Initial D First Stage

I never thought a story about street car racing would be this entertaining. And if I had known what I would be watching when my friend made me watch the first few episodes, I would have said thanks, but no thanks. ...Boy, am I glad I didn't know. Story: On the surface, it's about a pretty bland high school guy who's got a bunch of car-crazy friends... and turns out to be the 2nd fastest driver in Akina. (Who's first? Ooooh, don't you wanna know?) Below the surface...? Okay, pretty much the same thing. ;) Most of the "story" is just a bunch of kids in cars racing through dark mountain passes ...or talking about racing through dark mountain passes. I know it doesn't sound interesting if you're not into car races, but it was. There's something about the speed and the pressure and the tension that sucks you into the show. And of course, there's also your normal sports anime type general plot of competition and desire, rising to the challenge, overcoming obstacles, etc. Art: I have to say, this is the biggest downside of the show. Especially in the first season. Thankfully, by the fourth season, there's a remarkable improvement overall in animation quality. One of the most jarring things is the awkward usage of computer graphics for the racing scenes in the first season. There's kind of an old-school feel to the way the people look and the brightness of the show... and then all of sudden out of no where, there's a cgi car that looks like it's from a different decade than the guy driving it. I don't think I ever got used to that. Sound: Personally, I always prefer subs to dubs. Here, I would really suggest the subs... the voices for English dub didn't feel anywhere near as "right" as the Japanese actors. Whenever I heard the dub, I felt like the voices made me like the characters less. The downside of watching the sub, however, is the Japanese soundtrack. Maybe it's my close-minded American taste, but I would have preferred hearing the hip-hop on the dub to whatever that was used originally. Character: The main character, Takumi, was somewhat atypical for this genre, I think, and I liked it. Unlike the normal archetypes like the loser who tries really hard or the cocky natural-born genius, Takumi is sort of actually unique: he doesn't know anything about cars and doesn't even really like driving. It was a nice way for the series to start because I didn't care about street racing when I started the show either. So, even though they toss around a little bit of racing lingo, I was never more behind than the main character was... and, as a viewer, I got a chance to become interested in street racing while Takumi got interested in it. I really liked that his development on the show kind of went down the same road that mine did as a viewer. So I thought they did a great job on his character design and development because his attitude and experience is what hooks you and reels you in to what I assume would be an otherwise complicated and technical world of street racing. Enjoyment: I think you can tell I enjoyed it, right? I had to make mental notes to slow down while driving for a bit after watching the show. Thankfully, I'm too cowardly to try drifting for real! ...And let me tell you, my Corolla never drove like the 86. ;) I think it was also really appealling because Takumi starts off the show as what seems like a normal, typical driver -- it made me feel like there was an inner Takumi just waiting to be woken up buried somewhere in me. (There's not, unfortunately, but I like to delude myself sometimes.)

(Check out my profile for a link to my site containing more up-to-date reviews and bonus media!) EDITED 11/5/2025: Wow. My writing's improved a lot since I first wrote this. I didn't do a total rewrite, but I cleaned up some lousy syntax. Hopefully, it's easier to follow, as I noticed a fair amount of "confused" reactions. It's still not ideal, but it's at least [i]closer[/i] to my current standards. ------- Vroom, vroom, vroom—it’s anime’s most popular racing series, Initial D. Initial D stars Takumi Fujiwara, a constantly spaced-out and quiet gas station worker with seemingly no hobbies or interests in life. The reserved Takumi is forced into the spotlight when his incredible talent for street racing is discovered by his peers, having been honed through years of making delicate tofu deliveries for his father’s restaurant business. Takumi is pressured by his coworkers and friends into testing his racing abilities by defending Akina’s hometown pride against out-of-towners aiming to be known as the fastest racer in the region. Takumi, initially considering both racing and cars to be a bore, finds himself nonetheless drawn to the thrills, pride, and accomplishment his new skills bring—and it helps when his normally carsick love interest compliments his smooth driving. Takumi is supported by his best friend and racing fanatic Itsuki, as well as upperclassman and lead racer of the Akina Speed Stars, Iketani. Of Takumi's many challengers, most notable are the Takahashi brothers, the fastest team around. Despite growing reverence of Takumi—a new, seemingly unstoppable racer—the older of the elite duo is confident that his driving skill and analytical ability will allow him to keep his crown. Initial D’s cast is generally realistic and likeable, with mild, yet distinct personality archetypes. Characters are passionate about their hobby and take it seriously, but winning or losing at the sport is hardly considered the end of the world. Takumi’s interest in cars and racing grows at an appropriately slow pace, and noticing the nuances in his evolving perspective on the subject feels rewarding and natural. Despite that, little of the cast evolve as people. Takumi’s hobby brings out a competitive spirit in him, but he remains unassertive and distant throughout the season. It’s endearing at first when Takumi is the underdog, as his lack of charisma goes full circle and becomes a charismatic contrast to his cocky opponents—but his small emotional range does get old. His awkward relationship with Natsuki is cute and does evolve throughout the show, but is otherwise uninteresting. Natsuki has no involvement with the show's racing element, and their chemistry is only supported by the "childhood friend" angle. I have no idea why Natsuki would be interested in a guy who only gives one word responses, never starts conversations, and has no interests or hobbies (known to her), but she’s all over him. The supporting cast is weak, because everyone is written to be an inferior, comedic cheerleader to Takumi. The screeching, melodramatic Itsuki straddles a fine line between endearing and unbelievably annoying, just barely landing on the former thanks to the few subplots in which his incompetence with racing and people, despite his passion, evokes genuine sympathy from the viewer. Iketani ends up listless outside of a short, romantic subplot. He’s supposed to be Akina’s number one racer until Takumi shows up, but the little we see of his driving ability is completely unimpressive, and he's far from knowledgeable about racing when compared to the rest of the cast. From behind the scenes, Takumi's street success is closely observed by his father Bunta, a former, once-legendary street racer. A friend of Bunta's, Yuuichi, also happens to be the owner of the gas station Takumi and his friends work at, and he's always willing to provide the adolescents some life advice. The main attraction of Initial D are its races, but there can be a lot of time between them that's spent on hyping up the next opponent, preparing for the race, or comedy/daily life between the main characters—probably more than most sports anime. This can occasionally be a drag, as the races themselves are never longer than three episodes, with the final race of all things being merely two episodes. Initial D does assume a fair bit of prior knowledge regarding racing and car terminology from the viewer, and it’s arbitrary which parts are explained and to what detail. I particularly had a problem following the physical logic of the races, where characters would explain how a technique was pulled off, but without any kind of visual aid. For someone such as myself with little racing knowledge, hearing about how one of the cars moved by shifting gravity and whatnot sounds plausible, but it’s difficult to conceptualize only through the dialogue and simple racing animations. Of course, this makes it harder to appreciate the creativity behind the races and techniques themselves. While the framerate of Initial D can be choppy, and there might not be a lot of movement, the art style itself is decently pleasant—for the most part. Many criticize the “fish-like” eyes and lips of the character designs, but they’re meant to resemble original manga artist Shigeno Shuuichi’s art style, and it’s otherwise distinct, so I don't mind it. By far, the most controversial aspect of Initial D’s animation is its use of computer-generated 3D renders for the cars. CG animation was starting to catch on around this time, with many studios believing it was the natural evolution of animation. Initial D’s studios jumped the gun on what was still a niche medium, haphazardly shoving it into their series in a presumed attempt to look innovative. The irony—as we now know—is that the CG is immediately the aspect of Initial D that dates it the most. Even though CG was a newer animation form than the cel animation otherwise used, the older form is professionally done by professional, experienced animators. Traditional animation had decades to refine its quality standards, while CG at this point was technologically primitive and implemented by people who had less time working with it. Initial D’s CG cars are basic models that lack texturing to give them a realistic surface, and consist of bold, flat colors that contrast heavily with the surrounding environment of 2D animation. So, the animation styles clash, look ugly, and break the series' artistic cohesion, but what else? Initial D’s studios also use the CG as an excuse to cut corners (as has been the case with CG ever since). One of the most noticeable things about scenes with CG in the frames is that the 2D cels they’re on will be completely unanimated. Not only is this awkward if you take the time to notice how everyone and everything in the background is as still as a rock whenever a car pulls up, but any attempts to mask this lack of moving frames is hilariously ineffective. A consistent "disguise" is to have a CG car pass in front of a group of people in the background, such as when it drives across a road at a 180 degree, horizontal angle, and then have that still frame of spectators swapped with another still frame of them looking in the opposite direction. Cheap animation has been a part of anime since its inception, but not often will you find a '90s anime that reminds you of Astro Boy. It's tempting to call it laziness. I can count on one hand the amount of times the series has 2D animation in the same frame as CG animation, but they can clearly do it. There are also occasional instances of disproportional scale and perspective, like a person standing by a car being way bigger than they should be relative to their distance. Use of CG also discourages use of traditional animation techniques to emphasize a sense of speed. There’s no motion lines, blur, or anything of the sort to give audiences a sense of motion or whiplash during the races. This makes the way the races far du…

I like watching sports anime. People who know me and have accepted the fact that I am a hardcore couch-potato find this hilarious. But the irony doesn't end there. I am a member of minority who does not possess a driving license nor has the faintest clue about driving. After my Yawara "Brain-Imploding-Annoyance-Rage" I was rather desperate. There were very few sports animes left I hadn't watched yet. And I was - still am actually, I can't take bludgeoned faces!- digging my heels in not to watch Hajime no Ippo. Barring any alternatives I gave in to desperation and started watching Initial D though in my couch potato opinion Street-Car-Racing is no sport. The art took some getting used to. Every time I saw one of those "fish-on-land-gasping-for-air" mouths I just wanted to smash my fist into it. But then pretty soon something weird happened. I got sucked into the Takumi-Bunta duo. The story itself is nothing world-moving; the synopsis tells it perfectly accurate. Like ParaParaJMo says, this anime's hook for me was and is Takumi. He is not only a reluctant hero, but rather a lethargic hero. He breaths, he talks and he walks and he helps out his father with the tofu shop by driving out the goods but driving, it is a chore, that must be done. His heart is not in it. It is not that he is lazy but he has no passion nor any direction in life. Enter the "woman" and the rock starts rolling. God knows, I would have been as much interested if not more if this was Bunta's -Takumi's father- story, because Bunta is a character like Hiruma & Co (Eyeshield 21). He does things with a purpose even if the main character doesn't have the dream of a clue why. In that manner, Bunta started his son on driving 5 years ago, when he was barely out of diapers and from what we understand he was a strict master. And the fruits of that are now very visible in Takumi. I like an anime if I like the characters. I have watched and liked animes, anime-lovers would diss. I watch sports animes; yet I barely know the rules of any of the sports; just because I like the characters. The characters here grew on me too. Well most of them anyway. And in Itsuki's case (Takumi's best friend) it was rather like fungus. The development and growth of the characters drives the story on. Even though it is a repeated plot reel, - there is a challenge, Takumi drives, Takumi wins- weirdly it never gets old and you find yourself engaged time and again. The music is just awesome. It had me wiggling around on my couch so much so that I had a b.tt-print on it every time I watched it. I would have enjoyed it to the max if the female folk wasn't in there. And that is my only gripe about this anime. Honestly, I think the Mangaka needed to get laid really bad, or may be I am too outlandish but the female folk of this anime is just horrendous. Here is a summary of the female cast in this anime Takumi's first love interest: A teenage prostitute. Literally. Also rather "I haven't exposed myself in the last 30 seconds so let me show you my panties" type. Color me stiff but if my girlfriend is ok with showing her panties to my father, I'd be rather "peeved"! Mako: a challenger, also a love interest to Iketani, one of Takumi's friends/Sempai; here is what she says to Iketani: If you make the race happen between me and Takumi I will sleep with you. Kyoko, a love interest to Keisuke: 3 Seconds after she sees him, he is her "Darling" and she is a whiny, clingy, .... something. Oh and the mother is not even mentioned. The art does get better, And by that I mean, thank God they do lose their utmost annoying fish mouths. And the girls are not always there so my annoyance was kept in check, which is why Initial D gets 9 Enjoyment points and 8 overall. I recommend trying out Initial D. And extend the 3 episode rule to 4 if you are still undecided because Takumi doesn't officially race before the 4th episode. Initial D is worth at least that much of your time.

At first, I’ll admit that I did not think I would like the concept at first, but other factors which I will further elaborate on would keep on pulling me into this franchise and would like it more and more. I know it’s not the most exciting or appealing anime, and that I’m not the biggest gear head, but I felt something special about this one. Even though Takumi is not exactly the most appealing anime character of all time, it’s kind of weird that his lack of charisma in some ways makes him charismatic at the same time because he does all his talking behind the wheel and he’s a monster at it, and yet, he thinks his abilities are nothing special. The cast is well rounded and they all get equal attention for the most part. There’s not much that goes with story, but the characters is what really drives this anime. But it still has a lot of elements such as some romance, lots of comedy, and it’s a different kind of coming of age story. I’ll admit the character design isn’t really the most beautiful, nor is the coloring the most glossy. Yes, it’s nothing really great, but the character design is diverse and distinctive in lets say in comparison to Gundam SEED’s, nor way too generic like History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi. I’ll admit Shigeno, the manga artist has a weird way of drawing, but he does have a style of making some of his characters, especially Ryosuke, look distinctively Japanese rather than relying too much on the trademark anime big eyes. Plus, there is none of this wacky hairstyle or hair color bull crap that is so trendy, so I was able to be glad to be away from that. Plus, the designs of the cars are of course accurate to that of the real cars themselves. I really like how they used CG for the races and it brings a trademark trait to this show. Granted the CG isn’t that impressive looking, but this was 1998. Look at the other CG cartoons that were out back then and compare it to where CG is now in 2008. But despite that, the physics for the most part I will probably have to assume are 95% real because the drift king himself, Tsuchiya Keiichi, was an advisor to the races. A lot of environmental factors are put into play with the outcome such as gutter gripping on the corners for traction. Also, all of the courses present in the show are real life mountains, except Akina is really named Haruna and from what I have heard, they are accurately represented. The show has a lot of technical jargon in relation to the cars and driving techniques. If you don’t have any prior knowledge, it will be hard to understand but at least you’re getting something educational in some bizarre regard. Now time to really talk about what made me a fan, the Eurobeat music. I first got into this anime in 2000 and was a junior in high school, and I was playing Para Para Paradise every weekend at my local arcade. I loved the music and even found other non-game dance routines on the internet and got addicted to the music. Then one day, my friend gave me this anime to watch and told me to watch it. I thought the opening theme, Around the World by Move, was pretty cool and catchy. Then, the moment things got underway, I immediately recognized the first song, Space Boy by Dave Rodgers and the last song, No One Sleeps in Tokyo by Edo Boys, and I thought, hey, this soundtrack alone has me sold. The Eurobeat in this anime is as synomous and central as is the jazz in Cowboy Bebop. I never watched the dub and to this day, I will refuse to watch it. I heard they change the music to 7th grade level grunge rock and to me, doing that is like replacing the jazz in Cowboy Bebop to Achy Breaky Heart! But trying to put a portion of my biases aside, I felt that the fast paced nature of Eurobeat really suits the fast paced atmosphere of this anime in its own unique way like that. The Japanese voice cast is also very excellent and multi-talented. I think Miki Shin’ichiro does a great job as Takumi. He does a great job of being quiet and unassuming, but in certain moments, he knows how to sound enraged if you push the right buttons on him. And the voice of Kaneda from Akira, Iwata Mitsuo, is funny as Itsuki. I just love it when he goes Kuuuuuu sound when he’s excited. And I really loved Koyasu Takehito as Ryosuke and his role in playing Ryosuke is why he’s my favorite character. He’s very serious about what he does and he is very charismatic and intimidating, but yet, knows how to act approachable at the same time. Tomokazu Seki as Keisuke I like him being so moody, hot tempered, and is straight out no nonsense. And to conclude, the sounds of the car engines are actually based on the real cars themselves. I saw a documentary on Initial D one time and they showed how they got the real car engine sounds and applied them to the anime. Unfortunately, I will restate I have never seen the dub, but have heard only bad things about it. OK, I’ll admit that you might not be able to relate to this anime nor most of its characters, or more specifically their situations. It’s definitely not for casual anime fans, or those who like Naruto, Bleach or DBZ. Hell, it’s not even for a lot more dedicated anime fans as well. But as a Para Para Paradise veteran, I just felt the music alone was something I could relate to and I know it’s weird to get into some animes based on that. But eventually, I personally came to embrace Initial D the anime itself. I just felt because it was something out of the norm, I was able to enjoy it. So if you’re truly looking for something different, I say give Initial D a try. I know this anime is not for everyone, but it takes the right circumstances when you get into it to enjoy it for some people.

Vroom Vroom, if you're into street racing then you'll love initial D. Tak is so gosh darn thicc and irresistible, and my homeboy Shingo can hit a drift faster than anybody can smack that nae nae. Whevever my homeboy Tak does a drift everyone goes zoo wee mama, including me. Bunta is smarter than any Rick and Morty and he smokes really cool. Because of him i've become a heavy smoker and my life expectancy has gone down to 30 years. My boy itsuki sucks at drifting, but he is such a qt π and he does the most epic fails xD. Overall, I'd give initial d a 69/10 but i can only rate it out of 10 so whatever :P

Yeah, this is one of those shows that have a niche audience that I'm not gonna have interest in continuing further with. I've heard quite a bit about Initial D since college where it was popular with street racing fans and even served as a gateway drug to anime for some. It even gets poked fun of for its subpar animation in some comedy anime like Lucky Star and School Rumble, which I'll cover a little later in this review. Pretty much, Initial D's selling point is the various street racing competitions that male lead Takumi and his friends are involved with. Plenty of in-depth terminology on the various cars and their parts are part of regular conversation between racers as they hype up the capabilities of their car and driving, as well as any reputation that a reputable racer within the series has. The races are genuinely suspenseful, albeit predictable in their outcomes and usually defy real-life physics, as Takumi finds himself regularly challenged by other street racers throughout the course of the series as he adjusts to the street racing craze and improves his skills in later episodes against unique challenges like a "duck tape death match" or racing in unfamiliar territory. The series does delve into backgrounds and developments of some prominent characters in the series, but many are hard to connect with due either to lacking much in personality (mostly applies with Takumi), are archetypal to a great extent or only exist as challengers to Takumi and to gawk at his exceptional driving skills when he beats them. Essentially, Initial D is mostly focused on racing and you will find yourself rather bored of the series if you are expecting anything more out of it. Visually, Initial D is quite subpar sporting rough lining and washed-out colors for its scenery and characters designs, the latter sticking out quite prominently with the faces of said characters looking quite off. The races and cars within the series are animated entirely in CGI which looks quite a bit on the cheap side in terms of rendering and the audience in said races looking like cardboard cut-outs while races are in action during many shots. On the plus side, Initial D's techno soundtrack is quite catchy and upbeat, going along nicely with many parts of the show and doing well at making the races in the series seem genuinely intense. Even with said soundtrack though, it isn't enough to have me wanting to see more of Initial D. The title's premise appeals to a rather niche audience and doesn't have much else that sticks out with it beyond its cliched characters and subpar visual presentation. Your mileage will definitely vary with this one.

Initial D is a bit of a mixed bag. When it's actually focused on the races, the drivers, and Takumi's developing interest in the sport, it becomes clear as to why its THE anime you go to for racing. It's enjoyable to see how Tak manages to outmaneuver his opponents in a slower car. The soundtrack is unique and iconic, and it complements the racing well. However, these highlights only comprise about half the show, and its the frequent detours into the slice-of-life/romance genre that really drag the show down for me. This is mainly referring to Itsuki and Iketani, two of Tak's friends and "teammates" in the show. There interactions in the show are bearable at best, and painfully annoying at worst. Won't spoil too heavily, but Iketani's romance arc is easily one of the most confusing I've seen in all the anime I've watched. There's also fact that neither of them ever participate in a race; or anyone on their team for that matter. It's only Tak, everyone other member is relegated to a cheerleading role. The other side characters, like Bunta and the other competitors, were mostly fine. It was interesting to see their motivations behind racing and their gameplans against Tak. To reiterate, this is basically the only relevant racing anime. The only other I've seen at this point is Redline, and that's more of an action movie than anything. It's unfortunate the parts I found enjoyable don't make up the majority of the runtime, but regardless, I'd still heavily recommend Initial D if your looking for a racing anime.

A friend told me about this Series, the other day. I was skeptical when he explained what it was about. He said it was about street racing and mainly about the cars. To be honest, I am not all that interested in cars. I am like the next person and have a mediocre interest, but not enough where I would be overly excited to watch a series about cars. I was hanging out with my friends at his house when he insisted that we watch Initial D. Still skeptical, i try to convince him to put in something else.. but he was dead set on me watching this series. We started watching the series in the morning, and by the time we stopped I had watched nearly every episode in the first stage. It never accrued to me that I would have any interest in cars or street racing, until i watched this show. I found myself getting excited or anxious about the coming scene. We ended on episode 20 of 26. Immediately upon going home I decided watch the remainder of the stage online. I won't say this series was the best I had ever watched, because it most definitely falls short of my favorites, but it definitely made my must see list. The series had a couple major downfalls in my eyes. 1: The Animation was little to be desired. 2. The Animation of the cars did not mesh very well with the animation of the characters. However, the plot and entertainment of the series definitely made up for the shortcomings of the two. Besides those two it was very enjoyable. It doesn't matter if you have interests in cars or racing, it is enjoyable nonetheless. In my eyes the characters were "iffy". I didn't so much enjoy some major traits in a few of the characters. For example Iggy. I understand that some people are naturally like Iggy, but to me he was pretty annoying. Then again, the series wouldn't be what it is without him. I'm just saying, i get frustrated with him while watching. Looking back in retrospect, that was more than likely what the developers had in mind; to keep the viewer interested. As for the sound: They did very well in the Japanese Version. The opening theme for the Japanese Version is much better than the opening for the English version. The Japanese version seemed to have more crisp sound compared to the English version. It simply fell short. However, I only watch English Dub. So the English Version sufficed. Overall the series was very enjoyable. It made my must see list. I will recommend this series to anyone. It was worth my time, so I believe it is worth yours too. Rewatch Value: Medium- Very High

Welcome, to my first ever review on this website! Introduction: Initial D is one of the first anime I've ever watched, back when I was young and did not know much about anime and cars. Every single race that immediately got me hooked on, the mesmerizing euro beat soundtracks on standing out on a league of their own and of course, the characters, changed me. We'll get onto those in detail in a bit. To me, cars and anime were never really my thing, but after watching this show I wanted to get a license, I could not wait until I was legally allowed to get one. It motivated me, to advance in my life. Story (10/10): The story of Initial D is quite simple and easy to grasp. You can watch your TV, phone, computer screen, or whatever you watch it on laid back. A high school student works part time at a gas station, where he meets his co-workers, who are car freaks and members of the "Akina Speed Stars". I shall not tell you more about it. If what you read convinced you so far, you should watch it unfold yourself. Art (7/10): The weakest point of Initial D. The animation is sometimes fully computer generated, which I am not really judgeful against, it's more of a "save the budget" thing. The artstyle of this anime though, is not far from the manga. Their facial expressions and the way they look in general look exactly how they looked in Shigeno Shuuichi's source material, if not, even better. With sharp details onto the characters that tend to be underlooked at distant angles, but a problem it is not, as it's not a series that focuses the most on its art and animation. Sound (10/10): Music Car racing and Eurobeat go hand-to-hand now, that is because of Initial D. I would not blame anyone that would listen to a 10 hour playlist of just Initial D music and doing a car crash. The music is just so fitting. The uplifting and energetic atmosphere work perfectly mixed together. Voice Acting (Sub) I have watched this series with subtitles, therefore, hearing their original "Seiyuus". The voice acting is pretty good. Takumi Fujiwara was one of Shinichiro Miki's first roles and I could not say it was a disappointing one. It managed to portrait the type of a human being Takumi is. The rest of the cast's voices match their personality also, as most of the people chosen to voice are solid voice actors that provided hard work in the industry for decades. I would not go on with this until I talk about Keiji Fujiwara, which was an amazing voice actor. His voice was just so awesome and in character and I would never forget him. May rest in peace, Keiji Fujiwara! Your work shall always be remembered. Character (10/10): A strong point to this series are its characters. Takumi Fujiwara, an 18 years old genius. He is not an archetype of a driving series' main character, in fact, his apathic attitude makes him stand out. He is not this overly energetic loud bastard, he is rather reserved but sharp. Looking at him for the first time, you would not think to yourself that he, is the second fastest racer in Mount Akina. The rest of the characters blend in perfectly and their interactions are real. There is rivalry, there is friendship, even a tad bit of romantic atmosphere between some characters. Enjoyment (10/10): I absolutely LOVED watching this show. Every single episode, every single minute spent on it felt like a ride. A night ride, that is. This show has actually changed me as a person, as well, as I previously stated in the introduction. Developed an inner love for cars in me that I didn't even know I had. Overall (10/10): Treat yourself and start watching this series right now. I could not recommend it to you more. Likeable characters, simple story, absolutely amazing soundtrack and an enjoyable one, that is. Watch it and see for yourself. If you agree with my review, be sure to give it a "Helpful" button. If you don't agree, haha, well that's unfortunate. Maybe talk to me about it, as I'm open to discussions about this series.

THIS THING IS A MASTERPIECE! When I first started watching Initial D, I dodn't like the old CGI and art style, but that's only the first season. And OH MAN is the story good. Also the music is outstanding. The show builds up drama in a very good and entertaining way. From a person that likes cars, I want to say that this is the best show I have ever watched. if you don't like cars/japanese car culture, this could be a great incroduction, but that's not what you watch a show for, so I'll just leave it here. Peace!

This is my first review and I just finished Initial D so I thought that writing a review could be a good idea. This review is only about the first stage and not the whole franchise. Story: 8/10: The story is pretty classic and is all you might want from an anime about street-racing. It's about recklessness, the will to aim always higher, etc...It's most of the time over the top, but in a good way: after each episode of Initial D you'll get seriously fired up, and even eating a sandwhich afterward will be fucking epic, it will have the taste of sweat and victory as you headbang to techno music. Which is my next subject: Music: 9/10: Damn, that OST is awesome. If you are into Eurobeat, just watch it already, but if you hate that 90s techno music, just go away, this anime is simply not for you and you will dislike it even if you like the characters and the story. However, I did not rate it 10/10 for one reason: when the race start, the music is intense and all, but once it ends and you come back to the daily life of the protagonists, the OST becomes old and unoriginal, sadly. Character: 9/10: This anime isn't just a race after an other, there's actually a lot of enjoyable characters. The MC, while some people might call him a Gary Stu (his ennemies have literally no chance to win), there's actually some character development and your typical sleepyhead who becomes a beast when driving actually shows some depth. The same can be said about his crew and his opponents. Also, the interaction between the characters are really interesting in the sense that they are rather mature and it shows (the way they handle the romance, for exemple, isn't the way it would be in your typical anime). Art: 5/10: And now the worst part. Time wasn't really gentle with that anime. The art isn't great, the animation isn't fluid and worse, the CGI is horrible. Of course, I can easily imagine that at the time it was airing, those who watched it found it outstanding, but CGI gets old really fast, sadly. Enjoyment: 10/10: It was amazing, I just can't stop listening to Night of Fire at full blast (and my mom now thinks I'm weird) and even if the CGi got old, the anime is still as enjoyable nowadays as it was before because a good anime never really dies and Initial D is definitely one of those.

First Stage review Who would have thought that the fastest driver in town is just your everyday tofu delivery boy. High schooler Takumi Fujiwara’s perception of driving changes after being encouraged to enter his first street race. Remember it’s illegal! Story – You would think that an anime revolving around street racing would get pretty dull after a couple of races or so but that is not the case with Initial D. The story begins with the laid-back Takumi being forced to enter a street race by his father which was meant to be Ikitani’s problem who is his co-worker at his part-time job. Takumi accepts the proposal and wins it in convincing fashion with an ulterior motive, which is he would be rewarded with a full tank of gas for his date with a girl named Natsuki. There is romance development but it’s not a major thing in this season from what I’ve seen. After seemingly doing the impossible, Takumi inevitably gains a reputation of being the fastest driver on Mt. Akina that drives a [i]’Toreno 8-6’[/i] which gets rumours spreading mainly about his skill. This results in numerous challenges being thrown at Takumi one after another, with each being under different circumstances that gives rise to an entertaining racing series. After overcoming many challenges, Takumi comes to a realisation that there is more to being a good driver in street racing. Art – The computer graphics should be highlighted as it’s either a hit or miss with some people. The fact that it composes 50% of the driving scenes signifies its overall importance as without it, this anime just may not be possible. The fact that the CG used in an anime made in the late 90s makes it kind of surreal in a sense, as the quality was fantastic and maybe on par with series further down the timeline. The CG animation was smooth throughout and never really dragged too much which left a great impression on me. The only real downside to the CG is when certain scenes are used for more impact such as the slow-motion which makes the CG look awkward compared to a faster moving scene that is more natural. That said, the CG was well choreographed with the human backgrounds being used effectively at certain angles. The hand-drawn art however was tolerable as it used standard designs that are prevalent in many series but I hadn’t set any expectations considering how dated it was anyway. The background art was more pleasing to the eyes than the character designs personally which adds to the overall experience. I’d rather watch this show for the CG which just shows you the sheer difference between the two elements. Sound - Probably one of my favourite aspects of the show. The method in which the tracks were used every time a street race would take place would get me excited. The tracks that were used in the races were various and consisted of some very nice vocals. The tempo and pace at which the pace at which the tracks were played is another plus, as they never went on for too long whilst remaining sufficient and appropriate for the different parts. The show had that natural 90s tune every time a slice of life scene came into play which always gets to me. The OP/END themes were OK as they really are there just to get you hyped for the contents of the episode. Skip them and save time. Characters Character development for the MC is evident throughout this show and so you must be blind to casually dismiss it. Takumi is very caring and holds much respect to the ones close to him as he detests other making vulgar remarks humiliating his friends which brings consequences. Takumi is quick to act, which is seen from him getting into a physical brawl or through a driving challenge. Takumi before being addicted to street racing would just see driving as a normal thing that helped his family’s business. After his numerous feats against other drivers, he really understood the joy of being in the race and the thrills it gave off to the competitors and even the spectators who are everywhere. The side characters were also explored in some depth such as his chummy best friend Itsuki and co-worker Ikitani who both had their fair share of problems regarding other drivers. The number of mistakes that led to Takumi being called to correct their faults was numerous, which was something I despised greatly as it gave off the impression that he is truly dependable at any time. The other challengers were analysed to various levels such as the Takahashi brothers from the Redstuns who were primarily responsible for Takumi’s awakening for the streets. The Night Kids also had some members who literally put Takumi in a tricky situation that may be interpreted as being too extreme. There was also a lot of focus on identity evaluation/perceptions as was the case with the female driver at Uuso pass. Verdict – The series was so enjoyable that it didn’t take me that long to finish it. I would recommend this to anyone seeking a competitive racing series with high stakes involved or maybe any car enthusiast as some of the terminology really threw me for a loop. A very good series 8/10.

To start off this review, I have to say; the saying "it's not for everybody" has never been more accurate for anime. As a huge car enthusiast, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this anime and finished it in only two days (first stage). Because most cars are automatic nowadays, most people won't have any idea about how manuals work or even about the lost art of double clutching or toe/heel techniques. Seeing little things like this was totally nostalgic and made the show just that much better for me. Story: 8 I thought it had a pretty interesting story-line, and while some may not agree; I feel Initial D was very strong in setting up situations to force Takumi into racing. The races themselves were extremely enjoyable as well not to mention intense, seeing a beefed up Corolla go against the likes of "Godzilla", the RX-7's rotary engine even to the unicorn farting V-TEC. In all serious, these cars were legends in the 90's; especially the RX-7 so much so that when two of your favorite cars go at it in this anime you'd never want to see one or the other lose. Only thing that annoyed me was all the Silvia's in this show and they were pretty much fodder for the other cars. Art: 7 Alright, now this is an anime from 1998. Comparing this to Nagi no Asukara's art, it quite literally looks like a 16 bit NES game. However, the CGI when racing was pretty good especially for 15-16 year old anime. Other than that, character designs were pretty inconsistent, the backgrounds like the ones at school were okay. Sound: 6 I'd have to say sound quality was pretty bad. If I wasn't watching subtitles I'd imagine trying to pick up what Itsuki was saying would be pretty challenging as his audio seemed to be muffled a lot. The exhaust and engine sounds were pretty good, though you'd never really be able to notice a turbo kicking in even though I'd say they were in the 1500-3000 rpm range most of the time. Character: 8 I would have to say the opponents were often the most interesting characters. They each had their own style or method of winning whether it be higher horsepower numbers or playing around with weight distribution to mess someone up. Takumi is a pretty bland main character, but I absolutely hated his girlfriend; mostly for being a slut. Itsuki got pretty annoying at times but I felt he was a necessity. To be frank, the one with the most personality was probably the AE86. I enjoyed seeing that car and its Tofu vinyl more than anyone in the show. Enjoyment: 10 Like I said before, this anime isn't for everyone. If you love cars I would highly recommend watching this. Despite all the flaws in it, I still enjoyed it thoroughly. I'm about to start watching the Second Stage and am looking forward to it because it seems that the AWD EVO is up next. Overall: 8 Even if you don't like cars, I would still suggest trying it out. If you watch the first race and still don't like it, then from there I would suggest dropping it. I would highly recommend doing a little research on Japanese Automotives and its history as well as notable vehicles before watching it though. It'll make the experience much more enjoyable.

Being someone who despised anime and everything about it growing up, I'm very picky about my anime. If it's all boobs bouncing up and down with no story, I'm not going to enjoy it. If it's boring and repetitive, I am not going to watch it beyond the first season. If there is no story, I am not going to put it on my favorites list. This anime is none of those. First of all, let me say, I find it weird how many people comment on how choppy the animation is. Yes, it's absolutely choppy and cheesy. We're talking about high speed racing and drifting both drawn and computer generated from the late 90's. Popular mid to late 90's anime always looks great with choppy animation to make up for the lack of ability to animate enough frames per second as popular anime of today. That's just a fact we'll have to accept. Plus the animation gives off a retro vibe and makes it unique from all this unoriginal anime of today. I always have been, though I lean towards trucks, a car guy. Started out liking American classics, began to eyeball American sports, had a bit of sub-average admiration for European super cars, never was a fan of the Bugatti, always have been and will be a fan of American muscle, in fact, the Hellcat will top my list for a long time, but the Japanese drifting scene is something you cannot overlook. (Update: Since writing this review, Japanese classics have become some of my most favorite cars, but the Hellcat is still my favorite car of all time.) I'd already had a minor fascination for retro Japanese in-line sixes and understated four banger technology. And, I mean, everybody loves a Skyline, right? But this anime fueled that fascination much further. Being the birthplace of the fame for the 86, it was no surprise how much this show favors it, but it still gave a good look on other vehicles. Watching this show, I learned the terms FR and FF (FR gang) and what a hairpin turn is, and other terms, which was cool. But don't expect to learn anything about actual driving. You won't learn how to drift from watching this, as everything the characters say is superficial crap, but that far from ruins the immersion and excitement. The fact that everything going on in the show is larger than life and beyond stretched truth without reaching levels of science fiction makes it far more entertaining. Every race is, of course, repetitive, because the show mostly centers around one single stage/track, but always introduces a challenge for our main character and keeps you on the edge of your seat. They also do an amazing job of keeping the races on screen for awhile, but not making it drawn out and boring. The writers must know exactly how to keep someone paying attention, because the transitions between episodes are perfect and will keep you pressing the "next episode" button. So, to kind of summarize what I've said, short and sweet, the show is pretty great. It's very entertaining and will help you understand the fascination of Japanese sports cars and turn your attention to the drift scene of Japan's past. The races are a bit repetitive but not excessive, even though you pretty much always have no doubt that Takumi will win every single race despite how much the challenger throws at him. This was an great anime, and now I'm going to sink my life into watching every season and special I can find.

*** This is a review of all the stages of Initial D (contains spoilers) *** Initial D is one of my favorite animes of all time. Whilst it arguably doesn’t have the best story and certainty not the best animation/art it has influenced me so much. I happened to find the song “Déjà vu” on YouTube and thought it was kinda good, so I looked into it and found that it was from Initial D. I started watching it not expecting too much but wow, it is just great. This later got me into getting into cars which has now become a huge part of my life. My favorite stage is stage 3 closely followed by stage 1. STORY: 8/10 Like I mentioned the story is nowhere revolutionary but, in my opinion, it is still great. The fact that Takumi is winning every race could easily get boring however the races are incredible intense, and it constantly feels impossible that he could win. One thing I also really enjoyed was the relationship between Takumi and Natsuki and I thought it was a little disappointing when she left in stage 3, and nothing replaced her until stage 5 with the golf girl (I don’t remember her name) which they didn’t give her nearly as much screentime. The races are overall good paced and even though some of them are quite long they don’t feel like they are dragged out. ART: 8/10 The art in the earlier stages is not the best, but it has a charm to it. My favorite art style is probably from stage 3, the character designs are great, and this is the point where the cars and races start looking a lot better. You can still see that it’s not perfect yet, but it’s getting there. Stages 4 – final look fantastic, the cars are realistic, and they have improved a lot. The character designs however are in my opinion a little worse than before, its hard to explain why but I just don’t think they look as good. SOUND: 10/10 The sound is absolutely phenomenal, the engine sounds are extremely accurate, and the voice acting is really solid. Then there is the Eurobeat, wow. It fits so good with the races and if it weren’t for the music the races wouldn’t be nearly as exiting. It has gotten to the point where I listen to Eurobeat in my everyday life just because I like it that much. The ops and eds are also great with both visuals and music. CHARACTER: 9/10 The characters are also a highlight. The interactions between Takumi and his friend group are realistic and feels like people I could be friends with. Natsuki is one of the most interesting characters in the series and when Takumi finds out that she is dating a middle-aged man as well as how they interact afterwards are some of my favorite parts. The scene where Takumi races up Akina in the snow to save Natsuki is probably the best in the whole show, and I get chills every time I watch it. The minor antagonists are well established and are not one dimensional. ENJOYMENT: 10/10 Initial D is a blast to watch especially stages 1 – 3 (and maybe 4). While I enjoyed stage 4 and the races were amazing, I felt as there were too many with no breaks in between. The statement stands for stage 5 and final as well, but they are worse (but nowhere bad) in my opinion. In combination with the great, fleshed out characters, amazing races and fantastic music my enjoyment is through the roof. OVERALL: 10/10 This is in my opinion one of the best animes I’ve ever watched and YES, I am biased. From an objective point of view this surely is not a 10/10 but I just can’t rate it any lower, Initial D will always be one of my favorite and most impactful shows of all time.

Honestly this is by far the best racing/car anime I've ever seen. Filled with lots of drifting and lot of different cars such as the AE86, the Mazda RX-7, and many more! I mainly enjoyed Initial D for the variety of cars and the depth that the creators went into when made the anime. Another thing I would like to mention is the music, the music helps add suspense and excitement plus it's just genuinely good music. The art is very good showing different scenes of the cars turning around corners as well as doing pretty well animating it. I encourage you to check it out because you will be in for a wild ride. (great pun)

Being one of those person who dont like to watch sports anime, a soundtrack on youtube brought my attention to this series and after looking into it i got addicted instantly, mainly cos of the catchy soundtrack and the overall nostalgic flair. Story and Plot: 7/10 High school student and main character Tatsumi knows nothing about cars and racing but has hiddent skills and technique thanks to his fathers training, which opens his path to the world of street racing. This simple pemise unfolds into tatsumis skills being tested by all kinds of foes, while also developing his skills and learning about his faults and weaknesses. Besides the racing, you get a view into his personal life and how it is affected by racing, though the highschool theme is mere background and aside from his relationship to a few characters doesnt play a huge role in the story, the main focus lies in racing, tasumis workplace, being the place to get new challenges and talk with his best friends. What is kinda lacking is the absence of any polive or authoritarian force against the street races, which would normally be considered illegal and dangerous for the traffic, this and other similar things would have added more depth to the series, had they been implemented. Characters: 7/10 The main cast is mainly consisted by tatsumis friends and his rivals. Side characters mostly just appear again to be commentators of events and some rivals turn to side characters along the way. The protagonist gets a fair share of development and an insight in his thoughtprocess during races and his fears fleshes him out. His best friend also gets a good development from annoying to less annoying and more understanding of tatsumi. Others also get an ok amount of screen time, although they dont get that much development or focus to call them more than 2d characters for the most part ( there are exceptions, but their devlopment only bears fruit in later seasons ). All in all the characters all fit well into the setting and racing environmet of that era and time. Art and Sound: 9 While the art is decent for the time it was released, even the cgi was to my liking, the soundtrack is really what makes initial d stand out. The sound always catches the situation and the osts are on saved on my playlists as some of the best. They are for the most part fast eurobeats that heat you op and make you feel like you really are watching an epic race or even taking part in it, it may also make you wanna drive fast yourself. Enjoyment: 10/10 My major enjoyment comes from the eurobeats, amazing drifts and retro cars as well as the nostalgic air this series has Summary: 8,5/10 Initial D first stage has made me a fan of eurobeats and made me marathon all seasons in a flash, it is fitted to everyone: Girls and Boys, Sport Hater and Lover or just car lovers, even haters might gain a new perspektive.

Takumi Fujiwara is an average 18-year old high school student with an average job as a gas station attendant, and a not-so-average hand in the family business. To help his father's tofu shop, Takumi has been delivering tofu in his father's 'Eight-Six' Trueno to a hotel at the peak of Mt. Akina. Every night at 4 a.m. He's is brought into a world full of street racing and eventually over time feels compelled to become the best drift racer in all of tokyo. He is soon plunged into a world of competition and contests against some of the greatest racers in the japan prefecture. The story may not be its strongest aspect and just by reading it, may turn some viewers off if they are not the type of car junkie otaku fans but the focus and attention in this series is to the Characters. Takumi which has the personality of a very layed back fellow who just enjoys his work and doesn't think much of his driving skills. Using his fathers car to deliver tofu on the downhill at Mt. Akina. That is until fate decides to change his determination and course of action when lots of rivals wonder who is the driver in the AE86, thus many challengers want to challenge this ghost of the streets. The journey towards takumi becoming a legendary racer begins. Takumi has a very charismatic and charming personality and will do anything to protect his friends. Itske his closest and best friend, at first glance is like the otaku nerd of all things cars but even though he may be in over his head some times and some times gets him self into trouble or overthinking things at times. Takumi is always their to have his back. Both of these characters have great contrast between each other, other characters you will meet soon join up with takumi at first our rivals, but soon their after become great friends. Created in 2-D animation, contrasting noticeably with the technically detailed look of the cars and races, which are recreated with 3-D CGI for the anime. While the integration of 2-D and 3-D is somewhat awkward in the early episodes, it improves greatly as the series progresses to the point to where both the CGI and animation blend pretty seamlessly together. The character designs get better also, with more detailed facial expressions becoming quite evident later in the series. The races are edited and designed with great skill and thought. These sequences are genuinely exciting even to those of us who never followed any kind of racing action sequences before and action movie car chases. Most fans will feel that they need to be a greese monkey or an automobile expert to enjoy this show. That is not true. The technical aspects of this form of racing, particularly the all-important practice of "drifting," are adequately spelled out for novices to the point to where the series might even be called educational. The music track deserves singling out for its lively collection of pulsating, catchy songs in the "Eurobeat" style popular in Japan a mix of rock, hip hop, and techno. The songs come into play in the opening and closing credit sequences and during the racing sequences where they work perfectly. The instrumental tracks during the quieter scenes are expertly done as well when trying to convey emotion through the characters. Though the series does primarily focus on racing as a core concept for the driving of the plot and characters, their is a blend of romance and relations and i like how the series balances both of these elements together creating something that is not just about racing, but also what happens to these characters in their every day lives and their romantic encounters they come across, this obviously being the first season i expect more development in this area in subsequent seasons. I have seen quite my share of anime in a variety of different genre's, but ive never seen an authentic car racing anime before, that being one of the smallest target audiences. At first glance it was hard for me to get into the show because im not entirely what you would call a "metal head" but i was really blown away when i finally watched this series. The characters are all very inspiring and entertaining to watch, the MC is one of the most outstanding characters in any anime iv'e seen, watching him grow throughout the season and probably alot more in other season's. The races are just awesome, lots of dynamics and it really makes you feel as though your tuning to your favorite racing station and watching the real race cars attack the corners at every turn. The CGI i have to admit is a perfect contrast to really help portray the realistic vision of real street racing. I was actually turned onto to this anime by a friend of mine and i won't regret it, even though this is a very niche genre in the anime industry, initial D is a must watch for any advid fans who enjoy car racing or any fans for that matter who just like an enjoyable cast of characters, great musical sound tracks, and a well structured series from beginning to end.

Round of applause for Initial D Season one. I have absolutely no idea why I waited so long to watch this but I am so so glad I did after watching some average to only just good anime series'. Like another reviewer has said before me, who knew a story about street racing would be so entertaining, and to add to this statement, so exciting. I've not been this excited for a long time while watching anime. Firstly I'm going to begin with the biggest and frankly only hurdle I had to overcome. You are treated to lovely hand drawn animation. The characters look great, the scenes are great and the cars are great. It really is prime animation for it's time. However, when you see the animation for the moving vehicles for the first time, you may be as surprised as I was. Initially I thought, 'what in the name of Sega 1990s arcade cabinets is going on here?'. Very quickly, I got used to it, and by the time I finished this season, I loved it. It really does work towards the end of the season so if you find it off putting, bare with it, it's worth it. To summarise the animation, front to back it's perfection. For it's time, it's perfection anyway. Judging the animation against the animation we have 25 years later isn't fair. Technology has advanced to much since 1998 that technically, it's better now. I would argue however, it has more character and charm back then. Initial D also is a shining beacon of the charm and character of 90s animation I describe and definitely one of the decades best. Story wise, I'm not sure you need any more than it delivers. Expert pacing, riveting plot, excellent character building, great characters, it has everything. It's really quite funny at times too. Often I find when watching anime over 2 decades old, the 'comedy' doesn't really cut it. Every time this show tried to be funny it made me laugh. Every time without fail. This is down to the superb writing. Very frequently there is comedic relief in amine. Most of the time these characters just arnt funny. Other times they are really over the top and irritating. Both of which fail to serve this purpose. Initial D has Itsuki Takeuchi and absolutely nails it. Not only is he funny he is a genuinely believable character. Itsuki, along with all the other characters are honestly perfect. Brilliantly written and serve their purposes perfectly. The only negative I have is that the first end credits song is terrible. I am damn sure I would have found this terrible at the time too if my 7 year old self would have watched it. That being said, you can't judge the quality of an anime based on its opening and closing themes. What you can judge it on is the music within the episodes. Yet again, there is not complaints. The music ranges from the cheesy Sega 90s arcade music, for which I challenge anyone to say they genuinely dislike, no one genuinely does, to breakbeat, big beat, 303 tinged goodness. The music fits the show perfectly. In summary, I scored this show as a 9 before writing this review, the more I wrote, the more I found myself challenging that score, wondering if there is actually anything negative to say. I also have Full Metal Brotherhood and Bebop, among few others, in my 10 rankings. This always makes me measure other 9s against them. Given I can genuinely find no fault with this show, and given their are different levels to the animes I give a 10, looks like my score has changed from a 9 to a 10 whilst writing. Well done Initial D. Honestly Its one of the most enjoyable animes I've watched and I could watch it again.

Short Review: (click "Overall Rating" for scores) Overall: The best racing/ car anime. I think people who are not into cars and racing will enjoy it too. Definitely worth to watch! The show starts slow but after a few episodes when the racing starts you are instantly hooked. The story is good, and is like an introduction to the later seasons. This anime is from the late 90's so the art style is not high quality, and probably the worst aspect of this season (art style becomes better in later seasons). Sound is ok, nothing notable negative. Caracters have development, but might not seem very deep (in first season). I really enjoyed this anime and the way the races are presented really keeps you on edge and your eyes glued to the screen. This anime has made a number of people interessted in carculture and racing for a reason.