ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 มิ.ย. 2024
- What is fast? Well, I went on a journey watching Initial D to find out.
Oh and also, aging and experience kinda helps too.
Enjoy.
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0:00 Intro
2:09 Enter, Initial D
5:15 Anemoia
6:42 The car scene in 2024
11:31 Takumi vs Keisuke
12:42 Takumi vs Takeshi
14:01 Istuki's Eight Six...
17:34 The underdog mentality
20:28 Takumi vs Ryosuke
23:22 Stage 2
25:41 Takumi vs Kyoichi
27:23 RIP Eight Six
30:50 Takumi vs Wataru
34:53 Stage 3
36:41 Takumi vs Kyoichi 2
37:43 Takumi vs Kai and the importance of an underdog
42:15 Where Initial D loses it's soul
46:31 Why things kinda suck for young car enthusiasts now
#initiald - บันเทิง
The worst part about watching initial D is finishing initial D
Real
truuuuueeeee
It gets boring
@@spnowy9834opinions are like aholes
@@spnowy9834season 5 is so much less interesting
Speed is when you drive your dads shitbox on a highway faster than a mercedes benz
Gotta gap every Benz you see, for Takumi
I once had a guy in an Audi S5 asking me what engine I have in my Ford Puma since I was able to keep up pretty good with the group. When I said it's a 1.7 he was pretty surprised.
@@patrikpolda we never got them over here but they look like a fun little coupe for sure
I’m guessing they’d feel something like an MR2
@@Viseak I saw someone comparing it to a Miata. But it is super fun. Being light the 1.7, which was tuned by Yamaha BTW, is enough to make you smile. But their biggest is rust and body parts availability isn't great.
I misss my hyundai manual shit box
While I was in college I used to watch initial d during my shifts working at the school bowling alley. After I’d get off work, I’d hop in my NA Miata, pop up them headlights,blast some eurobeat, and go fly up the local mountain roads. Nothing made me feel more alive than those little trips after work
That sounds wonderful
Same here. Found Initial D during the COVID year of college when everyone was sent back home. At the time I was hanging out with a group that ran a local mountain pass every Saturday night. The name of it is Ortega Highway if you're looking it up on maps. A friend in the group suggested that I watch and I became hooked.
I loved running the local canyon roads and that pass so much. Even more so after I watched D. Never felt more alive than that year. Unfortunately, I've never returned since at least not with my own car since I live in a different state now.
Miss that pass and that feeling.
Driving with the windows down feeling the air, hearing your exhaust, and blasting some tunes really is quite the feeling isn’t it
@@VuzenOrtega is such a fun canyon run when you aren't going thru there as your commute
@@Vuzen dude no way, I spent countless hours going through Ortega, my Lock Screen to this day is still my old car on that gorgeous canyon road
1-3 are best story wise for sure, but stage 4 and stage 5 are definitely the best when it comes to the racing. once you get fast enough you get to understand the pressure and nuances of takumi's second progression arc. kinda sucks cuz it excludes 4th and 5th stage from the general audience but after getting much more knowledge on top level racing they began to make a lot more sense to me thematically.
Yeah I get it, to be honest it’s almost like stages 1-3 and 4-5 are different shows, meant for different audiences.
Don’t get me wrong I still enjoyed the series as a whole, but definitely preferred 1-3, and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying 4-5 more either, just different strokes for different folks.
Maybe if I got more into professional racing I’d see it through a different lens though.
@@Viseak yea na i love both for different reasons, where one dips the other excels
To me the most good part of Initial D Takumi's dev, was 3rd and 4th stages ... It reveals he's on another level regardless of his knowledge (just like Keisuke), and then the way he races and also the way he gets beaten up in Akina by Bunta, it makes things even spicier and later on, he drives another car and says he doesn't know how to drive the 86 anymore. Because of the trauma and how incredably fast the GC8 is compared to the 86 with the same driving he does on the 86.
It's not like it's not interesting, it is. Also 5th stage even more. Specially in the Fujiwara Zone explanation.
@@thatfunnykekguy6377 it’s definitely still interesting, some of the best races happen through stage 4-5
It just doesn’t resonate the same way stages 1-3 did. I guess part of that’s cause it starts to become less realistic for most people as the races get more competitive. Basic street racing sure, entire team parading around a prefecture with seemingly unlimited money, little different
@@thatfunnykekguy6377 I think a big part of the fall-off is that despite him being more skilled than before, and still having some great races to be sure, there are a few too many "takumi wins because we say he does" than I think I'd like to see. Like the CTR race where the other guy panic brakes at seeing an animal in the road, but Takumi missed it because he did his headlight trick. ANd I can forgive one or two of those no problem, but when the last race of 4th stage, especially after the epic Godfoot race, ends with Takumi breaking his car trying to beat the S2000 but "takumi wins due to old man getting sick"? Come on...
the style change from stage 1 to stage 2 is because stage 1 was produced using cell animation with the CG scenes being done digitally but being separate cuts that's why in scenes where there's a car and a character in the same frame the car is hand drawn rather than CG. Stage 2 was a fully digital production which meant that the line work for characters became sharp and consistent and the colours became more contrasty and bold vs the softer tones and more pastel-ish tones you'd see in stage 1. STAGE 3 was a traditional cell animation production (to match the standards of movie theatres) however unlike stage 1 they were able to digitally mix the CG backgrounds which is why stage 3 has a very unique look were its a mix of CG but has that 90s style look to it despite coming out in 2001
That makes a lot of sense.
Stage 3 definitely did it the best, but of course, they had a movie budget and timeline to back it up. Probably wouldn’t of been possible otherwise
"he drifts in the snow like a japanese santa klaus to save the day". the best line in the video.
I'm disappointed you didn't cover 4th stage and Stage 5 tho. I think the later half of Initial D definitely still had soul. The soul was simply different.
Second half shows change. Life changes. He couldn't be the same boy he was in the first half of the series. We grow and have different goals, different problems, different internal hurdles to overcome. I like how each stage showed a different portion of Takashis growth and ended with him being the older car guy that already had a name in the streets now seeing the newer generation kid that shows Takashi first hand probably how the older guys he beat felt as they watched his wings of speed spread before their eyes.
2nd and 4th stages are my favorite. The soul is still there. Life is just different.
There's also a sequel anime that just dropped. MF Ghost.
I agree it definitely stuck the landing in the end, and the lead up to it with some of those races towards the end were some of the best in the series.
But the way it leaned more into the ‘battle shonen’ I guess you could call it? style definitely soured it a bit for me.
I was clocked out half way through stage 4 and it was hard to get me locked back in.
I’m still glad I watched the whole series and still recommend everyone do so, cause like you’re saying there’s still bits of soul there and the endings great, but yeah. It definitely started to lose me towards the end.
@@charlescaulkins8306 I haven’t made the jump into MF Ghost yet, and I’ve heard a lot of conflicting things
I’m sure I’ll watch it eventually, but if you’ve seen it what do you think so far?
@@Viseak Honestly the pacing is a bit slow. The first episode set up the premise of cars racing in a time trial like its Forza, and then the following two-three episodes were about the protagonist running the course to qualify in the big race. There's a lot of racers battling it out at the same time (15), which meant not enough time to go over everyone aside from the protagonist Kanata who was trained by Takumi himself and has perfect photographic memory. A sideplot of romance with the girl Ren is pretty funny in that no one knows she is a pit girl angel because she keeps her personal life to herself, and she's so smitten by Kanata that she admits to herself that she loves him. The season was only 12 episodes long and it ends just on the time trial qualifier for round 2, so it seems to juggle a lot of stuff at once that makes you want to see more, but there's not a whole lot to see sadly. Two races tops, and a bunch of clips of other cars making their time runs but never seeing them in full.
Still, it was engaging and fun like any other sport anime I've watched before as they take the time to explain why such stunts are crazy or cool being the ace rival being able to take first place, or Kanata's crazy driving skills as he can drive easily through a foggy ghost town with limited visibility.
@@charlescaulkins8306 that is a bit of a shame, but I guess it’s not too far off Stage 1’s pacing when you think about it.
There were only 6 proper races over 26 episodes. So 2 in 12 is almost hitting the mark. To be fair by episode 12 of stage 1 we only really had Takumi vs Keisuke and Takumi vs Takeshi.
But I see the problem with it being a competitive racing scene instead of street racing. Keeping track of 15 cars compared to 2 is a world of difference.
Interesting to hear your take about Ren, I’ve got absolutely no idea what goes on, but I’ve heard so much about how MF Ghost also kinda treats it’s girls horribly/worse than Initial D 😅
Ngl. i cried when the 4A blew. I had just wrecked a month before I saw the episode.
Definitely hits closer to home when you’ve been through something similar before
who doesn't
did you cry then?@@Viseak
@@confusedredditor1660 balled my eyes out bro
Was in absolute shambles
@@Viseak ♥
the final couple of episodes introducing the motivation of dreams and accomplishing those dreams is amazing...
Yeah I did like the ending all things considered
Amazing video I like the fact this video is 4:3 aspect ratio
Cheers man! I thought it was a nice touch for nostalgias sake haha
Actually in stage 4 and 5, they started to shift more towards Keisuke and Ryosuke because Takumi kinda already reached his goal
goated anime, goated video. I really like how u edited the resolution so it looks like 2000s old blurry camera
Cheers man!
I frothed over the early animation so much I figured I’d make the whole video in the same style hahaha
The legend movies were so close to perfect, if they just keep the eurobeats the movies would’ve been the perfect “introducing anime to that one friend” movie
Yeah the soundtrack is the one thing they’re really lacking, it’s such a damn shame
If I was into cars like I am now back in 06-07, I probably would have gotten an AE86 for cheap. The drift tax today is insane!
Yeah that and the JDM tax in general is crazy these days
I thought the 86 was special because it's a car that communicates near perfectly with the driver. I wonder if other cars can do the same
@@LessonSmith I think any car can achieve that if you drive it long enough
I had my Hawkeye for 7 years and knew it from back to front, still learning about the ISF though
Great perspective of a past era of car culture and a show/story that had a major influence on many older car people. You've given me a little more hope for future car enthusiasts. I'm about a decade older, but it makes me happy to see the next generation of car enthusiasts truly appreciate and understand stuff like this. Living in the present and not being in/around the car scene just to chase clout is not something you see a lot of anymore, and it's kind of a shame.
Thanks mate!
Glad to hear I’ve given you some hope for the future, and I hope you know a lot of this generations envious of yours when it comes to car culture.
We can’t turn back the clock and experience things how they used to be, and in a lot of ways sure, the past isn’t completely better than the now.
But if you’re able to understand and appreciate things that made the past so good and why people look back on it so fondly, you can try and make the future a better place too.
The internet and internet culture has been a great thing in a lot of respects, creating a global economy, people over the word connecting, people not being taken advantage of and knowing what options they have out there as they can broaden their scope, the wealth of knowledge and so on, but that doesn’t come without its drawbacks of clout chasers, MLMs, and plenty of other harmful / predatory content.
So, as much as I admittedly love the internet and am online more than is probably good for me, taking a step back and seeing the world for what it is in the moment is super important. It always sounds so cliche hearing people say ‘live in the moment’ but it is genuinely important to stop and smell the roses, rather than looking at everything behind a screen. Photos and videos are great for memories but not every second of every thing needs to be documented.
That’s probably the most boomer thing I’ve ever written but eh, maybe that’s what happens the year you turn 25, frontal lobe developing and all that jazz
You know we need to turn back when this year's TAS is filled with demo cars that can't even go over a speedbump, apparently the 70's Kaido trend has made a resurgence recently "thanks" to Tik Tok. Millennials and GenZs are so lost and confused.
@@K0Y0I_sis looks like there were heaps of amazing cars at TAS from what I saw online, and lets be real the stanced cars you see like the 326power 488 are most likely on bags and are more on the extreme not too common end (at least from what I saw lol)
It’s not really my style but eh, they clearly didn’t spare any expense. It is starting to feel a bit ‘show car-ey’ like the early 2000’s though.
Regardless I think meaty tyres and good fitment (or what I’ve seen people call ‘battle stance’ lmao) is becoming more popular which ain’t a bad thing at least, and is what I’m going for in my ISF. Guys like zc6_josh and japan_use20 on Insta have built some mad F’s if you want to see what I mean
Around 12:38 Something that the anime doesn't show well, it's that in the manga, Takumi when he sees the RX-7 move away from him fast, it's like a switch is flip, and he is putting his everything to catch up the RX-7, and once he does, he thinks of the way to most easily pass him. It's amazing how much of a difference there is to show that Takumi while without much effort, deep inside, he likes the adrenaline of the chase. Which is important for the next race.
Great video man. I Love Initial D! And this analysis definitely made my day.
I race drift cars with my friends due to Initial D. It had an extreme impact on me and I love to rewatch it monthly. I even own 2 ae86s that I daily and drift.
i got a w124 e230 with a 5 speed manual just 4 months ago and it needs some love but is fun as hell to drive. i came lowered so it rides firm but not hard and it does exactly what i expect and ask of it. and i love it best car ever and nobody can tell me otherwise.
Yo that is super unconventional but cool as hell.
Enjoy it man!
i will and are Enjoying it
i would not really call it unconventional, in germany anyway i am just sad that most of the good w124 are getting rare and costly as there become oldtimers after 30 years
i just wish fun cars would stay/become affordable
Initial D taught me that the real fastest drivers wasn't on straightways, the fastest are the ones who can enter the corners faster.
Amazing video, i loved it! You know the video is great when it feels like 15min but its actually close to an hour
That puts a massive smile on my face man I appreciate it 🫶🏼
Horsepower makes quick, but skill makes fast
I've had to stop watching halfway through, because I'm reading through Initial D at the moment, and the last part to come out covered the battle with Kenta - even though I know the story in-and-out, I still cannot wait for the next chapter to be translated and released where I live.
I've watched through the series a couple of times, the first being at the end of middle school, and it's my all-time favourite! I have to say that I strongly aggree with your remarks about car culture today and just enjoying the moment - as someone who's turning 20 this year, I have to say that one of my favourite things to do is just going for a drive in my 30 year old FWD VW golf and enjoying the experience. The only thing that tops that is bring able to share this experience with friends.
Initial D was - and still is - very influential on my approach towards many things in life. Iketani's fumbling of a promising relationship, Itsuki being inspired to enjoy his car and many, many other stories helped shape the person I am today, and I'm really thankful for that.
Also, I really feel what you mean by "the series has a soul" - it's probably the biggest reason I can't get into many newre shows - they seem to lack that substance that keeps me coming back for more. I'll definitely give Hajime no Ippo a watch when I have some time!
I'm also getting excited for the future, when I'll be able to afford to spec my car up a bit and learn to drive it even better!
Thanks for this video! From what I've seen so far, the ending will not disappoint - I'll come back to it when the maga catches up to the end of season 1 ❤
There's also that feeling you mentioned - Anemoia - that I think encapsulates a feeling I've experienced quite recently, and given the name "second-hand nostalgia / melancholy".
I find it really fascinating, and it's been on my mind for a long time, so it's nice to know the proper term for it as well!
Yeah I get it man, back when I first got my license as a teenager me and my mates would use any excuse to get out for a drive.
Just go hang out in a carpark to take photos, go to a car wash, find some nice backroads, even go to monthly car meets they had at a local Sydney track (which they don’t hold anymore unfortunately).
Initial D definitely captures that feeling, and those first 3 stages are pretty relatable which I think goes to their appeal over stages 4-5.
Definitely give Hajime No Ippo a shot, even if you know nothing/could care less about boxing it’s WELL worth it.
Awesome to hear about your Golf too, they’re plenty of fun to drive and tinker around with. Just don’t do an overly obnoxious crackle and pop tune yeah? Haha
Thanks for watching man 🫶🏼
great video! love the takes and style.
Cheers!
that armored core ost as background music throughout the video is fitting
Greatness keep it up
I was a student of Professor Felipe de Brigard, specifically for his Neurophilosophy class. Dude was cool and smart as hell. He also had mild prosopagnosia, so he occasionally struggled with recognizing people by faces and typically also needed to know a fact about you in order for your name to stick. Badass dude
Go figure, awesome to hear about the guy first hand!
Small world haha
Watched Initial D in 2003 here in NSW when I was 17, perfect timing, iv owned 4 JDM cars since, currently have a blue 2018 WRX STI Spec.R, iv also driven with Fun2drive in 2017 in there AE86
Wow, this was the best video I've watched in a good while. While I'm definitely not a fan of mechs and I don't even watch anime that much anymore I'm still subbing. Hope to see more car-related videos from you, because you absolutely killed it with this one!
Thanks seriously I appreciate the love 🫶🏼
Next videos gonna be on Wangan Midnight then who knows what the future holds.
I could talk about cars forever and if there’s an audience for it, I might do just that
good one, enjoyed watching it :) thank you for making this video
Thank YOU 🫵🏼 for watching the video
Great review, great editing/music choice, great commentary, I'm a long time fan of Initial D for 6-7 years, and I've been considering doing a little video essay or something, but the way you scripted this video is phenomenal, you don't dwell on unnecessary details that can be occupying, and I never noticed the subtext of what what fast feels, however I felt like you didn't give credit to the coming of age aspect of the series, I feel like particularly the different stages up to 3 reflect different phases of growing up transitioning from teenager to young adult, Takumi never thought anything of improvement in 1st stage much, 2nd stage he gets reality checked into desiring improvement from himself (and the car), and third stage being the beginning of the execution of that to keep it brief. 4th stage and 5th stage I agree don't have a lot going on, but I feel like in the big picture of a coming to age they still are important since they are Takumi improving and racing more like an adult, albeit in a dragon ball sense of the way, with final stage being the fruits of his training, as he needs to face himself and properly race like an adult to win using all of the skills he's honed, with the graduation from the AE86 at the end representing his final graduation of adulthood. Regardless, fantastic video, and although I'm not a mecha guy, I'll stay around and watch the rest of your stuff, this was a great video. 👍
Also your comment about how your car would open up at 3800RPM, I had a 1.6 miata that also would jump up in power at 3800, it's real fun, wasnt expecting it to be an ISF though, sweet car.
Yo thanks so much man seriously, I appreciate the kind words, feedback and reassurance.
I felt good about this video but I really wasn’t sure if I fumbled the bag here, especially considering it’s viewership so far hahaha
The coming of age aspect is an interesting one, it’s so obvious and integral to the plot it almost felt like it went without saying, but the series did do it extremely well so I probably should’ve given it some credit where credits due for sure.
You’ve definitely nailed it by saying stages 4-5 take a Dragon Ball kind of approach, it really did start to feel very ‘battle shonen’, but the ending is pretty special. Kinda regret not talking about it now but it’s whatever 😅
Miatas are plenty of fun for sure! And nobody really expects the ISF, it’s a sleeper for sure I love the thing. Honestly I’ve got a real appreciation for NA cars in general, I’ve driven all sorts but only ever owned NA’s, something about em just hits different compared to turbos or superchargers. Can’t lie though, I’ll never get sick of spooling noises
Thanks! I think the most important thing that you did was cut out a lot of fatty kinda unnecessary details that a lot of the Initial D/car community fanbase would typically get caught up on, the little shit that doesn't matter in the big picture. One more thing I didn't mention just for the sake of keeping everything neat enough and not sounding all nerdy and overanalyzing, is that we also see a silent shift in demeanor in Takumi with the whole coming of age aspect, his temper would get very easily flared in stage 1-2 over some very specific stuff (I think particularly unfairness is what sets him off, miki being unfair to mogi, shingo just driving unfair period, mogi being unfair to takumi about her relationship with the benz guy, wataru being unfair to takumi ridiculing his lack of knowledge), with that particularly being toned down in 4-final (which albeit there's few examples, but they're there where otherwise takumi would get riled up if it was an earlier stage) reflecting that he's more in control to win. Now if you were to put in that longwinded explanation about a silent background detail that really is only there if you look hard enough, then that would just be unnecessary filler in an otherwise excellently paced video.
Also yeah the IS250s are actually starting to become a bit of a sleeper racer here in America, not sure about australia, racing and rally (like yes dirt rally!) rentals here commonly use them even in stock form, they'll probably become a classic car one day for sure. I do really hate though how much America hogs all the JDM imports though, I can feel it since I'm from Ireland and if I was to get something nice there, it would be significantly more expensive which is a shame since most of the cars here get trashed by not even like the youth but just the kind of car community we have, they just completely thrash them drifting, ignorant mods, etc, it's so shameful and then they wonder why the cars are getting so expensive.
@@dagreat201 Yeah I’ve been trying to get better at not just regurgitating entire plots and pretending it’s a ‘video essay’ haha
Still gotta bring up plot points to make the video cohesive and work of course, but I reckon this approach definitely cuts a lot of the fat like you were saying.
I actually love you brought up his change in demeanour, because it’s another parallel to Hajime No Ippo I absolutely love. Same kinda thing happens in Ippo with boxers that ‘cheat’ or bend the rules without the ref seeing, and it’s one of those things that while are wrong, and he’s adamantly against in the sport; is something he needs to come to terms with and deal with in the ring, cause nobody can save him in there.
Yeah as much as it annoys me I can’t blame the Americans though, if I were in their boat I’d want the cars too, we all want em and there’s only so many of them around, especially considering they don’t really make cars the same anymore which is a damn shame. Gotta wonder how the peeps over in Japan feel, I guess I robbed them of a clean low km ISF so I shouldn’t complain haha
We get a lot of cowboy mechanics and drivers here in Australia too, but I think it depends on the type of car. Your typical ‘Aussie’ Holden commodore and Ford falcon will most likely be beaten to shit, same goes for any spec Silvia (S13, 14 and 15) or Skyline.
Most Hondas won’t be the best and clean Subarus are hard to come by too.
I think a lot of that goes to how cheap and accessible they were up until a few years ago. A mate of mine bought his S15 for under 10k about 6 years ago, would be worth close to 40 now which is just insane.
One thing I’ve noticed though is most people don’t spare any expense on their Evo’s in Sydney, we have roll racing every month at a local track and without fail you’ll see a stupid number of 500+kw evo’s that have tens of thousands put into them.
But yeah overall, seems like fun cars are becoming harder to find everywhere
I'm so glad you mentioned Zoids Chaotic Century because I knew that I knew you from somewhere but couldn't place it. This is another great video where our interests overlap.
Initial D taught me to love cars and love driving. I used to try to race my way to work as fast as possible (at 3 in the morning with no traffic) without realizing I craved more than that Point A to Point B experience. I drive a 2023 WRX now (say what you will about the plastic cladding) and it is basically my dream car. I would've never understood my relationship with driving without Initial D and Takumi's journey and I am grateful to have been able to experience it.
I love 4th, 5th and Final stage because it builds depth to Ryosuke's role as a leader - and in some ways, the co-lead character. So you and I differ in that regard, though I definitely love the slice of life emphasis that was more prevalent in the earlier seasons as you did, too.
Haha I swear most people that like mecha, like cars, and visa versa.
Which does make sense.
That’s sweet man the new rexy’s are mad, shame they got rid of the STI’s though. I drove a Subaru for 7 years so I can’t shit on them, and while I don’t think I’ll ever own one again, I’ll always miss my Hawkeye.
All things considered I did enjoy Ryosuke’s character arc, just not quite as much as everything else. Like some others have said though, maybe if I actually start racing/tracking my car, I’ll have a better appreciation for it.
what do you drive now?@@Viseak
I enjoyed watching zoids on toonami as a kid
Surprisingly, or perhaps not, my favorite part of this video was when you didn't talk about Initial D.
As a 23-year-old, the final minutes really struck home for me.
Thanks man, glad to hear it resonated
Also sucks it resonated cause fuck the car market rn, but still
It’s pretty safe to say Intial D was set around the time of its release, 1998.
Speed is red lining the hell out of my shtbox '14 jetta down backroads at midnight
The art style change is due to it going from hand painted cels to digital ink and paint which was in its infancy at the time so the contrast is always really high compared to hand animated things really being at their absolute peak at the time. Stage 3 had a movie budget so I'm sure they went back to hand drawn for formatting purposes working with film projection and the higher budget overall.
The series reminds me of when I grew up street racing. We were not racing the mountains. Drag races on the streets. We had privet forums and leaderboards as well. Could only get an invite to the forum in person. Meets would happen 2-4 times a week. I wasn’t even close to the fastest. I have vary few loses. Good at baiting races. At the same time that was going on there f&f, mischief, Tokyo extreme racer and this awesome car related things happening at once. If cameras were around I would have went to jail more times than I did.
The feeling of speed... Something I was chasing ever since I was young. Inital D helped me with my knowledge of cars... And now I owm a Civic EK sedan... Drove the hell out of it whenever dad wasn't sitting in the car to tell me to slow down... I love the feeling of speed
16:56
you heard that little celly?
driving you at 90kmph while you scream at the top of your lungs is an experience never to be forgotten :D
I love the smaller aspect ratio and the lighting in this video. It really brings back the Initial D vibes.
Love to see the „small“ intial d bubble to glow lately again
Love the content men :)
Yeah hey, feels like the resurgence all started with a shit tonne of TikTok clips
Least that’s how I got the push to finally start the series hahaha
great video man
Cheers man
I watched initial D a long while back after hearing about it from donut media in my younger years, and now that I have a car it sticks more with me, and the message of driving a slow car fast really sticks with me more than ever, my 1995 t-bird (who woulda guessed) even with its v8 isn't as fast as i'd expect it to be, but I love every second of it, whether it be moseying around my suburban town, cruising down a mountain pass, or trying to keep up with a challenger it all feels so great, despite it being made to be a grandpa car. This video was an amazing analysis into the heart of this show, thank you so much for making it!
No worries at all man, glad to hear you’re enjoying your car all the same
And thanks for watching!
Ford Thunderbird ?
ive always been into cars, intial d got me into racing and changed my life forever.
amazing.
I saw some comments about you not including the last two stages, but honestly I don't mind.
1st-3rd stage was a complete story. Even though the manga was supposed to end after 1st stage (with the impact blue race last as that was Tsuchiya's home course) Shigeno did a fine job of continuing the story up until that point. A boy trying to find out what his goal in life should be with his friends and his first love and heartbreak.
Afterwards, the story takes a back seat to the racing, and hard. We don't get multiple episodes to really get to know the opponents and their motivations. The most we get is the miata guy right at the start of 4th stage. They also start doing what the res suns and Emporer were shamed for: going to other courses just to break their records and beat them.
There's barely any of the slice of life aspects that made the first 3 stages endearing. And this sucks because overall my favorite races are in 4th stage, but since the races are all it's got i can't bring myself to put in over the former 3.
And about MF Ghost, you can watch it if you want, but as a manga reader I would recommend many other racing series over it for a couple reasons:
1. The racing and plot aren't connected at all. If you took the racing out of MF Ghost, barely anything changes. The main character only races because he was invited to. The romance is the main thing that moves the plot forward, and I really bad imo.
2. Shigeno again tries to use real world logic to explain how a gt86 can race a 911 turbo and ferrari 488, but the performance gap with these cars makes it even more unbelievable than before. So he goes to using a tire rule that doesn't make sense and gives the main character superpowers (can't say anything more without spoiling).
I have way more gripes about the seires, but these are the only ones I can make without fully spoiling it. If you still want to give it a try, go right ahead, but imo series like over Rev, Kanojo no Carrera, and especially Capeta(manga version) would deserve a review over Mf Ghost.
Yeah you pretty much summed up my thoughts perfectly.
The first 3 stages really had it locked down, the story felt tight and there was a great balance between character writing, slice of life AND racing, which just kinda went off a cliff in Stage 4.
@@ieurobeatkids9378 yeah that seems like the consensus I’ve seen around MF Ghost…
I’ll probably still check it out cause it’s only 12 episodes right now, but I’m not sure I’m gonna love it haha
Kanojo no carrera and Capeta have peaked my interest though. I hear there’s a lack of translation for Knc though which is a bit of a shame
@@ieurobeatkids9378 MF Ghost's regulations (or really the lack thereof) also don't account for things like aero and downforce. In fact, I feel a higher downforce vehicle could abuse the hell out of the regulations, the increased weight from a more aerodynamic body kit just means one could access thicker tires, so you'd end up with a car that has high aerodynamic grip and mechanical grip simultaneously, especially if it's an FR-layout car like a Viper or C7 Corvette (I feel a C7 ZR1 or Viper ACR would one of the most optimal vehicles for abusing MFG's regulations on paper) that wouldn't be hampered by the handicaps levied on mid-engine and AWD cars.
@ArbitraryOutcome yeah that's why I said that the reasoning he uses in mf ghost doesn't really work and is more unbelievable than in Initiald D. I wad trying not to spoil to much, hence not actually talking about the rule.
First has its charm but that’s most 90s anime at the time 3rd n 4th stage is when it comes into its own
Love this! It motivated me to push more content on my Chanel! Project Racing theory. Thanks for the story very well told I’ve seen the whole initial D series! I agree most JDM cars have sky rocket that’s y I’m looking at a different car market not main stream in social media.lots of great cars out there.
That’s awesome man!
And yeah there’s still a bunch of hidden gems yet to be discovered by the masses.
I think that’s part of the reason I found a good deal on my ISF. They’re underrated as hell and not many people know V8 Lexus’ even exist.
Stage 1-3 is about coming of age, stage 4-5 is about the adult grind.
It’s definitely a grind that’s for sure, least it’s realistic lol
i fuck with the channel and video goodjob with the research and video editing loved it :) nice lexus btw i got myself a 2004 350z 3 weeks ago and i love it
Cheers!
Love to hear bout the Z man, always wanted one myself they’re an awesome car, enjoy it!
the section talking about short form car content is so fkn real! Been doing photography for a while now but i almost feel embarrassed to use my camera at meets because of the sheer level of 12 year olds doing the exact same thing for some insta likes nowadays. Wish these kids could appreciate the process of improving your craft and the cars / owners themselves rather than the attention they get from posting it. The saturation of photography recently really is a motivation killer.
Great video mate! would love to see more car stuff and other genres of anime, you’ve certainly got the talent to create an invigorating story, chur from nz 🤙
Fr man it’s crazy.
I get being younger and excited about cars and shit cause like, that was me 10 years ago, but some of these kids have no shame and are so parasocial with these people they’ve seen online it’s insane.
Cheers for the love too man, great to see some peeps from this side of the globe here 🫶🏼
Ay thanks for crediting me for some of the background music. Tik tok clout chasers are wild. Initial D has been on my radar but my backlog of things to watch is pretty staggering.
No worries at all! Your stuff suited so well to the Initial D vibe I just had to haha
And yeah, backlogs really get like that. Couldn’t recommend checking it out enough though it’s a solid show
I have no idea why this video still has not blown up
By my own standards it’s done well, but I’m keen to see just how big it’ll get 🫡
Enjoyed watching this as an initial D fan
Cheers man
4:3 video lets gooooooo!
I don't know if it has been stated in the comments, but the comparison with Ippo deserves greater attention. Jyogi "George" Morikawa, the author of Ippo, actually worked as Shuichi Shigeno's assistant for a time before breaking out into being a popular mangaka. The similiarities in feel might in fact be something Morikawa picked up form Shigeno's work.
On another note, the late Kentaro Miura of Berserk fame was an assistant to Morikawa. The lineage on that is much harder to discern.
Go figure, I knew about Miura being an assistant to Morikawa but had no idea about Morikawa’s relationship to Shigeno.
Crazy how some of the greatest mangaka are all connected in some way.
Awesome video, and i totally agree about your sentiments on stages 4 & 5 I’ve always kinda wished stages 4-5 were about Takumi actually joining the speed stars and the rest of the boys getting to a level where they could realistically compete against other street racers. Less daddy’s money and more of what it really was in reality, guys who weren’t rich but loved cars and racing in whatever they could afford. The 7 star leaf team were the only ones I really got that vibe from and even then the Miata guy was kinda bumming on his gal’s money lol
I love that this video is made in 4:3
Cheers man, thought it was a nice touch myself haha
I remember a Reddit thread being like should I watch Initial D?
And the response from a guy top voted was : depends, do you like good anime?
And that basically summarises it, first stage is amazing
Yeah that pretty much sums it up. If stage 1 doesn’t get you hyped I dunno what will
My slow car fast moment was pushing a rental Chevy Spark, tires squealing all the way down the local twisty road (s road I've been driving for a decade now) and finding myself stuck behind an NA Miata.
Here in the U.S. the best decision I ever made was to buy a used 04 Mustang GT with a 5 speed manual.
As a winter car.
I now have a Subaru BRZ and I can't say enough how wonderful it is.
That’s awesome man, mustangs are much harder to come across here, always thought about grabbing a BRZ one day as a project car though
Glad to hear you’re loving it!
Hey there! Love the video man! Im currently working on a 90s streetracing manga myself actually! Aiming to be for the enthousiasts mainly but im hoping non enthousiasts read for the character interaction and story haha
Thanks man and that’s awesome!
I’d love to read it when you’re at a point where you can share it
@@ViseakNo problem! And thanks man! Will let you know when i get to that point !
Man, I'm only a few years older than you and remember seeing 180sx's on Carsales for around $8000-10000AU in high school and seeing them shoot up to $30000+ by the time I was in a position to afford $10000. Dream project car that I cannot justify the price of anymore. Your talk on youths being priced out of fun 90s cars definitely hit close to home.
When I moved states in 2020 (Got incredibly lucky in landing a FIFO job in WA before the pandemic went full swing), I miraculously found a bone stock hawkeye Impreza wagon in WRX trim for $8000 which I bought immediately. This month I found examples going for $15000. Just a four year gap and will probably continue to rise. It's a great car, absolutely pulls off the line and the wagon body has made it a godsend in the day-to-day. Definitely a forever car. Though the price of 98 makes me think of getting a cheap daily.
Initial D holds a special place in my heart. I grew up with Gran Turismo 2 on the original Playstation and absolutely fell in love with 90s JDM because of it. I was introduced to Initial D through the live action movie when I was 13(?) when a family friend brought home a DVD from Hong Kong and lent it to me and I was obsessed with the copy I burned. Because whadayaknow? It's a film full of 90s JDM. Found the Initial D anime on the Funimation TH-cam channel some time later in high school and was absolutely hooked all over again. I was never into anime before then, but Initial D as my first anime became a gateway drug into me going full weeb instead of 'guy who likes Japanese cars'.
I get what you mean about 4th Stage and beyond, but personally I feel as though it was an appropriate tonal shift. Takumi had finished his growth from 'NPC' as you put it, to a person with a goal and ambition. It was time for him to start to get serious and I feel the story stepping away from slice-of-life and car meets with the boys, to doubling down on racing seriously matched this stage in his life.
As an aside, I haven't checked out MF Ghost yet, but another street racing story, Wangan Midnight, is a pretty cool series. You've definitely seen the arcade games in any arcade in Australia. Completely different tone to Initial D, but the pursuit of finding happiness at 300km/h in old JDM cars on Tokyo highways is definitely a spectacle to check out.
Man me and my best mate used to do the exact same thing every morning in roll call.
Neither of our parents would let us get Silvia’s thought cause they were ‘2 door hoon cars’. I saved up about 10k from my job at Maccas by the time I got my P’s but yeah, the Hawkeye Impreza is where I ended up landing haha
By the time I was 20 and got my fulls most shit had already skyrocketed then covid happened and the rest is history. I only sold my Hawkeye last year for exactly the same price I bought it for ($8,500) 7 years later, wild world we live in honestly.
Great to hear you found a car you love though, FIFO’s a tough gig so you deserve every little luxury you can get. My Hawkeye Impreza was plenty of fun so I can only imagine how yours would be.
But yeah, 98 ain’t great for the wallet. I’m just glad I work from home now or I couldn’t justify my gas guzzling ISF 💀
And burning DVD’s that’s taking me back jeeeez, you gave them the old blockbuster special. I’ve never watched the old live action but I gotta check it out sometime, plus I’m keen to see what the new live actions gonna be like whenever it comes.
I agree the tonal shift felt appropriate for sure, I just didn’t feel it hit the same as the first 3 stages. Still the whole show was solid overall though.
I just saw another comment about Wangan Midnight and said I’d never heard of it but you’ve just unlocked a piece of my brain mentioning the arcade games. I’ve 100% played those many times, here I thought the characters in it were just made up for the game lmao
I’ll have to check it out.
Midnight wagnan is probably my favorite. Great for people that like to tune cars for highspeed , and “cut up” or “swim” like the recent wheres981 craze on social media
only 23 and completely agree, so many people chase clout and it ruins the overall vibe
the slice of life elements plus the 90s aesthetic really did make the first 3 stages of initial d feel special, even when youre not really a car person.
fourth to final stage did kind of feel like a drag and i think the only reason i watched all of it was because i wanted to just have finished it
YESSS we needed this, initial D has been a big cornerstone to following what you’re good at even if you think you’ll go nowhere, absolutely amazing series with too many ups and downs to even count! Thank you for doing this series justice my guy you’ve outdone yourself!
Cheers man! The series deserved it, it’s really something special for sure
Can’t believe I put off watching it for so long
Wow, what a beautiful message at the end. Btw for anyone looking for a cheap rwd car to have fun with, Datsun is always the answer. I was lucky enough to find a one owner, never modified Datsun Silvia S110 for cheap and it’s a blast to drive and cheap to maintain.
Thanks man, it’s a shame we never got S110’s here, don’t think I’ve ever seen one in person either.
But if they’re anything like any other Silvia, I’m sure they’d be a blast!
I feel the same way about muscle cars. My dad when ever we browse cars always talks about hot rodding stuff and I'm just sitting there thinking about how I just want to experience the car how it is.
Being born in 02 growing up in Aus i feel you, ive left the social media side of cars because its just toxic, i found my people up in the mountains in NSW and we race. Not for money, not for social media. Just some mates that dont organise it they are just always there. After moving back to Melbourne to be closer to my family ive found that there isnt really anything like that here and what i had was special, i cant just drive my ae86 without getting yelled at anymore and thats only the last 2 or 3 years that have done that. I'll be moving back to NSW at the end of the year to be closer to the people that i know realise matter to me the most. My stupid friends and their 80-90s shitboxes. Also the joke about Tofurun made me laugh and realise i forgot to go to see Mike and Carla's art last night. Oops
I also did the Fun2Drive tour while I was in Japan and I got to bomb around the mountain passes in the AE86 (with the fujiwara tofu shop livery of course) and I really see why people like this car. It weighs almost nothing and handles so well. A little gravity assist and it's insanely quick
Ha yeah someone took the AE86 out on the run I went on too, and I’ll give the guy props he kept up with everyone except when we got to the long tunnel straight hahaha
I’m sure it would’ve been a blast to drive!
You need to go back and watch it all
I watched the whole series man, stages 4-5 just didn’t hit me the same way stages 1-3 did
Enjoyed the whole thing overall though
yup. You know what's funny? I was actually alive and into cars at that time. I'm convinced we feel the same nostalgia.
I don't know if it was mentioned, but after 10 years they brought one last "stage" being "final stage" pretty sure thats what it was titled, Takumi's main opponent was a kid younger then him in an 86 aswell.
See I think that the end of the series shows alot of soul especially after Takumi meets the golf girl in series 5 and the arc with rioska's arc where he raced his rival almost resulting in death
4th stage has a lot of really great battles,the civic EK9 from the pro driver and the last races, God foot and God Hand was the best of the anime
You earned a Subscriber, I have never finished fourth or fifth stage so I guess for me I got the same feeling because when I stsrted fourth stage I made it 1-2 races in and enjoy those races but just get bored watching it.
Yeah it definitely started to her a bit, eh, at times in stage 4.
I still recommend finishing the series if you haven’t though, especially for the ending. I reckon they were pretty good just not as special as stages 1-3 were
@@Viseak I will say I agree with much what you said about the series, I will say with stage 4 and 5. I see them as Takumi working towards his dream with a tribe who're all aiming for the same goal creating a great brotherhood which young men require. I also like that we see more about the dynamic between Keisuke and Ryosuke, the evolution of keisuke's character from being an impulsive rash driver into a mature disciplined driver. Also you see Takumi become more vocal and confident within his skin. Also a nice touch with stage for was you seeing the evolution of the cars themselves as both the FD and 86 did they upgraded and improved as they went on. I will say my favourite battle in all of initial d is Keisuke vs Godfoot given the type of race it was, the tactics, music and most of all the best overtake in the show. You got a new subscriber from this video. 👍
35:58 iketani's s13 looks dope as f*ck in that scene
When it’s got the hood up in the garage? Yeah it looks mad
I mean ive got an ae82 fxgt which is the fwd version of the ae86 in a hatch body and every time i drive it i love it that little bit more
The warm fuzzy, hot blur feeling is from the anime being animated traditionally rather than digitally due to it being cheaper stage 2 was digitally animated but due to a higher budget the stage 3 film was animated traditionally stages 4 onwards are also animated digitally due to the technical advantages
So there’s a line between ‘traditional’ 2D animation and ‘digital’ 2D animation?
Might sound dumb but I honestly had no idea.
Actually that’s really dumb, most modern anime aren’t 3D but they aren’t hand drawn either tf am I thinking 😭
@@Viseak traditional is when it’s draw on paper while digital is drawn through a computer but u still believe stage 1 and 3 are draw traditionally but coloured digitally
@@Viseakmodern anime are hand drawn, just not on paper or a physical medium anymore.
Mid-2000 anime really struggled with this sterile aesthetic, but in the 2010s anime studio gradually grasped the digital medium and slowly make them look pleasing again; of course, it's not one to one match with the old traditional animation aesthetic, it's more like the best of both worlds where it can be high in resolution but is still soft enough to make it look smooth/cinematic.
Initial D is actually a great anime to see these phases of animation styles: 1st and 3rd Stage for traditional, any other stage for early 2000s to early 2010s digital animation, and then the Legend movies for high budget modern digital animation.
stage 2 wasn't done digitally because it was cheaper. it was done because digital animation was the new technology in the same way stage 1 employed the use of CG to animate races. switching to an all digital pipeline meant that scenes between characters and cars don't have to be isolated. YES digital animation is cheaper than traditional cell animation but in 2000 digital animation was seen as a long term investment vs a cost cutting measure because you'd ultimately be throwing away your production pipeline to do something new and untested. Stage 3 was a theatrical movie so it had to be done on film because movie theatres were still literally projecting movies through film projectors.
@@shira_yone yeah I minced my words a bit, should’ve specified hand drawn physically on cel’s haha
But it is interesting to see the development in different stages of animation through Initial D, I reckon stage 3 handled it the absolute best, but they also had a movie timeline and budget to work with
I had the most fun driving mountain backroads in america in my first truck: a 100hp 2002 ford ranger RWD with an AT. It had worn tires that i pushed to their limits and it rocked like a boat so every turn felt sketchy.
Haha sometimes it’s the last car you’d expect you have the most fun in.
I borrowed a manual D40 Nissan Navara for some time and honestly it was fun as hell to drive, the tail end really loved to kick out in 2nd though
what’s your day job? these videos are so high quality.
I’m in marketing funnily enough, but I’ve been doing photography / videography on and off since I was 14
Going fast is seeing everything around you going slower and slower.
considering all the places in the anime are real locations and roads just with the name changed you might get some nostalgia for having been there irl
Yeah that definitely played a part
Need to go back again sometime soon 🫡
Me and my firends just started our own Car-Team. We just want to have a chill atmosphere, car meetings at a gas station and on empty parking spots. For now, only one of our members even has a car a BMW 3 series from 2006 E90. Its pretty cool to drive with him and I and my friends will soon also have a driving license. This Video was very inspiring for me and I hope that our car team will have good future. Greetings from Austria :)
That’s awesome man, and E90’s are sweet!
Have you and your other mates got plans on what cars you’re looking at? Got a whole different market over in Austria, I’m sure the euro cars are much more affordable than they are here 😅
Well we got a ton of bmw, audi, volkswagen and many more european cars. My friend got his bmw used for 4000 Euros (basic version from the e90) and then only had to pay 2000 euros more for repairing stuff. Especially Bmw and Mercedes cars from the 80s to 2000s are very popular. But unfortunately there are not many cheap sporty japanese cars. I see a mx5 or a Subaru Hatchback Impreza here and there but most of the time (if you see something sporty) you will only see bmw, audi or mercedes. My bmw friend is fine with that, the rest of my group(including me) is very unhappy that almost all sporty japanese cars cost 10,000 to 30,000 euros. But anyway this our situation in Austria@@Viseak
Love the 4:3 ratio aspect lol
the "90s anime feel" is probably from cell shaded animation
You pointed out how people on TikTok don't get stuff like Initial D, but tbh I'd say short form comment is actually why JDM tax got so high.
For every dude who thinks Bugattis are the only car in the world, you get another dude who slaps Deja Vu over any video he can find.
ID getting hardcore memed with the rise of short form content in ~2016 got a lot of people into it. And now people who were teens when it blew up are old enough to get their own cars. It also seems like over the last year or two there's been another surge of ID and drift related content in general, mostly in the form of shorts.
Hey brother I watched your zoids videos on the ligers, saurer’s/trex chassis and I was wondering if you would make a video showcasing the pterodactyl/flying dinosaur zoids. Thanks!
My grandad used to race in local rally competitions as a hobby in the 80s and in the late 90s/early 00s he had an S15 which he used to take to the track and it breaks my heart that he sold it :(
That’s awesome man, and who knows, maybe it’ll find its way back to you one day
Won’t be cheap but ya know, thats todays market for you
Well imma summarize the show, stage 3, takumi learns more on his car and engine he challenges Khoi hi again and battle his dad’s rival son Kai he wins but he finds his reason to race, ryousuke enters that retiring racing faze and creates project d, and begins with Keisuke and takumi, in stage 4 they challenge many teams, they then continue in stage 5 and the 86 gets upgrades and roll cage, he meets a chick that slapped him so they beat the teams again and the last episode Keisuke beats the nsx and we get the battle of 86s, coupe and hatch. The guy in the coupe 86 drove at the age of 9 being a taxi to his mom who will fall asleep on the wheel, so everyone is surprised at shinji technique, so the final battle gets intense there’s a flashback of fumehiro telling takumi the strength of pushing it at 11k like we didn’t see that in 2nd stage and blows up engine but wins, good news thr 86 gets rebuilt but for normal use, we get the ending where ryousukre prays at his lovers grave, telling her that project d is meant to train drivers for pro racing, after the end Keisuke and mako go pro, takumi meets DK and enters rally then gets in a accident that makes him retire and trains drivers at RDRS in the UK and ryousuke becomes a surgeon rich man creating a competition called mfghost, thr evolution of project d, the show is up with the first season complete and the next coming this year
I do like the era of recording we are in now, at the start of it, it is easy to look back and get the "truth" out of an image rather than the biased brain simulation that may not be accurate.
But I still like the question and response a railfan was asked when he was taking pictures of trains that were common and always there.
"Well there comes a day when these trains will not be common for us to see anymore, and at that point, the pictures are the only way we have to remember them" or share them.
There definitely is something to be said about preservation for sure.
But there’s also something to be said about how obnoxious it gets when everyone thinks they’re a videographer and has to record everything.
There’s a fine line somewhere in the middle of that but I’m not sure we’ll ever get there 😅
0:18 Yep...I clearly remember the first time I sat in a friend's 1995 MX-5. He agreed to take me home from a house party on a September night in 2021. I open the frameless door, hop in, I'm 6'0" so I can just about sit comfortably in an MX-5. We start rolling, very chill drive out of town in the middle of the night, around 1:30 AM. I remember smiling like an idiot with my phone in my hand when we turned onto the highway and he floored it. It felt like we were doing 200 km/h, but it was around 120. At the same time, I can't feel anything of 230 km/h in my stepfather's Mercedes-Benz S500 Coupé, 180 in the S500 feels like 80 in the MX-5. Firstly, that shows how stable, well-insulated and heavy the S Class is, but it also shows how fun the MX-5 is, and how the perception of speed depends on many things.
100% man
My Subaru was slow as fuck, but it FELT so much faster than my ISF. Similar to the merc you’re taking about, it just feels so smooth and with how well built ‘luxury’ cars are, a lot of the time it doesn’t feel like you’re going that fast.
But with the rattly old subie, everything felt quick
5:15 wow that's exactly how I feel, and I've also been born in '99
People forget Fuji had 4 years of driving experience at 18 years old
Yeah Bunta really used that child labour 💀
Least he paid him, in secret
I did fun2drive's initial run back in 2013. Got to drive their yellow FD Mazda RX-7 on Mt. Hakone. Was about 12 hrs I think
That’s awesome man, the yellow FD’s still there too. They got so many nice cars I wish I could try em all haha
I’m a simple man.
I see initial D, I hear Eurobeat, I subscribe.
Simple
🫶🏼
fast is not measure in horse power ...but with TIME plus skillz !! from point A to Z the smaller the time the fast you are ...no matter road ...or what kind of car you driving...it all comes down to time and skilz !! more skillz , lesser time ...lesser time means your faster!!
just finished the fourth stage yesterday, yet can't bring myself to watch the undubbed rest =(
Speed is when you compete in the Nissan Micra Cup
No seriously, there was a one make series for Micras here in Canada.
“Fun doesn’t have to be fast”