Is First Stage the most re-watchable season?

Did you know the final battle in Initial D First Stage between Takumi's AE86 and Ryousuke's FC3S actually happened earlier in the manga? The animation team took the liberty to rearrange the order of the battles to make... it more exciting. They thought ending First Stage with that downhill battle and the build-up leading up to it will create so much more excitement. The rearrangement was seamless. If you didn't read the manga, you would think that's exactly how the author wanted it.

The suspense created throughout the first season, all for that last battle is unmatched anywhere in the entire series. First Stage is known for its dramatic build-up before each battle. Remember the battle with R32? They literally spent an entire episode talking about Takumi's inner thoughts and struggle with grasping the concept of a racer's pride.

Watching 86 vs FC battle again, one can't help but admire all the efforts put in to make it the masterpiece that it is. The pace is fast with lots of racing scenes. The dialogues are tastefully inserted between action scenes. First Stage is probably the most re-watchable in the whole series. I can honestly never get tired of re-watching it. I lost track of how many re-runs I did for First Stage. What about you? How many times have you re-watched First Stage?

| Sources |
» Screenshots from Initial D First Stage ACT.26「新ダウンヒル伝説!」"A New Downhill Legend!"


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Initial D Memorabilia - Shigeno Autograph

Sometimes we come across some very rare Initial D memorabilia on auction sites. Take this one for example, it is an original drawing of Takumi and autographed by the author Shigeno Shuichi... (しげの秀一). By original, we meant this is the paper Shigeno drew and signed on. It is not a copy.

Now, guess how much it goes for on Yahoo! Auctions? By the time the auction ended, it was sold for ¥29,800 ($303.54 USD) Yes, someone bid over 300 dollars and won it. Talk about crazy Initial D fans. The auction includes a deluxe certificate to show the authenticity of the autographed drawing.

We honestly don't know how many of these drawings are out there. All we know is they are extremely rare. What's the most unique Initial D memorabilia you've ever seen?

| Sources |
» 『頭文字Ｄ』 しげの秀一 直筆サイン色紙 - ヤフオク! | http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/auction/...465205#iteminfo


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First Stage Blu-ray BOX set to release in Feb 2014

And now some news from Japan. An Initial D fan from Yokohama, Kanagawa took this picture on one of the trains. This small advert contains some of the latest news in the world of Initial D.

The final volume (48) of Initial... D manga is to be released on Wednesday November 6th as we all know by now. FINAL STAGE DVD is currently in the making. We still don't have a release date on that yet. A Blu-ray release for First Stage BOX set is confirmed, and set to release next February!! This is a great news because Initial D has never been released in the Blu-ray format before. There MIGHT be some bonus features, we just have to wait and see.

And we now have a more refined release date for the New Theatrical Initial D Movie. It is confirmed to be release in August, 2014. We bet it's going to be August 6th, 2014. We'll see. (smile)

| Sources |
» Twitter / Phosphor_Kim: 한동안 안나온다 했더니 ... | http://pic.twitter.com/S1XBsRiZyC


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Trick or Treat!

Muahahahahaha!!! Trick or treat from Shingo and Nakazato! Happy Halloween, everyone!! ( ಠ_ಠ)–Ψ

| Editor's Note |
Share some of the scary stories you've heard or... experienced in the comments below!

| Sources |
»「みどり」's Profile [pixiv] | http://pixiv.net/member.php?id=1715050


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How Itsuki sees himself

After Takumi defeated Keisuke in Initial D First Stage, Itsuki was acting all arrogant and may be carried away a little too much. That attitude ultimately got him in deep troubles when Nakazato issued a challenge to... Takumi.

Anyways, in an imaginary scene in Itsuki's mind, didn't he dream of getting a red panda colored AE86? (What ever happened to that dream?) He even called Takumi and himself the "fastest AE86 duo on Mt. Akina downhill." By the way, that imagination was just too much. I didn't think it was possible for Itsuki to look like that. (laugh) It was pure comedic. I have double checked with the manga, and that little scene is anime-only. It just goes to show how creative the animation team for First Stage was.

Itsuki may comes off as an annoying character at times, but his presence has provided many hilarious moments throughout the series. In a sense, Takumi and Itsuki really are a good combo. One is dull and bored all the time and the other is always excited and easily amused. Their personalities are the exact opposite and somehow they became friends, possibly best friends.

Can you imagine we didn't have the character Itsuki? Initial D would be a whole lot different. Case in point, the Live Action Initial D movie... (shudder)

| Sources |
» Screenshots from Initial D First Stage ACT.5「決着!ドッグファイト!」"Dogfight!"


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Kyoko Iwase Cosplay

Keisuke said he won't have time for Kyoko because he wants to give all his attention and focus on Project.D. Now that the project is over, will he reunite with Kyoko? Shigeno-san didn't say anything about the two not... meeting again like he did with Iketani and Mako. Perhaps that's what the extra content is about in the last volume of the manga. Only nine days left to find out! I am so excited!

| Sources |
» Initial D characters, pulling funny faces | https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10...ndpost&p=225055
» 水無瀬紅 【コスプレイヤーズアーカイブ】--水無瀬紅メインページ-- | http://www.cosp.jp/prof.aspx?id=3578
» ｲｯﾁｬﾝ | 2012.07.22 芦ノ湖周辺ドライブ｜ENFINI_RX-7/MAZDA | http://goo.gl/6a2caF


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The dangerous Shingo

Getting into a wreck is not funny. So when you finally get your car all fixed up, you tend to be extra careful with it. And just at this time, some jerk bumps into your rear bumper during your corner entry and inevitably sends... you and your ride into a spin (luckily not to a scrapyard) You would be feeling pretty angry by now, wouldn't you?

And that's exactly what happened to Iketani when he encounters that dangerous Shingo, who loves to bump other FR drivers when they enter corners. But today, we are not going to discuss whether or not that's acceptable behaviors for a racer. We are going to talk about what would you have done if you were Iketani.

One of our forum users, Darth_BAMF, raises this particular question. We thought it's worth the discussion. So Shingo's reason for bumping into Iketani was because Iketani enters into the corner too slow, causing Shingo to hit him. Honestly, that's just adding fuel to the fire. Not only is Shingo not apologetic about the whole situation, he essentially put the blame on Iketani.

Personally, if I were Iketani, I wouldn't care what Shingo's reason was. He damaged my car and almost killed me. I would raise hell about it, but like Iketani, I probably wouldn't get physical. Maybe just report the incident to the police as a hit and run.

So the question is, what would you have done in that situation if you were Iketani? Would you teach Shingo a lesson by beating the crap out of him, or take the high road and hold back like Iketani?

Tell us what you think by either commenting below or in the existing thread here: https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=46419

| Sources |
» Screenshots from Initial D First Stage ACT.12「FR殺しのデスマッチ!」"The FR Killer!"


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Towing the Fujiwara Tofu Shop AE86

AE86リュウジ (AE86 Ryuji,) an enthusiastic Initial D fans from Hyogo, Japan took this picture of his AE86 in 2011 as a tribute to the scene from Initial D Second Stage after Takumi blew his engine and... that Bunta had to help him tow the 86 home.

That scene always make my heart very heavy. That's the first time when Takumi realize he might lose the 86 forever because of his recklessness. Of course, Bunta had already foresee that possibility and prepared a brand new engine long ago.

I am sure everyone has at least one story to tell about their cars. You know, that heart-wrenching feeling to see one's car damaged. And what's worse, it was a bad judgement or just simply carelessness. Share your car mishap stories with us in the comments below! Relax and enjoy your weekend, everyone!

| Editor's Note |
The 86 in this picture was on her way to the repair shop. According to the owner, something about the radiator leak and that it was considered unsafe to drive it to the shop, hence the flatbed tow truck. Check out the link below if you want to read more about his AE86.

| Sources |
» 走行不能｜☆Dream Project☆ D仕様目指して | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/410872/blog/24381031


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Initial D Manga Vol.48 Cover

The cover for the final Initial D manga book was just released on Amazon Japan moments ago. The final volume is slated for release on November 6th. Links for pre-ordering is available in the links below.

The ending volume... will be about the final stretch for the battle between Takumi's AE86 vs Shinji's AE86, the last battle in Kanagawa Prefecture. The time is up for Ryousuke. The time limit for Project.D is up. The battle between Takumi and Shinji will mark the end of Project.D. Which road will Ryousuke choose to go after this? And the rivalry between Takumi and Keisuke, will it be settled? Which path will they lead from here?

Find out in 12 days. Don't miss it!

| Pre-Order Links |
» http://cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=NEOBK-1570928 (Ships to USA and other countries worldwide.)
» http://amazon.co.jp/dp/4063823776 (Ships to Japan only.)


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Your favorite Initial D stages

Remember these scenes? That's the crowd waiting for the big race between AE86 vs FC3S in First Stage. The attention to details were impeccable. Every person was drawn uniquely. Their clothing style, their postures and their... expressions all came together to create the sense of something big was about to happen. It really captured the atmosphere perfectly. That's not something you can find anywhere in later stages.

With that said, let's have a little ranking of which stages are the best based on overall criterion. Here are some criteria to help you decide. Among all these stages: First Stage, Second Stage, Extra Stage, Third Stage, Fourth Stage, Extra Stage 2, and Fifth Stage, which are your TOP THREE? Give your top three in the comments below!

| Editor's Note |
My personal top three? First Stage, Third Stage, and Fourth Stage, in that order.

| Sources |
» Screenshots from Initial D First Stage ACT.24「赤城の白い彗星!」"Akagi's White Comet!"


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