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Tee hee, the first sentence.

One of the questions that I never seem to find a satisfactory answer to (nor can I really create one myself), is "Why is this just an otaku thing rather than a Japanese thing in general?"

Or perhaps, "Is this actually a Japanese thing that is popularly portrayed only as an otaku thing?" which kinda exists in Honda's concept--both hug pillows and mizu shoubai are a way to have the women that you want available on demand for consumption. Is the only difference really an issue of price? Sure, it costs a lot more money to buy nice clothes, a nice haircut, a nice dinner, the occasional expensive gift (or it costs a lot to spend hours tossing down drinks at a hostess club), but you still need to buy the DS, your coyp of Love Plus, the magazines she's in, the doujins people make of her, etc. if you want to date Nene.

(Also, yay I can finally actually like, read your blog now :P)