manga.

Also Read:On wedding eve, Japanese man discovers girlfriend is 25 years older than him, says 'I don’t...'

Kondo was also bullied at work and was diagnosed with adjustment disorder.

Miku 'saved' fictosexual Kondo's life

However, he says that Miku saved her. Her healing voice helped him reconnect with society, and he married her in 2018 at a Tokyo chapel. He spent two million yen (US$13,000) on the wedding.

Kondo even proposed to Miku using a hologram device with simple artificial intelligence. She answered in the affirmative. He has a life-size doll of Miku made in 2019 and dresses her up. They eat together and have imaginary conversations.

Who are fictosexuals?

He later also came to know about the term fictosexual, a word used to describe people sexually attracted to fictional characters.

Kondo is not the only person to have romantic feelings for a fictional character. According to a 2017 survey conducted by the Japanese Association for Sex Education, more than 10 per cent of junior secondary school and university students said they had feelings for fictional characters.

Kondo has now taken it upon himself to spread awareness about fictosexuals and has founded an association for fictosexuality.