Gatebox Virtual Waifu Review ( Outsider’s perspective)

Gatebox Virtual Waifu Review

The dream is finally coming true for many otaku as a new breakthrough in waifu technology has arrived.

Gatebox is an interactive display for your best girl to communicate through and service her master in all the ways he/she could imagine (except that one). The blue haired bishoujo Azuma Hikari (the only best girl currently offered) can wake you up in the morning, turn on your lights, and wish you a good day at work. It’s like Amazon Echo except with blue hair, hearts on her butt, and she’s calling you Master.

With all the nifty things she can do, you would think that the commercial would be somewhat inspiring. This is insanely cool tech that humanizes a personal assistant! But the commercial seems more depressing than inspirational.

I truly want to meet the person who directed this promo and give him a hug and a number to call when he’s standing on the edge of the train tracks. I mean, I have seen a lot of post-apocalyptic future anime in my time including ones where people literally just explode (Thanks, Psycho Pass!) but somehow more of a punch to the heart.

If you think that I’m going overboard here, let me take you through the plot without any of the music, moe voice acting, and the ridiculously good looking actor :

A man wakes up in a sterile one bedroom apartment
He has bought a $2,500 waifu in a bottle that sits by his bed
He properly greets his best girl as Japanese men do
There’s not a single picture on his wall that has a family, friend, or any person in it
He stands on the bus alone, not interacting with anyone
The only texts and attention he receives are from his AI waifu
He drinks coffee alone at a table for one
He is clearly overworked and the only one who cares if he gets home at a decent hour is the AI
He rides the bus home alone and texts his waifu who has preprogrammed responses
Returns to an apartment lit by the AI waifu
He runs toward her as she “runs” toward him in her display case
He watches TV with her in the dark
While in bed he admits how lonely he is and grateful that “someone” is home for him
The AI has no response to it and just says “Night!”

This man does not talk to or even look at another person throughout the day. He is utterly alone and not even attempting to connect with others.

Even at work, he’s either looking at data and charts or his phone waifu. It’s like a dystopian society of void of empathy and understanding where only the lonely can succeed by putting their everything into their work and people never having time to develop human relationships. It just seems that without knowing it, we’ve peered into an honest reality of many young adults. Is this the most accurate commentary on modern living in 2016?

The Gatebox trailer seems to say that the ultimate $2,500 dream for some people is having a person who cares if they come home late and is there beside them when they wake up. Having someone recognize your existence seems to be a much larger part of this project than buying a bluetooth enabled weather report.

This isn’t just some anime girl obsession but instead something of an emotional epidemic that is becoming more common.