Initial D Eurobeat: Community Pick

Our Initial D Music Section moderator/guru Lebon14 has started a petition to create a compilation of Initial D songs from members and the fanpagers' choices. Here's his message for you guys. Please take the time to hear... him out.

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Hello everybody, Lebon14 here.

Over the last month or so, I came up with two different projects.
The first one being called "m.o.v.e Initial Anthology 1998-2013." It's pretty much done and I'll make it available on the forums on June 5th——the same date that m.o.v.e release their last DVD titled "The Last Show -Champagne Fight-" I've even created artwork for this 2-discs compilation that has every tracks m.o.v.e did for Initial D. Anime and games; for a total of 32 tracks. Stay tuned.

The second project is a bit more complicated. In fact, I need YOU! Yes, you there in the comment section! What is it? Well... we all know Initial D for something else than m.o.v.e music-wise. Yes, we know it for Eurobeat. Throughout the years, Initial D saw 36 CDs releases regarding the anime full of Eurobeat music.
This includes the upcoming Initial D Fifth Stage Super Eurobeat Presents D Selection Vol.2 (June 12, 2013) and Super Eurobeat Presents Initial D Fifth Stage D Non-Stop Selection Vol.2 (July 12, 2012)

So, with that, I wanted to create a 2-discs compilation with the best songs created by the community! I created a survey here at this weblink : http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FMVCWFZ

So, in a Q&A format, let me explain some things...

Q1. How long will the survey run?
A1. Hopefully for the whole month of June AND half of July. I can stop this manually.

Q2. Do I need to be a member on the forum to participate in this survey?
A2. NOT AT ALL. I chose SurveyMonkey and this was the biggest reason: you don't need to log in. You don't need a forum account. You just fill the survey.

Q3. I made a mistake in the survey! Can I go back and redo it?
A3. You can indeed go back and correct yourself.

Q4. Will there be custom artwork.
A4. YES!

Q5. Why custom Artwork? Why a CD format? Why not just put the results and let people download the songs manually?
A5. Well, you know... I know that people that actually print out the artwork are a minority. The thing is to give you the feeling of it being an actual release, make you dream that you actually hold a jewel case with such artwork. It creates a feeling that you participated on such project and that your choices helped in deciding the track list for this fan-compilation. Downloading a bunch of MP3s isn't the same thing as downloading disc images that you know that an Eurobeat fan took the time to compile, arrange, re-master if needed AND create artwork as if the release was real.

Q6. In what format will this be uploaded in?
A6. Single FLAC + cue. No MP3 or lossy format. It's meant to be burned on CD-Rs and make you feel like it's an actual official release, accept it's not. Actual CDs are lossless with lossless source (usually...).

Q7. Why not! I will participate. What's the official name of the album? Is it what I see on the survey page?
A7. No... In fact, I've played with the title several times but I think I'll head for "Initial D Eurobeat: Community Pick"

Q8. Where are the games?
A8. Unfortunately, because of the fact that only 2 games got their original soundtrack out, I had to left this out. Well, that is part of the reason. The other reason is that, well, I didn't want to create a 3rd disc and that are possible duplicates from the anime too. AND finally, not enough question in the free version of SurveyMonkey.

Q9. Will you do print runs of this?
A9. What? NO! NEVER! Sharing the songs are already illegal and Avex is already pretty lax with Eurobeat sharing as it is. I don't want to attract their fury and put myself in legal troubles for creating bootlegs. The best you can do is to print out the artwork yourself by CD-R that allows the surface to be printed (or lightscribed), by a 2-discs slim jewel case, burn the two CD-R with the images and assemble everything. Just so you know, I am STRICTLY against bootlegging.

Q10. Do you think Avex will pick this up and do an actual release?
A10. I wish they would but unfortunately, I don't think they will. In fact, chances are slim to none.

That is all. Don't forget to vote here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N8GCMWP
And with the tracklist, I will reveal the results hopefully in July.

See ya later all.


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Project.D Expedition Kanagawa Prefecture

Initial D Fifth Stage is all about Project.D's expedition in the Kanagawa prefecture, the holy land of street racing. Throughout the season, Project.D challenged the four strongest teams in the area. Sometimes we hear them... talk about going to Hakone and sometimes they don't even mention the name of the pass. But just where are the mountain passes geographically? Glad you asked!

As expected, almost all the locations depicted in Fifth Stage are real. To put things in perspective, we at Initial D World has created this expedition map for you to refer to.

They have raced in five mountain passes in Fifth Stage. They are ヤビツ峠 (Yabitsu Pass), 長尾峠 (Nagao Pass), 七曲り峠 (Nanamagari Pass), 箱根ターンパイク (TOYO TIRES Turnpike) and 椿ライン (Tsubaki Line). Each mountain pass represents a line of defense (except for the Shinigami race on TOYO TIRES Turnpike.)

Hope everyone have a great weekend!

| Previous Expedition Maps |
» http://facebook.com/go2id/photos/590435657638770
» http://facebook.com/go2id/photos/554418131240523

| Sources |
» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanagawa_Prefecture
» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantō_region
» http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefectures_of_Japan


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Fifth Stage ACT.14 Anime vs Real Life

Fifth Stage Season Finale ACT.14 concluded the uphill battle between Keisuke and Go Hojo, which spanned a whopping 2.5 episodes in the anime. It is by far the longest race in Fifth Stage. In the manga, this race took almost 1.5... years to draw! And in real life, doing two uphill rounds on 椿ライン (Tsubaki Line) would take no more than 20 minutes.

Some interesting insight on this course; the author Shigeno has been drawing races on this course for 2.5 years now since the start of the battle of Keisuke vs Go and now well over a year into the downhill battle of Takumi vs Shinji and still no conclusion yet. Tsubaki Line is the only mountain pass besides Mt. Akina (Haruna) that gets featured so much in Initial D.

This will be the last Anime vs Real Life comparison we do for Fifth Stage since there are no more episodes after this. Check out the image sources below and enjoy!

| Image Sources |
» Tsubaki Line, Japan - Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/ZIosM
» 2012.6.11 椿ライン | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/252...1592/photo.aspx
» 富士スピードウェイの新ロードレース | http://noppo-roadbike.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2013-02-06
» 箱根(TOYO TIRES)ターンパイク とか。| http://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/386...6666/photo.aspx


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Gotta start 'em young

Because you gotta start them young.


Initial D has been around for almost two decades. Many of us has grown up since then and some of us even had started a family with kids and all. And if you are like JDMsolstice (a... hardcore Initial D fan from ft86club.com) you just can't wait 'til he grows up. According to JDMsolstice, Initial D is the only show his 11-month-old baby boy would "actually sits down to watch." Kudos, man! Keep up the good work, sir! Thanks for sharing with us.

(Image credit: http://ft86club.com/forums/showpost.php?p=...&postcount=245)


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Mako wears high heels again?

In Initial D First Stage Episode 20, Mako vows to never wear high heels again because it hurts her feet. (Damn it, Iketani!) I think that scene has broken so many people's heart. Even 'til this day when I re-watch... this scene it still brings back all the memories when I first watched Initial D and all I can see is the author really knows how to play with the viewers' emotions.

Fast forward 15 years, we see Mako appear again in Fifth Stage... and you guessed it, with high heels. At first glance, it looked like it didn't have any meanings. However, if you are a die-hard Initial D fans and try to connect all the dots together, it's not hard to see the real meaning behind this scene. At the end of Extra Stage II, it reads that "These two never see each other again after this."

So for Mako to wear high heels again, it either means she knew Iketani would be in the same place watching the final Kanagawa match or she has finally gotten over Iketani and is ready to look for another man. The latter is more plausible at this point with all the tell-tale signs presented.

What do you think? The manga has not finished with the 86 vs 86 battle, so there is still a chance for Iketani to reunite with Mako after the race, if the author so choose to make that happen. In your opinion, would you like to see these two reunite? Or should they remain separated with an unfulfilled sentiment?


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Real Life Gumtape Death Match

Have you ever wondered if anyone has actually try taping their hand to the steering wheel like in Initial D? As a matter of fact, somebody had done that. And that person is none other than 土屋 圭市... (Keiichi Tsuchiya), the technical adviser for Initial D, also known as the Drift King.

To prove that it is 100% realistically possible to drift with one hand taped to the steering wheel, Tsuchiya set out to try it himself. He was a little nervous actually because he could totally hurt himself in the process. So did he actually make it? Find out by watching the video clip here » http://youtu.be/zD4Ei4jOa0k

Disclaimer: DO NOT attempt this on public street.

(Image Credit: Initial D First Stage ACT.14 進化するドリフト天才! "Evolving Drift!")


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Initial D Manga vs Real Life

Now that the anime has caught up with the manga, many fans are eagerly waiting for the author to finish drawing the downhill race in the manga. But many don't realize just how time consuming it is to draw scenes as detail as... those depicted in Initial D.

Many scenery were drawn based on real life images. The author most likely has a team of scout to take photos of real life locations for him. Then he draws them manually one by one. The process is unimaginably tedious. Often times, we don't give enough credit to the author for that.

For example, in Fifth Stage anime, one episode (25 minutes) of animation is equal to a whole volume in manga, which takes more than six months to draw (!!) So every two episodes that we watched, it was one whole year of drawing in the manga. And that's precisely why we had to wait 6+ years in exchange for 14 episodes.

| Image Source |
» Caption: Rin Hojo ("Shinigami") quietly waiting for the result of the uphill battle.
» 神奈川旅行 頭文字D聖地巡礼ツアー2012 | http://ainotane.blog97.fc2.com/blog-entry-1940.html


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Comic relief moments in Fifth Stage

There were quite a few things Fifth Stage was missing, one of them being comic relief moments. What made First Stage so enjoyable to watch was the Gas Station gang and their hopeless endeavor in getting girlfriends. Itsuki... provided countless comic relief moments throughout the series. Once Project D started, we didn't get to see the crew that often anymore, but we still got many funny scenes out of them in Fourth Stage. (Remember when Itsuki found out Iketani and Kenji were watching as he get rejected?)

Then Fifth Stage came and everything felt so "rigid" and "formal." Even the jokes seemed to be forced. It might have something to do with the way the character talks. The facial expressions weren't as flexible as the previous stages. The whole season gives off the vibe of "no nonsense." It was as if the characters were just reading script, lifeless so to speak.

So it was very refreshing to see the semi-chibi-ish facial expression on Mako's face. It was a change in the right direction. Initial D is supposed to be fun to watch, not super duper serious business all the time. I just wish it didn't have to end so soon, right when it starts to get better too! One can only hope the wait won't be as long as last time... (frown)

| Image Sources |
» Initial D Manga Vol.45 Ch 653「ヒーロー」（後編）"Hero (Part II)"
» Initial D Fifth Stage Episode 14「決着！極限ヒルクライム」"Conclusion! Extreme Hill Climb"


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Fifth Stage ACT.13 Anime vs Real Life

We hope everyone had a chance to watch Fifth Stage Episode 13. If you still haven't watch it yet or just don't know where to watch it, visit the official 13 & 14 thread and get the link: ... href='https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=45775' target='_top'>https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=45775

Like Episode 12, Episode 13 continues to take place on 椿ライン (Tsubaki Line) The place where Mako, Sayuki and Shinji stands is the fourth hairpin. Once Keisuke and Go passed this steep corner, they enter into the fourth section, which has more straightaways than the previous three sections. This is where the "real battle" begins because both the FD and NSX can go all out on the throttle. It's a showdown on raw uphill power from here on to the finish line.

We did our usual Anime vs Real Life comparison for you here. Check out the Google Maps if you want to explore the course in Street View. It seems to be quite fun to drive around on. It's definitely one of the places on my to-visit list. (grin)

| Sources |
» Tsubaki Line, Japan - Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/ZIosM
» 神奈川旅行 頭文字D聖地巡礼ツアー2012 椿ライン | http://ainotane.blog97.fc2.com/blog-entry-1942.html
» Panoramio - Photo of 椿ライン　ヘアピンコーナー | http://www.panoramio.com/photo/17119223
» Screenshots from Initial D Fifth Stage Episode 13


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Some clarifications on Fifth Stage

Here are some clarifications regarding Initial D Fifth Stage because we've been bombarded by questions relating to that.

• There are no official information regarding Fifth Stage Episode 15 and beyond at this point.... So in the meantime, Episode 14 is the last episode of Fifth Stage.
• Perfect Choice TV has already released their June schedule couple days ago and Fifth Stage 15 & 16 are NOT on it. (Check the link in the source below for reference.)
• The anime HAD to stop at where it left off in Episode 14 because it has caught up with the manga storyline. There are simply no more story to animate. If you never ever read the manga, you should. The anime has almost always followed the manga save for the Extra Stage I & II.
• There might be more episodes on Fifth Stage because at the end of Episode 14, there was no indications of "See you again" or "Hope to see you again" or anything of the sort. So it's either the animation studio being too sloppy and forgot about it or we'll get more Fifth Stage episodes at a later date.
• Initial D Fifth Stage didn't do so well in Japan, so the chance of it being licensed here in the North America is slim at best. Remember, companies like Funimation look at the numbers first before they acquire the redistribution rights for North America. If it does poor like Fifth Stage did, they'll most likely not even consider picking it up. So that's a no for English dub for Fifth Stage. We're not saying it's not going to happen, but don't get your hopes up.

| Sources |
» 頭文字D Latest Development | https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=26...dpost&p=1276023
» Perfect Choice TV Broadcast Schedule (2013.06) | http://www.perfectchoice-pr.com/time/page/pr1_201306.html
» Photo credit: AE86カツオ | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/280715


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