Initial D

— by Darius Washington

Japanese people have had a long tradition of rallying around sports anime. The genre tends to attract even non-anime fans. In a poll held this year about the top 100 anime of all time, many sports titles showed up including TOMORROWS JOE (boxing), STAR OF THE GIANTS (baseball), SLAM DUNK (basketball), TIGER MASK (wrestling), AIM FOR THE ACE (tennis) and several others. So it should be no surprise that one of the top vote-getters is a show currently on the Japanese airwaves: INITIAL D.
Centering on the world of street racing, the show focuses on two high school students. Itsumi loves street racers and really wants to buy his own car and participate. Takumi likes cars somewhat, but doesn't see the point in racing up and down a mountain. Later, while working at an auto shop, the two hear from their boss about a mysterious driver in a white Hachi Roku (1983 Toyota Corolla) who used to be the fastest street racer ever. Supposedly, he could defeat any one of the active teams.
Soon, the two are invited by the Akina Superstars to watch a race. Then a rival team called the Akagi Redsuns show up and challenge them for a big race "out of friendship." In reality, it's part of their plan to beat out the other teams one by one and claim the streets. However, one of the Redsuns is humbled at a key curve by a mysterious Hachi Roku.
When I started watching this show, I was used to racing anime. GPX CYBER FORMULA and the MACH GO GO remake had been two of my favorites so far. However, INITIAL D takes things to a whole new level. Many of the mechanics described seem realistic and detailed enough. It's almost like watching the PSX game GRAN TURISMO as an anime.
This feeling is enhanced even more when the race scenes (or any car scene) play out, since they're all done in CG. Think of the after race playback on GT and you'll have a idea of what the drive sequences are like. They are used intermittently with the cel animated characters and backgrounds and sometimes live action bits. The transition is pretty smooth on these parts. Even though it's obvious two different formats are being used, they combine for some really good action segments.
Adding a Jerry Bruckheimer type atmosphere to INITIAL D is the thunderous rock music in the background. I keep thinking Nicholas Cage or Tom Cruise is racing around throughout the show. Every curve hug, every gear switch is punctuated with drum beats and guitar pitches. Also, the opening sequence "Around The World" is fun to listen to, especially when the rock band leader goes into a rap solo.
However, the real charm of INITIAL D lies in its youthful energy. It seems to reflect an aspect of young Japanese sub-culture that, as far as I know, really hasn't been touched on in anime before, certainly not to this extent at least. They take every aspect of street racing very seriously, and that's reflected in this show.
It's too bad a show this good and popular in Japan (with two seasons done and a movie and OVAs on the way) might not see the light of day in a country that seems to generally import mecha, martial arts and comedy. I personally think it's time we got to know another aspect of Japanese culture, instead of sticking with the same genres all the time.

Toei Video
DVD, approx. 100 minutes each
7 volumes total
Volume 1: AVBA-14024 (¥3990, approx. 50 minutes)
Volume 2: AVBA-14040
Volume 3: AVBA-14041
Volume 4: AVBA-14039
Volume 5: AVBA-14050
Volume 6: AVBA-14051
Volume 7: AVBA-14055
¥6090 each
Available now in Japan
Where to buy