Itasha are the ultimate proof of a true anime fan!
Whether it's a sports car, motorbike or mini - they come in all sorts of variations! In Japan, there has long been a trend to decorate one's car with favourite characters as a hardcore fan. But companies like Crypton Media (Vocaloid) or Racing Teams have also discovered Itasha for themselves.
And we also have our own DoKomi Itasha, which you certainly won't miss at DoKomi!
Since 2016, we have therefore been offering an Itasha exhibition at DoKomi to provide a platform for the European scene! We work closely with N.G.E. Itasha (Network for German and European Itasha) and German Itasha, two young communities from the scene.
Maybe you would like to join this cool trend as well? In the following, we introduce you to both Itasha clubs:
N.G.E. Itasha (Network for German and European Itasha)
What are Itasha?
Itasha comes from the Japanese itai for "painful" and sha for "vehicle". The "painful" refers mainly to the owner's wallet, as the foiling involves considerable costs. Itasha are vehicles decorated with manga, anime or video game characters. Vehicles are divided into itasha for automobiles, itansha for motorbikes and itachari for bicycles. (In the further course of the text, the term itasha refers to all 3 types). The spread of itasha continues to increase, starting from Japan, across the Asian continent to America. Even in racing, itasha are no longer a rarity and there are entire professional racing teams in itasha style.
How did the foundation come about?
The model and incentive for the foundation of the group were international groups or sites and the existence of pure Itasha events in non-European countries. At the time of the foundation, to our knowledge, there was neither a German nor a European Itasha group, but only Asian, American or international groups, in which, however, many Europeans were also active. So we decided to found our own group, initially on Facebook.
The path of N.G.E. Itasha and the aims
The aim of the group is to bring together German as well as European owners and fans of Itashas in order to set up a purely European Itasha event at some point. A first step in this direction was our first meeting in Germany at Dokomi 2016! Currently, the 85 members (as of 29.11.16) include many Germans as well as Italians, French, Dutch and Spanish. The community is growing steadily and in order to reach interested people outside of social media, we are currently working on our own homepage.
German Itasha
We, the German Itasha e.V., are the first officially registered Itasha club in Germany. Our goal is to bring the tuning and anime community closer together and to give them a common basis. We also support cultural and thematic projects throughout Germany. If you are interested, please have a look at our Facebook and Instagram page.
You are also welcome to visit us and our vehicles at Dokomi and try out our various attractions! We are looking forward to seeing you!
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