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© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Japan's synthesized singing sensation Hatsune Miku turns 16
By YURI KAGEYAMA CHIBA©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
16 Comments
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Gene Hennigh
I love this: people having fun and a stake in one of their favorite things. There should be more of this enthusiasm in the world, in life. Just this story about Miku makes me smile. Good creativity lasts and lasts.
David Brent
A guy I work with collects figurines of things like this. Imagine being a university-educated adult in your 40s and collecting things like this.
kurisupisu
What a strange personal pronoun to use when describing a thing…
Dwindling Gravitas
@David Brent:
Absolutely no offence intended, but J-anime collectibles are worth literally hundreds or even thousands in the West, show/series depending.
Also, some of us just like the toys as collectibles. Who are "you" to judge?
memoryfix
It’s nice to be enthusiastic about things, but Japan’s fascination with the idea of “things” being better than humans is kind of scary ( as well as philosophically shallow).
dagon
@Dwindling Gravitas
The "gravitas" running gag from Iain Banks Culture series and Miku Hatsune were two things I never though I would see cross over.
TokyoLiving
Happy Birthday Miku !!...
TokyoLiving
Ooohhhhh !!!...
Just because you don't like to collect figures, do you feel more smart, mature and masculine???...
Pathetic !!.. LOL !!!..
Learn yourself that people are happy with their hobbies, how does it affect you???..
As long as there are people in the world who are happy with what they do, there will always be bitter and unhappy whiners criticizing...
Learn to live and let live and Grow up !!!..
Wesley
Let us not judge the hobbies of others.
If it brings happiness to the man, where's the harm?
I feel Japan is the one nation in the world where --when it comes to anime/figures/idols, etc--- adults are allowed to bring out the inner child in them. And that's a good thing.
餓死鬼
Probably no stranger than referring to an animated Disney princess as “she”.
Not as manly as joining a club for big hunts and shooting some crows, eh?
Bluesnoppy
Happy Birthday.
opheliajadefeldt
I have never seen the attraction of these things or even anime, I just cannot get into it. Please, I am not knocking what people enjoy, after all, up to a month ago I still had my collection of 20+ Barbie dolls from when I was very young.... My parents gave them to a charity, at my insistence, when that new Barbie film was released. I remember thinking then, How could I ever have been interested in collecting those dolls.
Bob
I just don’t get this virtual thing it’s causing too many otakus to get lathered up.
socrateos
David Brent:
There are qualities that are genuinely admiable in children. Unfortunately there are people who have lost what they had in their childhood. Fortunately there are people who have maintained what they had in their childhood.
socrateos
memoryfix:
Probably due to your ignorance.
MANUEL A SERRATOS
@ David Brent and others: how on earth did you find this website if you are "normal"?
I'll spare you giving us a bogus and fake explanation. Being "normal" sucks= relationships with flesh and bone women. This is why you know about Hatsune Miku to the point of being here. All of this fantasy beats the appalling reality of relationships with women.
Humankind has in fact always preferred figurines and illustrations to the point of worshipping and be mandatory to the point of being sentenced to death for refusing to submit. We used to call it "religions", just in case you don't know what this is. Not for nothing humankind held unto it for milenia and millions still do.