Having a waifu is one thing, but spending your entire paycheck on merchandise of your favorite girl so she can be in every aspect of your life is probably going a little too far. Western anime fans are marginally less extreme when it comes to such things, but Japanese otaku are on a whole other level when it comes to waifu worship. You're less likely to see a westerner unironically buying a waifu pillow than a native fan of idol anime.





Case in point: a 50 year old man in Chiba Prefecture was arrested for selling unlicensed dakimakuras featuring characters from the popular franchise Love Live!, which has a particularly zealous male fanbase as it is. The unnamed salaryman apparently made over 3 million yen (about $27,800) over the past 3 years selling illegal bedding that intrudes upon the Japanese Copyright Act, which allows creators to have control over profits made from adaptations of their work.









Another thing worth mentioning is that these dakimakuras portrayed fully nude characters like the one above. What's wrong with that? It might seem completely normal to you or I or anyone outside of Japan, but remember how all Japanese porn, animated or live-action, blurs out the genitalia? That's because Article 175 of the Criminal Code of Japan prohibits the uncensored depiction of reproductive organs so as not to spread indeceny. So not only did this guy supposedly sell bootleg dakimakuras, he allegedly doubled down and broke two laws at once, all to make a quick buck off horny otakus. The man denies the charges but the police are still on his trail to track down the true origin of the illicit pillows.





What do you think of this man's arrest? Is selling illegal pillows really that bad of a crime? Or is the act of copyright infringement that serious? Let us know what you think!