I've heard the term 'waifu' used a lot referring to anime girls. What exactly does it mean?

[ventustalks]

Does it mean you just like the character? Or you'd like to date them? If so, aren't they generally minors?

[TheSpaceGnome]

The term waifu is used to describe a collection of personality traits in a fictional female character that represents an example of what type of woman in real life a guy would marry.

So for example, if I listed the perfect wife, described her personality, hobbies, interests, mannerisms, etc in detail, thats one way to say what I like, or I could simply mention a character, then anyone who watches that show or movie or plays that game would get better idea of what kind of women in real life I like (I personally cannot think of a specific character that matches that though, definitely a fusion of traits from several, but not any particular one).

Regarding the age thing you mentioned, voice actors are adults, and animated character body types are just pieces of paper or cgi, so the focus tends to be on favorable personality traits, rather than actually crushing on the character itself.

In most cases, you are crushing on the voice actor's brain, and in your own head, plopping that into whatever body types you actually like (unless the voice actress is hot and tends to repeat personalities for their characters, then they tend to be who the guy crushes on).

This is why online you see a lot of fan art porn of characters being highly edited into more adult looking bodies, because people AREN'T inerested in their orignal ones the show depicted, just the character's mind, which, could have been in any other character body type had the show's creator decided to do so.

The reason fictional characters are used this way (as example to mention, instead of using real people as examples), is because if I mention a real person, you aren't likely to know that person, and you can't watch that person's day to day life, so it tells you nothing about my "type" to mention them, whereas with a character, its easy to reference that.

However since no single character fits my type. I'm forced to wrote a long list of traits, and thats a lot of work to do anytime someone asks you what your type is. Mentioning a character name would indeed be much more convenient.

[TheSpaceGnome]

There are cases of characters showing a simplified version of the ideal body type on top of having the ideal mind as well, but I wanted to point out that thats not always the case, nor is it required for the term to apply.

[clampfan101]

It basically means you would want to date someone like them. Plus anime characters often look younger than they are. Anime’s exaggerated styles can make adults as cute as teens sometimes. (Which many people are copying, like Disney making their adult heroines look like children for the sake of easily selling toys. lol)

[TheSpaceGnome]

As a guy who naturally looks much younger than most of his local peers (at least as far as they are concerned), I find the art style to be more relatable than other media forms.

[CrimsonAngel09]

Basically means wife.

I'm familiar with two of the characters, but never watched the shows Evangelion and Darling In The Franxx. As for the girl on the left, never seen that anime or even heard of it.

I don't know their actual ages, maybe the guys calling them wives are the same age, I don't know.

[provokeesmokee]

Cringe word for "anime girl I want to fuck".

And yeah, usually the waifus are underaged or in that "little girl who is actually hundreds of years old" gross trope.

If someone unironically says waifu, RUN.

[brooker]

Simply put, it's a term that anime fans use to describe a female character they have strong affection for or are super attached to. The word is actually just an anglicized version of the English word "wife," but pronounced with a Japanese accent. Hilarious, right? The male equivalent, by the way, is 'husbando,' but you don't hear that one as much.

Now, before anyone gets weirded out, having a waifu doesn't mean someone's planning to marry an anime character. I mean, let's keep it real, they're fictional. But it does mean that the character holds a special place in someone's heart. Maybe the character has traits or qualities they admire or wish they had, or maybe they can relate to the character's story or struggles. Either way, a waifu is more than just a character you think is cool or good-looking; it's a character you form an emotional connection with.

And let's be honest, the anime world is full of fascinating characters that are designed to be relatable, or at the very least, super engaging. That's why it's so easy to get emotionally invested. Plus, it's a fun way to interact with the community. People create fan art of their waifus, write fanfic, or even buy merchandise like figures or posters.

But heads up, waifu culture can sometimes stir the pot. Like, people get into serious debates over who the "best waifu" is. It's mostly in good fun, but just like any fandom, things can get intense. So if you're new to the scene, be prepared for some impassioned conversations.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Waifu just means woman of dreams, or perfect wife.

And regarding the age, either they have no age as they are fiktional drawings.
Or the age varries between newborn baby and 3000 year old dragon or other mythical being. Even though no one would consider a kid as waifu.

[wkozak]

It refers good anime girls that fans crush on, there are many categories for waifus, some of them are mommy material, some are hot girls, some, are cute and kind, some are tsundari "which means she act cold and tease the protagonist and show him that she doesn't care about him but she secretly loves him", some are crazy girl which are ready to kill any other girl go near their lover, it's too deep and took a while until i understood it.

[Berethor]

It someone you would marry, so more than date, usually is shows that the girl is very great.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/waifu

[Dat-Alpha-Lion]

Attractive anime or video game females (typically originating from Japanese media) that the person (not specifying gender) can be drawn towards.


Some of the more popular ones in media include: Tifa (Final Fantasy), Asuka (Evangelion), and Bulma (Dragon Ball).

[BigDog1989]

Google is your friend

https://www.dictionary.com/e/fictional-characters/waifu/

[DaBiggestBird]

It just means the guy has a crush on/likes the anime girl so yes. Although, us Giga Chad gamers don’t restrict ourselves to using only for anime girls.

[Freyke]

I think it's a likeable female character. They have qualities you like in a person, and it's the exact qualities I found in my partner.

[Twalli]

Actually, the few waifus that I've had are legal (both in Japan and the US). If they're a waifu it means you find them sexually appealing in some way. It can be their looks and/or personality.

[Anonymous]

a character who has the particular qualities a man would want in a woman

[msc545]

They are NOT "minors" - they are inanimate cartoon characters FFS.