RocketNews24

Japanese words with the prefix “itai” (meaning “painful” or simply “ouch”) have become more common in recent years as otaku culture spreads into new realms of weirdness and fandom.

Cars decorated with anime and videogame character designs to the point that they’re painful to look at by anyone but die-hard fans, and even Japan’s Self Defence Force’s pimped out tank-busting helicopter have given rise to the words ita-sha and ita-heli, respectively.

Most of these projects are done for the sheer fun of it, and few nerds carry their hobbies into their work or professional lives, but with the arrival of these new ita-in (lit. “painful stamp”), all that could change, with anime fans doing anything from opening a bank account to signing a lease on an apartment with their personalised name-stamp featuring a custom-made moe-inspired character design…

Read More