Photo by Agence France-Presse
For the past two years, an intriguing phenomenon has been animating the streets of Chinese cities: young women walking hand in hand with "male characters" straight out of the Nijigen. But what does this Japanese term mean? It refers to the world of two-dimensional (2D) animations, video games, and other visual creations – as opposed to our three-dimensional reality. In China, followers of this culture are now going on romantic dates with their virtual lovers… at a rate of a thousand yuan for the day.
This trend has its roots in Otome games, a Japanese narrative genre designed for a female audience, in which the heroine develops platonic relationships with charismatic male characters. For a decade, these games have grown in popularity among female Chinese high school students and other young women.
If cosplay has long made it possible to give body to characters from 2D, this new practice takes another step: it transposes virtual love into the real world. In this passage from virtual to real, the first shift to catch the eye is that even when romantic partners in video games are men, it is very often female cosplayers who are asked to embody them.
On the one hand, clients demand from the cosplayer not only a faithful physical resemblance to the character, but also a deep adherence to its thoughts and emotions. It is frowned upon to utter words or adopt behaviors that deviate from the role – and even more so to evoke real subjects that are likely to break the immersion.
On the other hand, paradoxically, the actual gender difference does not seem to be a problem at all – like an elephant in the room that no one wants to name.
Some explain this choice as a concern involving risk prevention. Even if the activities shared during these meetings are highly codified – going out to a café, visiting an amusement park – clients and providers are inclined to avoid any misunderstanding or accusations of sexual harassment. A lesbian cosplayer must declare her orientation in advance, and any physical contact (holding hands, stroking the forehead, hugging, etc.) is subject to explicit agreement.
In addition, many clients appreciate that their romantic ideal is embodied by a woman, convinced that only a woman can truly understand another woman.
