madoka itasha01

A true symbol of status for a whole lot of folks is the kind of car they drive. So what does it say about a person when a larger-than-life magical girl is bursting out the back of their van?! Someone is either absolutely amazing or amazingly disturbed to have so much love for an animated character. Either way, this has got to be one of the most awesome things we’ve ever seen rolling down the Japanese highway!

Early yesterday morning, someone Tweeted this picture of a surprisingly ornamented vehicle with the comment “I’ve never seen an itasha (nerdy, decorated car) like this before!!!! Madoka is leaping out!!!!!!!!” Indeed, the 3-D art encompassing the vehicle’s trunk depicts Madoka Kaname from the relatively recent anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magika in her all-powerful goddess form, reaching out to the cars behind her. Is this some portal into the animated world, or has Madoka crossed over to help the magical girls of our own dimension before they falter?

Now, before you start wondering why on earth a self-respecting car owner would think to make such a drastic change to their caboose, know that itasha (literally translated to “painful cars”) are not entirely uncommon in Japan. Thousands of anime fans across the nation will decorate their cars with images of their favorite anime characters, though most stick to complex paint jobs and giant stickers, rather than 3-D art installations. In fact, here’s a video from this year’s Himetama Itasha Festival in the city of Ashikaga, where hundreds of itasha owners came to show off their cool anime cars while thousands more came to view the large display!

We’ll see how well the Madoka car goes over with itasha enthusiasts. Perhaps 3-D art is the future of itasha.

Source: Hachima Kikou (Japanese)
Image: melt712 on Twitter
madoka itasha01