Itsuki's First Date

Itsuki is a character that represents that goofy side of us——you know, that side that no one wants to admit. It's not a coincident that most of the unlucky or uncool things happen to him in First Stage.

Take his... first date with Saori for example. It is his second time meeting her and he wants to kiss her. He is getting way ahead of himself there. But can anyone really blame him for that? He's 18, with no experience whatsoever with girls, and always try to impress Saori with his racer talk.

So when Shingo shows up behind them on the way home, Itsuki wants to break the predicament he got himself in by speeding in front of Shingo's EG6. Of course, that didn't pan out well for him. The moral of the story here is know your limits. Self-knowledge is especially important when you want to be successful in what you do. Itsuki paid the price here for trying to save his ego.

With that said, have you ever done anything like that to impress girls on a date?

| Sources |
» Screenshots from Initial D First Stage ACT.13「イツキの初デート」"Itsuki's First Date"


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Initial D Manga Vol.48 Pre-Order

We just received some latest information regarding Initial D Manga Vol.48. You can now pre-order this last volume of Initial D manga, visit the links below for pre-ordering. As previously mentioned, the volume will be released... on November 6th, a little less than a month away. We have also been informed that it will have 208 pages of content.

Now, as we all know, the last volume contains chapter 709~719 from the Young Magazine serialization. All 11 chapters only add up to about ~120 pages. What would accounts for the other 80~90 pages to make up for the 208 pages total of content?

So at this point, it's confirmed that there WILL be extra content on this last tankobon. There are rumors that it will be an in-depth interview with Shigeno-san, or a short manga series detailing on the main character's life after the Project.D disbanding party. No matter what it will be, we can't wait to find out! November just can't come sooner!

| 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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Female Initial D Fans

We have always wonder what the male-to-female ratio is for the Initial D fans. Needless to say, Initial D belongs to a very male-dominant genre. The balance is heavily skewed towards the males side. The question remains, how... likely is a female taking an interest in Initial D?

To research on this subject, we used our forums and this fanpage's statistics as the basis. Roughly speaking, we have a 100:1 ratio between male to female on the forums for the active participants. For the fanpage however, we are doing a little better. (Reference: http://i2.minus.com/iSLp0VnNluqZi.png)

As you can see, 6% of all the users who have liked, commented or shared our page are females, and only 4% of the 52K fans are females (~2100) Which when translate to plain words, it means out of every 25 Initial D fans, only one of them is female. Now, does this reflect to ALL Initial D fans worldwide? We like to think there are at least 10% female in the fanbase. After all, Initial D has sparked countless fans to write fan fictions and majority of those are female fans.

Perhaps our page just hasn't reach out far enough to tap into that demographics of the fanbase. It remains to be seen. But for now, 25:1 seems pretty realistic to us.

So for this post, we implore all the female fans out there to comment and talk about your experience with Initial D. How did you get introduced to Initial D? Are you the only girl in your friend circle that likes Initial D? How do you or your friends react to girls taking an interest in a male-oriented anime?


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DyDo Blend x Initial D Campaign

DyDo, a Japanese soft-drink company, recently launched a campaign in one of its product lines called Blend. It is a campaign that combines the popularity of Initial D and Blend—a slightly sweeten coffee drink.

So the... drink comes with a toy car on top in a little plastic cylindrical container. There are 10 different cars total.

01. Sprinter Trueno AE86 (unmodified version)
02. Levin AE85
03. RX-7 FC3S
04. RX-7 FD3S
05. NA6CE Roadster
06. SW20 MR2
07. Skyline GT-R R32
08. Civic EG6
09. Sil-80
10. Impreza GC8

These are actually "pull-back" drift toy car. What you do is, you pull the little car back about a foot (20~30cm) on a flat surface and let go, it will sprint forward and drift automatically. Depending on the car, different car has different drifting style and direction. It is really amazing for only 100 yen (~1 USD) But here's the thing, the campaign is only for Convenient Stores only. You can order the actual coffee drink online all you want, but if you want to collect the toy cars, you must purchase them in a store. Now unfortunately, Initial D fans from oversea are not so lucky. The only way we can get our hands on these special toy cars is through eBay.

Simply search for "Dydo Initial D" and you shall find many matches on eBay: http://goo.gl/7wV9Jw

Check out the promo video here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SfmHSflX8WY It seems very fun. I am contemplating on buying a whole set (10) They are going for about $30 on eBay right now.

| Additional Photos |
» http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/1988200/blog/31159447
» http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/373451/blog/31273765

| Sources |
» ダイドーブレンド×イニシャルD | http://blend.dydo.co.jp/campaign/present07.html
» 頭文字Dに翻弄され | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/1648427/blog/31254178
» 何やってんだ | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/1730141/blog/31233464


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Kaori Cosplay

Imagine you wake up one day and your parents tell you that you will be marrying some stranger because that stranger's family is helping them financially. That's what happened to Kaori, Ryousuke's love interest, from... Initial D Fifth Stage.

It's an arranged marriage, what's the big deal? Except it wasn't an arranged marriage. Kaori's parents didn't get her consent before arranging such proposal. It is actually called forced marriage. In this case, Kaori's parents get financial assistance and other career incentives in exchange for giving their daughter up for a marriage with Rin Hojo, the son of a big conglomerate's president.

It isn't fair, especially when Kaori genuinely loves Ryousuke. She is intrigued by Ryousuke's personality. There is a certain charisma that even Kaori can't escape from. When she heard the news from her parents, she completely broke down and felt totally helpless. She didn't want Ryousuke to fall for her any more because she knows she can't disobey her parents. Kaori may seem like a person that yearn for freedom and independent, but she chose to accept the forced marriage has a lot to do with her upbringing. She was probably taught to be obedient at a young age. But when she met Ryousuke, she wanted to do something more with her life. That's why she kept asking Ryousuke what his dream is.

Because she never had any dreams. She was living her parents' dreams. She was living someone else's life. She realizes for the first time in her life that it isn't just about what her parents tell her what to do. She becomes more and more rebellious to her parents and actually refuse to apologize to the Hojo family. She would rather die than to continue down that path. Her braveness is admirable but death is NOT the answer.

It is never the answer.

Initial D shows us how the two men, Ryousuke and Rin, cope with Kaori's passing in their own way. That full-speed downhill race is probably the most touching battles in the whole series.


| Editor's Note |
Check out the cosplayer 結音 from Japan. Her cosplay of Kaori bears the most resemblance out of all the other cosplayers. She successfully captured Kaori's elegant manner and charm.

| Additional Photos |
» https://i.imgur.com/KcFWIIE.jpg
» https://i.imgur.com/a6jn9g0.jpg
» https://i.imgur.com/TfBu506.jpg

| Sources |
» 36.4℃ | http://febbrefresca-c.loud-rock69.zombie.jp/?eid=37
» Initial D Manga Vol.41 page 131 & Vol.42 page 28
» Forced marriage - Wikipedia | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_marriage


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Keisuke x Kyoko

Keisuke is a very single-minded person. Once he sets a goal for himself, he will complete it before doing anything else. It's one of the admirable traits of his personality. That's why when Kyoko confessed to him, he... flat out rejected going out with her. He knows he can't lose his focus on Project.D for even a split second.

Kyoko is absolutely infatuated with Keisuke. She idolizes him. She is satisfied to just watch her darling from afar. Keisuke could not fathom the concept of someone doing that. He said if he commits to someone, he wants everything from that person. Indeed, Keisuke is that kind of person. Even though he didn't say it, it's not hard to tell Keisuke is interested in Kyoko.

That's why he won't allow her to be even present when he races. He knows he will be thinking of her during practice or during battles. It's cruel but it's necessary for Keisuke if he wants to continue to grow in Project.D. From her looks, Kyoko finally understands why he is so determined when he took her for a last drive down Mt. Akagi. From Keisuke's concentrated facial expression, she realizes her darling is chasing his dream and the only thing she can do is cheers for him quietly in her heart.

It's sad yet appropriate for Keisuke during that stage. The author didn't say anything regarding these two in the manga after the disbanding party of Project.D. Here's to hope we'll see Kyoko to make a special appearance in either the Final Stage or the new Initial D movie next year.

I really want to see these two get together. They are perfect for each other.

| Sources |
» Screenshots from Initial D Fourth Stage ACT.18「ラスト·ドライブ」"Last Drive"


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Initial D Parodies

Initial D has became some sort of culture through the years. Parodies sprung up every day like mushrooms after rain. The ones that are done well are usually hard to come by. This parody was created by a group called V-project... from Hong Kong in 2012, was done exceptionally well that we had to share it with you. It is a parody based on the First Stage OP around the world.

Check it out now: https://youtube.com/watch?v=-ytY7f9aE_4
Side by side comparison: https://youtube.com/watch?v=bmfDA-Kaf5w

I am sure you guys have seen many Initial D parodies. Share them with all the fans here in the comments below! (smile)

| Sources |
» "Initial D On Stage" | https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=44795


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Your Favorite Takumi Fujiwara Technique

Takumi Fujiwara has invented many original techniques throughout the series. From the 溝落とし (Gutter Run) in Mt. Akina that we are all familiar with; to the advanced gutter run (load shift) in the race... against Tohru's Roadster; to the very original ブラインド·アタック (Blind Attack) in Happogahara against Toudou Juku's Tomoyuki; and finally to the 藤原ゾーン (Fujiwara Zone)—the illusive 4WD-like behaviors on an FR, made possible only with Takumi's unique state of concentration and ultimately becomes one with the AE86. It makes one wonder, what could Takumi possibly come up next?!

So, what is your favorite original technique by Takumi? Ours is blind attack, without a doubt.

| Sources |
» Screenshots from Initial D First Stage ACT.26, Initial D Fourth Stage ACT.2 & 6, Initial D Fifth Stage ACT.5 and Initial D Manga Ch.699 ~ 700.


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What if Itsuki actually bought an AE86?

Itsuki got his hands on the Fujiwara Tofu Shop AE86?! I don't want to live on this planet anymore! (laugh)

What's the most silly things you've done because of Initial D? I'll start. Back in my high... school days when I first started watching Initial D, whenever I see a car that's panda color I would get very excited and think it's an AE86. I would use "AE86" in all of my online usernames. Thinking back, it was pretty silly...

Now it's your turn!

| Sources |
» レーシングハウス坂井 | http://ameblo.jp/aka-ae86/entry-11621122956.html


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AE86 Dream

The AE86 has always been a symbol of dream in Initial D. Remember how they first introduce the car in the beginning? Everyone and their mother wanted one. This was largely shown through Itsuki's exaggerations on how great... the car is.

But they were just high school students, and an 86 seemed like a car within their price range. Takumi, on the other hand, had no idea what an 86 was. Heck, at that time he had been delivering tofu in one for over five years. He was puzzled when Itsuki drool over his ordinary tofu delivery vehicle. Takumi thought, it's just a normal car with four tires.

And then of course, later on he learns to appreciate this little 86. It has opened up the world of downhill racing to him. Slowly but surely, Takumi gets more and more motivated with each battle. He dreams about being faster than the fastest racer out there and the 86 is his cornerstone to go to the next level.

Understanding that point, it is not that Takumi doesn't love the 86 anymore when he parts with the 86. The 86 fulfilled his dream in getting faster, nothing can change that. But in order to be even faster, there are physical limitations no matter how skillful you are. I believe Takumi finally realize that. So deep inside it may be sad, but it is a necessary step for him to take in order to continue growing.

To us fans, the AE86 will always be the symbol of Initial D no matter what happen. And don't deny it, we all dreamed about owning one at one point in our Initial D adventure. The 86 will always live on in our collective memories of Initial D.

Dream On.


| Sources |
» Initial D Title-Page Collection Book


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