Finding Your 'Why' On The Wangan

[@Viseak]

Oh and I forgot to mention the best part, the entire series is uploaded on KZbin for you to watch 🫡 It’s short, sweet and hype as all hell so go check it out!

[@Triboro100]

The Crash that sent Midnight into hiding is actually disputed and suspected to have been a lie. The crash described would have been in the papers at the time, but the only crash of its scale possibly involving Midnight happened years before. The group went into hiding because their public profile/presence became too big and more people started racing recklessly on the wangan, causing a massive crack down

[@Viseak]

@@Triboro100 yeah I heard about that The whole things shrouded in a lot of mystery, we’ll probably never know what truly went on It’s cool to theorise and cooler again to believe the stories hahaha

[@philspaghet]

@@ViseakThey actually have revealed a lot of info recently. Albon did a great video on the most accurate info on Racing Team Midnight

[@Viseak]

@@philspaghet yeah that was the first one I watched! (like two very short clips in this video were from his one haha)

[@b-chroniumproductions3177]

@@philspaghetYeah, their current leader actually has an Instagram account that I follow Unfortunately as of a few months ago, the real "Blackbird" was stolen. I hope they found it and it wasn't damaged. Absolutely awesome car with its own mythology completely separate to anything shown in the anime. There was a legend that got passed around it that it had a turbo from a Formula 1 car driven by Senna himself (probably not feasibly true at all, but fun to think about it)

[@IKATEN501]

Wangan Midnight feels more darker, one major difference I can point out between this and Initial D is how they depicted the dangers of street racing. The fact that in Wangan Midnight, they actually showed crashes where people get hurt and implied someone died due to street racing unlike Initial D. One thing I noticed about Japanese highway street racing movies or series especially the Shuto Kousoku Trial series and Wangan Midnight is them depicting the dangers of street racing compared to the other movies and series. While Wangan Midnight only implied and gave a quick glimpse of someone dying because of racing. Shuto Kousoku Trial series on the other hand actually shows death of a character due to his/her desire to win.)

[@Viseak]

Yeah it’s definitely a lot more ‘real’ that’s for sure. The crashes are also FAR more graphic in the manga compared to the anime so there’s that too The best example I can think of is the Testarossa crash, which was a hell of a lot worse in the manga compared to what looked like a fender bender in the anime 💀

[@prds25386]

​@@Viseakim honestly most surprised by yamamoto's ability to fix reina's R32 considering how badly wrecked the frame wouldve been because of her crash

[@banananoodles]

I mean in Initial D people crashed and got pretty hurt (for a relatively non serious show)

[@manlymantis101]

To be fair it is inherently more dangerous to race on the wangan. Not only are the speeds you reach much higher, but there is also traffic to deal with.

[@prds25386]

@@manlymantis101 i recently saw a video of a 1996 news report of a crash on the wangan with 3 cars involved 2 burnt to the ground with one of em having the engine and driver flung out of the car (both drivers died) 1 didnt burn but has the roof collapse on the driver

[@SteelRider]

If Initial D is about how we race then Wangan is about why we race

[@Viseak]

Yeah you’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head

[@Christeo-fp3oz]

couldnt have been said better (can we keep the like count at 86?)

[@ihatethatyoutubedisplaysyo8106]

​​@@Christeo-fp3oznah keep it on Z

[@Christeo-fp3oz]

@@ihatethatyoutubedisplaysyo8106 240 right?

[@rhezalaksana2002]

fair enough, I'd say

[@brandonlarose1052]

Why I drive my car? I will answer this and probably never get seen.. My car was a hand me down, in the sense it was given to me by my dad, but I already chose it when he did. He and his best friend are both into cars, both of them having cool classic cars, my dad having a 76 Corvette and his best friend having a 69 Mustang, they both work on them together, drink, and cruise around. I never really was into working on his car much, more or less just a lack of motivation and drive to do so. I have always been into cars myself, big into sim racing but never really did anything other than drive my Dad's truck.... I didn't find my passion until my dad brought home two cars he was going to flip. It wasn't the first time they brought home a flip project, but one of them made me fall in love.. I watched as on the back of a trailer pulled up a beaten up 1986 Chevrolet Corvette C4, and when i say beaten up , I mean beaten up. The windshield was smashed with the frame of it dented downwards, in fact all the windows were gone, smashed in. There was a dent in the bumper, the paint of the bumper had long since peeled away and the interior was not in the best shape, the dash cut to fit a long removed double din radio and bits and pieces missing.. I came out to see that car and was amazed at it, my dad asked me to climb onto the trailer and climb in to start it up to get it warmed up to drive it off the trailer... That's when a lightbulb switched in my head. That digital dash lighting up for the first time in the dark, listening to that 5.7L V8 stumble before letting out a mighty roar... I could feel my heart pounding through my chest... I had fallen in love.. I had seen alot of cars before this moment but honestly? Nothing had every hit me like this car. It looked like Kitt from Knight Rider, Eventually, I was asked to get out so they could park it, but my love for the car never faded.. I remember getting out of the truck one night and just staring at it.. telling myself I would own one someday. I actually even began asking him about how much he wanted for it, and if I could buy it off of him, but he always pushed it aside and said it wasn't worth it, it was junk and i'd find something better someday.. He began to say weird things, like how I would enjoy this stereo, before correcting himself but honestly? I never really thought much of it.. Until Christmas 2022.. Me and my family + my dad's best friend (Who I call Uncle) are all gathered around the tree, opening presents.. Each one taking their turn and thanking the other.. Untill suddenly, my dad said my uncle had a gift for me.. My uncle pulled out a little white box and handed it over.. I told him he didn't have to as I began un wrapping it.. And then I opened it.. A pair of GM branded keys, one with the black rubber and the other pure metallic. I just stared at those keys for a good minute, my heart sinking into my chest as It took me so long to even think about what to say.. and about a minute in, what just happened hit me like a Car Battery in a game show. "YOU'RE GIVING ME THE CORVETTE?!" I shouted at the top of my lungs at him... That's how I got Sonja, my 1986 Corvette.. I did everything on it to get it running, new ball joints, wheel hubs, tires, brakes, radio, windsheild. whatever I could to get it ready for the summer, other than buying the car, Everything that was put on that car came out of my wallet.... And I gotta say, some of my best memories are in that car... doing a 3 way drag race down one of the city streets, the back tires spinning all through first gear, listening to the RPMS bang off that limiter... Even the bad stuff, like the first time I drove it, a coolant hose blew up that caused so much smoke. Me and my best friend were both trying to call the fire department at the same time thinking it caught on fire... Me and my best friend limping it home after my brake booster went when we went to the waterpark, and me scaring him when I joke with a mustang about racing him with no brakes.. That car got me through the worst moment of my life, my girlfriend for 4 years suddenly breaking up with me 2 weeks after I spent 3,000 Dollars to fly out to see her... She wasn't only my girlfriend but my best friend in the whole world, to the point that a year later, it's still weird not waking up to her messages, and I still get lonely... She just acted like it was nothing which tore me up even more....I lost my whole friend group that day and shortly after that, my Grandfather got Dementia (Not forgetful but auditory halucinations...) It all shattered me, the only time I felt some sort of peace was driving that car, blasting Eurobeat or whatever 80's song I could think of.. Racing down the highway at 120 KM/H with the roof off and just feeling free.. Slapping it out of overdrive before putting my foot down was a feeling like no other. Everytime I take someone for a drive, spinning the tires puts a smile on their face. Everytime i barrel down the highway, I cant help but feel free, like everything is alright.. It's a car I put back together, I brought back with my own hard work and money, somthing I dreamed of doing since I was 6 playing Need for Speed on the PS2 with the Wingman steering wheel....She'll always be my first, and i guarentee I'll never forget her for as long as I live...

[@Viseak]

That was quite the journey to read through man. I can relate to coolant hoses blowing lol, happened twice on my Subaru, well once was the hose the other time was a crack in the radiator itself but same principle. Figured I’d blown a head gasket but so lucky it wasn’t that hahaha I get the relationship shit too man it hurts, but if you haven’t already, you’ll find the one eventually, just like you found that vette. Thanks for sharing and keep driving man 🫶🏼

[@JunelleMiranda]

I loved reading this! Thanks for taking the time to write it out and it’s nice to see where your passion for cars came from.

[@landonbussieres1125]

My dad had an 85 vette he sold a couple months ago, he wasn't really attached to it like I was. Sadly, I never got to drive it, as I only just turned 16 in early December of last year, and weather was never good enough to drive it much, but the times he let me start it, give her throttle to clean her out after sitting, that brought me joy. I have a photo of the vin, so hopefully I can find her, and restore her one day. Glad someone else whose younger is also passionate about c4's. Most people call them the ugly duckling of the family, but I love them.

[@Viseak]

@@landonbussieres1125 yeah a lot of people hate on em, and I’m not a huge corvette guy anyway so I can’t comment hahaha, I just like the C5’s cause they got a similar body style to an FD RX7 But it’s great you kept track of the vin man, I’m sure one day it’ll make its way back to you

[@landonbussieres1125]

@Viseak hopefully, it was clean for what it was. Plus it was a two tone blue, which is kinda uncommon.

[@elementle]

Mid Night never actually went away after the accident. Through a career in auto journalism, I've been lucky enough to cross paths with a number of members, some from the 90s. Understandably they're very secretive about their past, but the 'club' never disbanded, recently passed in a new chairman and celebrated its 40th anniversary.

[@Viseak]

Yeah I watched a bunch of videos about it after the fact, lots of it’s clearly conjecture especially regarding the supposed ‘end’ of the club The rumours are still fun to believe though, I like to think of some dudes finding cryptic messages in newspapers and street racing through the night haha

[@elementle]

@@Viseak forgot to say, wonderful video, mate! Wangan Midnight always spoke to me in a more esoteric way than Initial D and it was really cool to have you put it into words! Cheers

[@Viseak]

@@elementle hey no worries at all man, thank you for watching and the kind words 🫶🏼

[@antthaknee4290]

Wangan midnight was what broke the straw for me and motivated me to buy an s30 after wanting one for so long. I sold my Frs and bought a 74 260z with an l28 in it. I’ve been restoring it slowly since my freshman year in university and I’m about to graduate soon. The car was in a worse state than akios Z but it’s coming along. I love taking that car out in the highway at night and letting the straight six scream. It’s just so raw and mechanical I feel like I’m one with the car. It also brought me closer to my dad since he started helping me rebuild it and we have bonded over the car. He used to have an S130 in high school when he was younger.

[@Viseak]

That’s awesome to hear man! Glad you’re enjoying the Z, they’re a gorgeous car for sure, I’d love to drive one someday but never really had the opportunity. There really is something about older cars though, they really do have a soul, it feels like you’re really connected to the ground too and speeds feel faster relative to modern cars. Like 80 in an old car feels so much quicker than 80 in a Hyundai I30 or something. Which just makes the driving experience that much more fun

[@mybrickhead]

"You need no reason. You need only the [Will] to "race"" -TXR3 ending

[@Modi_]

I drive because of my dad, he worked in japan in 1994 as an anti air cannon training instructor for a year. He imported a 1974 A70 Lancer 1600gsr when he got back to finland. After that he owned a notchback levin ae86 that he started rallying. In 1998 when he heard my mom is pregnant, he went "its going to be a boy" and went to a local gaming store to buy a playstation 1 and at that time the brand new gran turismo 1. My earliest memory of my dad is him beating a race that i couldnt finish on that game, i must have been like 3 or 4 years old. This game and later tokyo xtreme racer drift 2 is what influenced my car taste a lot as we will see later. My dad sold the ae86 to his friend in 2004 as raising a kid and trying to go to rally events while working as a delivery driver was just impossible and the lancer was sold in 2005 for parts. In 2006 we went karting together for the first time, and to his surprise i was fast, and i mean broke the kids cart record on the 5th lap fast. He bought me a 85cc go kart and we started to bond over that hobby, went to my first race in 2008 and i got on the podium. It spiraled down from there, we started getting some local sponsors, got a new chassis and engine, in 2012 i was top 5 in the national level but money was starting to run out and 2013 was my last full season where i ended up 3rd overall. In 2014 i got a moped as i turned 15, my dad taught me how to ride it and how to tune it, we ended up stripping the engine down and installing a 70cc big bore kit and an exhaust so the moped could get to almost 100kmh. In 2017 when i turned 18, on the day of my birthday i saw something pop up for sale, a 1992 s13 200sx for 1800€, i had fallen in love with the s13 because of gran turismo and i got the car the next day. On the day i took my dad out for a spin and it was pretty special for him, he recalled that he had always loved the s13 ever since he saw them in japan 25 years ago when they were new and just told me how proud of me he was. At 25 years old I now own the s13, mazda demio, 1992 toyota soarer, 2002 nissan laurel c35, honda accord wagon and a bmw e39 and have a girlfriend whos into cars just as much as i am, i've basically sunk these past 7 years of my life into these cars and basically every single moment of my life has been connected in some way to cars, racing and motorbikes, through my dad, video games, kart racing, a bit of rallysprint and owning this fleet of cars. My dad is now 50, he still works as a delivery driver(as do i) and he drives a 2007 hyundai getz diesel, i plan to change that, for his 55th birthday im going to give a 1974 lancer to him as a gift and as a token of appreciation for all the work he has done for me. TLDR; I drive because of my dad who got me into cars, and because they're one of the coolest ways of self expression on the planet.

[@Modi_]

Btw, my dads AE86 is still alive and racing, on youtube if you search MTR SPORTS COROLLA GT, thats my dads ex ae86. Its one of the fastest corollas in finland!

[@Viseak]

That’s such a cool story man and it’s awesome to hear your dads AE86 is still out there kicking it! Game’s definitely influenced me as well, but for me, it was NFSU2. I really miss when you could buy an S13 for 1800 though, wish I was old enough and in a position to buy cars back then, but what can ya do haha I love the plan you’ve got for your dad too that’s an awesome goal to have, I’m sure he’ll really appreciate it

[@NotMattyB]

I absolute loved this video. I’ve been a longtime fan of Initial D and Wangan Midnight, spending many late afternoons at the arcade with my friends going round for round on the Wangan upgrading our virtual cars just as well as we would spend late nights after school working on ours. Growing up, I always had a fascination with cars, playing need for speed, hearing about my uncle drag racing his Camaro, I had always had a draw to them. None more however than the vehicle my mom drove. Back in the early 90s before I was born my father had bought my mom an 87 AW11 MR2. I always heard how she’d drive the hell out of that little car in the small town they lived in before they’d moved to Dallas and I came along, when my dad began to take it to work, and mom would take me around in a bit more of a “safer” ride. But on the odd occasion she needed to run somewhere when I was 5-7, she’d take me with. Often times to Blockbuster to rent a video game or movie for our family movie night. It was always so cool to be in this funny little wedge shaped car with the floppy headlights and I loved every chance I’d get to ride in it. In the early 2010s we added a third car to our household and it never really got driven, I didn’t get to ride in it if at all during that time. In late 2014, shortly before I turned 14 she passed away. By the time I’d turned 16, the keys were handed to me to take mom’s car, and it was game over after that. When asked “Why do you drive?” Several things come to mind. For starters, getting my license at that time and driving her MR2 felt as if it were a way for me to reconnect with her. To remember the times we’d go on rare occasion to that blockbuster, or to go for a little treat as a little one. And being freshly 16 having been fascinated with cars nearly my entire life up to that point, the freedom of being able to drive on my own, and to just go wherever I pleased on my own time was invigorating. When I came home from being issued my license, I had dropped my dad off and I drove around aimlessly for maybe 4 hours that day just exploring my town, driving roads we often never needed to go by, just because I could. I would take mom’s car up the mountains of Utah where I was raised nearly every afternoon it seemed, if not at least every weekend. Just me and her car, hours on end cruising up and down the canyons, hanging out at car meets with my friends, you name it. All throughout highschool that car was my baby. You couldn’t separate me from it. In 2019, it began to develop some issues, wouldn’t run, or would run on its own terms and die out at random on the road or just idling, and whilst I was in the middle of moving, my dad and I just put it up in storage, I wound up buying a Focus ST as a daily driver, and we moved back to Dallas. From 2019 to only recently, the mr2 sat in storage, patiently waiting to be revived. I began my career, began traveling for work, developed a passion for my focus where I learned so much about what goes into maintaining and modifying a car. Anyways, I’ve rambled on a bit here. In 2022 I spent a few months overseas, for the first time in 6 years I hadn’t driven a car for 3 months, and I came to realize the whole reason I had been driving as much as I had been the whole time, well, was to escape myself. I’d spent the previous 6 years driving my cars as much as possible to escape myself, I used driving as a vice to avoid dealing with the continuing struggle I’d had from losing my mother, among other things and man, at that time what an absolute eye opener that was. I’ve finally got the MR2 running once more and have been upgrading parts here and there just to make it the best version of itself it can be, so I can keep this car alive as long as I possibly can. And I am so grateful I have the opportunity to keep this memory alive. I loved this deeper dive of Wangan and provoking some introspective thinking. Thanks for such a great video!

[@OmarKhanUK]

There's something amazing that happens when you get above 120mph... a kind of tunnel vision. the edges blur out, the sounds are gone, and all I am left with is the beat of the music and the centre of my vision in crisp focus. Time slows down, everything arounds you moves in slow motion, and you can see only the line ahead of you. This feeling became a drug, and after going fast in my early 20s, I knew it would not end well. now in my late 40s I finally have a car that can bring me back there... and I know if if I chase it, it will kill me... "it's not tragic to die doing what you love" Try "You're Mine" by Raving George - best night drive tune I've found yet.

[@Emppu_T.]

That's awesome! And true it's a mysterious feeling. I like the song Hypnic by Lazerhawk no vocals but it's mezmerizing

[@philspaghet]

Man I absolutely LOVE Wangan Midnight. The way the cars become their own fire breathing monsters is just so compelling. Half the reason I put a loud air filter on my Focus ST is so I can hear the turbo noises and rocket myself down the highway in a somewhat safe manner lol. I LOVE the scene where Akio is just going through the gears of the Z alone on the highway, feeling out the engine as the RPMs rise and finally matting the throttle down in top gear. It displays everything I love about high HP manual cars and one day, I do want to build a big turbo manual RWD sports car that's kind of reckless and violent but willing to lock in and rip with the right technique. Well, so far I have my Honda S2000 but that's not going down that route, it's going down the track attack route but maybe I'll go down that route someday when I can afford to do so

[@Viseak]

Yeah this show really breathed life into the cars for sure And hey you’ve already got an ST and an S2000 that’s pretty awesome in my books, I’d kill for an S2k but the JDM tax on them is REAL 🥲 There is nothing quite like a high HP RWD car though, they’re a bucket of fun hahaha

[@dennisgardiner43]

Began driving at age 12. Yes, that's right. My ex-lorry driving dad from Australia taught me. My first car was a '74 Opel Manta. My first one was totaled in a freak accident that totaled the frame. The second Manta I built from scraps, built up the engine was a racing cam, redid the body, and began street racing. The passion also lead me to working on cars for pay. It was a combination of 1, never lift, 2. mountain driving, and 3. high speed runs, seeing how fast the car will go, if you just keep it planted. That was 148mph. Built 5 more cars, all with different characters. One even took me to college faithfully for years, until it died saving me at 65mph verses a bridge. I transitioned into working the desk at a small tuner shop in L.A. where me sourced parts, fabricated parts, and eventually began doing R&D. We did SEMA/APEX in Vegas. During these 16 years, we built many customer cars. Some were show, some were built with monster engines, and others were sweet driver GT cars. They all had personality, and preferences on how they were to be driven. We attended dozens of car shows, and had a very good club scene as well. Fast forward to rekindling with my HS ex, and well over another decade has passed. During this time family was the main focus. But I still built cars for friends and family. Everything from a tuned L98 '80 Buick Regal, with GN parts. A canyon carving '65 Mustang, a W124 wagon for my mom, and my latest '69 Opel GT for a friend. Drove that GT on its initial post-shake down 70 mile engine break-in run. I found myself taking one of my old favorite rigdeline roads. My challenge mountain driving is to hold as much speed in corners and push the chassis tuning. For 20 minutes a Lucid was behind me matching pace. Eventually, he slowed as my corner speeds kept increasing on a 50+ year old car. You have to. read a car, feel its moods, then you can probe its limits, and begin to understand what it can do. If you listen to your vehicle, its tires, brakes, and engine you will be able to make anything move quickly. What drives me? It's learning where the limits are, then pushing them slowly up, until you find your limits. Sometimes the vehicle is untrustworthy. Othertimes they want to run. Listen to them. They will talk.

[@Stray_Spectre]

When I first got my license, and even before that in simulations like the GT series, I drove to improve my skills, to really get a feel for my car and be able to get the most out of it when racing, and being able to see ahead, anticipate and be safe and courteous in everyday A to B travel. A real never-ending journey. When I was younger, I was in my fare share of street races against my friends, and I had a perfect record, never lost a race. Now I'm getting older, and a co-worker of mine who was really getting into cars ended up with the same make and model as mine. I had been losing that edge and started to enjoy driving more to cruise than to race, while he was in the youthful racing phase. I agreed to race him between the lights in a one make duel. I went into it knowing I would probably lose my perfect record, since his had a factory locking diff and a slightly shorter gearing in the rear end. I still gave it my all, but he beat me, my front bumper lined up to his rear door. It was a passing of the torch moment, and I haven't raced again since, and probably never will. I still have a second car that's small, tossable, and stick shift, and I still drive in a generally spirited manner, but I mostly focus on keeping my driving as smooth as possible and doing my best to not put too much stress on my cars and keep them reliable as long as possible. But through all the phases of my love for cars and driving, the real underlying reason has never changed. I drive to get away from my problems and worries, even just for a short time when I'm behind the wheel. When I'm out on the highway at midnight or on a two lane country road with no destination in mind, I feel free. I can go anywhere I want. Even when I'm only doing the speed limit, I feel like all the things that eat at me in the daily grind can't catch me. The soft, low note song of the rumbling engine, and the feeling of the tires rolling over the imperfections in the pavement carrying me further and further away from it all. I can choose to go home when I'm done, or if I really wanted, I could keep driving and never come back. A real escape from my own mind.

[@Viseak]

I’d say I’m pretty similar man, ask anyone and I drive like a grandma these days. I had my time having fun but when you get older you really start to realise how dangerous it actually was, I can’t believe half the shit I used to do looking back. Really makes you think all the oldies were right when they said ‘you kids think you’re invincible’ cause like, sure, I didn’t actually think that as a teenager but my actions sure made it seem like I did lol Cruising is far more fun for me these days and if I really wanna push the car, sure I’ll give it a bit on a highway on ramp or just save it for the track. Even when I’m not driving recklessly, drivings definitely still freeing for sure!

[@the_slow_subies]

I grew up around cars. learning about them was always the thing i loved doing and i hoped for the day i got my first car, that day came and went. because the car wasnt built for speed i didnt try as much. but my second car (GC8 WRX CSE2) took me to another level of driving, the days and months i worked on that car to fine tune and upgrade it. slowly increased my knowledge and experience on the road. my "why" for driving is to improve. in speed, knowledge, coordination and emotions. i want to always better myself. and its always possible

[@Viseak]

That’s awesome man, I’ve got a soft spot for Subarus and the GC8’s are such a nice light fun car Makes me miss my Hawkeye haha

[@FieldTestedSemenKun]

On the topic of the mid night club. They never disbanded. They're still around. They don't do street racing anymore but they do time attack. Some of the old members like Ogi still post on Instagram pretty often. Hell even some of the tuning shops owned by the members are around like Rise Yokohama

[@DisposableYeetapotamus]

Wangan is my absolutely favorite anime. Two reasons, the emotional connection between akio and the z is similar to how I felt with my first project car, and is a feeling I still feel when I sit in the shell that’s waiting for it’s monstrous transition from road car to awd track monster magna opus. It’s a indescribable emotional response that lights a true fire to see it though no matter how dark life gets. Two it’s how realistic the anime is to irl events and lore of highway racers. Such a beautiful adaption of the art and code of responsible street racing, and is what sparked my favorite game series as a kid, Tokyo extreme racer zero here in the states or Shutoko in Japan. I started young with the first title on Dreamcast and later zero on ps2 and have to say it’s a feeling elicited by no other games I’ve played. Ultimately my dramatic reason for driving is to escape the chaos of life and focus on building a bond between man and machine and ultimately is how I hope I go out in this depressing life. I love cars and the feelings they provoke and is why my career is in motorsports, wiring racecars for a living

[@Viseak]

You know that old meme where the guys like ‘I choose that guys wife’ Well, I choose whatever your project car is lmao I gotta know though, what are you cooking up in your garage? You definitely get that sense of respecting the road and others that use it when driving around in Japan for sure, even when driving with people that fuck around, it also helps the roads over there are pretty great for the most part, unlike a lot of Australia where you need an alignment every other week 🥲 Games are also a huge gateway for sure, NFSU2 on the OG Xbox was what got me into cars all those years ago, no racing games yet to beat the way that made me feel growing up. It’s awesome to hear you work in the motorsports industry though, that’s a dream job for sure! I worked for a big American tool company for a bit of time, and while the job was kinda shit, the environment and opportunities were pretty great while it lasted 😅

[@DisposableYeetapotamus]

@@Viseak funny enough that’s not the first time I’ve heard that from another enthusiast after I’ve described my first and best nugget. It’s a 1993 Honda civic EH (LHD EG civic made in Canada) that was originally a integra LS b18 swap with a turbo runnin 11.8 1/4 miles and was primarily a track car that was brought over from Cali, even has the carb compliant swap sticker from 2004 when it was originally swapped. That motor is going into my daily driver I bought from Ohio, it’s a 1995 Hyundai accent(excel there in Aussieland) that was a scca solo autocross car I bought for 2k from a widow and restored this winter by sealing the chassis and epoxy primering the bare shell then painting it in python green chromaflair from a gt2 rs , it’s got nearly 15k in the chassis and the tiberon 2l swap but it needs turbo as I crave forced induction again 😂😂 I digress however, my Honda is getting a awd conversion from the 2005 Subaru sti drivetrain mated to a k24a2 from a tsx and aiming for around 500 to all 4 when all is said and done. Oh and the pandem body kit shaved into the restoration. It’s a long process and requires me adapting the Subaru rear end and subframe into the Honda as well as a new trans tunnel, moving the steering rack, etc. kinda a magna opus project for something I bought at the beginning of my automotive journey. It’s gonna be nutty but it’s patience and waiting for pieces and funds to continue that project, in the mean time it’s the excel that’s taking my time as I work at a Miata k swap provider that makes k series turn key engine swaps (kpower industries) and we go to all the grid life events and I thought it would be fun to take a piece of Aussie racing heritage to the American time attack series’s lol Edit: attempted to share links to Imgur album but they got removed here’s them in a broken format if your interested Honda : ) imgur . com/gallery/XBBHzkQ Hyundai : ) imgur . com/gallery/ELpfzJr

[@Viseak]

@@DisposableYeetapotamus That’s actually insane bro I can only imagine what the STI drivetrain will feel like in such a lightweight body! And a pandem kit for good measure is awesome hahaha, you’ll be able to fit some serious meat in those guards with a real nice aggressive offset. That thing will be planted to the ground for sure. The excel’s a sweet pickup too and definitely one of a kind! It’s hard to find cars for a couple grand anymore even the most destroyed examples have stupid price tags at least around here 😅 The greens a nice touch too! I could do without the lightning but that’s just personal taste at the end of the day. A turbo would be a nice touch to finish it off for sure though! Thanks for sharing all that man, you’ve made / are making some seriously cool and unique cars the laws in Australia would never allow, so you’ve definitely got my envy

[@Stray_Spectre]

I played all the TXR games and Zero is still my favorite game of all time to this day. Cool to hear someone else who appreciates them. I also have emotional connections to my cars. Every car drives different, sometimes drastically from car to car even among normal untuned street cars. I name all mine and usually not until I start getting a feel for the car's personality and building a connection with it so I can give it a fitting name. It's so satisfying when you learn a car so well that you can drive like it's an extension of your own body.

[@DisposableYeetapotamus]

@@Stray_SpectreHell yea! I name my cars too, the accent is ellie cuz shes the elephant in the room cuz who the fuck mods a hyundai accent, and my civic never got a offical name when the motor got tired and i retired the chassis for repairs. its been on jackstands for almost 3 years now sadly, but it'll be a monster soon

[@haifai3916]

I never had a car growing up because my parents were poor and my mother didn't want me to leave the house at all, so I didn't even have my license until I could get it myself at 18. I got into cars through Initial D and various racing games. Even though they were all completely out of reach for me, I loved cars and I couldn't get enough. When I was in my 3rd high school year, a good friend of mine bought a 1992 Ford Mustang. It was a ginormous piece of shit, 4 cylinder so it had no power, automatic so it was a chore to drive, convertible so it had zero body rigidity. It was rusted through as well. I loved that car like it was my own, I even did all of the work on it to make it somewhat roadworthy. When I finally turned 18, my friend let me use his car to take the driving test and coincidentally he was leaving for a two week vacation overseas the week following. He let me use the car while he was gone, and told me that I could do whatever I wanted with it. Let me tell you, I drove the absolute shit out of that car. I once drove out to the boonies at around 2AM with a friend to pick up an old friend of his. When we picked him up, the GPS told us that it was about a 45 minute drive to a meetup point. I told the guy that it would take 15 minutes, and he said "Bullshit." My friend bet him $40 that I'd make it there in 15. I drove that thing like I stole it, was going over hills so fast that my friend in the back seat was hitting the convertible top and it was acting like a trampoline to throw him back into the seat. Oversteered all over the place, almost understeered into guardrails and brick walls. I was having the time of my life. Got there in 13 minutes. The speedometer topped out at 80 so I was rolling the speedometer over for a majority of the drive. Since then, I've owned a couple of shitboxes of my own that I've done some insane driving in, but I calmed down when I started getting into serious work, and after a few speeding tickets. Finally, after years of diligent work and driving econo-travesties, I bought a brand new sports car. It isn't anything crazy powerful, but I LOVE it. It's RWD, two doors, and manual. The driving dynamics are perfect, and it's got a huge aftermarket for making it all the more fast. I have been doing more crazy stuff in that car than I ever did as a teenager, and I wouldn't have it any other way. For me, cars mean freedom. Freedom from my insane mother, freedom from my mundane job, even freedom from all of my bad thoughts. I live in a big city with these huge, well-paved highways. People are always racing between midnight and 4AM, so I'll go out there whenever I feel sad or trapped or any other negative emotions. It always makes me feel alive, makes me feel like the only thing that matters is my car, the other guy's car, and the road in front of me. Freedom is why I drive, and why I will always drive.

[@SnedoSendo]

Wangan Midnight hits harder than Initial D for me, it reminds me of Hajime No Ippo, where the story makes you want to root for the side character after seeing what they went through.

[@Viseak]

Couldn’t agree more man, and the Hajime No Ippo comparison is perfect, it really does feel a lot like that

[@itisn894]

This video reminded me of my dad’s journey when he was racing too. So connected to it. Though he will never reunite with the car he started with as he saw it scrapped with his very own eyes. I wish to maybe surprise him with his car the way it was for a birthday or surprise. I hoped he kept it though because it would’ve been such an awesome starting car. But in reality it’s a Honda accord coupe with a different engine other than the original I think. I have such a history with it because it basically the first car I’ve driven at a young age. My father was a very cautious person with his accord as it has been part of the family for years(I forgot exactly). The reason to drive for me and my dad likely would be because it gives such speed that it feels like your soul left your body and now your in the zone focused on the speed or how you are feeling based off your driving. Man I have really opened up. Hope someone reads this. Anyway Love the content keep it up and have a great rest of your day everyone

[@Viseak]

That’s a great goal to aspire towards man, wishing you every success possible so you can make that happen for your dad 🫶🏼

[@poodn4559]

I drive a 2012 silverado because my grandfather had an '08. That feeling in the driver seat for the first time was unlike anything I've ever felt before. And it still gets me to this day

[@guy_autordie]

Koichi got a first red flag when his wife lost the baby. But he hadn't finish his journey to understand himself. He was forced to another way. The Z made him balling in to his best. He did his best, and understand his mechanical mistakes, then it made him reflect on what he wanted at the time. And what he truly wasn't the speed, the thrill, or the car, it was his family. I love that arc ending, it was great.

[@Viseak]

It really was a great arc

[@SchoorbinMeHam]

I love playing the Arcade game, first played back in 2018 and I've been hooked ever since. Currently I have 3 banapassport cards for all the cars I like and wanted to tune, and I've put thousands of hours into the game, however it never really pushed me over the edge. Initial D was the catalyst for me wanting a good sports car to modify and have fun with, which is why I recently picked up a WRX. Sometimes I wonder why I drive. Sometimes I wonder why I even chose my car, despite it not being my first choice. I came to the conclusion that I simply just love cars, whether it's a sports car or a regular commute car, they all have a charm that can only be perceived by certain people.

[@Viseak]

That’s awesome man yeah the arcade games heaps of fun, haven’t played it for quite some time myself though haha A rexy is a great car, a lightweight chassis with AWD + a turbo and you’re having a blast! What model did you end up getting?

[@SchoorbinMeHam]

@@Viseak A 2022, the VB I believe is what this model is designated as. First time driving stick too, a guy from work taught me how to drive in his jeep wrangler. One week later I was at the dealership test driving the car. Incredibly scary to drive at first, I was so nervous, especially after stalling 3 times at a light. However, I've been putting the time and effort in and now I can drive wherever without any major issues. Right now I'm just working on getting my shift times right and I'm also working on my downshifts.

[@Viseak]

@@SchoorbinMeHam nice! The VB’s are quite refined and the new WRX’s have hill assist too which is a nice creature comfort for sure! Yeah once you learn to rev match and downshift you gotta chuck it all together and learn to heel toe downshift. Once you learn that there’s no going back to driving normally haha

[@SchoorbinMeHam]

@@Viseak The guy that taught me has been bombarding me with heel toe videos. Once I master the basics I'll absolutely practice that.

[@Viseak]

@@SchoorbinMeHam definitely do! Once you start you’ll never go back And it’s honestly super easy once you get the hang of driving manual as a whole

[@futrmechyt]

I've recently watched the show and realized that the Z and Blackbird are not rivals, but friends in competition. I have a close friend, he drives an 86, I drive a modded Honda. We are constantly competing, racing, and generally doing car things, but in the end, we only want to see the other succeed. He wants to be a racer, I want to be a mechanic. In the end, he and I are one in the same. Both drivers who search for the next thrill, it's just by coincidence that we chose to use each other for this thrill. This is very much how the Blackbird and Z races and relationship feel. The Z is a powerhouse, built to put power to the street, the Blackbird, is a sleek foreign car that has been surgically put together to challenge the Z. Not a battle to the death, but a nudge to push the other car, more like a guiding hand.

[@iamsixsyllables9679]

I think this analogy is awesome, and your story with your friend is very touching. It seems that so many of us are consumed by competition as enemies, pushed on my spite and the desire to feel superiority. It's important to use competition to create connections and push yourself to become even better than you were before, becoming a better person as a result. Despite different paths and dreams, Akio and Tatsuya push themselves in the same ways.

[@nukewolf97]

I enjoy driving because it gives me a sense of freedom, a sense of power and control I never feel that I get outside of being behind the wheel. I see cars as having personalities and souls, now I'm not insane, I know they don't but when you grow up seeing them as amazing things that can do so much but at an age that you don't understand it all, they seem almost like creatures, animals of metal and rubber that send shivers up your spine and blow your ears out with engines that make the best noise you'll ever hear in your entire life. I know its just because of the speed, vibrations, sound and feel of it, but having the power of a car in my hands just makes me feel...me, like its something I should be doing, something that if I stopped forever, would feel wrong. I'm really only just getting started in my journey when it comes to cars, I have yet to own one I can genuinely call my own, the cars I've had so far have been ones I've had to have because of my job and the amount of money I have at the time, but when I think of owning one of my all time favourites, I see it as a "must achieve" goal of my life, like I won't be truly happy without obtaining one of the many cars I admire. When driving to work it can just feel like yet another day, but when I choose to drive, whether that be to release stress or just...to drive, I feel like I'm on a different planet, like the rest of the world doesn't exist because when I'm doing it its just me, the wheel in my hands and the engine roaring away in front (Or behind) me. Its like a part of me only exists when I'm sat there, and that part of me craves existence just like I crave driving, I can only hope I earn enough to put my hands on the kind of cars I want to keep alive forever. That being 90's and early 2000's Jdm cars mostly. I love muscle cars and a few older sports and super cars, but for me I want them to be useful cars for my normal life as well as my "Fun" life. New cars just don't have the same feel to me, they feel soulless, the designs are all the same, they're basic and efficient and they don't feel like the people designing them genuinely loved making what they made, I know there are some outliers but to me, cars feel different from around 2006 onwards. As long as one day I own one of those cars on my Wishlist, and drive it somewhere, fast, I can say I'd be genuinely happy, and content.

[@nikousenpai]

The feeling of freedom you get behind the wheel of a car is why I enjoy being out on the road so much. I've owned my fair share of cars, a couple MX5s a Volvo and now a Mercedes, all equally pleasurable to drive in their own unique ways.

[@Viseak]

Yeah every cars got it’s own charm for sure, the merc’s probably a good mix of fun and comfort I’m sure haha Same reason I went for the ISF

[@N30NPUM4]

Great video! I loved Wangan Midnight, so the title immediately had me intrigued. I grew up in the Southeastern United States, where everything is so spread out that driving is a necessity. I loved cars as a kid, but took "extremely long" to get my license, always scared of the "what ifs" if I made a mistake. When I graduated university and bought my first vehicle (at around 23 and buying a 2003 Chevy S10), my reason for driving became that it was fun and freeing. The places I could go, the way I could feel my truck handle (even with my limited experience and knowledge). Just me, my music, and the ability to just get up and go wherever I wanted. As the years have gone by (and getting my second vehicle, a 2002 Ford Mustang with a 5 speed), its morphed beyond just that fun of feeling what my car can do and the control I have over it with a stickshift, but the community around it and essentially (and slowly) making reality the things I did in the games I played while growing up, specifically Need for Speed Underground. I've got a fantastic mustang club that I've met great people through, and have had experiences I wouldn't want to trade for anything because of them. One of my best friends is also into cars; I'm often torn between being her passenger princess and wanting to enjoy caravanning together. I may drive my truck less now, but its still just as special to me as my mustang and every time I get back in it I feel like I'm returning to something comforting and familiar. I definitely have an emotional connection to both of my vehicles, which probably ties as much to why I drive now as anything else. Its a hard question!

[@Viseak]

Haha it’s awesome to hear you’re driving now! Doesn’t matter how long it took for ya to get there And both cars are awesome in their own way, they just do different things. I’m a sucker for a good 4WD but that’s a whole different field of enthusiast, at least here in Australia. The Ute guys (think Hilux, Ranger, Triton, BT50, etc etc) are more about off-roading, climbing the steepest ridiculous rocks possible, crossing rivers, road tripping and camping all in one, very different from your average street car enthusiast, but super cool in its own way. If I had all the money in the world I’d have cars for both, but I’m far more biased to street and track cars > 4WD’s and haven’t won the lottery so I’ll probably never own a 4WD haha

[@Arotu12]

I am 26 years old,never owned a car yet i passed my drivers test with 83% and did a parallel parking on my first try i have been playing racing games since i was a kid. Wangan midnight captured my soul 4 years ago i got 1,000 story wins on wangan maximum tune and i have maximum tune 5 signs in my room. I love to drive to relax and forget about life.

[@Viseak]

Awesome to hear you passed your test! Drivings definitely a great way to wind down, I’m keen to try out some of the maximum tune games sometime, it’s been a long while since I’ve played them at an arcade

[@Pawelr98]

It's not about the speed itself, but overall experience of driving a car. I can go anywhere I want, at any hour I want, taking anything or anyone with me. Doesn't matter if it's a fully loaded roadtrip with friends or a lone long way home from some other city. Being behind the wheel is what I learned to love, even though I was skeptical and afraid at first. I have a 2007 Honda City IV, basically a Honda Fit Sedan. A hand me down from my deceased grandfather who bought it brand new from a dealership in 2008, back in 2016 (8 years of use) I got it as a 33k km car (~20k miles), very rarely driven. A 1.3 i-DSI 84HP engine with 8 valves and no VTEC. I received my driver's license in 2018 and mostly started driving regularly in 2020/21. I wasn't really a car person until I started driving and learned to enjoy that thing. A 5 speed manual transmission which has gears so short, that fifth gear has 4k RPM at 120km/h GPS speed. I have driven old 2JZ-GE GS300 twice when checking out some offers, a 300HP Buick Lacrosse around chicago area and a modern Ford Mustang 2.0 around florida area (trips to US). And I still think I enjoy driving that little chunk of iron more than those cars. I have managed to get it all the way to 181km/h GPS speed, engine well above 6k RPM, near cutoff at 6500rpm. The wind noise, the vibrations of the whole body, that's something to experience. Driving late at night on empty expressways, coming back from some trips was always my way to relief stress, testing how fast this little engine can go before reaching the absolute limit and then going back to usual economic speeds to reach my destination. And I also drive the car hard on my way to work, with some high speed road being a part of it, each day I can hear the roar of that little engine. Having tested some of those other cars, I think I'm set to go out and buy a manual K24 Accord, hoping to have a similar experience, but this time with 200HP under the hood. I was chasing the 2JZ dream for four years, saving money for a mint GS300 mk2, but having driven them, I think I'm a Honda person after all. I'm grateful for this car, because it taught me how to do basic maintenance, repairs, retrofitting (radio, backup camera+sensors, HUD) and how to handle a sliding car with no traction control. And it will stay with me for as long as possible, because it has proven itself as a reliable car.

[@Viseak]

That’s awesome man, nothing wrong with a Honda City they’re a perfect daily. And I get wanting to push everything you can out of what you got, I used to do the same with my subie, but I can’t lie going from a 5 speed to an 8 speed auto is life changing hahahahaha I do miss manual sometimes though, and I’m sure I’ll buy some sort of manual project car again in the future. A k-series accord will be sweet though man I’m sure you’ll enjoy the hell out of it! Hondas get a lot of shit for who knows why, they’re awesome cars at the end of the day. If I could have an old Integra or even new Civic Type R I’d take it in a heartbeat, the new FL5 would be the perfect daily but they’re so damn pricey

[@PsychoRender]

In late 2020 I found an R33 GTS-T for sale in a scrapyard out in the countryside of Sweden. I bought it for a bargain since it needed some bodywork. I'm in love with the damn thing in a very similar way to how the people in this show loves their cars. Been working on the car for 4 years now and one day it will be an absolute beast. Good video by the way.

[@chaselandry2962]

I have fast bikes instead of cool cars but the feeling is the same. The thrill of going fast. The friends you make in the scene. Learing how to maintain and fix your own machine. Getting better at it. Learning how to wheelie. Doing track days to improve your riding. Going from a street bike to a dirt bike and exploring the woods with your friends. Theres a freedom knowing you can go places regular cars cant. And a danger knowing you are way more likely to die if anything goes wrong.

[@Viseak]

Yeah 100% man bikes are a completely different ballgame, I respect it, and always check the mirrors twice for bikers. Y’all have it rough out there. But if there’s any silver lining it’s filtering through traffic, every time I see that I wish it was me haha

[@SomebodyIUsedToKnoww]

Just a spoiler in manga: - Reina went California/USA to focus her model career - Tatsuya retired racing completely and sold his Blackbird to someone younger and painted it white (i assume it's called Whitebird) Correct me if i miss something.

[@Viseak]

I just read a whole spoiler thread on it cause I was curious lmao From what I read yeah Reina went to the US and gave/lent her R32 to Rikako while she’s gone, but I didn’t see anything about Tatsuya selling the blackbird Just that the blackbird and the Z crashed again, and never got a rematch. Maybe he gets rid of it in the sequel C1 Runner or something?

[@SomebodyIUsedToKnoww]

@@Viseak yep, in C1 Runner sequel

[@dolan-duk]

9:43 - IIRC, that red car on the right is what the Devil Z is based on.

[@Viseak]

Yeah that’s the one!

[@silk3142]

i drive because it’s maximizes things i enjoy most in life, freedom: being on the road being able to go wherever you want is awesome, competition: simply put i enjoy racing, and laziness: i literally don’t have to get up and run, i can sit comfortably and focus on driving precision and timings !

[@Petuniaowo]

I got back into cars this year, when my wife told me I needed to leave the house (I was bugging her) and she told me to go back to the race track (wasn’t there the last 5 years since my crash) I finally feel like my self again. We drive not only for an escape, but also to express ourselves.

[@masix73]

Im 18 and driving with spirit because its the only place where I can separate for a moment and just be with the car. This car has not betrayed me so will I. Stay safe guys and always drive with in your abilities!

[@Viseak]

Damn straight, it’s all fun and games till someone gets hurt. Drivings good fun, it can help everything fade away, but you gotta be responsible too

[@masix73]

@@Viseak Very True. The fun ends when your hurt somebody cuz of your actions...

[@spooks5467]

Shit, well, I drive for an admittedly stupid reason. It's a used 2008 6-speed manual 4.2L V8 Audi S5, and the feel of every notch in the pavement, the pleasant bumps in the road, the sheer *connection* offered to me from a sports coupe, really, any sports coupe is just unparalled. These kinds of cars make 30 feel like 60 and encourage you to push the limit and I'm just all for it.

[@jacobrichards8814]

I am still on my first car, A 1997 1.3 manual gx nissan micra k11e. Nothing to special to most but, i was in a bit of a state but i saw potential. Start of the year i was tee-boned in work while going to lunch. Many would of scraped it. But i didn't i keeped it, and am on the path of putting back on the road. Dose help being a HGV mecanic by trade. But diving with no P/S, No ABS, no TC is just an experience i find great fun.

[@Viseak]

As long as you enjoy it, that’s all that matters man

[@pjetrek]

Was super happy to finally see this video pop up! Ever since I commentedon your Initial D video, I actually finally got my driving license. While I only have my mum's grocery-getter Renault to ocasionally whip out and I'm still very inexperienced so I don't trust myself enough to actually drive fast, one thing I gotta say is that the joy of simpling going for a drive exceeds anything I've felt in the years that I spent obsessing over cars as a kid/teenager. That joy is exactly why I drive. I'm absolutely saving up money for my own car though. Anyways, enough rambling, it's just a KZbin comment after all. I loved your video and I cannot wait for what's in store next! (Also, is it just me or does the video cut off early at the end?)

[@Viseak]

Love to hear it man! Nothing wrong with a good old grocery getter haha, all I can say is don’t get too confident driving on public streets, shit can always happen, and I had a phase fucking around as a teenager when I got overconfident and all I can say is just drive within your limits. I’m sure you’ll have your own car in no time too! Oh and the end of the video, that was intentional, cause really it’s less about me, more about you at the end of the day 🫶🏼

[@lijetaylor8792]

I drive because i need to go places, but i DRIVE because that's the only way I can express emotions. My car is my safespace, the entire vibe changes when other people ride with me. I drive the car i do because i'm broke and because I fit the car. I know that sounds weird but for those who can imagine, think of the car like a cat. You do not own the cat, the cat owns you; thus I do not drive the car, the car drives me. And for those wondering its just a 1997 Nissan Maxima, a four door grocery getter, hell the motor knocks and there's a window that can't roll up. I mean it probably takes 20 seconds to get to 60mph but i absolutely adore this car. To the average joe its just a normal beater car, but is it really just a car?

[@Viseak]

@@lijetaylor8792 nothing wrong with loving and appreciating what you’ve got man, I drove a base model Impreza for 7 years and absolutely adored it hahaha

[@lijetaylor8792]

@@Viseak What?!?!?! you actually saw it and replied???? bro that is so freaking cool!

[@Viseak]

@@lijetaylor8792 I’m just a guy man hahaha, just sitting in the backyard with my dog I keep notifications on for KZbin comments and try to reply to as many as I can cause it’s the least I can do, but sometimes I don’t get notifications or time escapes me, but I try 😅

[@lijetaylor8792]

@@Viseak You make wonderful videos man, and you absolutely made my day with this ngl. Thank you so much.

[@Viseak]

@@lijetaylor8792 no worries at all man I’m glad to hear it, thanks for the kind words!

[@KW-oe4lq]

I guess I fell in love with cars and driving due to sensation of freedom it gave me. The cars I own currently are primarily rooted in practicality for my family, being an Accord V6. It has decent power but being heavy and an auto it doesn't really scatch the itch properly. A couple of years ago I managed to pick up a beat up 89 Prelude, the same model as my first car. When I drove it I felt transported back 18 years. I am hoping to fix it up and restore it but progress has been extremely slow, and it doesn't even start anymore, mainly due to not having the funds to spend on it. Hopefully I can find some abilty to continue working on it and get it back on the road!

[@Viseak]

Yeah the freedom is definitely a common consensus and it makes a lot of sense. And sometimes you gotta compromise on what cars you can have just cause of life, nothing wrong with that. Awesome to hear you’re back in an old manual Japanese car though! I’ve been looking at old Hondas with a bit of envy lately, as much as I love my F I kinda miss having a manual car I don’t care so much about that I can beat on a little and work on without worry.

[@michaellegarde3125]

"What is your purpose of racing on the roads?" "What have you sacrificed to satisfy yourselves?" These were the words that came out of Tsuchiya when he starred in a movie named "Shuto Kousoku" and it stuck with me ever since. I also recommend "Wangan Midnight final act" as both movies serve as a reminder to race only on circuits. P.S. there are some inaccuracies in the info you mentioned about Mid Night.

[@Viseak]

I’ll have to check those movies out! Never heard of Shuto Kousoku before but they look like a fun watch And yeah I know about the Mid Night stuff, a lot of it’s really just conjecture, but it’s fun to believe the stories

[@drivabletophat]

Awesome video on such an underatted anime and arcade racer. On my red ps i owned a Titanium silver Bmw 330ci sport or what i called him 'Silber'. This car drove around my local area but i never noticed it until i was in the market for a car. This car was everything to me. its look, its sound, everything. However after 4 months a hail storm would come down where i lived and i had to write it off. I was devastated from the loss of the car that i felt i never truly experienced. This led me to purchasing a e90 325i msport in black sapphire i named her 'Eva'. I drove this car for 3 years and had my share of ups and downs (4000 dollar engine repair). my fondest memories was me and friends lancer carving up an old mountain pass highway and in the early morning racing down the motorway hitting up to 200kmhr for a second. Unfortunately my passion for the car had left since owning it for so long and regrettably sold it. However from rego that the car is still out there and i hope driving. The car i drive while not as cool or dramatic from the other cars is a Holden Zafira named 'Murray'. Why i drive this car is for my grandfather who had passed away and left me it. Now, i repair and pay whatever money to keep it running. Preserving the memory of this car and what it meant to him means more to me than anything even if he's "just a mini van." Thanks for reading.

[@Viseak]

That’s quite the venture man, I get it about the hail we get it a lot out here too, had to replace the hood on my subie cause of hail damage (rest of the car was undercover, so I got off lucky but not lucky enough to save the whole thing lol) And hey, at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you drive man, if you love it and it means something to you, then it’s more than just a mini van.

[@CD224Auto]

My reason for driving is to relieve my stresses and worries of life. Every apex and steady speed makes me focus on the moment and not the past or future. I feel free whenever I drive "spiritidly." Sometimes my buddies say I'm a different person behind the wheel lmao.

[@Slayiden]

man, i played the hell outta intial D and wangan midnight at the arcade, instead of playing and dreaming about playing those games i can finally drive something i thoroughly enjoy, but this manga and midnight club (not the game, but yes that games 10/10) really inspired me to get my own project car.

[@enricoatienza-u5o]

My goodness is this video nostalgic i remembered a group being created in the Philippines called Akuma and knowing that it's being talked about here is so cool

[@Viseak]

Glad you enjoyed it 🫶🏼

[@thatautomotiveblog]

Makes me feel warm and fuzzy seeing more Wangan Midnight analysis videos spawn, and each one more elaborate than the prior.

[@Viseak]

It’s such a good series honestly, short and sweet too The more people that watch it the better

[@bippu6482]

The reason I drive is to continue holding the torch of my childhood’s aspirations of living the dramatized life of a street racer from pop culture such as Need for Speed and Fast & Furious. However this video does remind me a lot of the intro of Forza Motorsport 6’s trailer “Why do we race?”

[@Viseak]

Yeah growing up with those movies and games was a blessing and a curse, cause it’s so hard to love that kinda lifestyle these days haha Never was much of a Forza guy as arcade racers like NFS were always my thing, but I’ll check out that intro

[@flipthegrid8809]

Your car content is some of the best on KZbin

[@Viseak]

Appreciate that man 🫶🏼

[@TsugaruSetsu]

The WMMT series is what got me into wanting my dream car or even about caring about cars in the first place. (one day I'll drive an SW20) It also got me into taking the crowns and posting them on youtube recently LMAO

[@Links_art_locker]

So halfway through the show rn, and man i have never related to a mc more, because i see myself in him, literally almost the same start, i found my s130 turbo sitting in the yard at friends who just bought it for 2k from a restaurant owner, i gave him 3k so i could have it, and since then its trapped me, im obsessed, it needs so much work because its an oem 42 yr old car, with dry rot everywhere from sitting so long, electrical issues galore, and cosmetics to fix, but soon as laid eyes on it, i saw an image of what it could look like, and how well it could drive, now im obsessed with saving up and restomodding it fully to that end, and seeing this anime and being able to relate so much to it, especially with the similarities in cars makes it so much beter then initial d in some ways,

[@phinds1]

Recently I've been totally taken by the Mid Night Club and their history. So much so that I've made my '89 Supercharged MR2 into a sort-of "tribute car" by buying the Mid Club stickers and putting them on my car(thanks eBay and Red Bubble). The car is modified but could never reach 300kms. It would need a serious engine swap and thousands of dollars of mods. Plus I'm 57 and wouldn't have the seeds to do it even if I could! LOL This is my 4th MR2 and despite my age I just love the whole scene! Thanks for this. I've downloaded Wangan Midnight and I'll watch it now with a lot more insight!!

[@seija8588]

I got introduced to Wangan Midnight through Maximum Tune arcade when I was in 5th grade (2004ish) and have loved it ever since. Especially when I eventually got to learn the story proper from the manga. I gave Initial D a try for some time but I could only roll my eyes all the time with it being mostly yet another powerleveling shounen thing. Pains me everytime that Wangan wasn't more recognized (not even asking to beat Initial D popularity here) despite being the more mature of the two (both story wise and literally, since Wangan started serialization at least a year or two before Initial D).

[@yoko_97]

My 'Why?' is 'Because', like Akio's, i just love cars and this world.

[@YusukeKnight]

Never seen this one before but I’ll definitely check it out

[@Viseak]

I’d never heard of it either, but it’s honestly a great short watch You can find the whole thing on KZbin too which is so good

[@YusukeKnight]

@@Viseak cool

[@CRXnick]

I bought my car because I wanted something no one else had, I had a huge love for the crx but I never seen one in person, Atleast where I live, but I took my chance to buy one in my area when I had it. At the time I was 18 working a part time job as a pizza delivery driver, even today I’m still building it to get it ready for the track.

[@Viseak]

That’s awesome man, and yeah it’s pretty unique for sure, personally I’ve only ever seen 1 out and about

[@TheMilkman740GL]

Why do i drive what i drive? They call to me. Even before i bought my volvos or knew what volvo was, i was entranced by restorations, custom builds on yt, and of course, inital D. I wanted a car like the AE86 at first. As i was watching donut, a video of theirs spoke to me, the up to speed on the volvo 240. The lights, the sounds, the rumours of indestructability and tuneability- i was hooked. I started obsessing over old volvos, yearning for a chance to get one. Then, it happened. There was an ad on facebook marketplace for a 1989 volvo 740 GL. It was priced around 750 bucks back then but it was not running. Over two payments i was able to buy the car when i turned 17. After i payed to get it running i started commuting it to work (at first illegally but work was just down the road and in the rural countryside, noone was saying anything) and I loved it. The clunkiness, the slow acceleration, everything. But, i wanted to start tuning it. So, i bought an ipd cam kit, broke a stud, and went down a repair cycle that ended with me taking it to the mechanic the second time to be repaired. I tagged it and it has became my daily ever since. Dogwood has had several upgrades since then, most cosmetic and maitenence but she still holds steadfast in being a beautiful daily. Then i bought my 240 wagon. I got her 600 not running and have been trying to get her starting ever since. These volvos just have an alure to them that makes them the star of the show. Simple, yet understated and thats how they put a smile on my face when i drive. Why do i drive volvos? Simply, they give me a joy i never knew i had. :)

[@Viseak]

Haha that’s awesome man, never been much of a Volvo guy myself mainly cause they’re just harder to come by around these parts, as are euro cars in general. But so long as you’re enjoying em, that’s all that matters!

[@Deadsphere]

You watch Initial D for the music and the racing scenes. You watch Wangan Midnight for the story and the even cooler racing scenes.

[@MFBushidoBrown]

why?... guess we are all trying to find that exit to paradise.

[@Viseak]

Couldn’t of said it better myself

[@MFBushidoBrown]

@@Viseak "This count... I feel as if I'm looking at my future self. Mega bucks, big ass house, the fame and glory... Dining in style with a world class chef and a trusty nutritionist counting every calorie. A team of hot personal trainers to keep me in shape. Nurses to attend to my body... Maids and loyal servants at my beck and call. On the weekends, tanned babes knocking on my door every two hours. Every day full of excitement and luxury. That'd be the life. Everything in its right place. It's the perfect life. It's the life for winners. That'll be my life! I thirst for selflessness. Hypocrites lusting for their own desires to beat me. This is how it goes down. And for the old racers? They'll croaked anyway. I guess you can call this a tragic comedy. I realize there's really nothing here for me. But what else can I do but keep going? Maybe I should have been a little more careful before I jumped in. Gotta find the exit. Gotta find that exit to Paradise. But, I can't see it. Can't see anything. There's this sense of doom running down my spine, like it's... Like it's trying to suck the life out of me. I need to get rid of it before I bail. Something deeper... Deeper than my instincts is taunting me. Can't find the exit. CAN'T find the exit. CAN'T FIND the exit. CAN'T FIND THE exit. CAN'T FIND THE EXIT." an interpolation of Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes

[@Piotr_J93]

Why do I drive? Because my cars chose me and I repay them with my love. I really feel like I can hear their voices and emotions, they are not machines to me. Like seriously, my life is like Wangan Midnight OVA. I'm from Poland so most of people won't know a single thing about cars that i will metion here but here goes. My dad used to be a truck driver, when I was little he used to take me with him on shorter drives. He had Jelcz 315 Polish made truck with cab over engine, I always fell asleep on engine cover, no matter how loud the engine was roaring. Our family car was Polonez Caro, sadly it rusted out so bad that we sold it, my aount had same but in different color, when I was 10 (back in 2003) I asked her to give it to me on my 18th birthday (at that time it was worth literary nothing) now I'm 30,5 yo and I still have it and I made a proper renovation of it. My second car is also Polonez but earlier model from 1986 that I saved from scrapping after it was sitting for over 10 years in a shed, I'm now building it into a rally version replica with carburator and turbo just like Devil Z. Third car, Renault Laguna Grandtour with 2.2 dci engine, widely known as worst engine in Renault history, and I bought it with broken engine, repeired it and I did over 60K kilimeters in 3 years without a single issue. It feels like it wants to say "thank you" Foruth car, Ford Scorpio, I bought it as a AC donor for my dad's Scorpio for 900PLN in 2019 (like 250USD) saving it from being scrapped and it was alredy made into a drift shitbox car, welded diff, lowered suspension, wight reduced and so on as for a shitbox it turned out to be in a good condition. I had to replace broken driveshatf and clutch. I still have it, best fun car I had, it is going to get a supercharger this summer. Fifth car, another Polonez, this time Atu from 1997, also saved from scrapping, less than 100K mileage, interior in perfect condition, it just needs some, well not some, a lot of welding, but I just heard it calling me when I saw it for the first time at my dad's firend backyard. So yeah, my life Wanagan Midnight OVA live action. When I was watching it I really cried a lot, many scenes were like looking into a mirror. It is in my personal top 10 anime of all time. PS. Rikako best waifu, I wish she helped me to build an engine one day

[@misael9154]

my reason to drive its pretty complicated to explain. since i was a toddler i used to play with hotwheels, i dont even remember why but i just did it. i spent most of my childhood playing need for speed, really enjoyed cars despite not really understanding it because i could barely thing about anything else besides what was for lunch today. years passed, i got depression and i spend most of my teenager phase doing music, something i also like, but somehow i couldnt feel complete, like something was missing. some years later when i was finishing highschool we move and my dad starts thinking about buying a car for the first time, we couldnt get one before because it was really not worth it where we live, insecure, it would be a risk for my dad to drive 30km after a very stressing day of work. so we start looking for cheap options, one thing i told my dad was that i didnt want an average car, even if its cheap, i wanted him to drive something quirky because it would be a thing for fun. i didnt really knew what brand i liked more, i barely remembered stuff about japanese and german cars but those were expensive so out of the equation. then out of nowhere we find a guy selling a citroen xsara, just a 1.9 not even with a turbo so something affordable and not expensive to have, ideal and since i really wasnt into cars anymore i didnt really cared that much. that was until the first time i drove it in route. it felt weird, it wasnt fast, just 70hp for a sedan, but something about it was tingling over my head. thats when i realized something was born in me, a need to go as fast as possible, to push the machine over its limits, it was every. goddamn. day. i couldnt stop thinking about pushing the gas and seeing how fast it can go, taking every corner faster than before even if its just a little. i just wanted to go faster and faster. the sensation of taking long curves feeling the tilt of the car when it could barely hold its speed uphill was something else, making it oversteer in closed corners when it can barely keep up with most basic cars on the route. of course the first year i drove it safely, knowing its not my car and it was the only car we had, until my parents decided to gift it to me as a birthday present, probably the best present and since i was studying at the time i couldnt really express how much it means to me that gift. thats when one night i went so over the limit that i ended up crashing going downhill. now im saving money to repair it from a very bad crash, still thinking about that night and how i felt my heart racing, wanting to take it to its limits again. i dont know why that car exactly but ive driven other cars already, a lancer amongs them but it just doesnt feel the same way... hopefully i can get her running again soon enough :)

[@TheMarlboro-Man]

The integra bit caught me of guard lmao . Bro read all of our minds .

[@TheChikyChiky]

I really could type a novel on "finding my why". But I can try to summarize it. My 'why' is a combination of bonding with my father who group up in the latter years of hot rodding during the oil crisis, and was an individual who taught me that if we could do it by ourselves, why pay others? Fascination with movies ranging from Bullitt, Gone in 60 Seconds, Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), and The Fast and the Furious. Games including but not limited to Need For Speed (starting with Hot Pursuit) and Midnight Club. A mutual hobby amongst friends, as well as a way to meet and interact. I really do enjoy Initial D, I too express similar feelings that you had from the previous video, having a nostalgia for something I never experienced. Yet, when I roll into the local car meets today, the back and forth doesn't seem too far from what was depicted. I read far more of Wangan Midnight than I watched, the story was compelling because it was just everybody gunning to be the fastest. I have spent far too much money on the arcade cabinet, customizing a FD RX7. Sadly, I don't see many people discuss the manga Over Rev! as I feel this fits the topic well. A student athlete with a need for speed, injured and unable to run competitively again? Get a car, learn to drive, and have fun with it. Interestingly, I had commented on your previous video about Initial D, the following day I was able to go get one of my dream cars, a FD RX7 that had been imported. I know that many are used to the back and forth of day to day life, but I really wish that people would look at driving with a fascination again. If one has time, the trip to where you're going should be part of the adventure.

[@Viseak]

Yeah man fast and the furious + NFSU2 definitely shaped my young brain into being a car enthusiast hahaha That’s awesome to hear about your FD man that’s one of my dream cars for sure, the low profile two door rotary is definitely something I’m envious of, my F is heavy as all hell by comparison but I love it all the same, just needed something more comfortable Maybe one day I’ll go back to a 90’s JDM car

[@ahappymiata669]

Quick note, the Mid Night Racing Team/Club is still very much alive, still with insane cars but does not partake in high speed illegal races in wangan, Mid Night stories usually get thrown around and usually thrown with lies and fake news.

[@William180-s9e]

There’s Multiple but I want to say that it’s one of the greatest Existences and being able to floor at Velocity and Ferociously it’s rather quite elegant for me but Going Pro and Having the Support and being eligible to also drive and tune my own is because Cars to me means going beyond limits and exploring the edge of my life whatever the stage and being eligible to pull at a rapid pace is Thrilling and also Being One with an Engine from its roar to its own degree is electrifying for me. That’s my reason 😌Apologies for the long Summary and also Thanks for your time and Reading of Wangan Midnight & Initial D comparisons lads

[@SMOKEY_HATES_TAXES]

i drive to escape the dread of life, every second that i drive, even if its POS. its made me feel alive and probably the only reason im alive is to drive faster. for me cars are my lifeline

[@Viseak]

Love to hear driving makes you feel that way. I just gotta say as well, I’m not sure what you’ve been through or are going through, but just know it gets better, and if driving fasts a way to help you cope until it does, more power to you, but stay safe yeah? Always gotta live to drive another day.

[@generacionmarttin]

I have lived years in Japan and met people that used to race in the Wangan in the golden days. As they told me: "touge is for kids, highway racing is for men".

[@Viseak]

I got respect for both either way, cause I know I don’t have the balls to push my car like a lot of them would hahaha

[@goofygoodpasture8511]

I drive because its fun, I drive a 1.6 NB miata, and I'm really happy with where its at, I dont want to add power, it allows me to have this fun momentary escape without risking myself as much

[@OrsenMike]

do i own a car? no. can a afford a car of any kind? no. am i still going to watch the video? yes.

[@Viseak]

@@OrsenMike 🫡

[@jvest6515]

Bro I just started rewatching this about a week ago. What timing

[@alexbenjaminlubbers]

My first car is going to be an early 90s Ford sedan, because I want something safe, reliable and that I can have fun in without having it bite me unexpectedly. My friend has a 94 Chevy Caprice that he's giving to me as a project as well, these cars aren't as fast as a Mustang or Camaro, but they have similar power and can be used to carry just about anything and make great cars to cruise around in.

[@shortbushero]

Initial D: How you get into racing and cars Wangan Midnight: Why we drive Countach and Carerra: The beauty of driving Over Rev! The religon and pure love of Cars, freedom, ambition, enterprise, and youth

[@Viseak]

Guess I’ve gotta start reading Countach and Kanojo No Carerra soon And finish with Over Rev!

[@shortbushero]

@@Viseak Well with Kanojo no carrera, it’s more of a moe pinup manga than a actual story. Good eye candy and I’m all for it. but it’s meh. Over Rev in my opinion is the pinnacle of the motorsports genre for manga. Too bad that like Wangan, the translation for the last 100+ chapters are on permanent backburners. Which means it’ll be a miracle for Cross Over Rev (the 2019 ongoing sequel 10 years post the original story) to be translated in my lifetime. Nyaa Si has the torrents for the raws though…. so yeah.

[@mashedpotatoes77]

​@shortbushero Over Rev is still a top tier manga even with the unfinished translation. Just finished the gymkhana team battle and the Ryoko vs Sawako battle after that and it solidified the manga as the best of the genre

[@shortbushero]

@@mashedpotatoes77 Well good news is the full raws are on Nyaa, and if you want to start JP translating, it’s a challenge but working through it has been great. Can’t wait to jump into Cross Over Rev though. Christmas cake (32 year old) Aika is peak

[@TheZProtocol]

Why do I drive? If I were to put it into words, I couldn't find the exact ones but I will try my best to explain. Why do I drive? I could only guesstimate is where I most feel alive... Free. I've always been into cars since I acquired self-awareness. I didn't say my first words into I was 4, my mom read me the classifieds because she noticed I just gravitated towards cars. My first words were probably Toyota, Mazda, Ford, etc. As I grew older I saw the car as the gateway to freedom. A machine that would help you go anywhere. Like a cowboy and his horse with the prairie fields ahead of him, I saw myself with a car and the open road ahead. Forward to my teenage and high school years, I was getting closer to finally having my own car. After growing up with Gran Turismo 2, Sega GT 2002, Fast and Furious, Forza Motorsport, my desired first car changed a bit. An S13, then a Mustang because of course an R34 was completely impossible. However, I was handed down a 96 Cutlass Supreme. A grandma's car. At first I hated it but very soon I took pride in it and began to appreciate it for what it was. It isn't a sports car, not all cars are meant to be one. It taught me that there are various ways into the art of driving. It also taught me maintenance and repairing basics. But after 3-4 years, I wanted something I could truly call mine. So my search for my desired car I could go all out began. S13s were beginning to skyrocket, Mustangs felt bland, Trans Ams were becoming unobtanium with the 6 speed, but then I saw the humble Miata. I began to read about their design and engineering and it showed me another car lesson: power isn't everything. So, I looked up various for sale and I liked the idea of a Miata more and more but I then suddenly remembered my uncle had one. A Mariner Blue 1990 NA6 Miata. He got it in 2002 but never really took care of it, he still had it but it was so neglected that he was considering scrapping it. I went to look at it just because it was the color I wanted. But once I opened the dirty door and sat in the dusty and moldy seat I felt a sensation I never felt before and frankly never since. It's like the cliche love at first sight in novels and movies. I swear the car spoke to me in that moment, she said "Hi, will you take me back out on the road again?". I put my hands on the worm out steering wheel, I put my feet on the pedals and rested my hand on the gear shifter. Everything felt so right, everything felt like I was made for this machine. It was right then and there in that autumn day in 2013 I decided this was it. I wanted this car. It didn't matter it's tires were flat, the paint was shot, the interior reeked and it needed maintenance overdue for a decade. I immediately asked to buy it from my uncle. He refused because he'll fix it someday. I kept insisting, even got a student loan for it, offering 2 grand for a car that barely ran and drove but couldn't stop. It needed a lot. Then one day, he calls me and says he'll give it to me. I didn't believe him. The next day my dad called me to order at least some brake components so it can at least be safe to move it around while I keep fixing it up. I was floored, it was true! But soon after I learned why the sudden change of heart. After my initial inspection of things it needed I was up to $5,000 in estimated repairs, no wonder my uncle just gave it away. He didn't want to spend that kind of money. I, however, knew I can do it for less. So I repaired laptops at college, sold random crap on eBay and did English tutoring, scraping a few bucks here and there to order the parts from RockAuto, eBay, Amazon, AutoZone or Facebook Marketplace. Which ever was cheaper. It took me 3 years and about $2,500 to get it roadworthy. January 2018 was when it finally saw the open road again after being left in a corner since about 2012 and neglected since 2002. The Miata ran amazing. It always started right up and did everything I asked it to. That is until June 2019. An uninsured driver cut me off, and totaled my Miata. The front end was destroyed. I was physically okay but emotionally as wrecked as the car. A friend at the time stayed over to help me even take a bath and eat because I was almost unresponsive. I felt I lost it all because there were times that car was all I had. It had saved me from ending it all before. There was times were it was the sole reason I kept on living. 2 days later, I began to tear the damaged parts apart and saw the firewall nor the floor pan wasn't buckled. The doors and top still closed fine and when I reconnected the battery, and cranked the key. The engine started right up. She wants to live. She saved me from that collision so I had to repay her in kind. I was still a broke college student, working 2 jobs to pay rent and tuition. 8 months into trials, I only got a $1k settlement. Despite being mad and tired, I vowed to continue getting it back together and on the road again. I slowly gathered used parts, a donor core support and along the way upgraded bits here and there. I ended up ripping the drivetrain out and partially the interior. June 2020 was when I finally had enough parts and funds to send it to a body shop willing to work on it. An old man in his 80s. Yes, he had over 50 years of experience but also.. He's in his 80s so it was gonna take a while. January 2023. I finally got the car back to my new crappy apartment working a corporate job. I still didn't have a proper garage or even a solid floor to work on so in my free time I put the drivetrain back in, rolling over gravel and dirt, redid suspension, brakes, cooling, interior all by myself and since that crash in 2019, my Miata was once again back on the road by August 2023. Twice now I saved her from the junkyard. Many call me a madman. I stopped counting after $8,000 into what once was a crumpled soda can. But I don't care. I did it. I pulled it off. My Miata now has many subtle mods here and there. The curse of "while you're in there". But living in a small island, that freedom of the open road will never be experienced if I stay here. After 13 years of trying to emigrate into the US, I just accepted a new job that will allow me to work in Texas. And yes, I am shipping my Miata into my new chapter in my life. The open road awaits me there, I will soon be able to drive anywhere I ever pictured since I was a kid. Why do I drive?...... To live, I guess. It's funny how a machine can help you feel more alive than anything else.

[@Viseak]

Hahaha it’s funny reading that man cause my first words weren’t car brands or anything, but my parents would always tell me when I was like 6 or something and we’d go on road trips all I’d do is just name all the car brands that drive past 😅 But man, that was quite the story. Clearly the miatas special to you, and it’s awesome you’ve not only saved it twice, but are taking it with you to your new home. Props to you man, that’s some serious commitment, and thanks for sharing.

[@TheZProtocol]

@@Viseak Glad to know I'm not the only one haha. Call me crazy but I am a firm believer that some cars have... A soul or something that just makes them different. Many talk about cars that were always doing a weird thing, others that would always run despite needing repairs. Not as far as a Christine situation but... Like that special dog or cat or horse that somehow, they just know. I have lots of stories with my Cutlass Supreme as well, which I still have. Thank you for this video and thank you for sharing your experiences with me.

[@Aminmotors]

This anime is part of who I am now. I've probably watched it in its entirety six or seven times.

[@Missch_1]

God, I've seen so much hate for Wangan Midnight recently, especially in russian community (as always). Your video gives me hope that I'm not the only one who understands and love Wangan Midnight, I hope it will become popular. Thank you so much for taking your time to explain the deep plot of this series, you're a legend.

[@Viseak]

No worries man! I feel like it’s severely under appreciated especially when compared to the likes of Initial D.

[@TheOzONErussiaN]

MZ20 3.0GT Limited user here. I drive because there is always a point. It can be destination or journey itself, can be emotions or lack of them. I drive for the latter, I just wanna feel alive, even though I am not, not inside.

[@Viseak]

Hey all I gotta say man is that it gets better, you might not feel it now but the fact you’ve got something like driving that makes you feel alive in that way means there’s something right going on. You got this man

[@VashSpiegel]

Initial D is about the skill, Wangan is about the culture, there is one about a supercharged AW11.

[@Viseak]

A supercharged MR2 would be insane

[@frankj545]

Appreciate this video. Lived a different life than you, worked on cars since high school, tuned and raced many different cars since. Im 30 this year and just got married, also having my first kid soon. Im glad I made my financial mistakes with cars when i was younger. I will still race cars now that I have a lot more stabiliy, and luckily the skills I have built over the past 10 years make that possible. We do all drive for a reason. one thing i learned from this show is that if you build your skills and dont give up your passion, you can learn to balance your personal responsibilities and your passion for racing. Balance is the key to being a fast racer. Cheers *racing on circuits of course. gave up street racing i my mid 20s. it isnt worth it, don't learn the hard way like I did.

[@Viseak]

Yeah man I gave up fucking around on the road towards the end of my teenage years and really try not to encourage others to do it, but people always kinda will, kids will be kids I suppose so advocating for ‘safe’ ish hooning in completely quiet ‘safe’ places feels like the best way, cause so many people just wont go to the track no matter what ya say. But yeah for me, outside of the occasional highway on-ramp or something these days I drive like an absolute grandma haha Good to hear you’re living life to the fullest though man, sounds like you’ve got a lot of experiences under your belt and settling down at 30 is sweet, congrats on expecting your first child too man that’s awesome. Learning to balance personal responsibilities and cars was a hard lesson to learn for sure, but a really damn important one we all gotta go through.

[@t-bird_guy]

Great video as always, I really gotta watch wangan midnight after this. hoping for more car anime content from you!

[@Viseak]

Cheers man! Definitely give it a go it’s such a good series

[@l_spec]

This story of Midnight Club is a highly romanticized and false, but it's fun. A lot of the core members have created their own tuning shops that we love and support. Their rivals have also done the same and you can see the slight social divide to this day in terms of tuning shop relationships, although it's not that deep. Everyone for the most part is civil in this day and age.

[@Viseak]

Yeah they’re definitely fun stories for sure, and who knows there could be a shred of truth buried in the rumours, it was in an age before the internet was commonplace after all (but still, I doubt it lol)

[@Dridespoon]

Respect for actually reading the manga while many simply overlook it. Also there's a revamped version of the older chapters available to read on MangaDex. Enjoy.

[@Viseak]

Yeah it was a good read! Far more brutal with their crashes and stuff too which made it much more realistic

[@aquarist]

I don't really have an answer for why I drive. Or maybe I have multiple? I don't know. Growing up in Germany, my dad took me to the Nürburgring pretty often to watch races. He himself also worked on his Firebird that he drag raced all the time. He is super knowledgeable of cars and can literally diagnose and fix any issue that arises with every car he's owned and every car I've owned. I can only wish to have his knowledge one day. I also grew up when Fast and Furious came out, NFS Underground came out, and even the first Forza Motorsports came out. My brother bought me Motorsports & a racing wheel for the original xbox for my birthday, and I had a blast pretending I was driving a real car. As I got older, my passion for cars grew stronger. Playing MC: LA, Forza, NFS, and all the other racing games that were releasing. Once I finally was able to pick out my first car, I didn't know what to choose, and didn't really have much of a say in it because it was a gift from my parents. They ended up getting me a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer ES, automatic. I can say right from the beginning I did not like this car at all but I was super grateful for the gift. I did some slight mods to it, nothing crazy. Just an exhaust, wheels, and suspension and a few body modifications. It was definitely riced out lol. I was pretty bored with this car but I'd take it to parking lots with my friend before school and we'd do little burnouts and pulls and all kinds of weird shit, trying to push this thing to the limits. Then, after about 2 years, I sold this car and picked out my second car. I just wanted something manual, and at the time, in my area, there was barely anything manual that I could get, so I went with a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon V6. This car was a real shitbox. Constantly broke down on me and constantly left me stranded, always had to call my dad to tow me with his truck. But, this was the first time I got to learn how to rebuild a motor, and rebuild a transmission. I learned so much with this car, and did so much with it and this is when I got into Touge. We did a lot of races all the time up and down these windy roads. It was amazing, and I truly started to refuel my passion for cars. Even though this thing constantly broke on me, I constantly wanted to fix it instead of selling it. That is, until one night, I hit a giant rock that fell out of a construction truck and completely destroyed the front end. It wasn't totaled, it was mostly just cosmetic damaged, but after this, I decided to go the stance route with my car, no longer performance oriented. I slammed that thing to the ground and learned all about suspension and fitment and even learned how to do my own alignment. My passion grew even more. I picked up VR and a sim wheel and started learning how to drift in VR. I free roamed and drove for hours in truck simulator to clear my mind, I raced my friends and tandemed with them for hours in assetto corsa VR. After this, I moved to California, where my Tiburon with all of it's mods would've been completely illegal, so I sold it. I ended up buying an Audi A5 that I was eyeing for years, I really wanted to do a VIP build. Safe to say I completely lost my passion for cars with this thing. This thing needed a full rebuild not even a month after I bought it due to piston ring issues that were common place but Audi never did a recall for. It was awful, a huge money pit, and the worst experience I ever had owning a car. I also ended up going through some of my most depressing times ever during this, and the only thing that kept me going, was driving my car. As much as I hated it, as much as I lost my passion, I still felt free and my mind felt clear behind the wheel. Finally sold that thing after 2 years of ownership and picked up my current car, a 2001 Mazda Miata. Being on an extremely tight budget, I bought a car that was already modified for performance driving. Full suspension mods, poly bushings, mazdaspeed motor mounts, lightweight wheels, exhaust, rollbar, and so much more. Normally I wouldn't want a pre-modified car, but this thing was extremely well taken care of and purpose-built for the track, and being on such a tight budget, I got to enjoy the car how I would've built it without dumping thousands of dollars into it that I don't have. This car has reignited my passion already, and I've only owned it for about a month now. I have taken this car apart piece by piece (body panels and interior - not motor) and deep cleaned and scrubbed every inch of this thing, full detail. That alone made me feel a connection to a car I haven't felt in a long time. All within a week of ownership I changed the seats, vintage window switches, vintage hvac panel, head unit, restored the entire interior and so much more. Being in this car I feel a sense of community - people wave to me, people come up to me to talk about miatas, motorcyclists rev at me and wave at me, every miata driver honks, winks, or waves at me, it's amazing. I've started to learn how to drift in real life now, I'm taking my car out on the touge again, I'm even doing uber eats for 5+ hours every day just so I can drive my car more. I'm currently in a really bad place in my life, but I'm so happy even knowing I own this car. I'm constantly in the garage just looking at it, constantly sitting in it in the garage, and constantly finding excuses to take it out for a drive, and I can feel my dream of wanting to be a motorsports driver coming alive again. That being said, I drive my car to clear my mind, to make me happy when I'm depressed, I drive for fun, I drive because my car feels like an extension of my body, I drive to feel a part of something, I drive to be on the road, I drive because I have a passion for cars, I drive for so many reasons that I can't even explain. I drive just to drive. I love driving. Even when I lost my passion for cars, I still loved driving. Driving is the one thing in this life that's never let me down, even when my car breaks down.

[@djd34d14]

And her I didn't even know Wangan Midnight had a game. The devil Z is the best main character of any love story I've seen. Blackbird was a beaut too.

[@wangandreamer809]

Agree why I drive is to hang out with people that share a passion. I own several of the flagship cars from Japan in the USA everything from FC3C RX7 Turbo II to Suzuki Alto Works to a Honda Z as a daily. Each car has their purpose of enjoyment.

[@Viseak]

That’s awesome man, an FC is one of my dream cars for sure

[@ExekielPlays23]

If you find a decent arcade, the current game (WMMT 6RR) has a story mode that goes on for like 100+ chapters (winning 80 straight will give you a full tuned car, 100 straight wins gives a free reward) that goes past the Legendary FC arc the anime ended on.

[@icykangaroo]

The Wangan Midnight episode VS the Supra is probably one of the greatest episodes of anime ever.

[@Viseak]

Yeah the arc with the Kei and the Supra went hard

[@shuddafukkup]

Well, time for my Wangan Midnight character bio 😂 Why do I drive? Obsession, I suppose. A certain type of obsession that means my BMW e36 I got for Xmas in 2014 has spent more time on axle stands than on the road due to my incessant need to perfect how it goes and handles. I fitted an Eaton M90 supercharger in November 2021, and as of writing (March 2024) I still haven’t completed a mile in it. But I don’t care, it will be ready when it is ready and only then, will I be able to enjoy it for what it is. I’m nearing 30, I still live with my parents, I’m not married and ever pound I get goes into this car. My family and friends think I’m crazy, and you know what? Maybe they’re not wrong 😂

[@Viseak]

Lmao not the jack stand graveyard 💀 Nah it gets like that sometimes I get it, especially if you really want it to be perfect. The second you get it back on the ground and take that first drive again I’m sure it’ll all be worth it man.

[@shuddafukkup]

@@Viseakyeah mate, 100% will be 😂 Great vid btw, subbed 👍

[@E46_wagonlover]

I bought my car because I wanted a wagon for the extra space. I bought a BMW because my friends were always telling me how they are very good cars. I modified it to my liking and now I can drive the car like it’s an extension of my own body. I pushed its limits and I know them and I pushed further. I drive the car because I know it’s so well. I’ve built it myself

[@Viseak]

There’s something real cool about learning a car and knowing it from the ground up, and I kinda miss that about my Subaru, had the thing for over 7 years so I knew it back to front top to bottom lol Still learning a lot about my ISF though, but I’ll get there again.

[@GokutheBlack]

this car actually became the Barbatos in Gundam IBO

[@mintgaming9198]

A Mini Countryman. I wanted something sporty that my boyfriend and girlfriend could both ride in, feel comfortable in, and look a bit classy to boot. I also wanted to be able to do some bigger shopping done with it. And of course, have enough power to some fun on Sundays. Its a great blend of practicality, and fun factor, and besides that, they're reliable as well if you take care of them. And I thought that would be a great way to teach me to take care of my car. And so far, I was right.

[@appreciatizer5911]

2006 lincoln town car. Why. 3 grand 170k miles. Generally speaking. Old people own them and take care of them. V8. Rear wheel. Spacious and comfortable. Great stock speakers that still bump to this day.

[@Viseak]

I dunno what in the freedom that is but after looking it up, it seems like the American equivalent of a Statesmen (except the statesmen’s a Holden not a Ford) So yeah I’m sure it’s comfy as hell

[@appreciatizer5911]

@Viseak yea they're just big cars. Almost as as long as a full size truck. All leather interior and plenty of leg room for everybody.

[@Circa88]

Why do I drive? I drive because of a Dream. I Dream to drive the fastest and set crazy lap times. I watch racing footage for hours on end, and sim race when Im not getting seat time in my car. I push myself to understand everything about the car Im in, and the course Im racing on. I drive my local pass as much as possible, and time myself frequently. I run sections over and over again, trying to shave time from section start to section end, and look back on where I can improve. I just want to go fast, whether it be around corners on a local mountain pass or track, or straight line speed on a desolate stretch of highway.

[@Viseak]

Yeah man speeds a hell of a drug that’s for sure. So long as you stay safe I’m all for it 🫶🏼

[@11thDC]

The Midnight Group that Inspired Wangan Midnight as well as Wangan Midnight itself also inspired the "Midnight Club" racing games. though Fast and Furious did add influence to it in later installments.

[@Viseak]

Yeah they even kept the ‘Wangan’ kanji in the logo for the Midnight Club games which is a pretty sweet reference

[@cruzmatt22]

took me a bit to clock judgement playing in the bg

[@Viseak]

Yeah man, they were breaking the law after all

[@anotherlegendarysaiyan4171]

I'll forever think the Hells tuner is the best character, kitami is goated

[@miguel.5787]

Initial D is about chasing your own limit, OVERTAKE! is about overcoming your limits and Wangan Midnight is about going far beyond that limit, even with all the sacrifices that it might imply wangan midnight is far from perfect (especially on that scene where they turn the testa into a chinese countach), and i can very much understand why many people might just have left out of boredom or even hate towards the anime and the entire series. it's not exactly the most fast-paced anime ever, nor the easiest to understand (aside from car technicality) but any car enthusiast that was able to blast through initial D will feel interested in wangan midnight after the awesome pilot episode. but it can't be just interest, but learning and reflecting as well; after the first 8 or 9 episodes you get to see how people become lusty for the devil Z, it gives them purpose but often pushes them over the limit, the anime exaggeration can be there but you can already imagine how those kinds of situations could present themselves in real life, and how many opportunities could be missed because you decided to spend too much time and money on a """machine"""" also both yuzo koshiro's and the anime's soundtrack absolutely slap, LIKE HELL and Burning Away have got to be my favorite from both

[@Viseak]

It really is a fantastic slow burn of an anime, even though it’s so short lol I really wish we got to see the manga adapted till the end but what can you do. And the soundtrack was phenomenal, might be controversial but I honestly like it better than Initial D’s eurobeat that I also really enjoyed. I think I gotta check out Overtake! I’ve seen it pop up quite a few times now, do you rate it?

[@gashami1930]

we still have a small community play this game with the 6RR version. there only 8 machine to play in Ho Chi Minh city, 4 for each aeon mall. But i'm glad that they bring this to Viet Nam I love Inidital D from the bottom of my heart, but Wangan is have much more fun to play. They both great, but i'm always choose Wangan for the fun with multiple track in city and mountain and body kit to choose for your car

[@mill_ania]

It's in a way unfortunate that English speaking people CAN enjoy WM translated story, but in the arcade game. It even has stories cut from the anime and stories they make just for the game i.e. Akio's little fling with his teacher where he took Z to the mountains (which is how the singular touge route in the game ever came to be), and stories like Garage ZERO. I personally find how the arcade handle the story to be interesting because how the player is both a self-insert, and also a Ghost. During climatic races canonical to the story, you're taking part as an outsider looking in, but there are races/story bits where you interact with the characters (implied to be off-race talks but it's exposited during the race which is so funny sometimes) where the story goes into stuff the anime don't show that delve deeper into a character's story. Are they technically padding so people play and waste their money in the game more? Yeaaahh but the padding is fun, at least! And the music SLAPS to race and just listens to. Back then it was mostly Eurobeat, as usual it's the 90s car media. But newer entry have rock, metal, actual dubsteps, Ace Combat-esque latin chanting over rock music stuff. Superb, honestly.

[@Viseak]

Yeah alright I gotta play these games properly sometime. Have they been emulated? Or do I genuinely need to rock up to an arcade for a couple hours lmao

[@Dablaze6]

​@Viseak If I recall, you can actually emulate the arcade games.

[@Viseak]

@@Dablaze6 good to know, I’ll have to look into it

[@WhosManIsThis]

​@@Viseak there is a emulator of the game I think at least 5dx+ (6 is in Patreon I think) but yeah in 5-5dx+ story was cut to 60 story and in 6 and above they got back to 100 chapter

[@pradohealey3000]

I just drove an r33 on the wangan. I would be lying if this series wasn't in my mind heading to yokohoma

[@Viseak]

I’d love to do that drive someday, the train to Yokohama just doesn’t hit the same

[@wallydyck844]

I drive because of love for engineering, and design. I have a 1982 Lincoln Continental and 1985 ford f-350, two things built before the mainstream introduction a fuel injection. I love them because they a mechanical and over built. I drive for a love of cars and history.

[@Treaxvour]

I drive for kaizen - Continueous inprovement, of both myself, and my machines.