Blurred lines: 'Fictosexual' man celebrates 6th wedding anniversary with vocaloid 'wife' in Japan

Japan's Akihiko Kondo, aged 41, is happily married to a fictitious vocaloid named Hatsune Miku, and recently celebrated their sixth anniversary with much vigour and fervour.

The birthplace of animes and mangas, Japan is considered to be a treasue trove of art, culture, and tradition. Therefore, it goes without saying that a number of iconic and memorable fictional characters from animes, comic books or graphic novels have come out of this country. Hence, over-zealous fans and admirers of such characters aren't hard to find - not just in Japan, but all across the world.

But what if one's love for their favourite fictional character turns into a romantic one, or something even more than that? A 41-year-old Japanese man might have a thing or two to say something about that. As bizarre as it may sound, Japan's Akihiko Kondo is happily married to a fictitious vocaloid named Hatsune Miku, and recently celebrated their sixth anniversary with much vigour and fervour.

With much excitement, Kondo shared the receipt for a cake he purchased for their anniversary, which was on November 4, in a post on Instagram on October 23.

“I like Miku very much. Happy six-year anniversary,” a message dedicated to his fictitious wife written on the cake read.

Reminiscing about his childhood, Kondo admitted to having romantic feelings for women during his time in secondary school, as per Japanese news organization The Mainichi Shimbun.

He also revealed that he made seven attempts to proclaim his love to a girl he liked, but each time he was turned down, and was ridiculed and harassed for being an anime and manga aficionado.

The character of 'Hatsune Miku' debuted in 2007, and soon grabbed the attention of Kondo, who fell deeply in love with 'her'. His obsession with Miku made him a subject of bullying in his workplace, and he was then diagnosed with adjustment disorder.

Hatsune Miku is a vocaloid - a kind of singing voice synthesiser software, and its name literally translates to "the first sound of the future" in English. Miku is a fictitious 16-year-old pop vocalist with long, turquoise twintails. According to Kondo, Miku's calming voice saved his life and allowed him to reintegrate into society.

He married Miku in a Tokyo chapel in 2018 by spending a whopping 2 million yen (about $13,000) on the wedding. Later, Kondo learned about the term "fictosexual," which refers to a person who is drawn to fictitious characters sexually.