The first battle of the series, Keisuke Takahashi () vs. Takumi Fujiwara (), as seen in the anime.
The protagonist, Takumi Fujiwara, is a gas station attendant working with his friend Itsuki to buy a car, which they plan to on the twisting roads surrounding nearby Mount Akina. Unbeknownst to his colleagues, Takumi moonlights as a tofu delivery driver for his father's store before sunrise each morning, passively building an impressive amount of skill behind the wheel of the family car, an aging. Shortly after the story begins, the Red Suns, an amateur racing team from, challenge the local Speedstars team to a set of races on Mount Akina.
Dispirited after watching the Red Suns' superior performance during a practice run, the Speedstars expect to lose. Later that night, the Red Suns' #2 driver, heading home after the last practice run, is defeated soundly by a mysterious Sprinter Trueno, despite driving a much more powerful car. An investigation into the identity of the driver leads to Bunta Fujiwara, Takumi's father. The Speedstars beg Bunta to help them defeat the Red Suns, and he initially refuses, later relenting to 'maybe' show up at the race. At the same time, Takumi asks Bunta if he can borrow the car for a day to take a trip to the beach with a potential girlfriend, and Bunta seizes the moment by granting permission (plus a full tank of fuel) on the condition that Takumi defeats the Red Suns driver.
On the night of the race, the Trueno does not show up, and the Speedstars enlist a backup driver for the first run. At the last moment before the race starts, the Trueno arrives. Takumi steps out of the car to the bewilderment of the Speedstars, who were expecting Bunta. He easily defeats the Red Suns driver by utilizing a dangerous technique on the mountain road's hairpin corners.
Initial D summary: Only the fearless survive in the white-hot world of street racing, as teams take on dangerous roads in the shadow of Mt.
The Red Suns' embarrassing defeat sets up the plot for the rest of the series: drivers from neighboring prefectures come to challenge Takumi and the 'Legendary Eight-Six of Akina' and thus prove themselves as racers. Eventually, the plot moves away from Mount Akina as Takumi becomes bored with racing solely on that road. He joins an experimental racing team formed by the disbanded Red Suns and challenges more difficult opponents on their home courses in the pursuit of his dream to be 'the fastest driver out there'. 
A replica of Takumi's AE86 A live-action movie based on Initial D was released on June 23, 2005 in Asia. The movie was jointly produced by Japan's and Hong Kong's. It was directed by and, whose credits include the 2002 blockbuster.
The adaptation featured Taiwanese singer as Takumi Fujiwara and Hong Kong stars as Ryosuke Takahashi and as Takeshi Nakazato. Despite many changes to the original story, the movie was met with critical acclaim and was nominated for multiple awards, including Best Picture, at the and, winning many of them. A sequel has been in discussion since the following year after the movie has debuted. However, a concrete conclusion could not be reached due to several obstacles which includes the storyline, filming locations, casts, and safety reasons. As of March 2015, director and producer, Andrew Lau, has once again reconfirmed in an exclusive interview that a sequel will surely follow but is tight-lipped on the release date. Jay Chou and Edison Chen will reprise their roles in the sequel.
Reception [ ] Some fans of Initial D reacted negatively to the Tokyopop's extensive editing and changes made in the English-language version of the manga. Similar reactions were made towards their English dub's script and voice acting, and the removal of the original music from the anime series. Tokyopop said that it was trying to Americanize the series so it could be aired on television, while at the same time keeping the Japanese spirit of the series. According to Funimation officials, the re-release of the anime has 'done well'. Reviews of the series note a marked improvement from the Tokyopop iteration, with most complaints leveled against the lack of anamorphic widescreen on the DVDs. See also [ ].
Retrieved May 31, 2018. Anime News Network. Retrieved May 31, 2018. • 'TOKYOPOP Inc. Out of Print Titles'. 2007-10-13 at the.' Retrieved on September 10, 2009.
• Retrieved August 2, 2013 • 'Editors Note. Name Changes in Initial D, English Language Version.' Initial D Volume 2. August 31, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2012. Perfect Choice.
Archived from on 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-04-20. Retrieved 16 August 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2006. • March 17, 2003.