Rei Densetsu and his sister Cloud are champion itasha (decorated car) drivers. At the 2010 Fuji Speedway itasha event, where Japan's best-decorated cars are judged on their designs, Cloud won the Impact Prize and Rei received the Special Award for their outrageously decked-out vehicles. The term "itasha" is derived from "itai kuruma," literally meaning "painful cars." Such cars are covered with large colorful stickers of moe (ineffably cute) characters from manga, anime and games. Rei's mini-truck is an ode to his beloved Rei Ayanami, a character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga and anime series. He even took the character's name as his driver moniker and placed a life-size doll of her in the passenger seat. His sister is a huge fan of the role-playing video game Final Fantasy, hence her moniker Cloud Strife, one of the game's main protagonists. Her mini-car is covered from bumper to fender with stickers of Asuka Langley Soryu, another character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion story.
Rei: Stopping at a red light could bring about a great love affair. Three years ago, when we were in Akihabara waiting at a red light, we saw an itasha. We fell in love! I began decorating my mini-truck almost immediately. Before that, I was not into anime. I only began reading manga and watching anime after I saw an itasha.
Cloud: Otaku can be of any age; from kids to adults in their 60s or even older. Anyone with a deep passion for a hobby is an otaku. What we love, we love very much! Whether they are two-dimensional characters in a manga or anime or cute real dogs, we adore them and take photos of them. We make cards using pictures of them and give them to our friends. We share the fun, and the love, this way. We have 10 dogs, so we have a lot of models!