Summary
Anime and gaming fans often like to show off their favorite series in some way, whether it’s a pin, a t-shirt,or even a tattoo. But when fans want to really display their love for a series or character, they can go huge - by decorating their entire car. This is a trend seen most often in Japan, with an entire subculture in the otaku world surrounding it. These anime and gaming cars even have their own name, “itasha.”
Itasha are almost always custom jobs, either specially ordered or made by the fans themselves. However, to celebrate a 30-year anniversary, one Japanese company is going to make a limited number of itasha available for purchase. That will make the cars marginally more accessible than usual to fans that are looking for an easy way to get one of theseexclusive, equally elusive rides.
Celebrating 30 Years of Visual Novels with a Bang
These Rides Will Make an Impression
The company bringing itasha to the public is Aquaplus, a video game developer celebrating their 30th anniversary. This is no small achievement for any video game company, and Aquaplus' achievement is even more impressive considering they specialize specifically invisual novels. The visual novel industry in Japan is extremely over-saturated, so Aquaplus has plenty of competition out there. Making it to 30 years definitely deserves a fitting celebration, which is exactly what the company is doing.
Aquaplus will be collaborating to release three specially decorated itasha with three of thebiggest Japanese auto manufacturers. These will be a Toyota GR Yaris, Suzuki Swiftsport, and a Toyota 86 or Subaru BRZ (these two will have the same design). All the cars will be much more than your average car, at least in design, as they will all be itasha featuring some of the most memorable characters from Aquaplus visual novels. These includeTo Heart,Utawarerumono,Tears to Tiara, andWhite Album.
The special designs will cover everywhere on the car, including all the sides, the roof, and even the back window. A special artwork featuring a group of characters from Aquaplus (pictured below) was created especially for the 30th anniversary, and this group illustration is featured somewhere in all three designs. The other parts of the designs feature one or two other characters. All the designs (pictured above) have a punk-hued base.
How Can I Get an Itasha?
These Cars are Extremely Limited
The bad news is, only one of each of the itasha will be made. As you can imagine, that makes them extremely desirable despite their price tags. The only way to actually get one of these cool rides isby entering a lottery. If you are lucky enough to win, you have the right to purchase one of the cars: don’t be fooled into thinking that winning the lottery means that you won the car. On the contrary, you still have to pay, though you will be able to make some customizable choices such as automatic or standard transmission.
The Suzuki Swift Sport will be around 3 million yen (USD $20,000), and the Toyota Yaris and 86/BRZ (the winner can choose which one they get) will start at 4.5 million yen (USD $29,000). The designs are being made by a Saitama-based auto wrapping company called Jio Create, which is also hosting the lottery. You can enter between November 1st and 30th on their websiteherefor your chance to win.
