KISS bassist Gene Simmons is a fairly active guy when it comes to posting on his Twitter account, and he often makes headlines for his opinions, music activity and business dealings. Earlier this week, he got the KISS Army talking when he reached out to original guitarist Ace Frehley about possibly joining the band on its “End of the Road” tour. “Happy Birthday Ace @ace_frehley,” Simmons wrote. “And many more…The invitations still stand. Jump up on stage with us for encores. The fans would love it.” Simmons also highlighted a story via Twitter about a man who married a hologram. ‘Fictosexual’ man married hologram bride, but now struggles to bond with her” reads the headline from the New York Post. And yes, that’s somehow a real story. “A “fictosexual” man who wed a fictional, computer-synthesized pop singer four years ago said he’s now unable to communicate with his wife, but is still in love with her,” reads the article. “Akihiko Kondo, 38, was dating Hatsune Miku — depicted in pop culture as a 16-year-old with turquoise hair — for a decade before they had an unofficial wedding ceremony in 2018. Kondo — one of many who identifies as “fictosexual,” or someone who is sexually attracted to fictional characters — spent 2 million yen, or about $17,300, on the nuptials, but his family did not attend.”
Kondo was able to interact with his hologram wife thanks to a machine called a Gatebox, but now he can’t because the software was eliminated. As if the story wasn’t odd enough, Simmons tweeted his support for Kondo: “It doesn’t matter if you understand this relationship. It only matters if this Otaku man is happy. Otaku is a person who is a manga and tech fan. Good luck to him.” The New York Post article concluded: “Kondo is far from the only person in the world in a relationship with a character. Thousands of “fictosexual” people in Japan have begun similar unofficial relationships with a variety of fictitious figures, the Mirror reported.”
KISS’ “End of the Road” world tour is in South America through early next month before returning to the U.S. and then Europe.
