Korean Otaku Marries Anime Body Pillow ?
Saw this on Youtube.
Another daring guy
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Student/Ashikabi
http://www.tabetaiii.wordpress.com
Seems they are making fun of otakus. This seems like some comedy show?
Graphic Designer
Show isn't about making fun of them but it certainly did bring harsh criticism on otakus and anime/manga related hobbies. I think criticism and negative opinions are much more harsh in Korean society instead of just letting it be and let people enjoy whatever they want as long as it doesn't bring harm to others.
Student/Ashikabi
http://www.tabetaiii.wordpress.com
Oh I didn't mean that the show was some show to make fun of otakus.
I agree with your other statement.
Part time student, part time worker, full-time geek.
Honestly, I consider myself a pretty hardcore geek through and through but...marrying a pillow is just bizarre.
Graphic Designer
It was on TV program called "Martian Virus". Basically all the guest invited for the show are people normally considered as weird or extraordinary. It can be the case of either negative or positive by general.
He didn't really get married to a pillow but what pillow represented. So it was basically Fate Testarossa. Apparently Fate was real enough for him to carry around Fate dakimakura for a date in theme park and restaurant and later in the program they show him taking mock-up wedding picture.
Mecha Musume Idiot
http://pauldy.deviantart.com/
So 2D girls 2, 3D Girls 0 then? lolz
Grad Student, SAT/AP Test Prep Teacher
http://wooys.wordpress.com
First off I'd bet it was a stunt to get on TV. A few of the bystanders actually had positive comments to say but keep me mind he was being followed around by a camera crew so they probably thought it was a gag. But then he may totally be mental, Koreans do have a obsessively addictive personalities on par with the Japanese.
Graphic Designer
It was not a stunt to get on TV, he was already quite famous to certain otaku community in Korea. I've seen his blog before although his attitude in blog (the way he write) is much more daring than the way he talk or his mannerism on TV.
Graphic Designer
But he did say he had his own goal for agreeing with showing himself on TV, he said himself "I wanted to show the world my relationship with Fate-chan" or something like that.
Painter of pictures
http://kitty-cannon.deviantart.com/
My girlfriend showed this to me last night, to me it looked like there was a different character on the back though that might just be me!
Brigade Leader-in-Training
There was a different character. It was Nanoha on the back while Fate was on the front.
teacher :D
read this yesterday on ANN, i think. the 1st thing came out from my mouth was "oi, oi, Feito wa mai waifu da..."
shit, i don't know why i got that pang of jealousy.
Student / Network Engineer / Stormtrooper
http://crimotaku.com/blog/
There are good reviews about otakus and there are bad ones too. For example, for Stormtroopers, we got Ebay troopers dancing the Lady Gaga with horrible armor, and Jedi worshippers who refuse to take off their cloak and look downs on mortals ..
i do not care about what these people do, but i really care about how the media get such negative feedback about things that are new to them, and refuse to find positive views on it. On some level, its very similar to racism.
Student
http://leonhhh520.blogspot.com/
nanoha is the back of the pillow, so chance for he to step out of line is 100%
Well, if it where a stunt I'd say I'd hate him wether otaku or not. It's like putting us into shame. If not a stunt, I'd say he's brave but on some part I pity him. Well only time can tell.
Graphic Designer
Your guess is correct, there was a lot of disturbance and hatred in the community. You have to consider the fact South Korea isn't big at all, it's a very densely populated country with advanced IT technology, almost everyone has internet. He isn't so careful with is privacy either. People could easily find out where he worked (part-time at some convenient store). Which mean faking was out of question.
He sure did brought bad image to other otakus and worsen the stereotype so many people hated him for that, not for what he does for his hobby.
I agree wether it's a stunt or not. You know what, it made me think: If this guy had this kind of chapter I started to think, am I gonna be like that? Nobody escapes the inevitable nomatter how hard we try. Maybe we might turn out like him in ways we dont like.
Graphic Designer
LOL right, imagine if you were living in South Korea and your family has watched that show. Will they look at you differently? Yes this ruin your image to people who knows about your interest and hobby? Definitely Yes.
Most of guests invited for that show never has represented an entire community (unwillingly) to mass media such as this and it can only make stereotype worse.
I'm sure most people will not turn out like him, you see he gave up entirely on 3D. For him Fate is real and now he treats her as if she is real. Not many people cross that line.
On your last statement, I feel like there are so many scenarios that lead him to this "mess". 50% goes to the person himself, another for the person who accepts him or not.
About that......
<.< part of me feels sorry for the guy coz of the looks he gets. but part of me just wants to laugh coz hes making a fool of himself. in all honesty though, this doesnt phaze me 1 bit even though i consider myself an otaku. hell if you guys dont do something like carrying around a body pillow and treat it like its your loved one, then you got nothing to worry about. but if you do such just that, expect lots of weird looks fall upon you. Of course, if you dont mind the looks and you have a strong passion for carrying around body pillow and dont feel ashamed to do it ( like this korean guy on the clip) then youve nothing to worry about
Graphic Designer
I agree with all you just said, but he worsen the stereotype for many people who watched it. So it ended up causing trouble for others (otakus) So in that regard what he did wasn't good. It's one thing to walk around shamelessly and open about his interest and life style he decided, it's another thing if he filters that through mass media.
Well, that phazes me I think in 0.01%.
But when people like him make a fool of himself, don't laugh. Atleast (hopefully) he doesn't hurt anyone or involve anyone offensively. If he did otherwise (like bullying MAINLY innocent people while brandishing THAT) and faced his consequences in the mere future without knowing that he would eventually, then laugh at him.
I agree on the rest though.
Graphic Designer
I'm sure he didn't mean any harm he just wanted to announce his interest on TV proudly. But it didn't have quite good affect for the rest of otaku communities, hinting them any otakus are like him or could become like him. Of course they don't know anything, and not interested enough to learn farther themselves most of time.
I agree. I guess I was more on looking at the man behind the camera about he's like. So I made two statements.
I guess I got carried away by this post. My apologies.
Graphic Designer
No offense taken, beside I and most people in DC are mature enough to not laugh at people like him. I respect his decision and things he does and so should others around him as long as it doesn't cause trouble for them.
But even those people who can respect what others enjoy still worry that his future looks pretty grim as he rejects real people relation on personal level.
Student, future NEET (oh noez...)
http://club.ign.com/b/about?username=killsimon
I tried to watch the video but I couldn't bear to get past the first five seconds, it just...christ. I'm used to otakus claiming their love for their 2D comrades but maybe I just didn't know enough about the subject. I remember hearing about this particular story around January when my penpal told me, and was horrified by it to a near traumatic level. To make things worse, she refused to reply to my mail for about two weeks until I brought her back to her senses and apologized to me. Unfortunately for this man, he has crossed the line of no return (future grim indeed). If it was Japan, the media might not have made such a big deal out of it but this is Korea we're talking about, where anime, while popular in general, is not as widely popular as Japan or the US.
On a personal level, I'm horrified by the fact that the man in question looks EXACTLY like me...and I'm pretty sure his glasses are the same as my pair. The only major differences are I'm 6'1 and I still retain my muscles from high school which makes up some of my weight, along with a beard+sideburns.
Graphic Designer
You can have him call you aniki then j/k
I'm sure you won't end up being like him.
"We are who we choose to be"
^u^
lover
Like a typical man he got married too soon!! He could have married this: http://intimatebodypillows.com for the ULTIMATE in making every night special
Student, Cosplayer
http://cairdiuil.blogspot.com/
How can someone love an inanimate object?..... The video was entertaining.
Graphic Designer
Perhaps reading some of comments above will help you avoid misunderstanding. There are people falling in love with inanimate object but this is the case of falling in love with fictional 2D character.
Student, Cosplayer
http://cairdiuil.blogspot.com/
I suppose. There are men out there who will only date 2D girls. I pity them, but if they are happy, let the baby have it's bottle.
In my understanding:
He probably got himself hurt alot of times and as a result he looks for a way to escape the pain. There comes his interest. He got entertainted and saw qualities that he longed for an ideal life partner through the inanimate object and felt healed by it. Mix it with pain from his past wounds, the result is the post itself
Graphic Designer
From my understanding during his interview at the show, his parents don't really care whole a lot of how their son turned out. Which suggest he might have some sort of family problem, perhaps simple as lack of parental love, who knows.
But the way he talked on how it "all started" was when he watched first season of Nanoha and he just fell in love or something and then started devoting himself.
that also counts as one of the reasons. But I hope it's not the parental love. anything but that. >.<
Unemployed
Sure this is an sarcrasm toward otaku world. The boy featured in the clip I guess he did that for what they paid. How can he be two-timing on both Fate and Nanoha, he expected of a polygamy may be ?
Graphic Designer
I don't think he cares about Nanoha, she only "tagged along" because it was printed on other side of dakimakura :P
Graphic Designer
His room shows that he only collects Fate related stuff, he also paid for two people for theme park rides.
University Student
Ouch, makes me feel weird collecting dakimakura's now. Wonder what other people who collects dakimakura feels like watching this...
Electronic Engineer
http://twitter.com/senseij
To each their own. I dont really care if ppl do things like this. On the other hand, that is one huge dakimakura. Gotta find me one like that haha
About that......
Id rather be dead then bring a body pillow around with me.
Student, part-time slave
http://yakuri.wordpress.com/
Hahahaha fellow otaku to the extreme!
Well I've read some of your comments guys, and while he might be an extreme every fandom/group has some fanatic (religious fanatics, anyone?) who just amazes people; not because of the hobby, but for the extreme that person goes for it. What I pity most is the people who believe everyone is an extremist just because it was shown on TV. Gullible sheep, I say.
Not that being that obsessed is good though; everyone should draw a line so your hobbies don't interfere with your IRL in this way; but our emotions, whether directed towards inanimate/live things are real. It's important to not let them drive our life, common sense and logic should be balanced with them.