since i hate these type of ****, i will take this further, no offense to the Japanese but if you dont find this offensive towards japan, then you're ********.
Nisan didn't mean to fall in love with Nemutan. Their first encounter -- at a comic-book convention that Nisan's gaming friends dragged him to in Tokyo -- was serendipitous. Nisan was wandering aimlessly around the crowded exhibition hall when he suddenly found himself staring into Nemutan's bright blue eyes. In the beginning, they were just friends. Then, when Nisan got his driver's license a few months later, he invited Nemutan for a ride around town in his beat-up Toyota. They went to a beach, not far from the home he shares with his parents in a suburb of Tokyo. It was the first of many road trips they would take together. As they got to know each other, they traveled hundreds of miles west -- to Kyoto, Osaka and Nara, sleeping in his car or crashing on friends' couches to save money. They took touristy pictures under cherry trees, frolicked like children on merry-go-rounds and slurped noodles on street corners. Now, after three years together, they are virtually inseparable. "I've experienced so many amazing things because of her," Nisan told me, rubbing Nemutan's leg warmly. "She has really changed my life."
Nemutan doesn't really have a leg. She's a stuffed pillowcase -- a 2-D depiction of a character, Nemu, from an X-rated version of a PC video game called Da Capo, printed on synthetic fabric. In the game, which is less a game than an interactive visual novel about a schoolyard romance, Nemu is the loudmouthed little sister of the main character, whom she calls nisan, or "big brother," a nickname Nisan adopted as his own when he met Nemu. When I joined the couple for lunch at their favorite all-you-can-eat salad bar in the Tokyo suburb of Hachioji, he insisted on being called only by this new nickname, addressing his body-pillow girlfriend using the suffix "tan" to show how much he adored her. Nemutan is 10, maybe 12 years old and wears a little blue bikini and gold ribbons in her hair. Nisan knows she's not real, but that hasn't stopped him from loving her just the same. "Of course she's my girlfriend," he said, widening his eyes as if shocked by the question. "I have real feelings for her."
Love in 2D [New York Times Magazine]
now for the best part, THE COMMENTS
heres some ********, and extremely well thought comments posted by the north americans.
#4 posted by Pantograph, July 23, 2009 10:16 AM -
regular post
I once had an amazing date with a Barbie doll.
Of course I was out of my head on magic mushrooms at the time...
#5 posted by Stefan Jones, July 23, 2009 10:19 AM -
a fuking +5
My girlfriend Dragonella the Invisible Purple Wyvern thinks that's deeply sad.
#6 posted by Mojave, July 23, 2009 10:24 AM -
true enough
Hard to believe this is from the same country that brought us the Bataan Death March.
#7 posted by Halloween Jack, July 23, 2009 10:33 AM -
no homo -3
I wouldn't take it this far, but I've gotten crushes on comic book characters before. You get the right artist, the right writer, and you just want to sidle up to her during a big-*** battle and say, "So, uh... you doing anything after we save the world?"
#8 posted by the Other michael, July 23, 2009 10:36 AM -
good thinking +2
I'm finding a hard time (no pun intended) believing that bust belongs to a 10- or 12-year old.
#9 posted by Clay, July 23, 2009 10:37 AM -
yep yep
It's easy to say this is incredibly sad; it's easy to say this is insane, but it's a lot harder to begin to figure out what's actually going on here at a societal level.
The degree of personal alienation involved in both the 2D love and hikikomori movements is something even those of us Westerners who consider ourselves lonely may have difficulty parsing. I don't want to make sweeping generalizations about Japanese culture -- for all its perceived homogeneity, it's still very diverse -- but whatever cultural forces are at work here, I think it's a lot more productive for everyone to try to go beyond the existential revulsion to begin to examine what shapes these sad souls.
Good answers will be hard to come by. But good questions are a place to start.
#10 posted by Anonymous, July 23, 2009 10:37 AM -
a ****ing +5
what
the
****
?!?
captcha: indomable displays
#13 posted by Anonymous, July 23, 2009 10:39 AM -
falcon facial right there, +10
Would he be in jail in England?
#15 posted by Will_Tingle, July 23, 2009 10:54 AM -
regular post
Apart from the fact he's "in love" with a CARTOON TWELVE YEAR OLD this story makes me sad.
He's devoted so much of his time to a being that isn't real, who cannot communicate with him, and that will never talk back to him, not matter how much he talks to it.
He's crediting life experiences he could have clearly archived by himself to this non-entity, and his vision is clouded in such a way that this non-existent creature is stopping him from actually getting on with his life.
I think we should all pray to God that he gets over his silly delusion...
#19 posted by Gloria, July 23, 2009 11:09 AM -
something sounds like Evan meta would say, -5 if not Evan, +10 if Evan
"He's devoted so much of his time to a being that isn't real, who cannot communicate with him, and that will never talk back to him, not matter how much he talks to it."
If you think that's "sad", you're missing the point of the article. The men who do this choose it *because* of the lack of judgment and demands. It's pressure-free. Read it.
"I think we should all pray to God that he gets over his silly delusion..."
I don't want to be an atheist ******* (but I am), but is that supposed to be ironic?
I can't say I'm not raising an eyebrow at this, but seriously, I'm not that bothered. Even the apparent prepubescence of the characters is fine, because they're not real children or images of real children. Assuming the presence of a "slippery slope" is the same illogical bias some people apply to pornography and other sexual interests in general.
As long as they don't harm anyone, I'm OK by it. They do what fits their life. I'd rather they live this way and be happy and harmless than force themselves into a conventional but ill-fitting relationship and end up hurting not only themselves but other women (or men).
#20 posted by Mojave, July 23, 2009 11:09 AM -
brilliant comment, well thought +10
what happens if two guys fall in love with the same pillow character? A pillow fight?
#29 posted by Marcel, July 23, 2009 11:57 AM -
a fa*got -5
A lot of people develop a crush on porn stars they've only seen on a screen. Or movie stars for that matter.
We seem to be able to accept that more, because the screen depicts somebody that actualy exists somewhere.
But the truth is that they are just as unatainable as a cartoon character would be.
And you can call it 3D instead of 2D, but the fact of the matter is, the material is still being received on a flat 2D surface.
Is somebody in love with a porn star or a movie star less of a freak?
I had a huge crush on Ebony Ayes when I grew up (****, I still do). And while I knew that it was a crazy adolescent fantasy, it did teach me to acknowledge and express my preferences without any inhibitions.
Of course, if your preference happens to be 12 year olds, I do encourage you to acknowledge that, but I would actually prefer you'd express this particular desire towards printed nylon cushions more than anything else.
#33 posted by Anonymous, July 23, 2009 12:23 PM -
ok
Gene Wilder, in love with a sheep, in "Everything you wanted to know about sex but were afraid to ask".
#34 posted by Daemon, July 23, 2009 12:33 PM -
look another fa*got - 10
Not a bad article overall, but you're seriously oversimplifying "moe"... "moe" includes a hell of a lot more than 2D love and sexual fantasization -- a lot of it is explicitly non-sexual.
For the rest of the commenters, after checking the wikis, I'll clarify a couple points:
Nemu is an adopted, not biological, sister, and unless I'm entirely misreading the Japanese wiki, she's a 3rd year highschool student. That's the equivalent of grade 12, so she's about 17-18.
#38 posted by Anonymous, July 23, 2009 1:06 PM -
he should be banned -5
"Yes, who are we to judge a man because he loves a pillowcase with an image of a busty 10 year old little sister character on it?"
Oh Bender, the pillow you snuggle up to every night is a straw man.
#41 posted by Anonymous, July 23, 2009 1:12 PM -
a winner at life +3
To those questioning 12 year old girls having breasts...A drive near the local Middle School here in California would very rapidly change your mind. Call it more Hormones in the foods we eat...evolution...whatever.
On topic...very sad. Very sad indeed. For godsakes if you go into a relationship with a fictional character you need to consider an alternative to living. I kid, I kid. But seriously, wtf.
#59 posted by abq halsey, July 23, 2009 11:47 PM -
ok
This article is the emotional equivalent of watching a pregnant 16-year old waiting out in front of a methadone clinic for her boyfriend. It fills you with a wonderful cocktail of soul-crushing pity and pants-****ting rage.
#65 posted by oheso, July 25, 2009 12:10 AM -
another no homo, -10
Yeah, just a bit "lost in translation" here. Only the cultural parts. (I don't know anyone like this, but I think Lisa has done a good job. Anyway ... )
"Nisan" isn't a name as such. It means "older brother" and is used in lots of contexts. For example, what a hooker calls her john. Although the abbreviated, familiar form at use here would probably be limited to someone who was literally someone's older brother.
All of which says nothing about the presence of a (fictional) girl who is "10, maybe 12 years old" in an X-rated video game. At the risk of cashing in all my multicultural cred at once, I believe that Japanese society as a whole might benefit from having a bright light shone on certain portions -- but I leave it to the Japanese to best decide how to handle that. (
And please, don't generalize about Japanese society from these extremes!)
#66 posted by emperormax, July 25, 2009 1:08 PM -
a ****ing +10
Japanese culture is so fetishistic that it defies understanding in the West. "Forget it, Jake. It's Japantown."
My comment, she only looks innocent like that on the pillow cause never visit
www.playboy.com, or know peternorth irl, learn fake sex
