Tsundere queen Louise has been spotted being ridden in public in a state of total nudity, prompting a great deal of speculation as to just what services she has been providing…

For those wondering, the dialogue on the box is a typical Louise-esque litany of tsundere complaints.

There appears to be a minor mystery surrounding the usage of the bike, as even in Japan there are no naked Louise delivery services:

“This one surprised me…”

“OUT!”

“The level… it’s too high!”

“I’m the one who took these and I don’t get it – can you actually run this on public roads?”

“She says ‘Don’t stare at me, you dirty perverts! Filthy perverts!’ – but how can you read what she’s saying without staring.”

“Looking closely, I can see her nipples are covered with heart-marks. Somehow I don’t think that makes it safe though…”

“I’d love to do something like this someone’s bike.”

“It’s yours, admit it.”

“It must be the OP’s!”

“The plates are out of town. So someone rode this on the highway?”

“What’s up with the mosaic on the box itself?”

“Some phone number. I thought I had better mosaic it. It was a mobile number so it’s all quite fishy…”

“Disgusting, I could puke. How much for the bike?”

“I saw it at Comiket.”

“I’d die if I rode this. I’d drive 10m – into a wall.”

“Isn’t this public obscenity?”

“Google ‘Louise pizza’ [in Japanese] and you get a lot of hits.”

“I tried Googling it and came up with more pics… there’s a lot of stuff about it on Twitter.”

“I want some of that pizza.”

“Japan, what a terrifying nation.”

“Even with all those tweets it seems nobody actually knows what it’s all about. A mysterious delivery service – Japan sure is a big place…”

“There was an URL with the number, but sadly it seems to be inactive.”

“Phone them!”

“I deleted the originals so I can’t! Besides, it’s too scary!”

“It would be nice if you really could get a pizza this way…”

There may be something for otaku to look forward to about winter after all – the return of Snow Miku, looking cuter than ever and now with her very own tram.

The tram’s Snow Miku livery is set to grace the streets of Sapporo until the end of March, as part of the city’s 62nd snow festival.

As might be gathered from her prominent placement, Nendoroid Snow Miku is also due to freeze otaku hearts in her icy grip soon.

Chinese have been pondering the differences between the school-buses of Japan, noted for their “extreme cuteness,” as compared to those of the US – described as being “like tanks.”

Japan:

USA:

What these reveal about the respective national characters of their countries is open to rather broad interpretation.

Thomas the Tank Engine and Pokemon themed buses certainly seem likely to be inordinately popular with small children everywhere.

On the other hand, the curious American obsession with driving their children everywhere in aggressively styled yellow rivet-encrusted juggernauts does indeed seem rather more a reflection of the USA’s national character (whether characterised as imbecilic machismo, sensible safety conciousness, or total fear and paranoia regarding child safety)…

India:

Amongst the many itasha on display at Ita-G Festa 5, perhaps most intriguing is this Remilia Scarlet Touhou tractor (and for those less than captivated by farm machinery and gaudily painted automobiles, some sexy cosplayers are on display).

More from the same event:

Homura’s popularity amongst the armed forces of the world only seems to be growing – this time she seems to have found her way onto the side of a JSDF attack helicopter.

Toyota has finally begun showing off some Corolla with Miku itasha paintjobs, and rather nicely done they are too.

The cars were snapped in situ by a Japanese Vocaloid devotee making his pilgrimage to the US to witness her debut – one of the lucky ones, as the flight booked by a Japanese package tour operator for less independent pilgrims suffered engine trouble, causing their ¥200,000 pilgrimage to be truncated from 6 days and 4 nights to meagre 1 and a half days.

Unfortunately, there is as yet no sign Toyota actually intends to cars in such livery, or even in negi-green, making its whole commitment to the spirit of the thing rather questionable…

Miku fans are celebrating the first victory of Hatsune Miku in the latest Super GT racing event, with the virtual idol seizing pole position, closely followed by the vanguard of the cephalopod invasion in the form of IkaMusume with 3rd place.

The presence of the competing itasha at the race and its various recent qualifiers has given rise to some impressive sights:

In addition to Miku, IkaMusume, and a number of other cars unworthy of mention, Evangelion competed as well – though placing poorly.

Incidentally, Miku’s vehicle of choice is a BMW (and IkaMusume’s a Ferrari – apparently even the driver is a fan) – so much for Toyota.

An Infinite Stratos racing itasha prominently featuring Charlotte and Houki has barely survived its debut in the Super Taikyu 2011.

In pre-race condition:

The car is a Honda S2000/AP-1 for those interested in such things.

Not content with being ridden by anyone who can pay, now Hatsune Miku has taken to letting all comers put their head between her legs and take a lick.

The car in question is none other than the Russian championship drifter previously featured – little wonder the owner made such a lurid choice of illustration.

Invasive cephalopod Ika-Musume has invaded the Super GT in a signed racing Ferrari, qualifying a very respectable 3rd and so beating the feeble Miku and Eva itasha also competing, in what seems to have at some point transformed from race into itasha popularity contest…

The car is signed by mangaka Masahiro Anbe.

Fans may notice a certain familiarity about the team’s pit…

One of Russia’s top drifters has lately been attracting attention for not only driving a full Hatsune Miku itasha at events, but also having a paint-job which goes so far as to display Miku’s trademark shimapan on the bonnet…

The car (a Nissan 180SX) has been present at a variety of races, most notably the 2010 Russian Drift Series.

An impressive if faintly ridiculous video of competitive careeners in action shows off more Miku itasha action:

The itasha pictured may have suffered near complete destruction, but Mio herself looks distinctly unruffled all the same.

There is no word as to the fate of the owner of the vehicle, although clearly the car is a write-off.

QB “fans” will be delighted to see that the lovable akuma is finally offering a contract of a more affordable nature, in this case the opportunity to become the owner of a QB-mobile in exchange for a transformation costing some ¥400.

Be warned however – the reaction from thread denizens was ominous for the safety of the car at best:

“I so want to bash in that bonnet!”

“The worst way possible to spend $5.”

“You’ve nobody to blame but yourself if someone rear-ends you!”

“Where I work they have this:”

“Try lowering the eyes a bit…”

“Like this?”

“Gross!”

Lolicon taxi riders and Ichigo Marshmallow fans are sure to be delighted (or at least mildly bemused) by the announcement that ita-taxi (“Moetaku”) bearing the likenesses of Miu and company are finally gracing the streets of Hamamatsu.

The taxis can be specially reserved or simply hailed down, and riders receive commemorative Barasui-illustrated cards.

For those wondering, the original manga is set in Hamamatsu, explaining the reasoning behind the taxis.

It is apparently hoped the taxis will stimulate tourism in the area, not that there is much to see for anime fans in Hamamatsu.

The selection of a niche title (to put it politely) and the relatively obscure location do not seem to offer much guarantee of popularity, although there are only 3 cabs with the special livery.

On the other hand, plastering Akiba taxis with K-ON! characters seems almost sure bet – presumably now only a matter of time.

Some sympathy has been expressed for the chain-smoking middle-aged men who will be expected to drive them…

A distinctly wet Mio was just one of the alluring sights on display thanks to the itasha exhibition at regional anime event “Machi Asobi 4.”

Cars and visitors alike may have been soaked, but fortunately otaku spirits were undampened – in spite of the cold, fog and rain at the exhibition’s mountaintop location:

An itasha spotted on the streets of Akihabara seems to demonstrate there is something creepier than men proudly emblazoning their cars with their imaginary 2D wives after all – the effect when done with photographs of some hapless idol is far worse.

The vehicle attracted a great deal of attention online, though it seems nobody was able to identify the unfortunate lady gracing the chassis:

The positioning of the idol’s mouth here is probably far from coincidental.

The forlorn sight of a Lucky Star itasha being tossed away like yesterday’s vapid moeblob anime is sure to tug at the heartstrings of otaku the world over, or those who remember it at any rate.

The Hiiragi sisters now face being scrunched into a cube and tossed into a furnace like an unwanted Companion Cube – a positively miserable end.

Super GT has always been famous for featuring two of men’s greatest passions – fast cars and beautiful women, and the latest event, held in Sepang, is no exception, even providing some alluring Evangelion cosplay race queens.

Creepy otaku were well in evidence:

Hatsune Miku fans have been enraged by the decision of Japan Rail East to throw out the top voted names for its new E5 Shinkansen, which included “Hatsune,” instead picking the name which came 7th with just 2% of the vote.

JR put the naming of its new locomotive to the vote, and the train soon captured the attention of Miku fans with its familiar green styling, causing them to flood the poll with “Hatsune” votes.

In the final count, 150,000 votes in all, “Hatsune” came second, with first place going to “Hatsukari,” the name of a scrapped train, likely block-voted by creepy train otaku.

However, organisers ignored these and selected “Hayabusa” (“Falcon”), which came 7th with only 3,129 votes, saying they liked its “sense of speed” and its “friendliness.”

2ch was generally displeased:

What was the point of voting?

I get the impression they decided on Hayabusa beforehand…

What, 7th? Make it Hatsune, god damn it!

Thank god it wasn’t Hatsune!

If they’re just going to pick 7th, what’s the point of voting? Who cares if they don’t pick Hatsune, but what is up with that?

Don’t knock otaku pressure – they got a space shuttle renamed “Enterprise” in the US.

Nice one JR, serves those creepy otaku right!

Leaving aside the issue of whether or not the organisers were right to stage a vote and then throw out all the entries in favour of an utterly trite and forgettable name, by passing up “Hatsune” they seem to be passing up a huge marketing coup – hardly a display of good commercial sense.

Team Evangelion Racing has made its racing debut at the 3rd round of the Super GT, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (Japan GT), held at the Fuji Speedway Circuit recently.

Fielding a Toyota Corolla Axio, the team entered under the GT300 category of this prestigious racing series. The team will make its second appearance in June at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

The team went on to finish 9th in the race proper.

Super GT has long been a favourite means of promoting anime based products. Good Smile Company also has a racing team in the series, the Good Smile Racing Team, running a Hatsune Miku livery.

Their first entry was with a BMW Z4, but due to less than satisfactory results, they changed to the Porsche 996 GT3-RSR, and will change to the more powerful Porsche 997 GT3-R at round 7 of the series.

Another team which has anime roots is the Mach Go team, based upon the Mach Go Go Go anime series (Speed Racer in the USA).

Running the Vemac RD320R, the car is painted in homage to the original Mach 5 car of the famous racing anime series.

Just when a K-ON! car will seize poll position remains to be seen.

Virtual idol Hatsune Miku is displaying a disturbing newfound interest in watersports, and the little temptress obviously wants Master to mount her and ride her wet and hard.

First she was spotted spreading her legs in a taxi and letting anyone in for a ride, now this – what has become of the virtual angel so beloved of millions?

The Hatsune Miku jet-ski pictured is actually an official booth display from Yamaha – showing off both Yamaha’s famous WaveRunner line of personal watercraft (“Jet Ski” is actually the genericised trademark of Kawasaki), and their “Vocaloid2″ synthesizer technology. How convenient.

More personal watercraft in anime livery:

These “ita-waterbikes” were displayed at Moehaku 2010 – see also the cars, bikes and of course the comely cosplayers at the event in their respective articles.

Virtual idol Hatsune Miku has been spotted being ridden around Miyagi prefecture, letting anyone inside for a few hundred yen a go.

The plates can be read as “Mi-ku-Mi-ku.”

From reports and the taxi driver’s site it is not clear what effect the Miku tie-in is having on business.

Scandalous.

The recent Nipponbashi Street Fest 2010 provided many Kansai-area otaku a chance to celebrate their true colors in Osaka’s own version of Akihabara, an opportunity that can sometimes be quite rare for those living out of reach of Tokyo.

The metallic masses of itasha were one of the most visible signs of otaku presence, and a few dozen of the inspiring vehicles can be seen below…

The event only lasts for one day, and yesterday’s was the 6th annual holding of the festival.

The main theme of the event is merely the “pop culture” Nipponbashi is known for, just as its bigger brother Akihabara is, but in practice the event is mainly dominated by otaku of varying degrees – some of the individual event names read “Maid Parade” and “Cosplay Parade”.

Nipponbashi incidentally also happens to have its own mascot character, shown on the itasha in the second image above and in this picture below:

A clearer image of the oh-so-moe 音々ちゃん / Neon-chan:

The wonderful art is of course by gifted artist Noizi Ito, best known for illustrating the Haruhi and Shana light novels.

Neon-chan’s personal profile page at the Nipponbashi Project website can be seen here.

Now, back to the lovely itasha:

The one above is a Little Busters! itasha featuring Kudo on its side.

An itasha advertising Mosaic.wav, the former eroge music band known for their genki pop style as heard in the OPs for Kyouran Kazoku Nikki and other shows.

A cleverly disguised Kuroko itasha, looking like a normal car from the sides…

Another Neon-chan itasha.

This somewhat confusing itasha is actually quite fun to read – the top reads 炉利魂ワークス (Loli Soul Works) with “loli” written in kanji selected purely for their sound.

The rest is a show of support for works of loli ero art.

This itasha above is of an eroge, Koiiro Soramoyou (official website).

“Utawarerumono.”

Luckily for Akaneiro’s Minato, the sentiment means much more than precisely correct spelling!

It’s hard to tell without taking a good look, but this blue one is an Ef itasha.

This one is decorated with work from August, the eroge company behind Fortune Arterial.

Another cute K-ON! themed itasha.

And, another well-done Haruhi one.

The rest of the itasha photographed can be seen at the always interesting source, Senaka Blog.

Behold just one more photo from the event, also from Senaka, this time of a dog cosplaying Chopper:

MoeHaku 2010, a Chiba-based event with a heavy emphasis on itasha, also played host to a wide variety of official cosplayers (technically “cosplay companions” as many were laid on by organisers), with the overall quality being high indeed.

The expected plethora of anime, Vocaloid and Touhou cosplayers are well in evidence, along with a few hidden surprises…

The event was held inside Chiba’s huge and ultra-modern Makuhari Messe exhibition centre, and saw healthy attendance despite high winds and steel grey skies:

The cosplayers:

Whether most visitors were really there for the cars and bikes at all is an interesting question.

Possibly the organisers could save money and occupy a smaller space by eliminating the superfluous car component altogether…