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Turning your car into a Like a Dragon video game itasha can now get you paid and clothed

Casey Baseel Mar 3, 2023
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Kiryu on board.

Though they always had their fans, early games in the Like a Dragon/Yakuza series were more or less sleeper hits. It’s not until the last few years that the franchise’s popularity has really taken off, which means there are a lot of fresh fans who haven’t played the older titles.

Of course, that means publisher Sega can release remasters of the old games, with the most recent being Like a Dragon: Ishin, a spruced up version of the 2014 game of the same name for the current PlayStation and Xbox console families. For new fans who missed out on it the first time around, the remastered Ishin will be their first chance to see honorable gangster Kazuma Kiryu recast as real-life progressive samurai Sakamoto Ryoma in the final days of Japan’s samurai-era Edo period government. And to really help get the word out, there’s a special campaign going on asking drivers to turn their cars into Like a Dragon itasha.

The campaign is being offered through Cheer Drive, a Tokyo-based company that rewards drivers for putting ad artwork on their cars. The “Cheer” part of the name comes from the idea of cheering for someone/something, and so Cheer Drive’s campaigns often focus on anime, video games, sports teams, and other fan-oriented endeavors.

For the Like a Dragon: Ishin campaign, you only need to place one sticker on your car, positioned across the rear window, like the one for Kiryu/Ryoma pictured here.

But while Like a Dragon leans heavily on the charisma of its leading man, who appears on the left half of all the possible stickers, other members of the cast appear on the right side, and you can choose which one you want to put on your car.

▼ Always-popular scene stealer Majima being cast as Okita Soji makes his sticker a tempting choice, but consider this: the sticker for Ryuji Goda/Saigo Takamori has a doggie!

If you’re thinking slapping a piece of video game character art across your rear window is going to ruin your ability to see what’s behind you when you’re on the road, worry not. Thanks to the sticker’s special see-through material, it barely blocks the view from inside (though Cheer Drive says visibility is further hampered on rainy days). It’s also designed to be easily removed without leaving scratches or discoloration once the campaign is over.

Cheer Drive rewards drivers with points, based on distance driven during the campaign period, which can then be converted into money that’s deposited into your bank account. As an extra incentive, participants who drive over 300 kilometers 186.4 miles) during the campaign, will receive a Like a Dragon: Ishin T-shirt, with four designs to choose from.

The campaign announcement mentions a “participation fee” for the campaign of 5,000 yen (US$37), so the campaign really is aimed at car owners who are planning to do some actual driving. With the campaign lasting from March 10 to May 31, though, it seems like there’s plenty of time for anyone with a daily commute or some long weekend drives planned to come out ahead, and applications can be made between now and April 30 using the Cheer Drive mobile app.

Related: Cheer Drive for iOS, Android
Source: Cheer Drive via Otakomu
Images: Cheer Drive
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