ABOUT
Itasha Alliance is a unified group for connecting and networking various itasha owners, artists, vendors, and fans together as a centralized hub. We seek to share our passion of Japanese pop culture and educate and promote the growth of itasha culture in the United States.
OUR HISTORY
Itasha (lit. “Painful Car”) describes a car that is decorated with the theme of an anime or manga character, game, idol, or other pop culture media.
Other vehicles such as motorcycles (itansha) and bicycles (itachari) are also canvases for expression.
With a growing interest of two completely different subcultures, the love for automobiles and Japanese pop culture, the itasha revolution started making its way to the US.
By the mid-2010s, only a handful of itasha were scattered around the US. Small groups of individuals began meeting together and the start of a revolutionary movement began. With these groups coming together, anime conventions in SoCal began to take notice.
Itasha Alliance formally came together for their first official Itasha Display at Anime Expo 2016, in collaboration with Good Smile Racing. Prior to that, a collective group of different individuals displayed their itasha as an attraction at TouhouCon 2015, Anime Impulse/Asian American Expo 2016, and Anime Los Angeles 2016.
Itasha Alliance originally consisted of three key members who worked behind the scenes in connecting and organizing the logistics for the itasha car owners, event organizers, and their venues. In order for any successful itasha exhibit or display, all pieces need to work in unison, like any well oiled machine. During the event, the Itasha Alliance staff and exhibitors can personally interact with the attendees in providing education of itasha, their vehicle build, or just share their interest in the artwork on the vehicle.
With over a dozen events under their belt since their foundation, Itasha Alliance has tried to fine-tune the complexity of hosting large scale itasha exhibits and lending consultation to other itasha displays not hosted by Itasha Alliance. With the growth of itasha becoming more popular in the US, we strive to provide the best possible education, resources, and community in sharing our passion.
FAQ
How can I join Itasha Alliance?
For future events, see our Join page
We are not a car club and do not have any kind of membership system. Itasha Alliance is an entity that collectively brings different car groups and sole individuals together with the organizers of events or conventions to create displays and exhibits.
Why do people itasha their car?
Every individual may have a different reason for the design of their vehicle, but it usually boils down to their love of a character or anime. Their car is just another canvas for expression, just like one might put stickers on their laptop or water bottle.
Why is it called “Painful Car”?
The name Painful Car originates from the idea of decorating your car to the point of gaudy excess that it becomes literally an eyesore.
How much does it cost to itasha a car?
Itasha can be as little or as much as you want to spend on it. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to itasha, but you may find many owners agree that quality over quantity is a big component. It can range to a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars to build an itasha. See Building an Itasha for more on this breakdown.
What kind of car should I itasha?
Again, there’s no right or wrong way to do an itasha. Many people work with what they have and it is a misconstrued idea that there’s certain car types or makes/models that make for better itasha. Some things to consider when building an itasha are: vehicle color, surface area of the car, how window placement may affect visibility. See Building an Itasha for more on this breakdown.
Is it legal?
Having an itasha car or vehicle is legal as long as you follow your state's traffic laws and regulations. For example, a specific type of vinyl may be needed on windows for visibility reasons.
Is it legal to use _____ character?
In most cases, yes. Itasha is mainly considered a form of fan art. Issues arise from any profit being made from using the character or character likeness and/or how you are portraying the character that may affect the company or production studio’s brand image. In some cases, permission and authorization can be given to use copyrighted characters or through sponsorship or collaborations.
What are “slaps”?
Slaps are known as stylized anime bumper stickers. Some people trade or sell them to collect.
How are you guys different from similar hosting groups?
Itasha Alliance is just one of the collective networking groups that exist to help put together car displays; the itasha scene differs in various parts of the US such as in Northern California, Texas and the Midwest. In some of these areas, local itasha groups may hold their own shows and displays.
Itasha Alliance simply cannot host every single event for any number of various reasons (cost of travel, availability, conflicting events, etc) as well as any other agreements of the event coordinators. We’re happy for our friends who host their own Itasha Alleys and we show our support when we can!