Page 16 - IAV Digital Magazine #439

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Marriages To Anime ‘Wives' Recognized By Japanese Company
With fewer people getting married and having kids in Japan over the years, one com- pany thought it prudent to embrace the future and recog- nize marriages between men and their anime "wai- fus".
In otaku culture, the term "waifu" refers to an anime
girl whom a fan has taken a spe- cific liking to. "Waifu" stems from the English word "wife" but is given a Japanese pronunciation. The counterpart word "husbando" for male charac- ters has a similar use and origin.
According to
a special Gatebox website, interest-
ed parties may submit their mar- riage registration for the company's recognition. The site even provides a marriage regis- tration form to download, fill-up and submit.
Since anime fans typically have more than one waifu, Gatebox took this into con- sideration. They
specifically men- tioned that only one waifu could be registered. This means fans will really have to think long and hard on which waifu to officially tie the knot with.
Apart from regis- tering for mar- riage, Gatebox also accepts job applications. Lucky applicants
who get hired and have successfully registered their waifu marriage are entitled to receive a monthly stipend of 5,000 yen (S$60.65) on top of their salary.
To sweeten the deal, these new Gatebox employ- ees could also take the day off to celebrate their waifu's birthday. Anime characters in Japan often have an official birthday which fans celebrate each year.
Applications will be accepted between Nov 22 to Dec 7, 2017.
It's worth noting that Gatebox also happens to sell a product called Gatebox Virtual Home Robot. The device projects a small holographic image of an anime girl which responds to voice
commands, such as the hologram artificial intelli- gence Joi fea- tured in "Bladerunner 2049".
The characters act like virtual assistants which can turn on lights, appliances, play music and keep in contact with the owner through a smartphone app.
The product cur- rently features two anime girls. One is an original Gatebox creation called Hikari Azuma while the other is virtual diva Hatsune Miku who recently celebrated her 10th anniversary. The waifu regis- trations may be an elaborate mar- keting strategy to gather feedback on which popular character should be added next to their lineup.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine