Fifth Stage Episodes Predictions

Time sure flies. It is almost half years since Fifth Stage Episode 1 aired. It still feels like yesterday. In the blink of an eye, we are already up to Episode 10, with Episode 11 & 12 only two days away from... airing.

From what we know so far, we are almost certain that Fifth Stage will only consist of 14 OR 16 episodes. There are some telltale signs suggesting that. We know that there are no more DVD releases currently planned after Vol.7 (Episode 13 & 14) We also know that Fifth Stage will likely concluded the last line of defense (Team Sidewinder), which consists of two more battles (Uphill and Downhill) before Project D dominate the Kanto Region.

Let's do some speculations here. The latest Initial D manga is currently at Ch.704. Fifth Stage Episode 10 ended at Ch.602 in the manga. We know that Fifth Stage Episode 1 started at Ch.424 and aside from a few scenes being cut, the anime is mostly faithful to the manga in terms of following the storyline. So if it takes 178 chapters (602-424=178) to cover 10 episodes in the anime, that means it takes roughly 18 chapters in the manga per anime episode. With the remaining 100 or so chapters, we only have enough material for five or six episodes.

The question is, will they stop at Episode 14 (most likely where ~Ch.670 is in the manga) and save the rest of the storyline for an OVA or will they go ahead and animate the final scenes in the anime? Keep in mind that the manga is still ongoing and there is no sign of when it will end. Though, there were some confirmations some time ago from Young Magazine suggesting that the end is very close.

If it was up to you, which do you like more? 14 Episodes with a 2-hour OVA movie (Sixth Stage) showing the final scenes and wrapping up everything OR 16 episodes of Fifth Stage and probably have the last two episodes very rushed? Personally, I really hope they have make enough money so that they have a bigger budget for a Sixth Stage the Movie.


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Initial D Radio Stage in Carland

Initial D Radio Stage Round 7 (The segment was aired on HiBiKi Radio Station on Feb 10th, 2013) did something different than the usual recording session with guests. Host Chiho Oda and Shinichiro Miki (Takumi Fujiwara's... voice actor) went out to the AE86 Specialty Shop (Carland カーランド) located in Kyoto Prefecture and did the recording there on January 27th, 2013.

The shop owner 得知雅人 (Masato Tokuchi) warmly welcomed the two and gave them a tour around his AE86 shop. Masato is actually the one who helped in rebuilding the Fujiwara Tofu Shop in the Ikaho, Gunma museum that we reported some months ago. (Read more here: http://facebook.com/go2id/photos/565773763438293) He built an AE86 that's identical to the one in Initial D and donated it to the museum.

There are so many panda colored AE86 in Masato's shop. To AE86 fans, this is probably how paradise looks like to you. (smile)


| Editor's Note |
It must be a coincidence that Radio Stage decided to do this event at the same time as we hosted the Initial D Reunion Meet! We did the Reunion Meet on Jan. 26 (United States Pacific Time) and that's the 27th in Japan Time.

| Sources |
» カーランド - EVENT - CARLAND AE86 MEETING 2nd. | http://www.carland86.com/event/130127.html
» 頭文字D Radio Stage in カーランド | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/410872/blog/29325021/
» 2013年02月11日のブログ｜★ちほブロ★ | http://ameblo.jp/chihoda/day-20130211.html
» Initial D World Forums -> Fujiwara Tofu Shop is back! | https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=45137


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Difference between Ryousuke and Takumi

Warning: this post contains spoilers from Fifth Stage Episode 9 & 10. If you haven't watched these episodes yet, please visit this thread: ... target='_top'>https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=45494 and watch the episodes before you read this post.

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Did you noticed how Ryousuke was able to maintain control of his FC after Shinigami hit him by going straight up the slope on the shoulder? That's because if he tried to keep the wheels on the road, he would've hit the curb and spun out as Ikeda pointed out. That kind of driving style is actually shown before in Initial D, precisely in First Stage Episode 15 when Takumi got bumped by Shingo's EG6 and Takumi got so furious that he lost his mind.

Here, Ryousuke is very calm and calculated, completely different than the state Takumi was in. But somehow these two were able to pull off the same maneuver to maintain control of their vehicles. (Assuming Ryousuke did not see what Takumi did in the AE86 vs EG6 match, of course.) This shows that they are both genius in controlling their car with different mindset. Takumi is purely instinctive whereas Ryousuke is putting his theory to the test. Ryousuke has probably simulated many different scenarios where he gets hit by Shinigami. So he probably has a countermeasures for each situation.

(Source images: Initial D First Stage ACT.15「拓海·怒涛の激走」"Takumi's Fury!"; Initial D Fifth Stage ACT.10「終止符」"Full Stop")


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Fifth Stage ACT.11 & 12 Promo

The long awaited trailer for Fifth Stage Ep. 11 & 12 is here. Due to the restriction the Official Site placed on the video, not many people outside of Japan were able to view it. We thought this is no way to treat overseas... Initial D fans. So we got our hand on a copy of the promo video and share it with you all. The air date for 11 & 12 is April 12th, 2013. We added a countdown timer on the forums, so come and count down with us!

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxq4uKzGF-k[/YOUTUBE]


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About family name and given name

Have you ever wondered why Ryousuke and the rest of the Project.D address Takumi as "Fujiwara" and people like Iketani and rest of the Gas Station gang doesn't? Is it simply because they have known Takumi for a... long time, so they are on "first name basis"?

At first glance, it seems like a trivial thing to consider. However, if you give it some thoughts, it's not hard to see that Ryousuke and Keisuke had always viewed Takumi as a rival. Ryousuke is simply using Takumi's talent to achieve his goal, and that's dominating the Kanto region in Japan.

Some argues that Ryousuke wants to keep it professional and treats Takumi as an acquaintance. As some of you might already know, Japanese people tend to address each other by their surnames when their relationship is strictly work/business related or in formal settings. Basically, they won't call each other by their given names unless they are close friends.

Which brings us to next point. Takumi has frequently address members of Project.D by their given names. Case in point, Takumi always call Ryousuke and Keisuke by their given names, but Ryousuke and Keisuke always address Takumi as Fujiwara, his family name. Takumi treats the team like his close friends. Though, the rest of the team only see him as an acquaintance. Trivial details like this is what makes me love Initial D. You can really sense the subtle rivalry between Takumi and Keisuke / Ryousuke even after being recruited to be in their team.

And don't get me started on how biased Ryousuke is when it comes to giving advice before each match. Keisuke always get more advice from his brother whereas Takumi usually only get next to nothing. You get the point.


Image Source: Initial D Fifth Stage Episode 8 "White Devil"


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m.o.v.e - Raise Up feat. Keiichi Tsuchiya

m.o.v.e has released the official MV for the song Raise Up. The MV features the Drift King, Keiichi Tsuchiya. He's also the technical consultant for Initial D. In the MV, you can see that he perform drift his favorite Hot... Version AE86 around those corners while m.o.v.e sing along. It is truly an amazing performance from these two.

Without m.o.v.e and Mr. Tsuchiya's support in the background, Initial D wouldn't be the same. On behalf of all the Initial D fans from this page, thank you!

[YOUTUBE]https://youtube.com/watch?v=a-9N8QbdHCo[/YOUTUBE]
» Alternate download link: http://sendspace.com/file/r1mfuo(17.68MB)


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Fifth Stage ACT.10 Anime vs Real Life

We finally caught up with all the anime vs real life comparison with this post. This is the Initial D Fifth Stage ACT.10 Anime vs Real Life comparison. Enjoy! Check the Google Maps link below if you want to see the course... with satellite view.

| Sources |
» ＴＯＹＯ ＴＩＲＥＳ ターンパイク・ビューラウンジ出入口 to TOYO TIRES ターンパイク - Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/WirJJ


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Fifth Stage ACT.9 Anime vs Real Life

Initial D Fifth Stage ACT.9 & 10 took place on Hakone TOYO TIRES ターンパイク (Turnpike) It is a high-speed toll road connecting the 小田原市 (Odawara City) to... 箱根ターンパイク株式会社 (Hakone Turnpike Co. Ltd), that's the hexagon-looking tower you see Shinigami standing under all the time. That's the TOYO TIRES ビューラウンジ (Viewing Lounge).

The full length of the track is only 15.78km. Assuming the average speed Ryousuke and Shinigami were racing at was 120km, it would take them only seven minutes to run through the course!

The thing with this track is that it has almost no prominent features anywhere. It is basically a high-speed course with minimal curves. We had a tough time finding the animated scenes and comparing them to real life photographs. We were able to find only three scenes that we are confident enough that matches real life images. Enjoy!


| Sources |
» ＴＯＹＯＴＩＲＥＳビューラウンジ - Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/MyodZ
» 箱根・ＴＯＹＯターンパイクの風景 | http://jef-minato.com/dfuukei.2012hakone.tanpaiku..01.htm
» Minkara - TOYO TIRESターンパイク② | http://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/358...9264/photo.aspx
» 箱根ターンパイク - Wikipedia | http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/箱Ċ...#12452;ク


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Fifth Stage ACT.8 Anime vs Real Life

As the previous post stated, Initial D Fifth Stage ACT.8 takes place in Hakone Nanamagari touge (箱根七曲り峠). It is a narrow mountain pass with 12 consecutive hairpins. Yes, 12! But... other than that, the rest of the course are relatively straight long stretches.

Here we compare the scenes in anime vs real life. We used a few different sources to make the comparisons. Check the sources below if you want to explore more about this course on Google Maps. Enjoy! 'html/emoticons/happy.gif'


| Sources |
» 赤城山総合観光案内所 - Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/KQc84
» 畑宿寄木会館 - Google Maps | http://goo.gl/maps/Knn4f
» 元箱根～畑宿～飛竜ノ滝～鷹巣山～千条（チスジ）ノ滝 tko山の散歩道/ウェブリブログ | http://fjn59.at.webry.info/200901/article_13.html
»「頭文字D Fifth Stage」舞台探訪 神奈川編-第三弾 @箱根・七曲り | http://ameblo.jp/sakimono-hasha/entry-11476552001.html


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Fifth Stage ACT.7 Anime vs Real Life

Initial D Fifth Stage ACT.7 & 8 takes place in Nanamagari touge (七曲り峠) in Hakone (箱根) This is a pass with many low speed hairpins and relative long stretch in between them. Since our... main editor has returned from his vacation, we'll resume on updating the fans with Initial D news like before.

First up, we'll catch up on the Anime vs Real Life comparisons. Here we compare the anime vs real life for Episode 7 where Keisuke goes up against Ikeda. Make sure you check out the Google Maps link below if you want to see how the pass looks like on the map. Enjoy!

| Sources |
» 七曲り - Google マップ | http://goo.gl/maps/xHHFQ
»「頭文字D Fifth Stage」舞台探訪 神奈川編-第三弾 @箱根・七曲り | http://ameblo.jp/sakimono-hasha/entry-11476552001.html


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