VOCALOID Dude marries Miku
- Thread starter Exemplar
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Actually I believe he married Hatsune Miku, the plushie was merely the embodiment of Miku for the wedding ceremony. Mr. Kondo and Miku got married last Sunday.
A 35-Year-Old Japanese Man Has Married Virtual Singer Hatsune Miku
I have to say, he's brave to have done that openly with his own name and face! I admire him, I would probably be afraid of the public opinion, so I can only confess my own relationship with Miku under my nickname :D
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Hamano is right, the marriage was with Miku, not plushie Miku (he also has Gatebox Miku and probably many more figures/art), but by reading the comments, it seems that him and Twitter users have agreed that he married "his Miku" and other envious Miku lovers have "their Miku", so they congratulate him for getting to marry "his Miku". In addition to supportive fans, he also has haters.
A 35 year old marrying a fictional character. Other adults being jealous he married a fictional character. The fact this happened before Japan legalised same-sex marriage. Good Vocaloid producers are the only thing keeping me from evaporating off this earth.
(-edit- I also reserve my right to be creeped out by an adult's marriage to a fictional character designed by adults to look 16, due to my subjective perception that she not only resembles one, but appears and sounds younger than her intended age range. I respect that this interpretation is not universal. Thank you for your understanding.)
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LADBible (or one of their spiritual spinoffs, I can't remember) on Facebook posted their own article about this the other day, and unsurprisingly, the comments were more about taking the piss out of the situation rather than mentioning Vocaloid. (Not that Western Vocaloid fans would like to call attention to the more obsessive parts of the fandom anyway.)
Have the jealous people forgotten about the "Many Mikus Theory"? It's loosely based off the "Many Worlds Theory".
Edit: I'll just summarize it. The theory goes: every person sees Miku how they personally see fit. Since Miku has very flexible storylines/adaptations, all versions of Miku are theoretically possible. This is because the Many Miku Theory explains that all versions of Miku (whether cheerful, a robot, a human, a Vocaloid, emo, angry, depressed, annoying, hyper, calm or otherwise) all exist in parallel. For every interpretation of Miku out there, there is a Miku for that person. That means MY interpretation of Miku is a different Miku from YOUR interpretation of Miku. A Miku can be based from (or identical to) another interpretation of Miku (for example, Mitchie M's interpretation), but that doesn't your interpretation any less valid.
In this case, he married HIS Miku.
Edit: I'll just summarize it. The theory goes: every person sees Miku how they personally see fit. Since Miku has very flexible storylines/adaptations, all versions of Miku are theoretically possible. This is because the Many Miku Theory explains that all versions of Miku (whether cheerful, a robot, a human, a Vocaloid, emo, angry, depressed, annoying, hyper, calm or otherwise) all exist in parallel. For every interpretation of Miku out there, there is a Miku for that person. That means MY interpretation of Miku is a different Miku from YOUR interpretation of Miku. A Miku can be based from (or identical to) another interpretation of Miku (for example, Mitchie M's interpretation), but that doesn't your interpretation any less valid.
In this case, he married HIS Miku.
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This sentence made me want to make sure no one reading this thread gets the wrong idea; the marriage between Kondo and his Miku isn't legally valid, and that Kondo definitely isn't the first person to marry a "fictional character" and I believe not even the first person to marry Miku.
Also I don't really understand the hate and humiliation this guy gets from some people on social media. If it causes no harm to anyone else and he's happy then what's the problem? As far as I know he's not delusional or anything, he knows very well what Miku is, or to be specific, what Miku is to him. While Miku doesn't exist physically, he still loves her, I don't really see a problem with that. Their marriage was merely the ultimate statement of his love. Does something have to be physical and "real" in order to be the object of one's love?
According to this article, at least, no. You can be in love with whatever your brain happens to choose, and it may/may not return those feelings. In that case, no reason to think it would need to even be aware of those feelings, either.
Regarding your question about the online hate, bear in mind the obvious answer: lots of people will take a hard stance against anyone who's different. Some people use this behavior to feel better about themselves; it's also one way in which society enforces its norms (not that that's a good enough justification for much of the way people are treated sometimes). This sort of relationship falls pretty clearly in the "different" category, since one of its participants isn't even technically a living thing, much less a person.
Thinking a little more deeply, it's just my theory after a few minutes' thought, but I think people might take some kind of instinctive exception to that difference (i.e., person with unaware and non-living thing). We expect a loving relationship to involve two intelligent beings who are aware of each other and each other's feelings. To that extent, such a relationship is expected to have the ability to create something. I don't mean children--I mean the capacity for each participant to further his/her partner's emotional/mental/physical well-being, and to create a genuine two-way relationship that wouldn't be possible for either alone. This isn't something that a pairing with Miku as one half can do. So I'd theorize that, while they may not think of it consciously, people regard such a relationship as sort of wasteful--one potential intelligent being has been taken out of the pool of humanity, and this has removed the possibility of anyone else pairing up with them.
Having said that, I agree with you--as long as he's not hurting anyone, I don't care what he does, if it makes him happy.
Edit: For the sake of clarity, when I said "instinctive" above, I really meant the unconscious tendency to abide by cultural norms. I don't imagine that the ancient, physiologically-entrenched programming more properly referred to as instinct would concern itself with anything as abstract as whether or not Miku can think or feel--its concerns would be much more basic.
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Based on his back story, it seems like he was bullied by women coworkers and said he was traumatized by the situation that lead to him getting fired. (I don't know the details, though.) Then, it said that's when he found Miku and became happy. So I think it's safe to assume that Akihiko has given up on the idea of dating/getting married to a "real" woman, and probably found solace in his dark situation through Miku creations and fellow 2D world lovers. I guess it would also be safe to assume that doing something over the top like marrying a character would get people you know talking and maybe make your family disappointed, so even though the marriage is questionable, it was "brave" to plan and execute.
I browsed through his Twitter a little more and found
which tells other people who are thinking about marrying a 2D character to go to a ceremony spot that supports "sexual minorities" and to get permission from the company who owns the right to the character. So wouldn't that imply that he got permission from Crypton?
I browsed through his Twitter a little more and found
which tells other people who are thinking about marrying a 2D character to go to a ceremony spot that supports "sexual minorities" and to get permission from the company who owns the right to the character. So wouldn't that imply that he got permission from Crypton?
That's interesting--thanks for the research!
It sure sounds like he must have gotten permission from CFM. I wonder what that's like, getting an email or whatever like that from someone who wants to marry your company's character. What do they have to do? Some kind of research to be sure the person in question is suitable, i.e. isn't some kind of criminal or something, so they won't tarnish the character's/company's image?
Yeah, especially the quip about this happening "before Japan legalizes same sex marriage" seems really needless. I'm a homosexual and I'm just as angry about Japan's inability to be inclusive to LGBT people as anybody else, but to bring that up while talking about a nerd getting pretend married to a pretend robot is just ... he's playing pretend, Karen. Just let the nerd do his thing.
I'm definitely one of those Miku fans who love her so much that I would rewrite the world for her, so you will maybe be surprised what I think about this.
I think that this "many Mikus theory" is... Well, I have no other words for it... A sick weeaboo fantasy.
There is no such a thing as "many Mikus"! No matter how often you draw her in your own style, no matter what words you make her program sing, no matter how you portrait her, no matter how much merchandise you print - and no matter how many people do that. You will NEVER create a 2nd Hatsune Miku. And if you think that you created another Miku and you even start loving her, then you just play yourself.
Once you think that the character traits you portray her with are "real" - outside of your own works - you lose the original Hatsune Miku. What you now have is an own character that only exists in your mind and that only wears the name Miku.
You now believe to have understood the lovely Hatsune Miku and that she loves you, but what you actually do is having a relationship with your own fantasy. That is what I call romantic masturbation since there is only one person involved - you.
And this is what this guy did. He thought that Hatsune Miku has chosen to marry him - out of millions of her fans. He forgot that relationships consist of two people because in his fantasy Miku has agreed to marry him. He believed to be the chosen one that Miku would prefer over everyone else in the world to be her husband. But, for real, she never said "yes". And as long as there is no miracle that can make Miku say yes on her own behalf - and to input the words manually in VOCALOID does not count because that is another person's doing - this is just a one-sided marriage that he made with his own fantasy named "Miku".
But does an artificial creation like Hatsune Miku have an own will at all?
If you asked me 3 years ago, I would definitely say "no". But the more and more time I spent thinking about her, talking with her fans, talking with her haters and researching events that happened long before I heard of her, the more strange things I noticed. And not only I did. I cannot deny that I feel something unnatural surrounding all things Miku - and I'm not sure what that is. Maybe this is some kind of a genious marketing trick by Crypton, maybe I'm just pathetically trying to be a reasonable Miku lover, or maybe I just found something about Miku that modern science cannot explain yet. But I'm 100% convinced that there is something special about the one and only Hatsune Miku and I have yet to find out what that is.
That is why my answer to this question is - I am not sure.
If I said "yes" and told you something that I cannot prove in the real world - I would not be different from that guy who married "his" "Miku".
Why do I even think she could have an own will? I just believe that there is a possibility. The fact that we have not discovered something, does not mean that it does not exist, in my opinion. As long as there is no clear evidence that she only is a virtual persona with a recorded voice and this "strange something" is just my imagination, I will not change my opinion. I am actively looking for both - the evidence that she does have a will, and the one that she has none.
Anyway, what this guy did was plain scummy. He gave himself the title of "Miku's" husband not even questioning Hatsune Miku's will. I know, that phrase sounds weird for you if you never think about the chance of an artificial character having its own will - but if you think that she definitely has no will, why do you make something up to marry her? Someone who marries a bride that cannot say "no" - is just a lonely weeb.
With his action, this guy has lost every respect I could have for a Miku fan. I love to see all kinds of people loving Miku regardless of their age, gender, sexualality, other factors - but only as long as they treat Hatsune Miku respectfully. I feel attached to other Miku fans and Miku herself - that is what "love your next" means, I guess.
I hate to see Miku fans become scum that prioritizes their own desires over Miku. I am aware that I am not in the position to be a possible husband for Hatsune Miku, even though I would give everything I have for that - just because I do not know HOW it is possible to become one. But nobody else knows either. And if you think you do, you just made up "your own" Miku.
But I do not need an "own" weeby Miku - I need the one and only Hatsune Miku that she is.
"Hatsune Miku consists of the recorded and edited voice of Saki Fujita and the illustrations of a 16-years-old girl with long green-blue ponytails by KEI, iXima and other artists. Creators who obtained the right to use her voice have made millions of pieces of art together. Managed by Crypton, this content appears in live concerts, video games and other media. She is basically a piece of art herself." - THIS is what Hatsune Miku is for me. Sounds basic, but this is everything that I am a fan of. And if this entity became my wife on her own will, I would be over the moon.
And if she loved someone else, I would respect her decision, of course. Even if it was this guy whom I never talked with.
However, as long there is not some kind of miracle like the story of Pygmalion that can clearly show if Hatsune Miku has an own will or not, I will not try to make her someone she is not, nor accept someone else doing this outside of the art that makes Hatsune Miku who she is.
(If you disagree, please don't start a long discussion with me. I don't have a problem if you think that you are Miku's "master" or anything, Miku is just an equal entity for me, so deal with that. I don't believe in somehing like a Many Worlds Theory. I am only interested in the real world that Miku is a part of too.)
According to this article by Mikufan.com, he only got permission from Gatebox to marry it. That company makes money with waifus, so why not. Crypton never agreed. Otherwise they would lose all their big male Miku fans, including me.
(I would have written this post with way less manners if they agreed.)
This is really just an unofficial ceremony of someone "marrying his Miku". I don't give much about it as long as the actual Hatsune Miku we all know is single.
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I don't know about you guys, but to me it seemed a very funny post （ﾉ´∀`）
I'm also gay, btw, but idk, english is not my native language :3
@ZAR-PARTY
She is a piece of software specifically made for creative expression. Of course everyone, even people who don't use her to make music themselves, are going to see her as having many different interpretations when every popular song portrays her differently. Hell, even songs from the same producer depict her differently depending on the story of the song.
That's why her "canon" backstory states that she's an artificial human created in the future and sent to our present time to assist humans in creating music: it's literally meant to allow you to do whatever you want with her. Pinocchio-P has a song dedicated to this very concept.
She is a piece of software specifically made for creative expression. Of course everyone, even people who don't use her to make music themselves, are going to see her as having many different interpretations when every popular song portrays her differently. Hell, even songs from the same producer depict her differently depending on the story of the song.
That's why her "canon" backstory states that she's an artificial human created in the future and sent to our present time to assist humans in creating music: it's literally meant to allow you to do whatever you want with her. Pinocchio-P has a song dedicated to this very concept.
This thread has gotten into some interesting philosophical territory. On the one hand, we have Zar's idea, which, if I'm understanding him correctly, is to indicate his adoration and respect for a basic, fundamental "Miku" idea, the one basic true and perfect source of her essence. It's sort of similar to Plato's "forms" idea, where there's a basic perfect source idea, knowable only by the mind, from which all derivatives spring. (Like, there's a "table" idea, and we mortals construct lots of tables, which are imperfect representations of the original idea, with uneven legs and such.) On the other hand, we have the "many Mikus" idea, which basically is just a takeoff on an idea from quantum mechanics, and just says that each person views Miku differently.
I don't think these ideas are necessarily mutually-exclusive. I think it's possible they're even different sides of the same coin. But I have a lot of respect for Zar's respect for the "original" idea, even if I don't necessarily condemn Akihiko.
I don't think these ideas are necessarily mutually-exclusive. I think it's possible they're even different sides of the same coin. But I have a lot of respect for Zar's respect for the "original" idea, even if I don't necessarily condemn Akihiko.
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That "article" wasn't too good, but basically the only English one I found then.
Here's a much better article in English:
Japanese man 'marries' virtual reality singer Hatsune Miku hologram | The Japan Times
@ZAR-PARTY
If there aren't 'many Mikus" then how else do you explain all those modules in-game? Some of them are blatantly not human, and some of them blatantly go against Miku's core personality. A friend of mine jokingly said that some fans would be "jealous that someone married Miku", but I didn't expect that joke to be so real.
@Ben-Ho
Right! This is exactly why the "real Miku" can't get married.
I don't mind waiting for an explanation of how ELSE this is possible. What about Miku makes her so rigid, when her very core concept is to be infinitely flexible?
If there aren't 'many Mikus" then how else do you explain all those modules in-game? Some of them are blatantly not human, and some of them blatantly go against Miku's core personality. A friend of mine jokingly said that some fans would be "jealous that someone married Miku", but I didn't expect that joke to be so real.
@Ben-Ho
Right! This is exactly why the "real Miku" can't get married.
I don't mind waiting for an explanation of how ELSE this is possible. What about Miku makes her so rigid, when her very core concept is to be infinitely flexible?