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Promo buses prowl Akiba, bring you maid hostesses and creepy cosplay
by Josh Tolentino, 08/25/2009

Now these are buses I wouldn't mind being thrown under. 

Taking the grand tradition of the customized otaku car (ita-sha), promotional ita-buses are becoming a more common sight in nerd-infested areas. The one seen above roaming Akihabara and around Comiket is a particularly spectactular display of game publisher Namco Bandai's marketing weight, as it was just part of an entire ita-convoy of shame-inducing vehicles, all promoting the latest contender for the Idolm@ster throne: Dream C Club.

The entire bus is practically draped in promotional art, and all the windows have been replaced with flatscreen TVs running commercials and music videos. Periodically the bus would release tarted-up maid-hostess cosplayers to distribute calling cards for the game characters, complete with cheesy moe catchphrases ("I'll believe in you forever! You dreams can come true!").

On the other hand, another ita-bus was seen that channeled the much more independent spirit of Comiket. Unsurprisingly, it was the bus promoting Touhou, the obscenely popular series of bullet-hell shmups developed by indie one-man studio ZUN. The ZUN bus looked very much like a standard commuter carriage hijacked by a bunch of crazy Touhou cosplayers.

So one bus brings shame, the other brings terror. Ah, the world we live in. Hit the gallery to see what civilization has wrought.



Gallery Images:
Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo



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