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While some may consider them an eyesore, they are still enthusiastically loved by many people. We are talking, of course, about Itasha. In recent years, Itasha have become more recognized and more accepted by the public. Itasha doesn’t just include cars. Nowadays, remote controlled cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and even trains are all being decked out in “Ita” designs. In this way, the trend of “Ita” designs is becoming even more accepted. Case in point, at the Petit-Ita Festa at Amlux in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, an Ita Mini 4WD based on Hatsune Miku called “VanquishVenus” was the talk of the show. Furthermore, this machine won the event’s race in splendid style.
At the event, the builder of the machine, Kon Kato, talked openly about his thoughts on Ita Mini 4WD.
▶Mini 4WD brings people together. It binds them.
My interest in Ita Mini 4WD grew in 2010 and I began making them. This was my first time building an Ita Mini 4WD for racing purposes. I built it using the “sticker method”.
This technique enables users to design their own stickers on their PC. Using a scanner and Photoshop, users create the coloring and design of their stickers and attach them to the body of their Mini 4WD. There is also a technique that is limited to transparent Mini 4WD that involves using a glue spray.
I was thinking for awhile that if I was going to make an Ita Mini 4WD, I wanted to make a Hatsune Miku one. When I decided to use the Vanquish model Mini 4WD as the base, it just so happened that there was a men’s fashion brand called Vanquish who was also collaborating with Hatsune Miku. When I found that out, I thought, “I have no choice but to make this a triple collaboration,” and the decision was settled.
When it comes to Ita Mini 4WD, it’s easy to see the builder’s tastes by their designs. For this reason, if someone can understand the builder’s work, it becomes a good talking point. You can hit it off with them, and get to know them on a personal level; you can make friends with them. In this way, people are brought together and connected through Ita Mini 4WD; that is one of its charms.
▶The Birth of Ita Mini 4WD was a necessary outcome.
Even at typical Mini 4WD design contests, Ita Mini 4WD featuring anime motifs that span the gamut from nonchalant and subdued to bold and in your face can be seen everywhere. The participants include those who build their machines for racing and those who just build them for recreation, as well as the hardcore crowd who build nonfunctional Ita Mini 4WD because they think that “it’s not worth making if it’s not an Ita Mini 4WD.”
From the start, Mini 4WD were a part of otaku culture, therefore many Mini 4WD racers like anime. When thought about this way, the creation of Ita Mini 4WD was an inevitable outcome. Truthfully, of those people who are interested in Mini 4WD, there are almost none who don’t watch anime.
Things like the Hatsune Miku Ita Mini 4WD kit from Tamiya have gone on sale, and it feels like Itasha designs are becoming more and more officially accepted. Even still, I don’t really feel like Itasha and Ita Mini 4WD are connected. Rarely are there events like Petit Ita Festa that feature both Itasha and Ita Mini 4WD. There are people who create Itasha designs on cars and Mini 4WD, and there are people who lightheartedly enjoy only Ita Mini 4WD.
However, I feel that the fans' love of each is what connects them, and that events like Ita Mini 4WD Grand Prix are established because of this connection.
▶Moving forward
As for my next project, I would like to challenge myself with a wide-area design on a sedan. Because I am an enthusiastic supporter of Hatsune Miku, I am considering using her as the theme from now on. Of course, there will also be a lot of others I will tackle as well. As much as time permits, I want to pursue various themes for Ita Mini 4WD.
