An age difference is no barrier to romance, as long as you both love giant anime robots.
There are certain professions which seem to result in men marrying much younger women. Successful investment bankers and professional athletes spring to mind, but sometimes romance can bridge across age gaps in the anime industry as well.
Earlier this year, congratulations were in order for popular manga artist and character designer Kosuke Fujishima as he and cosplayer Nekomu Otogi, 31 years his junior, tied the knot. Now, wedding bells are ringing for fellow anime industry veteran Masami Obari, director and designer of mecha and characters who’s contributed to productions including Bubblegum Crisis, Detonator Orgun, Iczer-One, and Fatal Fury, in addition to the Super Robot Wars video game franchise.
On November 14, the 50-year-old Obari sent out a tweet announcing his marriage to 23-year-old Ritsu Togasaki, who shared a few photos of the special day.
https://twitter.com/ritu_is_gundam/status/798112710361694208▼ Obari mentions that the ceremony took place in Okinawa, a prefecture he has professional ties to.
突然ですが、皆さまにご報告がございます。
— 大張正己 /Masami Obari (@G1_BARI) November 14, 2016
私事ですが、私大張正己はモデラーの戸ヶ崎葎さんと入籍させていただき、本日無事、愛する沖縄で挙式しました!
今後は今まで以上に仕事に燃えつつ、僕にとって最高&最強のパートナーと2人で助け合い、幸せの雨をたくさん降らせたいと思います! pic.twitter.com/3ZzJDZ4HOb
While it’s common for the entrance to wedding receptions in Japan to be decorated with teddy bears dressed like a bride and groom, they’re usually plush stuffed animals, not robots. This isn’t a case of Masami pushing his tastes onto his wife, though. Ritsu is a huge fan of anime robots herself, so much so that she’s become a well-known builder of plastic Gundam and other mecha model kits, and has built up a respectably large online following.
https://twitter.com/ritu_is_gundam/status/707794734081843200▼ Ritsu (right) poses with modeling writer Tomoe Ogoshi
ぷらどるの戸ヶ崎葎さん!静岡ホビーショー以来、久しぶりにお会いできました!:.。☆..。.(´∀`人) pic.twitter.com/JNBSglpXE4
— オオゴシトモエ (@ogoshi_054) August 24, 2014
In announcing their marriage, the newlyweds both pledged to continue supporting each other and “make showers of happiness rain down.” We’re not sure exactly what they’re referring to, but as long as they’re on the same page, their marriage should be off to a good start.
Source: Twitter/@G1_BARI via IT Media
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he holds that “Red Eyes” is the best episode of Bubblegum Crisis.

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