http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7rZ-SxlFLE
Story and Characters
On Mt. Akina in the Gunma prefecture, is a ghost car that is identified as a Toyota AE86 that tackles the corners at 4 in the morning to deliver Tofu at amazing speeds without any damage to the food. On that same mountain is also home to a below average skill level racing team known as the Akina Speedstars, and they have been challenged by the best team in the prefecture, the Akagi Redsuns, and their number 2 driver, Takahashi Keisuke, who is also the younger brother of the team leader and a feared racer known as the White Comet, Ryosuke. Even though the Speedstars acknowledge no chances of beating Keisuke, they still take the challenge.
While practicing on Akina, Keisuke confronts the ghost Toyota and is easily beaten by his amazing drifts. He then confronts the Speedstars the following day at their work place which is a gas station and the team has no idea of what he’s talking about it. However, their boss Yuichi is aware of the situation and knows who the driver is, and it’s his old friend Bunta. However, on the day of the race, it’s not Bunta at all, but his teenage son, Takumi who has been doing the deliveries since he was in jr. high, and was the one who beat Keisuke that night. As a condition that he can use the car for a date and that his father would pay the gas, Takumi will race Keisuke. Because Takumi during those times is doing his deliveries at 4 in the morning with no one around, he’s free to drive however he wants God forbid any accidents. But because he’s been doing the deliveries for 5 years now, his technique is now at a high level and that was his father’s intention though Takumi doesn’t acknowledge it or even realize it. Takumi then manages to beat Keisuke again and his victory slowly pulls him further into the world of street racing in the mountains.
At first, I’ll admit that I did not think I would like the concept at first, but other factors which I will further elaborate on would keep on pulling me into this franchise and would like it more and more. I know it’s not the most exciting or appealing anime, and that I’m not the biggest gear head, but I felt something special about this one. Even though Takumi is not exactly the most appealing anime character of all time, it’s kind of weird that his lack of charisma in some ways makes him charismatic at the same time because he does all his talking behind the wheel and he’s a monster at it, and yet, he thinks his abilities are nothing special. The cast is well rounded and they all get equal attention for the most part. There’s not much that goes with story, but the characters is what really drives this anime. But it still has a lot of elements such as some romance, lots of comedy, and it’s a different kind of coming of age story which I give a 7.5/10.
Art and Animation
I’ll admit the character design isn’t really the most beautiful, nor is the coloring the most glossy. Yes, it’s nothing really great, but the character design is diverse and distinctive in lets say in comparison to Gundam SEED’s, nor way too generic like History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi. I’ll admit Shigeno, the manga artist has a weird way of drawing, but he does have a style of making some of his characters, especially Ryosuke, look distinctively Japanese rather than relying too much on the trademark anime big eyes. Plus, there is none of this wacky hairstyle or hair color bull crap that is so trendy, so I was able to be glad to be away from that.
Plus, the designs of the cars are of course accurate to that of the real cars themselves. I really like how they used CG for the races and it brings a trademark trait to this show. Granted the CG isn’t that impressive looking, but this was 1998. Look at the other CG cartoons that were out back then and compare it to where CG is now in 2008. But despite that, the physics for the most part I will probably have to assume are 95% real because the drift king himself, Tsuchiya Keiichi, was an advisor to the races. A lot of environmental factors are put into play with the outcome such as gutter gripping on the corners for traction. Also, all of the courses present in the show are real life mountains, except Akina is really named Haruna and from what I have heard, they are accurately represented. The show has a lot of technical jargon in relation to the cars and driving techniques. If you don’t have any prior knowledge, it will be hard to understand but at least you’re getting something educational in some bizarre regard, and for that, I give the art and animation another 7.5/10.
Music and Voice Acting
Now time to really talk about what made me a fan, the Eurobeat music. I first got into this anime in 2000 and was a junior in high school, and I was playing Para Para Paradise every weekend at my local arcade. I loved the music and even found other non-game dance routines on the internet and got addicted to the music. Then one day, my friend gave me this anime to watch and told me to watch it. I thought the opening theme, Around the World by Move, was pretty cool and catchy. Then, the moment things got underway, I immediately recognized the first song, Space Boy by Dave Rodgers and the last song, No One Sleeps in Tokyo by Edo Boys, and I thought, hey, this soundtrack alone has me sold. The Eurobeat in this anime is as synomous and central as is the jazz in Cowboy Bebop. I never watched the dub and to this day, I will refuse to watch it. I heard they change the music to 7th grade level grunge rock and to me, doing that is like replacing the jazz in Cowboy Bebop to Achy Breaky Heart! But trying to put a portion of my biases aside, I felt that the fast paced nature of Eurobeat really suits the fast paced atmosphere of this anime in its own unique way like that.
The Japanese voice cast is also very excellent and multi-talented. I think Miki Shin’ichiro does a great job as Takumi. He does a great job of being quiet and unassuming, but in certain moments, he knows how to sound enraged if you push the right buttons on him. And the voice of Kaneda from Akira, Iwata Mitsuo, is funny as Itsuki. I just love it when he goes Kuuuuuu sound when he’s excited. And I really loved Koyasu Takehito as Ryosuke and his role in playing Ryosuke is why he’s my favorite character. He’s very serious about what he does and he is very charismatic and intimidating, but yet, knows how to act approachable at the same time. Tomokazu Seki as Keisuke I like him being so moody, hot tempered, and is straight out no nonsense. And to conclude, the sounds of the car engines are actually based on the real cars themselves. I saw a documentary on Initial D one time and they showed how they got the real car engine sounds and applied them to the anime. Unfortunately, I will restate I have never seen the dub, but have heard only bad things about it. So based on what I’ve seen and told you, the music and voice acting get a perfect 10/10!
Overall
OK, I’ll admit that you might not be able to relate to this anime nor most of its characters, or more specifically their situations. It’s definitely not for casual anime fans, or those who like Naruto, Bleach or DBZ. Hell, it’s not even for a lot more dedicated anime fans as well. But as a Para Para Paradise veteran, I just felt the music alone was something I could relate to and I know it’s weird to get into some animes based on that. But eventually, I personally came to embrace Initial D the anime itself. I just felt because it was something out of the norm, I was able to enjoy it. So if you’re truly looking for something different, I say give Initial D a try. I know this anime is not for everyone, but it takes the right circumstances when you get into it to enjoy it for some people, which I give an overall score of an 8.12/10. |
