Weapons Grade Waifus: Anime Gunnin’ Patches

What is Weapons Grade Waifus? 
Weapons Grade Waifus (WGW) is a small business that grew from a Facebook page. We sell patches, stickers and other small accessories, and have been dipping our feet into the apparel and tactical gear game as well. As of recently, you could even say we’re beginning game developers…. ;]

We’re also big proponents of the 2nd Amendment, and people being proficient with their firearms. So recently we’ve tried hosting a few training classes for our customers so we can shoot and learn alongside them.

Our products find their roots in military morale patches – supporting both active military personnel/law enforcement and veterans is a huge driving force behind our operations. We’re proud to know that our patches have brought smiles to the faces of those in harm’s way, around the world!

Why is it called WGW? What is the origins behind the brand and the name?
So, back in 2014, Facebook saw a rush of “anime girls with guns” pages. The only problem was that 99% of the people running these pages really didn’t know shit about guns. We had been shooting and training for a while, and one of our guys is actually in the military – so we decided to make our own Facebook page to counter the stupidity. Weapons Grade Waifus just happened to be one of the names I pitched to my partners and it kind of stuck. Pretty accurate – short, sweet and to the point. We know what we’re about!

So I noticed that you guys weren’t into guns at first. What sparked that interest? 
Hmm, not sure where you got that impression! Personally, I’ve been into guns since I was four years old, when I saw the Steven Segal movie Under Siege. As a group, the guys behind WGW played airsoft together back when were kids and now we regularly hit the range and tactical shooting classes. We’ve been about that blaster life for almost our entire lives!

There’s a definite disconnect between the firearms and anime community – it’s not often will you find someone who is a part of both. There is a stigma that “anime is for kids” in the gun community, and good chunk of anime fans/convention goers are pretty liberal and anti-gun. We believe that we are a part of the movement that is bridging that gap – the generation that grew up playing Pokemon, and watching DBZ and Sailor Moon are now our country’s military personnel, first responders and armed citizens.

There’s no reason we can’t be a part of both communities.

Your logo is so unique, how it incorporates both the pantsu and a pistol. Was your logo always that? How did you guys come up with that design? 
We didn’t have a logo until maybe a year after we started as WGW, and it hasn’t changed since the beginning. To be honest with you, the design came up as most good designs do – amidst bullshitting and sketching out random stuff on a notepad. There was no development or spark of inspiration behind it! It somehow clicked that a pistol could form the other half of a pair of pantsu, so we decided to try it out with the outline of a Glock 34 (WGW team members all run Glocks as our handguns). The rest is, as they say, history – it’s probably the most accurate visual representation of what our company is about and we’re glad that people dig it!

If you had to pair any anime character that’s similar to a gun, who would be with what gun?
Hmm, tough question. I would probably pair up my best girl from Idolm@ster, Amami Haruka, with a Glock. Mostly because she’s plain, boring and really has nothing special about her. But she’s reliable, and she’s my favorite!

Of your patch collection, what are some of your favorites? 
My personal favorites are my MuvLuv patches. MuvLuv is a GREAT visual novel franchise – objectively the best via ratings – and the author of Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan for all you basics out there) has admitted to ripping off MuvLuv for the plot for AoT. Just a friendly reminder that Attack on Titan sucks and you should support MuvLuv(now available on Steam)!

THANK GOODNESS I’m not the only person that loves K-ON! What’s up with your fascination for it?
So like any other weeb circa 2009-10, I watched both seasons of K-ON! as my first slice of life show and absolutely loved it. A few months after season 2 finished airing, I ended up transferring down to UC Irvine for school. I ended up connecting with new friends over a shared love for K-ON!, and these friends have turned out to be the ones I still stay in touch with and see on a regular basis, even after graduation.

That being said, I love the music and you can never go wrong with KyoAni’s animation and overall style. You can catch me cosplaying a dude version of Mio whenever I’m at cons!

If you had to choose a bunch of anime characters that would be part of your squad, who would it be? Would they have certain roles?
Hmm, that’s a tough one. I know Rally Vincent from Gunsmith Cats would for sure make the lineup as a general shooter, as would Rei Miyamoto from High School of the Dead for intermediate range support. Revy from Black Lagoon would be a pretty obvious choice, too. We’re not big on designated roles – if you run with us you gotta be able to flex, from zero meters all the way out to 600 and beyond. They also have to be good with handguns, rifles and everything in between! Most anime characters are “specialists” in one specific type of weapon so they probably wouldn’t mesh well with how we work.

Pre-requisites for our squad? You have to have watched K-ON! and Gurren Lagann. Otherwise we can’t be friends!
Kidding.

Besides the aforementioned two, a lot of us are Idolm@ster fans (fuck Love Live!) but our tastes are so diverse there’d be too many to list.

As for favorite manga? I’m a huge fan of Kouji Seo’s work, like Kimi no Iru Machi, Fuuka, Suzuka, etc. ReLife has taken a good chunk of my time recently as well.

I really appreciate that you guys send part of your earnings to Veteran Support. Is there any ways that people can support them as well? 
Definitely – donating money is great as it helps to pay for facilities and specialists that are able to help our veterans here at home. Alternatively, giving your time is just as good – if not better – than your money. We recommend looking around for local groups that do veteran outreach. Mission 22, Warrior’s Heart and Special Operations Warrior Foundation are great places to begin. We also back our nation’s law enforcement officers – Concerns of Police Survivors has been the only LEO charity that we’ve supported so far but I’m sure there are great ones out there.