Aimi Eguchi

Fictional character

Aimi Eguchi
Corporate promotion character
Aimi Eguchi as she appears in the Ezaki Glico commercial
First appearance	June 2011
Created by	Ezaki Glico
Voiced by	Yukari Sasaki
In-universe information
Gender	Female
Occupation	Japanese idol
Nationality	Japanese
Birth date	(1995-02-11) February 11, 1995 (age 29)

Aimi Eguchi (江口愛実, Eguchi Aimi) is a fictional Japanese idol. She is a CGI composite of various features of seven existing (all now former) members of the theater/idol group AKB48.^[1]

Eguchi was announced as the group's newest member in June 2011. According to an official profile she was 16 years old, born on February 11, 1995, and from Saitama, north of Tokyo. She was featured in the Japanese magazine Weekly Playboy, and appeared in a television commercial for the confectionery company, Ezaki Glico. Suspicions arose amongst AKB48 fans and on June 19, 2011, Glico finally admitted that Eguchi was a fake created by the company, disappointing many fans.^[2]^[3] As of May 2013^[update], she is no longer listed on the official website as a trainee.^[4]^[5]

CGI contributors

Atsuko Maeda (eyes)
Tomomi Itano (nose)
Mariko Shinoda (mouth)
Yuko Oshima (hair/body)
Minami Takahashi (outline)
Mayu Watanabe (eyebrows)

References

^ "AKB 48 newest member Aimi Eguchi is a 'virtual idol'" Archived 2012-10-23 at the Wayback Machine. Channel NewsAsia. June 20, 2011.
^ New Japanese Pop Idol Shocks Fans With News–She’s Not Real Archived 2011-06-26 at the Wayback Machine Singularity Hub, 22 June 2011
^ "Japanese Scientists Build a Perfect (and Fake) Pop Star". Time. June 24, 2011.
^ "AKB48公式サイト｜メンバー情報 (AKB48 Official Site - Member List)". AKB48 Official Website (in Japanese). Retrieved May 9, 2013. - list is subject to change from graduations and transfers
^ "Aimi Eguchi "officially" graduates from AKB48". Nihongogo. June 25, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-27.