Itasha Style: Senpai Noticed Me

People are driving around with anime characters on their cars. Some are fairly conservative and feature Pokémon or a main character in an action pose, while others are full-on underwear shots of school girls. Straight class, guys. Straight class.

Words by Micky Slinger. Photography by KC Image. Renderings by EJ McCauley & Raymond Leung

Anyway, as you shake your head in astonishment or disgust, know that the name for this is “itasha.” The word itasha is a union of “itai” or “ouch” and “sha”, the Japanese word for car. It literally means “ouch-car” or “painful-car,” depending on who you ask. The Japanese also refer to them as “painfully embarrassing” and “painful on the wallet” because all that vinyl isn’t cheap.

That’s the awesome thing about itasha, though. It’s seen as embarrassing and the owners of the cars love it. Someone points and laughs and the driver just rolls with it. For them, it’s the ultimate showing of their two loves: anime and cars.

Of course, it has spread like wildfire and JDM enthusiasts are embracing it. Darren Balico, of SNTRL, is one such enthusiast. His Nissan S14 has already had a couple iterations, with another in the works. All of them have featured anime babes and manga bombs with vinyl and decals galore.

A team out of Chicago called the “4 Star Itasha Crew” has also hopped on the otaku train and will debut some designs at Tuner Galleria in 2015. You should be on the lookout yourself. Just notice them, senpai.

Photography by KC Image // Renderings by EJ McCauley & Raymond Leung

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