Body pillows are not just popular among Japanese otaku. In Korea a man married his Fate Testorossa body pillow, a character from the anime Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha.
Now body pillows are coming to America. If you fancy yourself Motoko Kussangi from Ghost in the Shell as a body pillow then Entertainment Earth will be stocking them.
Body pillows are actually useful items for people who find it easier to sleep with one side raised slightly higher than another – for example, people with a sore shoulder or arm. This blogger isn’t sure that all anime body pillows are used for that reason, though, and wonders why Motoko Kussangi feels the need to take a gun to bed.