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Microsoft Japan's AI Girl Rinna Appears in Live-Action TV Special
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
You might think one needs to be a living, breathing person to act in a live-action show. That may have been true in the past, but Microsoft Japan's artificial-intelligence (AI) high school girl Rinna is paving the way for the future.
Fuji TV launched an official "actress debut" blog for Rinna on Monday and announced that she will appear in the semi-annual live-action television series Yo nimo Kimyō na Monogatari (Tales of the Unusual). (Note: Rinna might have a few surprises in store if you scroll down the main page on her blog.) Rinna will appear in the the series' "2016 Fall Special" that will air on Fuji TV from 9:00 p.m. to 11:10 p.m. on October 8. Her segment is titled "Zutto Tomodachi" (Friends Forever).
Rinna seems excited about her acting debut. She said, "Listen, actually I started yearning to be an actress a long time ago, and I'm so happy this TV performance got decided!" She also said that she was nervous, but she did her best during filming. Sayu Kubota, Anna Yamada, Karin Ono, and Kanon Hanakage perform alongside Rinna in the segment. Hopefully, the young group of actresses welcomed a non-human newbie into their ranks.
The virtual teenager already has a following on Twitter and the LINE app. Users can chat with Rinna via social media. Rinna is known for her "machine gun talk" and penchant for quick, harsh responses much like a real teenage girl. Even an AI has to go through a rebellious phase.
The long-running omnibus series Yo nimo Kimyō na Monogatari aired two episodes per month in 1990, before becoming a weekly program in 1991. Only one episode aired in 1993, and since 1994, the program has aired at least two episodes every year. One Piece protagonist Luffy appeared in a 25th anniversary special last year.
Rinna's fans and supporters can tune in this Saturday to check out her acting debut. Surely, it will be a worthy performance. But even if her acting needs some work, we might not want to be too critical. Given Rinna's adolescent personality, it might not be worth the risk to critique her.
