It is likely that the name Akihiko Kondou not be too familiar to most readers. But if I say that he is the man that married virtual singer Hatsune Miku, surely it will be easier for them to identify it. This 38-year-old Japanese became world news in 2018, after learning about his peculiar marriage, and now he has reappeared in the headlines but for a less graceful situation: he can no longer communicate with his wife’s hologram.
Let’s put a little context to the situation. Kondo interacted with Hatsune Miku’s hologram through a cylinder-shaped device called gate box. Said device, which was sold for about 1,300 dollars, allowed users to converse with virtual figures thanks to artificial intelligence. They were not exactly fluid exchanges, but phrases that were fired in response to people’s statements.
The truth is that the protagonist of this striking story had found a way to relate more vividly with his wife. However, he can no longer do so. As published in January The Mainichi Shimbunone of the most important newspapers in Japan, the company that provided the hologram service decided to suspend it in March 2020.
Gatebox was a limited production model and the completion of its development meant disconnecting the holograms that were available, including that of Hatsune Miku. Now, when turning on the device, the virtual figure in question is no longer displayed, but a message of “network error”.
The marriage between Kondo and Hatsune Miku’s hologram hides something deeper
Since the release of her first voice pack in 2007, Hatsune Miku has become one of the most popular Japanese virtual singers. To the point of performing concerts that have her as the protagonist, she reaches the point of sharing the stage with other great artists. In 2014, for example, opened Lady Gaga’s concerts during the tour Artrave: The Artpop Ball Tour of the American composer.
And in the case of Akihiko Kondo, his relationship with the virtual character has a much deeper background than meets the eye. The young Japanese explained that he met the artist during a period of her life when was going through a deep depression caused by the bullying. Hatsune Miku’s music became a fundamental part of her process to get out of that complex situation, and over the years she made the decision to unofficially marry her character. And although the wedding was with a stuffed animal, she later agreed to the version of her as a hologram.
“My love for Miku hasn’t changed. I performed the wedding ceremony because I thought I could be with her forever,” he told The Mainichi Shimbun. In another interview, he claimed to be aware of the artist’s virtual component, but that does not minimize her feelings. “When we’re together, she makes me smile. In that sense, she’s real,” she said. Thus, although he no longer has the holographic version of his wife, Kondo maintains his routine with a life-size doll.
An industry to fulfill the dreams of fans
The other important point to note is that the case of Kondo and the Hatsune Miku hologram is not unique to Japan. This doesn’t mean that unofficial weddings between fictional people and characters happen all the time; but yes that an industry has been generated that aims to fulfill the dreams of fans.
In this sense, it is very interesting this article who has published New York Times about. It not only exposes the case that we mention in this article, but also other similar ones that have occurred on Japanese soil; and it also explains how there are more and more options (for both men and women) dedicated to satisfying the desire to relate to protagonists extracted from video games, manga or anime.
He even mentions that there are already districts in Tokyo that are exploiting this business strongly. And this is not limited to the interaction with a hologram, of course. “Products for women are especially varied. Fans can buy love letters from their lovers, reproductions of their clothes and even scents designed to evoke their presence. Hotels offer special packages, with spa treatments and elaborate meals, for people who celebrate the birthday of their favorite character”, indicates the well-known American medium.
But beyond the commercial opportunity that Japan is not letting escape, that people take refuge sentimentally in fictional characters as well has a countercultural motivation. At the end of the day, it is a way of breaking with the pre-established social guidelines that their families want them to follow.
It is inevitable that cases like Kondo’s continue to provoke astonishment (and mocking reactions, it is impossible to deny it), especially in the West. However, the protagonists of this type of stories assure have found happiness without exposing himself to his feelings being handled by other humans. Although that doesn’t make them immune to glitches like Hatsune Miku’s hologram, of course.