I know: airbagged cars and Itasha don't mix, but these airbags are a different kind of airbags: they replace the original item of this Lancer Evo V:

Airbags in an itasha Lancer Evo V
Yes, that's of course the perfect airbags for an anime loving itasha owner! ;)

Just for the record, this is how the whole Evo V looks like:

itasha Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V
Very nicely done, but not exactly my cup of tea! ;)

Yes, it is indeed a painful (pun intended) sight to see a Nissan Skyline GT-R KPGC10 this way:

Most painful Itasha ever: Nissan Skyline KPGC10
I don't think it will get the title of the most expensive itasha ever since I've seen several Ferrari and Lamborghini covered completely with anime vinyls.

On the other hand Haruhi blends perfectly in with the blue periodically correct racing stripes:

Most painful Itasha ever: Nissan Skyline KPGC10
So even though it may be painful it is also done with great taste! ;)

Found in the JCCA NYM 2010 meeting pictures of Life doodling.

You may think every Japanese citizen would know the meaning of Itasha (痛車), however as this video explains they do not...

The word Itasha is a word that consists of the words Itai (痛) and Sha (車), meaning Painful and Vehicle. Painful is used in a way that it means painful for the wallet. The word is also a pun on Itariasha (イタリア車) which is shortend into Itasha (イタ車) and means Italian Car. Note that the two words are written differently but pronounced the same!

So that explains a lot why all those interviewed people did not know the true meaning of Itasha!

BTW: Itasha is getting bigger and bigger... This will be the next major export style from Japan!

I found this funny video from Dreamcar Club featuring anime painted cars. Not that anime painted cars are particularly humorous, but rather their owners: each one of them really looks like the guy from Densha Otoko. For people who did not watch the movie or series: he's a real otaku and you can find an a picture of Densha Otoko here.

As you probably have seen most of the cars on this meeting are sportscars: Nissan Silvias (S14/S15), Nissan Skylines, etc. Apparently those otaku have lots of cash to spend upon cars and vinyl decals! Must be different than auto otaku who spend their cash upon upgrades, tires and gas!

The cars of the interviewed persons are all rear wheel drive: the yellow Nissan Silvia S15, the white Toyota Comfort taxi and the white Toyota Mark II GX81. With their powers combined they could become: Dorifuto Otoko! (insert echo here!)

No, this is not about auto-otakus who love JDM machinery like me, but cars of real Japanese otakus in Tokyo.

The otaku car festival featured many many cars all dressed up with anime/manga figures and stickers. Highlights are a Ferrari F430 spider, Lancia Stratos and a BMW M5.

I was looking through the photo gallery and did not really find any interesting JDM cars for the auto-otakus, except for some skylines in the background.

However I did notice these two Toyota Corolla Levins AE101:

Toyota Corolla Levin AE101 #1 front view

Toyota Corolla Levin AE101 #1 side view

Toyota Corolla Levin AE101 #2 front view

Toyota Corolla Levin AE101 #2 side view

I do not particularly like the way these two AE101s are painted/stickered/etc. but actually I was thinking something like: damn shame of the nice silvertops in those cars... I would certainly know a much better use for those! Does that mean I'm no longer an anime-otaku but rather more an auto-otaku?? ;)