Age Soft Chairman shows off Manga Lambo, M5 and Stratos
Click above for gallery of Itasha supercars
In Japan, Otaku are the rabid fans of anime who often take their passion to extremes. One way they show their affection is to pull their favorite characters out of the imaginary world and plant them on vehicles in the real world. The pain caused by leaving their fantasy lives to join mainstream life lends its name to the show vehicles on which these characters land, itasha. Itasha has become a huge fad in Japan, with shows around the country almost every weekend. Fans decorate their cars with custom paint jobs or vinyls that act as a tribute to their favorite movies, games and characters.
One such Otaku happens to be a chairman of Age Soft software, creators of the game Total Eclipse, among others. At a recent Itasha show he brought along three of his favorite rides, all decked out with manga. That in itself might not seem so newsworthy, but when you hear what three cars he had done up in anime glory, you might be a bit shocked. Yoshida San showed up with his personal BMW M5, Lamborghini Gallardo and Lancia Stratos. Check out the gallery to see the madness for yourself. Click any image for a gallery of itasha, and follow the jump for an AOL video that explains itasha. Grazie per il tip, Francesco!
Gallery: Manga supercars
[Source: HobbyMedia.it]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Carlos 2:10PM (11/15/2008)
To each his own but I don't like anime.
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Terry 2:27PM (11/15/2008)
Just incase ppl think it's weird, ppl as old as ur grand father reads manga weekly and they read it pretty much whenever they have the free time to spare.
Nice paint job btw........some ppl wont like it due to culture difference :p
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MachinaDC5 2:29PM (11/15/2008)
I can respect nearly all forms of car modding, even if it's strange to me. I like it when people take their cars to new levels, even in this way.
I wouldn't do it, but it's neat.
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Amien 2:33PM (11/15/2008)
Usage of "Otaku" isn't limited to just being a fan of anime/manga.
I would suggest sticking to english...
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Stuka 2:34PM (11/15/2008)
I watch anime and such, but that poor stratos. They are nice paint jobs, and if thats what they like, more power to them. But I don't think I could do that to a stratos.
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Richard 2:50PM (11/15/2008)
So, I am a car guy.
I never saw the paint, just the Stratos.
What can I say? I'm a car guy.
Maybe they are vinyl appliques that you can remove with a blow dryer. One can only hope.
sup 2:36PM (11/15/2008)
Was I the only one expecting to see a Mach 5 Lamborghini? Anyway, the paint jobs are a little too busy for me, but they still look pretty good. The BMW especially
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Daveman427 2:49PM (11/15/2008)
Why the Stratos? WHY? Such an iconic rally car does not deserve this treatment. I'm tempted to go to Japan, take this car, replace the retarded looking rims and rubber band tires with some OZ rally rims wrapped in multi-terrain grabbing tread, finding an unpaved back road, and covering the paint with dirt. It would look a hell of a lot better then.
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RamblinReck89 2:58PM (11/15/2008)
if there was ever a way for owning a super car to not get you laid, this would be it.
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tifosiotaku 3:06PM (11/15/2008)
Whoever did this to that Stratos deserves to have his privates chopped off. srsly...
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Torrent 5:06PM (11/15/2008)
Why would you even waste money on that?
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John R 9:49AM (11/16/2008)
Why would someone paint the Confederate flag on the roof of a Charger? Fans are crazy. I can't wait to see what 'Twilight' fans do to there cars...actually I don't.
In any event was that Motoko Kusunagi on that Stratos?
MajorGeek 5:21PM (11/15/2008)
Never understood anime, since it is basically child looking characters, it seems creepy to be a fan of it. Painting on a car does nothing but ruin it.
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RLQ 6:28PM (11/15/2008)
It looks silly if you ask me.
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Ray 7:44PM (11/15/2008)
Why complain about the paint jobs on the Stratos? When I was a kid, all the pictures of the Stratos I had were rally cars with advertising painted all over them.
This is just what happens when you've got lots of money you don't know what to do with.
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catgirlshyla 9:09PM (11/15/2008)
Stratos needs to be Yellow like Batou's one in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
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esteva03 11:00PM (11/15/2008)
if i had the money i would do the same. to anyone that knows about anything, it takes time to kno why things are good or not. if you know nothing about art you might see monet and think it lacks edges, or you might see a piccaso and dont get the picture at all. i watch a lot of anime and real all the manga i can get my hands on. i like it and i kno about it. the drawings have meaning if you kno what to read of them and there is more to it than little kids looking characters. i think these cars look awesome cause i get it. i see the type of detail and design of the characters. for those who dont see the difference these designs are really tasteful and charming. so, if you have never seen anything and dont have the knowledge to understand the "art" in this genre then hate it. you should cause you wont it get until you know about what this is all about. now, he did what he did, and knowing what i kno, i can say that it is not cause he has too much money and doesnt kno what to do with it. it is cause he just finds it to be a representation of what he likes... like nut sacks for pickups.
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Raz 12:13AM (11/16/2008)
As usual, good cars being ruined by idiotic Jap paint jobs and anime applied to cars.
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Streetrally 9:09AM (11/16/2008)
These examples are tame compared to what most otakus do to their itasha's.
This trend has actually spread to the motor sports world as well, here in Japan. The Super GT series here has two cars that sport anime character designs, one of them being the 350Z 300 horsepower class champion、and the other one being a Z4 with an "interesting" design."
http://blog.hobbystock.jp/report/images/tp0062/007.jpg
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Evan 3:59PM (11/16/2008)
I'm into manga, but if I had that Stratos, the first thing I'd do is take off the decals!
It's my favorite car design, so to me it would be like putting Naruto's outfit on the Mona Lisa.
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