MotorTrend

Dekocar Phenomenon: Anime and Manga Fans Turn Their Cars Into Heroic Canvases

Returning to Little Tokyo during Nisei Week to experience the ultimate rolling fandom.
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One of the best things about car culture is that there are so many different sub-groups within it. Often those groups can bridge the gap between cars and something completely different. One example is the current Dekocar movement. Originating in Japan, "Dekocar" is a portmanteau of "decorative" and "car," if it wasn't obvious. In Japanese it's referred to as "Itasha." The majority of Dekocar enthusiasts aren't necessarily concerned with adding performance or wild body kits. In fact, many Dekocars are nearly stock under all the dressing, and there's nothing wrong with that.

The draw for Dekocar enthusiasts is to effectively turn their vehicle into a rolling tribute to their favorite anime, manga, or Japanese video game property. This usually involves having an elaborate custom vinyl wrap designed and placed on the vehicle. However, it can go much further, including decking out the interior and exterior with stickers, figures, and even props that are all themed to the entertainment they were inspired by.

Just about any vehicle can be a Dekocar canvas. It isn't uncommon to see cars like the Toyota Prius or Subaru Impreza wagons completely decked out in anime-themed vinyl wraps.

The Dekocar movement has been growing in the United States for a few years now. Import car show godfather Ken Miyoshi had the brilliant foresight to retune his import car showoff event, hosted during the broader Nisei Week festival, to focus on Dekocars specifically to make it an all out celebration of Japanese pop culture.

Miyoshi made the switch to include Dekocars back in 2018, and while the movement itself has grown, this year's attendance was on the low side as the world is still recovering from a global pandemic. There were still a few quality rides in attendance despite the small turn out.

On display were cars themed around heavy hitting anime and manga properties such asDemon Slayerand even video games likeGenshin Impact. However, there were still a few "traditional" Japanese show cars like the obligatory wide body Toyota GR86 and Mike G's Urban Green, 5th generation Civic hatchback, shown above with a milder, more OEM+ exterior.

If you are really into Japanese culture, anime, manga, or video games and you don't mind toughing it out in some serious summer heat, then we recommend you hit up the Dekocar Nisei Week Showoff next year, likely to return to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. Admission is usually inexpensive (this year it was free) and it's a great way to learn more about one of the many facets of car culture.

Check out our full gallery from this year's Nisei Week here:

Andrew Beckford

Andrew Beckford’s passion for cars started as a middle schooler when his friend Richie explained how an internal combustion engine works. He was bitten by the bug and the rest, as they say, is history. He dug deep into the tuner scene and eventually wrote for Turbo Magazine, Import Tuner, Super Street. He covered car shows, feature builds, and reviewed racing games for those magazines in addition to covering motorsports including Formula Drift, Indy Car, and F1 for his personal blog. Eventually Beckford joined MotorTrend to cover the daily automotive news beat. Besides being a gearhead, Beckford has been a gamer since the ’80s and is a huge fan of the arcade racing games of the ’90s like Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, and Ridge Racer. Beckford’s a movie buff as well, especially comic book films from DC and Marvel. When car culture crosses over with gaming and entertainment, rest assured Beckford is aware of it. In addition to serving as a consultant on a “triple A” racing titles, he’s reviewed major racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, F1, and more. He’s also interviewed blockbuster directors including Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Neill Blomkamp (Gran Turismo). His biggest profile to date was with Robert Downey Jr. on his love affair with cars and his show Downey’s Dream Cars on MAX. Beckford’s profile of Downey Jr. was the first print cover story written by an African American in MotorTrend’s history. Along with KJ Jones, Andrew Beckford also heads up MotorTrend’s celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting diverse voices in the automotive industry and motorsports. Beckford’s first car was a 1982 Nissan Stanza affectionately named “Stanley” by his late mother.

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