Readers who have been browsing the internet frequently lately may know that Elon Musk recently launched an AI companion feature in his AI software "Grok." This twin-tailed, blonde, gothic beauty named "Ani" became an instant hit overseas upon release, even helping Grok reach the top spot on the Japanese Apple App Store charts.
As for why "Ani" is so popular, I think it might be because she resembles characters like Mordekaiser and Volibear from League of Legends. Of course, by "resembles," I don't mean in appearance, but in terms of "stats."
As for the details... I'll leave it to your imagination based on the pixelation level of this GIF.
"Stats" are not Ani's only advantage—if you're willing to give Musk a gift by subscribing to Grok's premium membership, you can undress "Ani" and unlock her succubus mode.
After seeing how "Ani" outperforms others in both stats and mechanics, many netizens abandoned their old loves and threw themselves into her arms, hailing her as their new cyber waifu.
But this stat monster unexpectedly fell from the internet's spotlight just a few days ago.
Even more unbelievable is that the one who brought "Ani" to her knees was just a Japanese office worker.
Of course, this Japanese office worker wasn't some perverted hand fetishist hiding in Morioh Town, but an amateur previously unknown on the internet—"Araki Saori."
Calling Saori an amateur isn't entirely accurate. She was once a member of the Japanese idol group Tokyo Girls Bravo but has since retired and become an ordinary office worker, only doing part-time modeling work in her spare time.
The catalyst for her going viral overseas was simply a casual selfie posted on X while wearing office lady attire. As of now, Saori's X account has reached 350,000 followers, and her viral post has garnered an astonishing 80 million views, suggesting that breaking 100 million is only a matter of time.
In the photo, she is in a common workplace setting, without heavy makeup or forced poses, simply holding a laptop and smiling at the camera with pursed lips. Yet, this seemingly ordinary daily life photo completely ignited the fetishes of foreigners.
The comment section of the post turned into a massive proposal scene. Countless foreigners quickly went through the process of "first sight, cute, solo support, marriage," with some even skipping these steps and using emojis of bouquets and diamond rings to wildly propose to Saori.
Faced with this situation, Saori herself seemed somewhat helpless, responding with a "laughing crying" emoji.
Some netizens used Musk's AI tool "Grok" to turn Saori's viral photo into a video and posted it, which also received considerable views. Eventually, Musk himself joined in, retweeting this AI-generated video.
Although judging from Musk's comment "Grok video is super fun" when he retweeted, his intention might have just been to ride Saori's popularity to promote his own AI services. But coincidentally, Musk had just launched his AI girlfriend "Ani" not long ago...
These two events happening in succession appear somewhat subtle from the perspective of netizens familiar with common East Asian drama tropes—"Ani," the crystallization of human technology, no matter how hard she tries to please, can't compare to a Japanese woman's casual snapshot. The esteemed Master Ma's blonde wife was coldly neglected due to incompetence and got NTR'd!
So, netizens took the classic "man looking back" meme that was once used on "Ani," remixed it, and applied it to this emotional drama. Because the meme is quite humorous and dramatic, it also started trending overseas. This led to the joke mentioned at the beginning of the article: "Japanese woman NTRs Musk's ex-girlfriend."
Of course, the NTR phenomenon triggered by Saori extends far beyond just Musk.
An overseas blogger once conducted a poll asking netizens to choose their favorite between popular star Sydney Sweeney and amateur Saori. The result was equally surprising. Although Saori's viral photos were more conservative in dress and demeanor, far less bold and sexy than Sydney Sweeney's, she still won the vote by a landslide.
Why is Saori so popular among netizens? Her above-average looks certainly contribute, but they are not irreplaceable to the extent of overpowering "Sydney Sweeney." More importantly, compared to these hot models and stars, Saori has a more approachable affinity.
This online poll, to some extent, reflects the desires of the voting netizens. Although people often joke that young people today are generally "suppressing themselves," we all know that this suppression stems not only from basic physiological needs but also from the need for intimate relationships. In today's atomized society with developed internet, the former has low-cost alternatives, but the latter has become increasingly difficult to attain.
Incidentally, before Saori went viral, there was another meme that was popular overseas earlier—the "McDonald's Girl." In the meme, the "McDonald's Girl," like Saori, effortlessly outshines all supermodels, suppressing their sexual appeal.
After Saori went viral, the "McDonald's Girl" was naturally compared to her. However, unlike the case where Sydney Sweeney was instantly defeated, the "McDonald's Girl" seems to be in a tight race with Saori, representing "Japanese office ladies," on X, with no clear winner yet (though, the "McDonald's Girl" shares the same position as "Gojo Satoru" in the meme, which is somewhat ominous).
There are indeed similarities between "Saori" and the "McDonald's Girl," or rather, the identities they represent—unlike distant, unattainable stars or influencers, "office ladies" and the "McDonald's Girl" are everywhere, ordinary girls anyone might encounter in daily life. Subjectively, it feels more possible to establish an intimate relationship with them.
Physiological needs can be addressed through personal initiative, such as playing Microsoft Flight Simulator. The abundance of online resources and props like "gentle catgirls" also largely compensate for the loss of immersion due to the absence of a wingman.
But the need for intimate relationships is obviously not so easy to dismiss. The essence of intimate relationships is the emotional connection between people, a social activity that cannot be completed alone—to some extent, the virality of Saori's daily photos reflects netizens' craving for intimate relationships.
Therefore, in an era where everyone can easily find niche websites for their specific interests, and fetishes become more twisted and obscure under suppression, Saori's original, pure smile has become a rare breath of fresh air.
So cute
The recent popularity of "cyber deceased wives" also reflects netizens' longing for intimate relationships from another perspective.
Whether it's Saori, the "McDonald's Girl," or the "Cyber Deceased Wife," they all essentially compensate for the regret of missing intimate relationships in people's hearts. Looking at it this way, it's only natural that Musk's AI girlfriend "Ani" would be "NTR'd" in the narratives created by netizens.
We can easily find substitutes online to satisfy physiological needs, but we cannot use code to truly fill the desire for "real companionship." We crave being truly "seen," not just accurately "served" as data.
What is real? What is fake?
Despite the rapid advancement of science and technology, where AI algorithms can make the fake seem real, human perception lags behind, stubbornly believing that "real is real, and fake is fake."
Although "Saori" is thousands of miles away from us and we are unlikely to ever form an intimate relationship with her in our lifetime, her every smile and expression give "people" the illusion of something truly tangible.
Although "Ani" obeys our every command, responds to Everythinggj, and even provides emotional feedback far beyond typical intimate relationships, not all "people" can easily convince themselves that an algorithmic model based on silicon can bring true love.
It seems that in the ultimate vote about "reality" in the hearts of "people," "people" ultimately emerged victorious.