Name: Initial D
Genre: Action, Drama
Year: 1998
Rating: Recommended
Takumi Fujiwara is an eighteen year old boy living in Japan’s Gunma Prefecture. Together with his father they run a small local tofu store. It is soon revealed that Takumi had been assisting his father in his tofu deliveries five years before he received his license to drive. Each day he would take his fathers Toyota Sprinter Trueno and complete his runs up and down the mountain passes near his town. After several years of delivering tofu, Takumi has developed driving skills far beyond any normal teenager. By the time Takumi receives his license he is not only able to compete against amateur racers he has also created some what of a legend within his own town. As more racers learn of his existence, Takumi often finds himself defending his title as the fastest downhill racer in the Gunma area.
Initial D is a series that focuses on street racing and in particular the technique of drifting. The series is split into four stages. As each stage progresses you will notice that the cg used in rendering the races as well as the overall animation quality improves dramatically. I had watched the series quite long after its initial release so the quality of the rendering featured in the first few stages didn’t seem too good. However I must ad at the time of creation each stage used up to date technology and the first stage would be one of the first animes out there that employed 3d rendered images. Although it is quite common to see computer generated images alongside animated frames it was quite a surprise when I first saw it used. An upbeat music track and fast paced racing this series will defiantly bring excitement. As for the story each stage is connected to each other and characters do develop throughout the series. Therefore the series isn’t just one mindless race after another but more like an continuous tournament. Initial D is a classic, one that will be remembered. Even if you aren’t particularly interested in car races you should at least see what the series is about even if its just so you are able to understand the parodies that exist in other animes.
