What does racing mean to you?

When Takumi follows closely behind Keisuke's FD in the very first battle in First Stage, it gave him a feeling that he never felt before. Takumi felt puzzled about this feeling. To him, driving is just for his father's... business, nothing more. The daily delivery run has always been a chore for him. When he realize that driving can offer more than that, like taking Natsuki on a ride to the beach, he starts to change his opinions on cars. It makes him appreciate the experience a little more.

This part of the story is really lovely. It vividly depicts the main protagonist's inner world and thoughts. It's what makes Initial D so addicting to watch.

Let us ask you a question that was asked by Ikeda in Fifth Stage.
「走ることとは何だ・・！？」
"Racing, what does that mean to you?"

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


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Recreating Initial D With Diecast Toy Cars

Every day we discover more interesting things Initial D fans do with their free time. Some of them are very dedicated to what they do. And it makes us feel very humble to be in a position that brings you guys little interesting... tidbits about Initial D here and there.

Today we stumbled upon this blog about a guy using Initial D diecast toys to recreate scenes shown in the Anime. We are no stranger to mini diecast toy cars. We come across at least one at some point in our lives. So what makes this guy so special? From Tokyo, going by the name "Io_Su," he would buy many diecast toy cars and modify them into the ones in Initial D. But that's not all, he also create background props! All those trees and the track segment are all handmade. He even made the Fujiwara Tofu Shop from scratch.

You may say he has too much time on his hands, but he's doing something that he enjoys. And that's all it matters.

Check out his YouTube channel here: https://youtube.com/Suzuki20080406

There are a few videos that we recommend you to watch.
Mt. Akina | http://youtu.be/IgpDZ_fXlxA
Fourth Stage OP Dogfight | http://youtu.be/YHPHkzPB3cs
MR2 vs AE86 | http://youtu.be/8mN8RaJc3tk

| Sources |
» CrossPolo で 頭文字D | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/922151/blog/c686727


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Hakone Turnpike Send-Off Gathering

On July 29th, a small group of Japanese Initial D fans gathered on TOYO TIRES Turnpike (Formerly known as 箱根ターンパイク "Hakone Turnpike") with their Initial D... replicas for a send-off meeting. Initial D ended on that date with the release of the last manga issue published on Young Magazine.

It was a very foggy morning, it suits the mood perfectly. The fans took some video and photographs with their replicas and ended the meeting by cruising down the Hakone mountain pass.

Here is the video footage of said event: http://youtu.be/GpXFVqhtr64

It's important to note that this is different than the Fifth Stage DVD 箱根RUN "Hakone Run" that we reported a few days ago. The Hakone Run was official and was filmed by a professional crew. The footage of that is included in the Fifth Stage DVD Vol.7 as bonus feature, which no one has shared it yet as of today. The send-off gathering is a fans meet. It is still nice to see there are really enthusiastic Initial D fans on the other side of the world.

| Sources |
» お盆ですね｜ＪＥＦの港・いんぷぱくとブルー | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/199066/blog/30826841/


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Life-Size Doll Of Natsuki Mogi

This is definitely going to rage my dreams tonight. Thank you, Japan!!

A very hardcore male Initial D fans from Kanazawa, Ishikawa in Japan made a life-size doll of Natsuki Mogi from scratch! This person goes... by the name of "Akiyama Takumi." According to him, it took him six months to create this doll. He plans on making more dolls after this.

Editor's Note: I don't know about you, but if I see this thing sitting in the car at night, it will freak me out!

| Sources |
» 茂木なつき｜SPRINTERTRUENO/TOYOTA | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/148119...3536/photo.aspx


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Hakone Run Behind The Scenes

There are bonus features included in the Initial D Fifth Stage DVDs. In the last volume of the Fifth Stage DVD, they featured video footage of AE86 replica and FD3S (Fifth Stage specs) replica cruising around in Hakone mountain... passes that were shown in the anime.

They've titled this bonus video 頭文字[イニシャル]D -Spirit- Vol.7 ~箱根RUN~ "Initial D Spirit Hakone Run" Basically, a professional camera crew was set up to film the cruise. This is closest to a Live Action movie. Of course, there was no stunt driving. It was more like a relaxing cruise. (Sort of like what we did in our Reunion Meet 2)

So far, no one has share this bonus footage. Rest assured, we'll share it if it becomes available to us. If you purchased the last volume of the Fifth Stage DVD and wants to share with us, give us a message!

| Additional Images |
» http://jef-minato.com/2013.4.22hhakone.run.avex500%20(2).JPG
» http://jef-minato.com/2013.4.22hhakone.run.avex500%20(4).JPG
» http://jef-minato.com/2013.4.22hhakone.run.avex500%20(6).JPG
» http://jef-minato.com/2013.4.22hhakone.run.avex500%20(9).JPG
» http://jef-minato.com/2013.4.22hhakone.run...x500%20(18).JPG
» http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/blo...ct=021f7b5c0030

| DVD Order Links |
» Initial D Fifth Stage DVD Vol.7 (finale volume)
— http://cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=AVBA-62450 (Ships to USA and other countries worldwide.)
— http://amazon.co.jp/dp/B00BPRQ79K (Ships to Japan only.)

| Sources |
» 箱根RUNの裏側 | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/387484/blog/30596759/
» 頭文字D Fifth Stage Vol.7　箱根ＲＵＮ　メイキングレポ | http://jef-minato.com/2013.avez.hakone.htm
» 箱根ＲＵＮ・メイキング簡単レポ | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/199066/blog/30704691/


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Initial D Manga Vol.48 Announced

Just got this news moments ago here. Boy, there sure are a lot of Initial D news lately. Just when we all thought Vol.47 was the last manga book, Shigeno announced on the Young Magazine Original Art Exhibition 2013 that Vol.48... will be released by the end of this year. WHAT?! Yup, that was our reaction when we got the news.

It's a good news after all! For those of you who read the Vol.719 DREAM chapter that we posted couple days ago, know how unfulfilled it felt. There is no release date set for Vol.48 book yet, but we do know Vol.47 will be released in two days, on 2013.8.6. There *might* be some new content in the Vol.48 book, we don't know. Perhaps, the fans in Japan urged Shigeno-san to draw more for the ending. It is not the first time that fans actually persuaded the author to do something different with the original ending. Maybe this is what happened here, because we were confirmed Vol.47 was the last book just weeks ago.

We are delighted to get this news. There are some hope!! Also, here are some high resolution pictures from the exhibition » https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=46...dpost&p=1282827 Enjoy! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!


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Young Magazine Original Art Exhibition 2013

A week ago, Kodansha hosted an event in 渋谷ヒカリエ9階 (9th Floor Shibuya Hikarie, Tokyo)... named「ヤングマガジン大アート原画展2013」"Young Magazine Original Art Exhibition 2013" The event was being held from 7.26 -> 7.29 for four days. Initial D was one of the major exhibition.

The event attracted many enthusiasts and fans. A promo video of the New Initial D Movie (頭文字D 新劇場版) was shown at the event. We originally found a low quality video of said video hours after the event started but was not able to find anything better quality. Today we finally stumble upon a way better quality video of the promo. (See below for YouTube link)

It was quite the sight to see all 46 manga covers as displayed like a wall. It just shows Initial D has came such a long way from 1995 to 2013. In a few days the Vol.47 of the manga can be added to this Initial D manga wall.

The event also showed the actual tools Shigeno used to create the art. The large original drawing is carefully encased in a large glass container. Seeing it in person is probably the closest one can get to feel the creation of Initial D. It literally is how it all began, from a blank piece of paper. It must be a humbling experience for die-hard Initial D fans to witness it in person.

| Additional Photos |
» http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/use.../48a03b46d1.jpg
» http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/use.../5ed279394f.jpg
» http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/use.../c9023a432e.jpg

| New Initial D Movie 1080p HD Promo Video |
» http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4IR5vai-dE

| Sources |
» 渋谷「ヤングマガジン大アート原画展2013」会場レポート | http://matome.naver.jp/odai/21374891722402...490848045788903
» ヤングマガジン大アート原画展2013 | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/387484/blog/30746360/


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Initial D 外伝 Gaiden

Initial D is a story about a 18-year-old boy named Takumi Fujiwara who helps his father Bunta Fujiwara make tofu delivery for the family business. Takumi has been doing the delivery since five years ago on Mt. Akina, every day... regardless of weather conditions. The story begins when RedSuns came to Mt. Akina to challenge the local racing team for a race. During the practice night, a mysterious AE86 shows up in RedSuns' No.2 fastest racer Keisuke's RX-7 FD's rear-view mirror and defeated him and ...

Sounds familiar? I bet it does. But the question that was on everyone's mind when they watch the first episode of Initial D was, so Takumi had been driving since he was.. 13 years old?! It appears so. Takumi has been driving illegally since he was in 8th grade or middle school second grade in Japan. Many of you have entertain the idea of having a side story that shows Takumi's early days when he first started doing the delivery.

As it turns out, Shigeno the author actually did do a 外伝 (side story / tale) on Takumi in May 2008. It was one of the issues published on Young Magazine. That issue was named Initial D Gaiden and it talked about the 13-year-old Takumi and how he started doing delivery for his father. In one of the pages, it shows the young Takumi sitting next to Bunta while he shows Takumi how it's done. The young Takumi was deeply impressed by the sight. He wanted to be like his old man. That was what motivated the young Takumi to help out. Otherwise, he appears very indifferent about cars. To the young Takumi, car was just a tool to help him get home fast so he could catch some more sleep before school starts.

Unknown to him, he started to bond with the AE86 while doing the delivery all these years. That's why he was devastated when the 86's engine blew in Second Stage. It was like a best friend passing away to him.

Anyways, we tried our best to pinpoint the exact issue this side-story issue, but didn't have any luck. If you have any more details about this story, please let us know! Share the wealth of Initial D knowledge! (smile)

| Sources |
» 「頭文字Ｄ」外伝～無免許ドライバー藤原拓海１３歳 | http://ikesanfromfrneore.blog64.fc2.com/blog-entry-935.html
» INITIAL D Gaiden - Initial D World Forums | https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=26...ndpost&p=959732


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Final Initial D Manga Chapter: Dream

---------- WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILER, NAVIGATE AWAY NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE SPOILERS ----------


The last issue of Initial D manga came out and this is it. Initial D has officially ended. We have... translated the last chapter to English for every one to enjoy. It is actually a very meaningful chapter that's open-ended, which most people were looking forward to. Open-ended ending means there might be spin-off stories some years later.

If you are reading this far, you are probably looking for a quick summary. Here it is: so they are still having the disbanding party. Tomiguchi (the FD mechanic) talked about how he will continue working in the racing field and Matsumoto (86 mechanic) professed that he will do the same. Fumihiro shocked everyone with the news that Keisuke and Takumi has already gotten admission letters from several professional racing teams. Their dreams won't stop here.

And... at last the meaning of D is revealed. There is a double layers of meaning here. Yes, the D means Dream. However, that dream is to foster world-class drivers and uncovering them when they are still rough diamonds. Wait, diamonds? Yes, D for Diamond, as in diamond in the rough. Initial D stands for Ryousuke's dream to foster and train drivers that is like a rough diamond. They must be polished before being sent out to the world out there. And at the end, Ryousuke fulfilled his dream, as a promise to Kaori. (Remember, Kaori died before the first episode of Initial D. So if you think about it, the whole story now revolves around Ryousuke, but in a subtle way.)

Well played, Shigeno-san. No one saw that coming, seriously. People have tried to guess the meaning of D for years. Many people have gotten the Dream part, but no one has gotten the second layer of meaning. We liked the ending, what about you?

Read the translated chapter here: https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=26...dpost&p=1282475 (Scans provided by 四魂制作组, English translation provided by Initial D World Fansubs)


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New Initial D The Movie Promo Video

More information of the New Initial D Movie is slowly surfacing on the net. We now confirmed that the new movie and Final Stage are two separate thing. There was some confusion few days ago regarding this.

It is clear now... that the new movie will be a new anime adaptation of Initial D as a whole in movie format. It is expected to come out in Summer 2014. However, we still don't know what it is about. In the trailer video (link below) we are being shown a remake of Takumi's AE86 vs Keisuke's FD from First Stage. The action sequence closely resembles the manga style, drastically different than the Fifth Stage style. The character design actually reminds us a lot of First Stage.

As for the Final Stage, we now know that it will continue where Fifth Stage left of. So it will show the race that everyone is looking for——Takumi vs Shinji. Don't ask for Episode 15 anymore! It will come out when Final Stage gets released. We originally were informed that Final Stage would be released by the end of 2013. However, that is not confirmed. All we know is that Final Stage is in production as we speak, but there is no official announcement about when it will be released. We'll keep you posted once we get new updates on that.

In the meantime, check out the promo video of the New Initial D The Movie now! » http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JglOwvb3WC8
Bookmark the official website for the New Movie! » http://initiald-movie.com/
And of course, don't forget to follow the official thread for the new Initial D movie, it's being updated constantly. » https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=46060


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