Computer Love: Man Marries Videogame Chick

Is it me?  Why can’t I find something mundane or boring about Japanese culture?  In what surely must be the first wedding of its kind, a man has married an anime videogame character.

Last Sunday, a man named Sal9000 married the love of his life. Her name is Nene Anegasaki, and she lives inside of a Nintendo DS video game called Love Plus. The wedding took place at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. In attendance were a live audience, an MC, the bride’s virtual video game girlfriend — who made a speech — and a real human priest.

Sal and Nene’s wedding video as posted on YouTube:

The groom’s quote afterward, “Now that the ceremony is over, I feel like I’ve been able to achieve a major milestone in my life. Some people have expressed doubts about my actions, but at the end of the day, this is really just about us as husband and wife. As long as the two of us can go on to create a happy household, I’m sure any misgivings about us will be resolved.”

I don’t know if you all caught that early in the post– Nene lives inside of a Nintendo DS.  I do wonder about battery life.  Is it considered cheating if he takes out the game cartridge and plays Final Fantasy?  Below is  a picture of the happy couple.

This response to the wedding was posted by Anonymous on www.boingbong.net,

A waifu is much better then a 3D girl can ever be.
There is no drama or arguments.
They’ll never get pregnant or fat.
They don’t have times of the month.
They wont play mind games with you.
They won’t forget about your birthday.
There is no possibility of catching std’s.
They’ll never change or pressure you to change.
They don’t demand expensive gifts over and over.
They won’t get mad at you if you look at another girl.
They’ll never divorce you and take half of everything you own.
They won’t get board of you or think of you as being annoying.
They don’t care what type of personality you have if any at all.
They won’t cheat on you with your friends or anyone for that matter.
You don’t have to put up with annoying friends or impress the parents.
and they don’t get mad at you for random reasons that you know nothing about.

Doesn’t this sound so much better then dealing with a real female?

That’s really sad.  That there are people out there who think SAL9000 has the right idea and would prefer a digital partner.  It seems cowardly.  Life is supposed to be about surprises.

Yes relationships can be chaotic and frustrating, but when they’re right its the most wonderful thing in the world.  Making an actual connection with another human being and winning them over is special, because they exercise free will (or if you’re a complete cynic, they want something from you).  In any event, its gratifying connecting with people.  We are here to either make others happy, miserable, or something in-between.

Obviously the “relationship” loses its humanity when the other participant has been programmed to respond to you.  It just puts the world one step closer to Cherry 2000.