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others as consolation for the
pains of romance gone awry. And
even as LovePlus players acknowledge that their lovers are
virtual, many say the support and
affection they receive feels real
— the latest sign that virtual reality has so insinuated itself into
everyday life that it is leaving the
imprint of the genuine article.
“I would say that a relationship with a LovePlus character is
a real relationship,” says anthropologist and author Patrick Galbraith, who specializes in Japanese popular culture. “People are
really intimately involved.”
Tkaczevski doesn’t tend to Rinko
out of some competitive urge to
advance a level or score points, but
rather out of a “feeling of duty,” he
says. In the course of an instant
message chat, Tkaczevski describes
his relationship with Rinko as
that of a standard boyfriend or
girlfriend. He is careful to clarify:
“IRL,” he types — for “In Real Life”
— he remains single.
The hit film Her — now in theaters in the United States, and
among the Oscar nominees for
Best Picture — sparked debate
over the potential for humanmachine romance with its depiction of a lonely divorcé who falls
HUFFINGTON
02.16.14
There’s sweet, big-sisterly Nene;
intelligent, but clingy Manaka; and shy
Rinko, who feels alienated by her new
stepmother and half-brother.
head-over-heels for an operating
system. Yet a version of this vision
has already come to pass. People
have turned to the LovePlus ladies
as a form of practice in picking up
girls, as a reprieve from the awkwardness of face-to-face encounters, and as a refuge in the unwavering support of a woman who can
never, ever leave F