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Part of Initial D's appeal is how it focuses in on the characters, not just the racing.

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Initial-D

Akina's Downhill Specialist

Review by Matthew Anderson

26 episode TV series

Company: TOKYOPOP

Running Time: 150 minutes (6 episodes)

Region: 1

Rated: PG-13 for action and subject matter

EXTERNAL EXAM

Takumi (Tak) Fujiwara is your typical, clueless, high school kid. Despite working at a gas station, he has no interest in cars, which infuriates his best friend Itsuki (Iggy), a total car nut. Takumi has another job as well. Early in the morning, he drives insanely fast on the twisting and winding roads in the Akina mountains delivering tofu to restaurants for his father.

At the gas station they work at, their boss Iketani (Cole) is the leader of the Akina Road Stars, a street racing team that dominates the area. One day, a rival team called the Akagi Red Suns challenge the Road Stars on their home turf. Accepting their challenge, the two teams start doing practice laps.

As they practice, Iketani discovers that the Red Suns are ten times better than the Road Stars. Their only hope is getting the tofu shop racer, a phantom driver who drives a Toyota AE-86 (Hachiroku). Little does he realize that his salvation rests in the mad driving skills of Takumi!

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The video is excellent. No pixels , color bleeds or rainbows to be found. The video is so good that the CG animation looks sharper and cleaner than on the Japanese VHS release.

AUDIO: Well done for both the English and Japanese audio tracks. The Japanese track has a fuller sound, but the English language track is louder in volume. During the races, the engine sounds come from the front speakers, while the music comes from the back. It's almost like you are riding in a real car.

There is a strange thing here. While the audio sounds like a 5.1, the readout on our DVD players show that it is a 2.0 track. According to Mina Sung at TOKYOPOP:

"It's definitely 5.1. It's most likely a setup problem on your end. We had that problem here in the office where the surround speakers' wires weren't set up right and someone had to futz with all the TV, DVD and receiver settings to get it to show 5.1 surround.

If you don't have a 5.1 setup, then your player won't read 5.1 anyway. The 5.1 is designed so that anyone who watches it who doesn't have a 5.1 setup, it reverts to a 2.0 stereo mix."

EDITS: Well, there are two versions of Initial D. The "Classic Import Version" which is uncut. Then there is the "Tricked Out Version" which uses the clean open with English titles, a totally different closing, English episode titles, and "enhanced" CG scenes. Interesting thing is that you can watch either version with the English or Japanese 5.1 audio.

EXTRAS: Some outtakes, car gallery, and one Initial D card from the new card game (no, it wasn't an 86 card).

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: While this has been compared to "The Fast and the Furious", Initial-D has a lot, and I do mean a lot, more depth. What made Shuichi Shigeno's manga so popular was it's focus on the characters, not just the racing. Those expecting non-stop action may be a bit disappointed.

ACTING: The acting on both tracks is very well done. On the Japanese side, I truly believe that Shinichiro Miki could care less about whether or not he races. His deadpan delivery of Takumi helps to define the character. Cowboy Bebop fans may regonize the deep voice of Unsho Ishizuka as Bunta, Takumi's manipulative father.

While the acting is good, some of the voice actors on the English version are miss-matched. While I love Steve Blum's work, isn't he a little too old for the teenage Keisuke? Same thing for Lex Lang as K.T.'s brother Ry.

FAN SERVICE: Well, if you are a car fan, plenty. If you don't know anything about cars, this show will teach you.

There are a couple of quick panty shots. Nothing to get excited over.

FINAL EXAM

Back in the late 90's a series about Japanese street racers hit the airwaves in Japan. With it's mix of teen drama and hard-driving action, it became an instant success. Each new series (or stage) that was released drew more and more attention.

The same thing happened In the US. Pretty impressive for a title that was only available as a fan sub or bootleg. When DVJ reviewed "Battle Stage" the response from US fans was amazing. When TOKYOPOP announced that they were going to release it on DVD, the fans were chomping at the bit.

Part of Initial D's appeal is how it focuses in on the characters, not just the racing. Everyone in this series have real issues to deal with. For Itsuki, it's earning enough money to by a cool car and join the Road Stars. For KT, it's earning respect from his street racing peers, and proving to everyone that he is more than just some spoiled rich kid. Even the oblivious Takumi is looking for that special something to light his fire. As they race, they learn that just having a dream is not enough. You have to chase it. That is the only way to achieve true happiness. Pretty deep message from a show that has been compared to the vapid "Fast and the Furious".

Like "Dragonball Z", it takes several episodes to build up to a major battle. With this volume, episode three ends just as Takumi leaves to go to the race. Not exactly a major "cliffhanger". While new fans may be under whelmed by the slow pace of this series, don't worry. Volume 2 really picks things up.

The journey of Initial-D to America was not without controversy. TOKYOPOP's announced changes to the names and the music caused a huge uproar. Initial D fans are rabid, and making any kind of radical alterations was just not cool. In a wise move, TOKYOPOP released the series in two versions, the "Classic Import" version (original broadcast version), and the new "Tricked Out" version (Enhanced CG scenes, new soundtrack, and new character names).

Visually, the differences between the two versions are minor. The "enhanced video" is nothing more than cheap split screens and cheesy digital effects. There is a redesigned closing, that is actually quite good. It works well with both ending themes.

With the English dub, there are some name and dialogue changes. Some of the changes are minor, (Takumi becomes Tak) while others are major, (Natalie's aka Mogi's lines being changed to hide the fact that she and her "papa" are doing more than just hanging out.)

The biggest change on the English language track is the use of Emenem/DMX sounding hip-hop instead of the original "Super Eurobeat" songs. Frankly, this some of the most god-awful rap/techno fusion I have ever herd in my life. While I like the version of "Initialize" on the trailers, the remixes used in the show really stink. The worst of them all is the one for the ending. What is up with the cat giving birth noise?

Thank god for "Rage your Dream" by Move. It is the perfect ending theme for both "closings". Good news is, no matter what version you watch, you can switch to the Japanese audio track and put that horrible cat wailing behind you.

One thing I do miss is the music videos from the Japanese VHS release. I hope that TOKYOPOP will have them on the next volume. The Super Eurobeat songs combined with the CG animation makes for some neat videos.

Issues aside, volume one is the perfect way for new and old fans of Initial D to get their fix. No matter what version you prefer, you will have a good time! To quote the announcer, "Don't miss it!"

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