Initial D is a good series. Please give it a try. Dont let it die as a good meme it deserves more than that. some random ass dude in the comments. 220https://cdn.anisearch.de/images/anime/screen/0/986/full/78483.jpg Not often does it happen that the running gag of a series overthrows the shows presence as a whole but Initial D has done it. The reputation and general popularity it has among the Japanese community couldnt transfer to the West but it has gained some sort of exposure over the last few years. Exposure that came in form of an unmissable DejaVu and carcrashing meme which was undoubtedly hilarious at first. However this gain of popularity only marginally increased the number of people actually watching the series which I think is a grave mistake. It speaks volumes that the YTcomment mentioned above receives only a fiftieth of the amount of likes the topcomments obtain which only talked about the meme or how hype this song is which it is no question about it. Unsurprisingly having the image of an ultimate joke of a series in my head before starting to watch it out of pure boredom was inevitable for me but the ride was substantially different to what I expected. Not that it wasnt hilarious and over the top which was already proven by the time episode 1 ended but it had more to offer. More to offer in form of solidly implemented character ambitions naturally developing relations and dynamics an overall great eye for its audiovisual style and a lovable cast of background characters which round the experience up by quite a lot. Each progressive race tends to lessen the overwhelming grip of the meme surrounding your mind and creates a continuously more exciting time as it progresses. Actual thrills and goosebump moments appear something that was not to be expected judging by the start of the series. However the shows style itself doesnt change the involvement tends to increase drastically as Initial D progresses. Its more than obvious on which aspect the show gradually improves upon and that aspect lies in its character department. Takumi the resident protagonist and spacedout teenager and his dynamics with his friends and loveinterest Mogi undergo various simple but effective little steps. More prominently his initial rejection of the streetracing scene despite his massive talent promoted by his father doesnt simply change for the better his mindset gradually develops over time and he naturally grows on each opponent. Of course that alone isnt an absolute milestone of good writing but its a decent foundation and definitely supports the animes quality. You can really feel through the little interactions he has with his father and Mogi that a change of mind about a certain aspect influences multiple sides of him and doesnt feel isolated in his character development. Without Takumi character development feels a little dry. Id actually say its nonexistent most of the time. Not that it necessarily has to be a thing as the rest of the cast and his eventual rivals take a backseat most of the when time their arc ends theyre still prevalent from time to time and it feels good to see them again. Knowing that its source material is a huge longrunning manga one season of an anime adaption can only do so much naturally. Speaking about its longrunning source material and subject at hand comparing it to longrunning sports series like Hajime no Ippo or Haikyuu is inevitable. They share a lot of similarities but Initial D takes advantage in shifting the focus from schoollife to the much more stylish and underused streetracing scene. It actually manages to get the underground racing scene right in terms of style and mentality which contributes a lot to its visual appeal mainly through character designs outfits and little details at the side. The character designs in particular look sick as hell and benefit from its western influence for sure. Without those and some of its selfaware ridiculousness during its racing scenes there wouldnt be a way to really defend it from looking horrible at times. The good use of lightning and darker colors during its adrenalinefueled night races on different mountain passes is accompanied by its CGI which is barely an optimal display of animation skills and feels more like a PSP game. Thankfully it was hardly bothering me at the start and it was easy to get used to as time progressed due to the overall solid directing during climaxes. What actually makes these racing scenes as thrilling and furious to watch is the soundtrack which originated the original Initial D meme through its ingenious choice of basically reviving Eurobeat. Its hype as hell and I dont care when anyone says it doesnt fit as it clearly does complement the series ridiculousness in that aspect. Its impossible for me to imagine a world without the howls of engines the squealing of tires overtwisting and flashy headlights going down the streets without cheesy overblown dance music in the background. It is that memorable be it in an ironic or unironic way. You may not like it but this is what peak performance looks like. Dont even me. Conclusion: Initial D was a solid surprise in quality but it was more than a solid surprise to me personally. I subscribed to its style in almost an instant. Be it because of its stylish exterior memeworthy musical choices bits and pieces of actually great character development or its wholesome dynamics as a whole Initial D has managed to get a sweet spot in my favorites. It was almost like it somehow delivered a fullpackage without me asking for it. For fans of sports anime or avid fans of racing in general Initial D is a notable thing to look out for. It has its fair share of problems it tends to lose some momentum from time to time but it also has a fullpackage of charm within it waiting to be unwrapped. At the end of the day the main thing I wanted to get out with this review is: Goddamn it quit memeing with Initial D related stuff and get to frickin watch it you might find something that fits your taste perfectly. Story 6/10 Art 8/10 Animation 5/10 Sound 10/10 Characters 7/10 Enjoyment 9/10 Overall 8/10
80 /100
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