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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008) |
Itasha (痛車?) is a Japanese term for an otaku fad of individuals decorating the bodies of their cars with fictional characters of anime, manga, or video games (especially bishōjo game or eroge). These characters are predominately "cute" female. The decorations usually involve paint schemes and stickers. Automobiles are called Itasha, while similar motorcycles and bicycles are called itansha (痛単車?) and itachari (痛チャリ?), respectively.
The cars are seen prominently in places such as Akihibara (Tokyo), Nipponbashi (Osaka), or Ōsu (Nagoya). Itasha also appears in customizable video games, such as Forza Motorsport 2. [1]
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Etymology
Itasha derives from combining the Japanese words for itai (痛い? painful) and sha (車? vehicle). Itai here means "painful", as in "painfully embarrassing". The name is also a pun for Italian cars (イタリア車 Itaria-sha?), truncated in Japanese slang as Itasha (イタ車?).
History
The decoration started as early as in 1980s, but only became a phenomenon from the 21st century, when otaku culture became relatively well known via the Internet. From Summer 2007, itasha oriented convention called Autosalone (あうとさろーね Autosarōne?) is held in Ariake, near the site of Comiket. In 2008, Aoshima Bunka Kyozai started to sell a model car of itasha. [2]
References
- ^ (Japanese) YouTubeのゲーム動画が起こした予想外のできごと (Something unexpected happens by the game video on YouTube), Nikkei IT Plus report, retrieved on June 7, 2008.
- ^ (Japanese) 青島文化教材が痛車のプラモを発売、車種とキャラは (Aoshima Bunka Kyozai sells a model car of itasha, the car and the character is...), carview.co.jp report, retrieved on June 7, 2008.
See also
- Moe (slang)
- Dekotora
- Dekochari
- ja:バニング (Vaning)
External links
- (English) "'Anime'-decorated cars latest 'otaku' fad" – Article describing itasha, May 2008
- (English) "Japanese 'itasha' gain in popularity in Taiwan" -Article describing itasha in Taiwan, July 2008
- (Japanese) Itasha Graphics, the Itasha oriented magazine by Geibunsha
- (Japanese) Autosalone, the Itasha oriented convention, from 2007
- (Japanese) 痛車 in 台北! 世界は痛車に毒されはじめた…… (Itasha in Taipei! The world started to poisoned by itasha...), Ascii.jp report, Feb 2008
- (Japanese) 富士スピードウェイに痛車がっ！ 世界一痛いカーイベント！ Fuji Speedway hosts itasha! The most painful car event in the world!), Ascii.jp report, May 2008
