Initial D (Complete Series) - Racing Seinen - Spoiler Free Anime Review

[@Naturenerd1000]

Initial D has one of the best sound tracks. In fact hearing the Initial D sound track in a few youtube videos is how I first got into Anime.

[@artfire28]

I didn't know anything about cars until my cousin introduced me to Initial D. It makes so memorable by just listening to Eurobeat.

[@Mikehero69_]

There's just something charming about that somewhat jarring early 3D animation. Great review, Bob!

[@ja4309]

I honestly liked all the stages of Initial D. The First to Third Stage was Takumi being introduced to the racing world and expanding his passion for cars and eventually finding his dream. Fourth to the Final Stage was where Takumi (and Keisuke) expanded their racing knowledge and abilities as they try to conquer the racing scene of Japan. Of course with the races, I find the Fifth Stage ones rushed or had the most plot armor out of all (and plot armor that I don't think makes sense in real life). Fourth Stage was very strategically based while the First to Third Stages was more of Takumi realizing and showing off his techniques rather than being more strategical. Loved it then and still loving it now

[@Danielfiks]

Exactly the same thing I thought!! ❤️

[@leakybandz1208]

I also love how they added a romance plot too, made it more enjoyable for someone who’s not crazy on cars

[@radiak55]

It also goes without saying that the music in the series is banger, takes me back to the eurobeats I heard as a kid in the late 90s. Always nostalgic to watch it as I also remember playing an arcade game themed around racing

[@doodlebugfour7070]

Fun Trivia: Initial D's character designer also did the ones for the Project ARMS anime.

[@ShreN_]

Your script for this video must've been incredible, the level of analysis while also being so brief and to the point - it's really high quality I've gotta say. Also, there's very few reviews of Initial D on youtube, especially for the entire series as a whole - so it makes this video even more interesting, because it's rare for people to try to write down and articulate their thoughts on the whole series. In my opinion, the First Stage is the best dropping off point for people who have no interest in cars and find the series OK/good but aren't so blown away by it. I do miss the relatability and human aspect from Stages 1-3 (which slowly get toned down), but for me 4th Stage is just incredible with the level of depth given to the racing, techniques and battles (while 1st Stage was very basic in that regard). So for that reason, even with the lack of eurobeat, the 4th Stage remains my favourite - which I think is an unpopular opinion. What's also interesting is the use of new age eurobeat for 5th+Final Stage, which some debate is as good as or better than the old school ones from 1st Stage

[@bobsamurai]

thanks! yea it took a while. I think it was my first video in several months, a comeback. Too bad the audio quality turned out so poorly.

[@TheProjektNemesis]

Been a while since you've done a review.

[@OraNui]

Been thinking about watching this just because my siblings keep playing the songs from it.

[@jordanrobshaw1406]

Do it

[@doctorpeanut1856]

I've finally convinced one of my friends to watch this anime by showing him this video! Thanks, this was really helpful! I'm a huge fan of Initial D myself!

[@bobsamurai]

awesome! glad I was able to help. Hope your friend enjoys it!

[@doctorpeanut1856]

@@bobsamurai Oh yeah, he will!

[@Malisa1990]

*I CAME UP FROM THE BOTTOM* *AND INTO THE TOP* *FOR THE FIRST TIME I FEEL ALIVE* *I CAN FLY LIKE AN EAGLE* *AND STRIKE LIKE A HAWK* *DO YOU THINK YOU CAN SURVIVEEEEE... THE TOP!!!!!!?????*

[@sooryan_1018]

I know I possibly may get flak for this, but I really enjoyed the second half of the anime as well, especially the Fifth and Final Stage as well! Now call me being a fanboy, but I have my own reasons. (Possible Spoilers ahead, read at your own discretion) Although I do admit that the second half was mostly lengthy and predictable, as a whole, there was only like 3 races out of all 24 races in the Project D arc which was favored by luck (which includes AE86 vs EK9, AE86 vs S2000, AE86 vs NB MX5; also maybe FD vs Levin battle, but Wataru's the one to blame for his fall). And even though I did feel they were too long and some many were predictable, those races like AE86 vs Ek9, FD vs R34, FD vs CT9A, FD vs Z33, FC vs R32 and AE86 vs AE86 battles weretotoally unpredictable, awesome scenes.... atleast for me. And I know when I say Fifth Stage, I'll get comments like "Haha Fujiwara zone plot armor" kinda shit, but its ac6ually a real thing. Simply said, its not teleportation and very basically - High speed cornering (+ illusion). If wanna know more, type and search my reddit post "Why Fifth and Final Stage wasnt that bad". Also, Ryosuke's backstory was the most hyped and my most favorite arc in the second half of the show. We finally got to know the meaning of "D" in Project D and even Initial D (as I believe). If true, its proved that Initial D, was actually centered around Ryosuke. Which gives my other theory that the second half, especially Fifth Stage was mostly based around the Takahashi brothers. Keisuke's backstory and character development, one of the biggest in the series, and Ryosuke's backstory and the meaning of the series itself. IMO Fourth to Final Stages, atleast to me were worth it. Went from Takumi to Keisuke to Ryosuke to Takumi.... at the end to realize it was about Ryosuke all along.

[@dinkarfowkar999]

agreed. Also, s2k vs 86 battle wasn't predictable imo

[@matthewkatigbak]

Parts 1-3 are definitely the highlights of the series. Characters were engaging, races were tense, got me hype, music was amazing. Tried watching part 4 but it felt like a different series to me, like you said it shifted away from takumi but he was my favourite character alongside bunta and itsuki. Also funnily enough I preferred the older animation.

[@sunset-inn]

Glad to see your reviews are back.

[@Diabl0Mask]

Was gonna ask you about this series in the live stream, good to know you made a video about it :D

[@kintarooe8688]

I literally love this show, the characters feel real.

[@HKSFangirl]

This was definitely an interesting review! It's nice to see someone who wasn't biased towards Fourth stage/ Best Stage. You definitely gave a more direct approach to it instead of attempting yo please Major Initial D Fans by praising 4th Stage to no end.

[@artfire28]

Everytime i heat Eurobeat, makes me want to drive faster or freely motivate to workout.

[@Loremastrful]

Just finished the 1st Stage. Mostly holds up. It feels like the rough early work of an famous author. Takumi has the personality of a block of wooden. I could see that as an author's choice to make a character a reader can project themselves onto but his bored response to everything really deflates the stakes. It's noticeable that Nat makes all the moves in this relationship. She asks him out. She checks in on him. She goes to see him race. A younger author falls into this pit trap of the insta girlfriend. With age and experience, a writer can flesh them out.

[@Danielfiks]

I liked the whole series. It felt like the characters was maturing. Idk how to describe it but I loved all of the series.

[@rxzero00]

My least favorite part was the high school part which I'm glad was basically gone by the next series. Also Takumi's seiyuu or Japanese voice actor did a lot of roles like Lock-on Stratos and Kisuke Urahara and way too many to list here.

[@doodlebugfour7070]

Shinichiro Miki gets around even to this day. He was recently Lucifer in the HD Remaster of Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne.

[@rxzero00]

@@doodlebugfour7070 Haha. Well not only he served as a sniper mech pilot for the Celestrial Being and did it with two lives, he served as a sniper pilot for another mercenary company. He also was a high school gymnast. He also ruled a sky kingdom filled with robot angels and battled against Kira Yamato's teenage self because he was mad that Kira Yamato used his angels as his harem. He was also that one dude in the villain team with a talking cat monster but everybody thought he was gay. He also served as the leader of the Apostles of the Stars. He was also a colonel who blew people up by snapping his fingers. He also was a leader of a mercenary group in a fantasy war who has a giant robot wielding a saber/rapier. He also was a high school teacher who loves to flip his hair and slowly strip in front of a high school female yankee. He also fought in a world martial arts tournament.

[@florinherlea8376]

its good to see you review anime again

[@animatrixred240]

Overall good video. I enjoyed listening to your opinion on the series despite me already having watched it all.

[@Shigeno_Content]

Believe it or not, Initial D is literally based on Japan's Drift King himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya who actually popularized drifting with the AE86. What makes the car unbeatable is its simple suspension for mechanical grip and lightweight advantages which makes it perfect for sliding super fast on downhill corners using gravity force. Keiichi even mentioned that it makes a pretty good drift car despite it being just a family affordable car at the time. Without him today, we wouldn't even have Fast & Furious, Gymkhana, Need for Speed, etc. as they all took inspirations from him. I'm not even joking.

[@Shigeno_Content]

Keiichi was not only the Drift King. He even helped directed the behaviors of the car scenes in the anime such as when the car should initiate a drift, how fast should the wheels spin, when to shift gears, etc. Keiichi even played his real name in the anime too! And helped bunta owned the Formula Atlantic engine for the AE86.

[@idiotka6015]

Me who remembers all intial d episode: ah yes I know this part

[@queenapryllm8454]

Damn in the process doing a review this as well. One those few "older anime" I enjoy. It's not series normally go for but it has a simple concept and fire music. I didn't care for high school stuff really but it is interesting

[@sebastiandk9575]

Awesome review bob!

[@chaz9808]

great review thanks man

[@GrimOSRSClips]

are we getting the old bob back now? that's cool!

[@rxzero00]

Ryosuke kept changing his hair color (eventually hair style) and eye color in every iteration. I guess he is a son of a Hospital owner so ...

[@leakybandz1208]

My high thought is that Bunta got rich from racing, they probably betted money on races, or perhaps even Bunta raced in different circuits and won races making money n shit and his dream was to own a tofu shop and so now he does and because they also live there it’s convenient so Bunta being rich and smart with his money up to now just buys tired all the time and upgrades his car. Thats also why he had such good mechanic

[@KidSerious04]

Its interesting to hear the opinions of a non car guy review initial D. Hardcore fans who watch the show then review it can't accept the clear flaws there are that you mentioned. Great review, gonna sub 👍

[@bobsamurai]

Thanks!

[@juanmanuelpenaloza9264]

This is basically the reason I worked for Domino's...and now I work at O'Reilly.

[@T171OO]

This anime made me want to deliver tofu across a mountain pass Running In The 90’s 😏

[@crazyjumpingcheese]

Very nice review

[@richiisj]

Very nice video! Keep it up!

[@PhillyDaWeapon]

Great review! This is in the backlog unfortunately, too many games and anime to watch

[@mr.noprobz3412]

Hey, brother. Could you tell me the background song for this video? Thanks.

[@32nikhilpatel78]

as per my opinion Initial D is the best Street Racing and Drifting Anime of all time. I loved the CGI of 1st Stage and later on the entire story and continuation... and in the end The Final Stage i most definitely can say that majority of Initial D fans must have cried or atleast had tears in their eyes while seeing Takumi Fujiwara, Ryoske Takahashi and Sayuki becoming a Professional Race drivers who started off from streets 😭❤️. Apart from this Initial D also ignites a spark in a persons life to actually learn a manual car and own one and share your love with it while dreaming of becoming a good driver and learn drifting. 🤞🏽 Coming back to the making and review of Initial D, the various cameras angles and music plays a big role in hyping up the race and giving a thrilling experience to its watchers. Running in the 90s, Killing my love, Speed Boy, Deja vu and all the other tracks gives Adrenaline Rush to our body 🤩🥵🔥 Guys & Girls if you're planning to watch this PLEASE DO!!! I fking Love this Anime 🥰❤️

[@panchopilled]

I was expecting a lot of Wangan Midnight elitists complaining that Initial D wasn’t very realistic because of Takumi's over-repetitive plot armor, but it seems like this comment section is amazing so far.

[@Marik_Fun]

Nice review.

[@marianofedericoberaldi8791]

For anyone that liked Initial D, you ought to check out GPX Cyber Formula, all 5 entries of the show are up on KZbin with both English and Spanish subs.

[@kountatalk]

Stage 1,2 and 3 are good. They do a good balance of integrating side stories and characters which makes a series good. Just racing, or fighting etc doesn't make a series good. Project D, 5th and final stage werent great. Just race after race with little depth

[@civilwarfare101]

Damn watching your review almost 3 years later and your thoughts on the entireity of Initial D mirrors my own word for word after I went more past 1st Stage these past 2 months. If Initial D ended at 3rd Stage, I would consider it to be a good show but the Project D sections of the show bored the crap out of me especially 5th and Final Stage, and it's all for the reasons you mentioned, ironically enough, I was also staring at my phone during Fifth and Final Stage and I tried to pay attention to the subs but I was so bored that I started to zone out like crazy and struggled to pay attention. 4th Stage was okay, but I feel like Keisuke carried the season for me, if he wasn't in it, I would've stopped watching. I am not even sure if I can call Initial D as a whole "good" knowing the Project D sections of the series exist. The final race was a letdown too, Takumi beat so many pro racers or people on the level of them and the "final boss" was some kid who had a hard on for Mako, what a let down. I was also letdown that Takumi never lost clean once, it was starting to get crazy how crazy OP he was later on, if Takumi would "lose" it's due to unforseen circumstances than skill. Great review man, I agree with you so much.

[@bobsamurai]

thanks for coming back and revisiting it! yea the phone checking in the later sections is real lol

[@civilwarfare101]

@@bobsamurai I am not even sure if it having a dub would make me check my phone more or less. Apparently they didn't get subbed until 2019, and I feels like it shows, it's like everyone lost interest by that point. At least everyone not in Japan.

[@astra_m00n]

More Fun Trivia: Initial D's plot is based on a real story.

[@thatmfquit]

Is it recommended to watch in sun or dub?

[@sooryan_1018]

sub.. as the Fifth and Final Stages arent in dub

[@MusabNaveed]

dub - the humor just works better.

[@antonioblagaic1072]

Bob, will you review Psycho-Pass?

[@BadirASalih]

Added to list

[@Ctrain2.0]

What’s your favorite stage? Mine has to be 1-2

[@bobsamurai]

Same

[@Ctrain2.0]

@@bobsamurai just checked out your channel I love the content you have a new sub my man👍🏻

[@bobsamurai]

Thanks! Glad to have you :)

[@WakanaGojo86]

Initial D despite being amazing but all of its seasond had major flaws. First Stage's only flaw is that it's too old and although most people love 90s animes because for their artstyle but the problem here is the CGI vehicles and environment. Second Stage's flaw is that the season ended too early leaving the viewer with an incomplete feeling and it probably should've just concluded with the story of Third Stage instead of having the story of 3rd Stage as its own season/film. Third Stage as I mentioned should not have been it's own season/film and because it was a film it obviously misses out on a lot of stuff that happened in the manga. Forth Stage just lacked the charecter development for both the main characters and the opponents. Fifth Stage continued with the flaw of Forth while also developing it's own flaw which is that it focused too much on the bystanders and their scientific reasoning instead of focusing on the actual race. Final Stage's flaw is the same as Third Stage, it should not have existed as it's own season and the length of 4 episodes for just concluding the final race was unnecessary, instead the race could have been concluded with 2 episodes and 1 dedicated episode for the disband party and the rest of the final moments which happens in the credit scenes.

[@BigXSmoke1]

hell ya bob

[@civilwarfare101]

I watched the 1st Stage 2 years ago and really enjoyed it but I stopped watching from there since it ended so well as a standalone work which is kind of weird regarding anime based on ongoing source material at the time. I sort of want to watch later Stages but I am not even sure if I want to. I may watch up to 2 or 3. It does suffer from typical trappings of a long running show where the writing generally gets worse the more it goes on. I love the soundtrack but that's been memed and mentioned a lot. I might watch more anime that are over a hundred episodes now thanks to this pandemic, hell I even watched Dragon Ball Super despite me not liking it that much and only liking the Universe 6 arc.

[@eztanielltubio56]

I wish Funimation never forget their anime they created with m.o.v.e.And that is Initial D

[@eztanielltubio56]

Side note:Initial D kust have it's reunion.

[@nerdodragonnerdpl4167]

Heres the thing...i think project d starts weak but grows then you have wtf they done with god hand and lan evo arks...lan evo suppose to be place where Takumi is like...Here i was thinking shingo is bad one...But now...My fury will burn asfalt behind us, he burn with it and i give mayby easyest but best win that was seen for project d..but it dosen't matter...Now only thing that counts is to put punk in his own flames of corruption...Insteed we got sucks to be Keskie...but i must drive for project d as best as i can...season 5 is just fanfic...Also this show is better when you not see structure or schemes and focus only on directoring

[@nerdodragonnerdpl4167]

Heres the thing...i think project d starts weak but grows then you have wtf they done with god hand and lan evo arks...lan evo suppose to be place where Takumi is like...Here i was thinking shingo is bad one...But now...My fury will burn asfalt behind us, he burn with it and i give mayby easyest but best win that was seen for project d..but it dosen't matter...Now only thing that counts is to put punk in his own flames of corruption...Insteed we got sucks to be Keskie...but i must drive for project d as best as i can...season 5 is just fanfic...Also this show is better when you not see structure or schemes and focus only on directoring

[@Snudge]

Initial d Is awesome

[@Darkelfable1]

Let's fucking goooo

[@animatrixred240]

I wasn't a fan of the dub for this series. It sounded weird after the listening to the sub.

[@doodlebugfour7070]

Which one? The Funimation dub or the Tokyopop one?

[@animatrixred240]

@@doodlebugfour7070 Didnt know there was a Tokyopop dub. The funimation dub was the one I saw. Itsuki is the biggest standout as least fitting along with Keisuke.

[@MrGuardrail]

@@animatrixred240 idk they both got for me with itsuki being that annoying loudmouth and Keisuke being obnoxious and cocky, tokyopop dub for initial d is horrible with them changing names the ost to Rap & R&B, and having a horrible script

[@AntoniePereira]

C'mon

[@girlgalaxy1059]

this is shonen

[@animatrixred240]

Sadly initial d gets progressively worse

[@68cutty]