« Balloon art in Harajuku girl land | Main | My favorite buy of the week: lotus root jewelry »
If you want your car to have serious cred among otaku, then turn it into an itasha. It's exactly what it looks like—a car decked out in manga, anime, and video game art, removable (thank god) and often depicting cutsey 2D girls. This one has the animated vocaloid Hatsune Miku all over it, and doubles as a major publicity stint for Crypton, Nico Nico Douga, Good Smile, and I guess for BMW too.
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c5d3253ef0111686791b4970c
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference BMW decked out in anime :
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
In 2008, Chronicle published my book: Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan.
I am also the founder of The Tofu Project, a boutique program that helps Japanese entrepreneurs and creators think deeper, tell better stories, and go out into the world in a much bigger way. We work with companies like Mixi, Japan Airlines, and Salesforce.com.
Sometimes I try to explain Japanese culture on CNN, BBC, CBC, WSJ, ABC (so many acronyms!) or in person at places like the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, ETech, and Ignite!
Follow me on Twitter
Become a Facebook Fan
Read some of my published magazine stories
Send tips to mango [at] tokyomango [dot] com
I dislike car wraps. They invariably are some vaguely coherant, questionably executed Photoshop Filter Porn. That's when they don't just look absurd.
If I won this car in an auction... I wouldn't change a thing. Granted my sex life with terminate, but I lurve Hatsune Miku. The character and the very idea of her. And the artwork is actually a very cool cutesy counterbalance to the masculinity of the car.
Posted by: Blaine | February 17, 2009 at 11:19 AM
This is the new fad in Japan called "itasha" Combining the words "itai" ("painful") and "sha" (vehicle). So yeah its a painful car. They even have a cover story about the fad on "Super Street" magazine. It hasn't made it over here but I'm sure its coming. Maybe I'll take the first leap. I'm sure it'll be a lady magnet (rolls eyes). Oh I believe that BMW drove the 24 hours of Le mans.
Posted by: Plastik | February 27, 2009 at 04:59 PM