Goodbye, m.o.v.e!

The musical group m.o.v.e which does all of Initial D's opening and most of the ending music, announced today (December 7th) on their official website that they intend to disband the group after their last live Tokyo concert... on March 16th, 2013.

This is truly a sad news for all of the m.o.v.e fans and Initial D fans around the world. After their initial debut on October 1st, 1997, this marks their 15th anniversary. They practically grow up with Initial D, or the other way around. It doesn't matter. What matter is, it won't be the same without them doing the opening and ending music for Initial D.

Good thing doesn't last forever as they say. m.o.v.e has became part of Initial D step by step along the way. Thank you, m.o.v.e! You will surely be missed. Thank you for raging our dreams.

» m.o.v.e's message to their fans: https://youtube.com/watch?v=l9ZeOYAzXz4
» Editor's note: we'll keep you posted with their latest albums. Don't miss it!


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The Infamous Gutter

Contrary to how Initial D portray the gutter in Akina, the gutter in reality is much shallower. One could argue is it really possible to pull that sort of lateral acceleration with a shallow drainage like that. The answer is a... yes and no. In the anime, we've seen Takumi perform the gutter techniques with two methods. One is with emphasis on entry and the other is with emphasis on exit. The latter was what he used to beat Ryousuke in First Stage.

In reality, the first method, entering the gutter early in the corner, will probably get yourself killed. The gutter is not deep enough to fight the centrifugal force, so the car will most likely fly out of the gutter shortly after you enter it. The only way this is possible is to enter the gutter a little after the apex, so the time stepping on it will be greatly increased, thus greatly improving the exit speed.

Either way, it is an insane move. Needless to say, do not try it at racing speed. If there is something in the gutter causing one of the tires to explode, then you'll have a scene similar to the second episode of Fourth Stage.

(Photo Credit: マツダロードスターが好きになっちゃうかもね | http://roadster194.com/)


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Funny scene from Initial D

One of the funnier scenes from First Stage. It still makes me chuckle after all these years. What's your favorite funny scene from Initial D? 'html/emoticons/happy.gif' ...

(Source images: Initial D First Stage Episode 2)


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What was your first car?

Out of all the characters in Initial D, Itsuki is probably the most realistic one. He's someone that we can actually relate to. He shows many traits that a normal teenager would have: ambitious, arrogant, careless, loyal,... regretful, hopeful, wishful... etc. Even though he mistakenly bought a 85 instead of 86, he soon came to appreciate his car more than anything partly thanks to Takumi.

We love Initial D because it shows things that only car lovers understand. When they talk about the feeling you get before getting your first car, I am sure it resonates in many people's heart. As Takumi elegantly put, "cars are nice." It seems that throughout Initial D, the same message of "cars are more than just tools" keep appearing over and over.

So what was your first car? How did you feel before getting it? How did it change you? Share your story with us! 'html/emoticons/happy.gif'

(Source images: Initial D First Stage Episode 10)


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Initial D Reunion Meet

What is this?! Are they really filming Initial D Live Action Movie 2?! As it turns out, this was an event organized by the Japanese fans which took place in Usui Pass back in 2006 (!) They also went to other touge... from the story and tried to recreate some scenes. To find out more, please visit their website at http://jef-minato.com/

Speaking of fans-organized event, we are actually organizing a meet currently. It is a "Reunion Meet" in celebration of the airing of Initial D Fifth Stage. The meet will include a cruise and magazine/Internet coverage. Basically, we'll drive around with Initial D replicas and stop at scenic locations to take photos. The date is not set permanently yet, it is tentatively set to January 24th, 2013. We also don't have a set cruise route yet, so suggestions are welcomed. We are mostly located in California but we welcome out-of-state attendees if you can make it.

To follow this event, please join this event page: http://facebook.com/events/497128356985755/ You can choose "Maybe" as the option if you just want to follow the event. We'll be uploading a lot of photos after the event ended. We'll keep you updated for this event in this fanpage as well.


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Manga Update: Exceeding The Limit

Initial D Manga Vol.46 will be released on January 4th, 2013. There is no way to pre-order it yet. We'll keep you posted once the scans come out.

(Source image: Chapter 691 - 別な次元... "Another Dimension" | Editor's Note: this chapter's tag line is 最速決戦! 限界を超えなければ戦えない! "The Fastest Battle! If I don't exceed the limit, I will not be able to fight!")


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Goodbye, Dear Natsuki.

Like many die hard Initial D fans, I find the change in Takumi's love interest quite shocking. Don't get me wrong, I am all for a change of the whole "racers don't need girlfriend" theme. I suppose Fourth... Stage was long enough for Takumi to let go of his feelings of Natsuki. Letting go of one's feelings is not easy. In this regard, there should be more internal conflicts from the character during this transition. I think the lack of conflicts reflect the author's resolve on ending the relationship between Takumi and Natsuki.

Before you judge Natsuki as a person, ask yourself who hasn't make a mistake before? The point is she was willing to change and Takumi even forgive her. That's real love. Takumi loved Natsuki. It really makes one wonder, what went wrong? Is it just the distance or is it something else? Perhaps the author had a similar and painful breakup in his younger days and this is his way to remind himself.

Like Itsuki said, it makes one wonder, will this relationship last? Takumi, don't let this one get away!

(Source Image: Manga vol.35 cover - Editor's Note: This is the ONLY manga cover that features a girl (!))


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Initial D Introduction Age Survey

Four days ago, we ask you the fans the following question "How old were you when you were first introduced to the world of Initial D?" 4,059 people have seen the poll. Of which, 346 have voted in the poll.

Here... is the result: 69 people (19.94%) voted "Under 13"; 100 people (28.90%) voted "13~15"; 79 people (22.83%) voted "16~18"; 53 people (15.32%) voted "19~21"; 28 people (8.09%) voted "22~25"; 7 people (2.02%) voted for "26~29"; another 7 people (2.02%) voted for "30~34"; and last but not least, 3 people (0.87%) have voted for "35 and older."

It's worth mentioning that if you combine the votes for "Under 13" and "13~15," you get almost half of the fans, 49% to be precise. What does that tell us? The poll shows that majority of us started to come in contact with the world of Initial D at relatively young age (15 and under.) This is pretty interesting because Initial D is mainly marketed towards 16 and older. One may argue that we don't have a big enough sample size here. That is very true, we'll surely come back to this poll again when we have a bigger following. For now, this concludes our age survey. Thanks for participating!!

http://facebook.com/questions/555372261145110/


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Manga Update: Courage or Recklessness?

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


The one-year-long expedition for Project D is about to come to an end as the last battle in Kanagawa... is turning white-hot. After Shinji took the lead back, he pushed the pace of the battle up a few notch in an attempt to shake Takumi off his tail. Takumi, as always, is stunned by how fast Shinji is going. Like the race with Mako & Sayuki, Takumi desperately hangs on behind Shinji's 86. Entering the corners at unimaginable speed, will Takumi be able to stick to Shinji's accelerating 86?

The tagline for this chapter (Vol.690) "Is it courage or is it recklessness—?! Challenging themselves beyond the limit—!"

Think the wait for Fifth Stage the anime is too long and can't wait to find out what happens next? Follow the manga thread on our forums today: https://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=26...iew=getlastpost (Updates Daily)


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Where is Yuichi?

Was there something missing in Fifth Stage Episode 1? Actually there was. The Gas Station boss Yuichi was missing! In the manga, it shows that he's there, but in the anime counterpart he was conveniently taken out. Now,... we don't know if they couldn't take his voice actor back or was it because of something entirely different. It just seems odd that the "gas station gang" (Takumi, Itsuki, Iketani and Kenji) chitchatting without the boss chiming in with his own opinion from time to time.

The last time we saw Yuichi was Initial D Fourth Stage Episode 24, seen chatting with Bunta next to Lake Akina, about multiple line theory. We sure do miss you Yuichi, I hope you will make an appearance later on in the upcoming episodes!!

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