Last weekend down the street from my office, AnimeNEXT was in full swing. After a few drinks with a former manager of mine, I headed home, oblivious to the increasing levels of traffic (and the havoc it would create on the local streets of Franklin Township, NJ). As I approached the Crowne Plaza just before the intersection with Easton Avenue, a small hatchback with black wheels and white paint caught my eye.

Anyone over the age of 25 who likes cars and has an idea of what anime is will know what Initial D is. That manga revolved around a teenager who delivers tofu in his dad’s Corolla AE86, which he uses to rise the ranks of the drifting and racing community in Gunma, Japan. This one’s a 1985 model and it’s a JDM-spec car (note the right-hand-drive configuration)–but even better, it’s been done up to look just like the AE86 in the manga series. It took me a second to figure out exactly why it was here last week, but when I remembered it was AnimeNEXT (and saw a guy in a Speed Racer getup outside the hotel the next afternoon), it all came together. What a great way to express your love for anime, especially if you’re into cars. Enjoy the photos.

-Albert S. Davis