After three years of hosting otaku matchmaking events, the "Lucky Star shrine" in Washinomiya celebrated the first wedding of a couple who found each other through those events. 31-year-old Nari and 31-year-old Seira tied the knot at the shrine on Saturday.
The shrine appeared in Kyoto Animation's 2007 television adaptation of Kagami Yoshimizu's manga Lucky Star. It has since become a popular destination for anime fans, who make "pilgrimages" to the shrine.
After many visiting fans told the shrine staff in surveys that they were interested in marriage, the local neighborhood held its first "Ota-Konkatsu" matchmaking event in 2010. 386 males applied for 20 spots, and 115 females applied for 20 spots.
Nari and Seri met each other through the third matchmaking event in 2012, which featured cosplaying. When the matchmaking event organizers heard about their marriage registration last September, they offered to arrange a wedding ceremony at the shrine. The couple refused the offer several times at first, but eventually agreed.
Kaori Fukuhara, the voice actress of the character Tsukasa Hiiragi from Lucky Star, gave a personal message of blessing to the couple. Lucky Star mangaka Kagami Yoshimizu also gave them a sketch as a surprise present.