The Impreza is an Itasha created by Japan’s unique anime culture

Cars with anime characters painted on the body are commonly known as “Itasha,” and in recent years the Itasha community has been changing. While most painted cars have been Lancer Evolutions and Imprezas, what are the base cars of the 2025 era? Mr. “Doramata”, who drives a Subaru “Impreza WRX STi”, also talked about the current situation of Itashas. We also asked him about the specifications of his car. 

Stick to stock body wrapping without aero

The man introduced here, Mr. “Doramata,” a 2003 GDB Subaru “Impreza WRX STi” driver, is active as a staff member in the management of Itasha events. He has long been involved in the painted car industry and has been following the industry for a long time.

The Impreza, which is also Mr. “Doramata’s” beloved car, is a rather popular model in the Itasha world, and many of its rivals have installed full aero parts to make a strong statement, but Mr. “Doramata” prefers a simple, stock appearance. Rather than relying on body parts to make an impact, Doramata decided to wrap the body of his car in the classic painted car style, and boldly painted “Devil Homura” from the anime “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” on the hood and all sides of the car body.

Fortunately, the blue factory color of the GDB Impreza WRX STi goes very well with the dark color of the “Devil Homura,” the character we are promoting, and it enhances the dynamic character created by the body wrapping in a good way. The moment when the finished product is exactly as you want it to be is surely the most enjoyable in customizing.

So, he has no plans to develop the car from this point on. He plans to keep the current specifications for a while, and when the wrapping becomes damaged over time, he will consider renewing the car again. However, even then, they will probably stick to the expression method of wrapping the stock body without installing aero parts.