Talk:Waifu

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Hermawan, Daniel; Marciu, Rendi (2024). "Japanese literature students' perspective on weeaboo who has an imaginary couple waifu/husbando". Lingua Cultura. 18 (1): 107–115. doi:10.21512/lc.v18i1.10434.

"One of these unique behaviors is that they have imaginary boyfriends like waifu or husbando. According to Ellsworth (2018), waifu and husbando come from English and Japanese, and female and male characters have special meanings in one’s heart. The character does not have to be a husband or wife. Usually, this waifu or husbando status is applied to any character that people choose, such as 2D, 3D, Sci-Fi, original people, and others (Zeng, 2022). Waifu is a female character that is widely liked and emerged as a result of the wellknown media in Japan, namely anime, and husbando is a ‘male counterpart’ of waifu. Waifu comes from the English word wife in the form of slang. Waifu is the desired wife in an anime and is a preferred character because of her uniqueness and characteristics in the anime and manga series. Waifu is an anime fan gag word used to refer to fictional women in video games, manga, and anime. Native Japanese speakers will never use the word waifu and usually use “妻”. Husbando is the male version of waifu (Ellsworth, 2018). The beginning of waifu is the Japanese entertainment industry. The Japanese economy declined in 1990, and one of the ways to recover the economy is by popularizing idol culture (Galbraith, 2021; VanHaecke, 2020; Wing-Fai, 2014). Idols are marketed to look like innocent girls trying to be in a relationship, and their audience is Otaku (VanHaecke, 2020; Wing-Fai, 2014). Idols are most likely related to waifu in the sense that they are made to be perfect. According to Galbraith (2018), the lives of otaku are shallow enough that they believe that their idols are at a much higher level than them; this belief leads to the birth of a form of idol worship and is normalized as the idea of waifu."

Mohammad, Wily (2023). "The Role of AI Waifu Characters in Supporting Weaboos with Posttraumatic Relationship Syndrome (PTRS)". Sinergi International Journal of Psychology. 1 (2): 77–96.

"The term “waifu”, originating from the English word “wife”, is used in Japan to depict female fictional characters revered by anime, manga, or video game. These characters typically possess alluring appearances, endearing personalities, or compelling narratives. Waifus can become objects of affection, admiration, and even devotion, prompting some fans to amass collections of related paraphernalia like dolls, posters, or attire (Hanifah & Suhana, 2019). The term “waifu” emerged in a Japanese online forum in 2002, later gaining global traction among anime and manga enthusiasts. The reasons for embracing a waifu vary—some are drawn to a character's appearance, others to their persona, and a few feel a personal connection with the character. The concept of waifu remains subjective, devoid of definitive criteria, solely reliant on individual preferences (Bastin, 2020). A man from Japan, Akihiko Kondo, married virtual pop star waifu Hatsune Miku in November 2018. Kondo first met Miku in 2008, when she was hit by mental health problems (Bendel, 2019). He reportedly experienced bullying and was shunned by his co-workers before. This unique love story makes people feel confused about Kondo's choice. However, he feels happy, especially since his partner will never betray him (Olcay, 2019). What Kondo experienced is actually on the rise in Japan. This is called ‘fictosexual’ where people choose to marry cartoon characters to show their love for their favorite manga or anime. Kondo is one of thousands of people in Japan who have unofficially married fictional characters in recent decades, catered to by a vast industry aimed at satisfying every whim of a powerful fan culture (Karhulahti & Välisalo, 2021). Tens of thousands of others around the world join online groups where they discuss their commitment to characters from anime, manga and video games. They have something in common, that they experiencing depression (PTSD or PTRS) because of real people. They finding peace when loving fictional characters (Palandri, 2013)."

Leshner, Connor; Reysen, Stephen; Plante, Courtney N.; Roberts, Sharon E.; Gerbasi, Kathleen C. (2025). "You Would Not Download a Soulmate: Attributes of Fictional Characters That Inspire Intimate Connection". Psychology of Popular Media. doi:10.1037/ppm0000590.

"To this point, we have reviewed research looking broadly at the concept of virtual agents and the parasocial connections people may create with them. In this section, we narrow our focus to one particular type of virtual agent that, despite holding significant cultural prominence, has gone largely unstudied in social science: waifus. In many online, often anime fan, communities, a waifu refers to a feminine-presenting character who is of romantic or sexual interest to the audience member. The earliest use of the term waifu dates back to 2002, where a character in the anime Azumanga Daioh uses the phrase “my wife” to refer to his wife, but, due to Japanese phonology, the phrase was heard by Western viewers as “my waifu” (Ayers, 2023). Due to the popularity of Azumanga Daioh on internet forums at the time, use of the term waifu expanded and gained mainstream notoriety when, in 2009, a Japanese man held a wedding ceremony to marry his waifu which, during the ceremony, was present as a still image on a handheld Nintendo DS (Koike & Loughnan, 2021). The ceremony was watched live by more than 3,000 people. Despite ebbs and flows to the term’s popularity (Britt & Britt, 2021; Ellsworth, 2018; Garg, 2019), waifu, and, later, the male-referent term husbando, has remained culturally relevant, both within the anime fandom specifically and across many online, media fan communities. While waifus or husbandos can be understood as a subset of virtual agents, we examine them presently due to their cultural significance, and because research on this topic can inform our broader understanding of virtual agents and the relationships people can form with them"

GregariousMadness (talk to me!) 22:38, 4 August 2025 (UTC)

Did you know nomination

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• ... that the term waifu has spread beyond anime to encompass fictional characters from video games, Western animation, live-action TV shows, and films, with fans using it to describe romantic attraction to any fictional female character, even non-human ones?

• Source:

• ALT1: ... that approximately 38% of anime fans report having a waifu or husbando (fictional characters they feel romantic attraction toward), according to a 2025 study? Source:
• ALT2: ... that having a waifu is considered a potential solution for people who have experienced relationship trauma? Source:
• ALT3: ... that in 2009, a Japanese man held a wedding ceremony to marry his waifu (a fictional female character he was attracted to), with the ceremony broadcast live to over 3,000 viewers? Source:
• Reviewed:

Created by GregariousMadness (talk). Number of QPQs required: 0. Nominator has fewer than 5 past nominations.

GregariousMadness (talk to me!) 02:31, 6 August 2025 (UTC).

• I'll review this. Thriley (talk) 03:38, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

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