In Japan, an itasha (痛車; literally "painful" or "cringeworthy"[1][2] + "car") is a car decorated with images of characters from anime, manga, or video games (especially bishōjo games or eroge). The decorations usually involve paint schemes and stickers. The cars are seen prominently in places such as Akihabara (Tokyo), Nipponbashi (Osaka), or Ōsu (Nagoya), or Itasha-based events, such as Odaiba Itasha Tengoku.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itasha

p.s. I think it's cool, I wouldn't own one but wtf you be you

[–] BogusCabbage@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Itasha goes deep, these "builds" are closer to shrines then anything else IMO. It isn't for me, and not for many, but it isn't the point, it isn't to appeal to the masses, but to entertain ones self and truly indulge in their own tastes, personality and interest, same as Kaido racesr, Dekotora, Bosozoku or any other extreme car cultures. It is insane the effort people put in, but it is just for themselves, to entertain their passion, to take no shame, and really show who they are. Its really cool and I love the culture and history behind them all. If you're interested in more, Noriyaro on YT has some videos of Itasha car events, shows off cool builds and talks about its history, really cool