IntroductionyoucanskipthisifyouwantIf I were asked to name the most culturally significant anime around, I'd probably have a hard time picking one. The first things that come to mind for most are probably things like Mobile Suit Gundam or Sailor Moon, or perhaps even Pokemon. I'm inclined to say that Initial D sits along the same ranks as these shows, and for good reason.Hear me out for a bit. Perhaps from the perspective of a fairly-new anime-watcher, the name Initial D doesn't quite ring any bells. That's understandable. It was first aired in 1998, 18 years ago! Where Initial D leaves its massive influence on is not just the anime community at the time, but global car culture. What Initial D accomplished was to bring a very Japanese pasttime to a foreign audience, indirectly influencing a global phenomenon. Those are some big claims, but you'll understand in a moment.OverviewIt's a good time to explain that Initial D is a rare breed of anime based entirely on motorsports. It falls under the sports genre of anime, but has a broad appeal to all audiences.And what Initial D truly excels at is capturing that distinctively '90s feel. Not just '90s Japanese culture, but what makes '90s anime so good. Not only does the show accurately portray the emotions and attitudes of the street racers - it also captures the distinct flavour of the anime industry from the late '90s, and paved the way for things to come.StoryInitial D follows a young Takumi Fujiwara, who finds himself thrust into the world of illegal mountain-pass street racing in the Gunma region of Japan, a movement wildly popular in the late '80s and throughout the '90s.A cast of mainly youths finding freedom in racing in the mountains - back when cash was tight for street racers, and there were few tracks open to the public. Illegal racing was a huge problem in Japan during the period, and Initial D gives the viewer a first-hand perspective of the scene at the time. If you're crazy about cars, this show is absolutely for you. The portrayal of driving and racing theory is on point here, leaning on the unrealistic-but-plausible side of things.Even as a first-time watcher, there's a sense of nostalgia when picking Initial D up for the first time - surely, all of us remember catching classic anime on the telly back before we even knew what anime was. The demands and expectations of the anime consumer base was different. The show is fast-paced, exciting and very focussed on it's theme, that is, street racing. You'll encounter lots of trope-y and stereotypical characters, and it suffers from "invincible protagonist syndrome", but that's all part of the charm. What this show tells you is that tropes really don't hurt the experience when the story is ultimately well-written, in fact, it really adds to that '90s flavour.What I particularly like about Initial D is how it really captures "what it means to be young". The characters have largely youthful and mild motivations behind their actions, nothing too serious. Unlike current anime, the love interest was never the main focus. However, it's important to note how maturely and realistically romance and relationships were handled in the series. While the show never enters the deep end of morals and moral conflict, it does tug at your heartstrings when you least expect it.Featuring a nearly all-male cast, it's in stark contrast to what "mass-market" anime is like today - 1 male MC and as many girls as you can cram in. Not that that's a bad thing, but sometimes, it gets tiring. It's a real breath of fresh air seeing some proper bromance (no homo no fujo) once in a while.In Initial D, the protagonist isn't driven by justice or righteousness or whatnot, but really, it's down to wanting to have fun, and to defend to "local honour" of the particular mountain. Initial D isn't a deep or overly serious show - there isn't any evil corporation or overwhelmingly bad bad-guy, but instead features realistic conflicts with realistic outcomes. The worst that could happen is hurting your pride by losing to a newbie or something. Yet somehow, you really start feeling for the characters' circumstances and rooting for the protagonist. It's a feel-good show that's intense, well-paced, exciting yet heartwarming/heartbreaking when it needs to be.To me, what makes Initial D noteworthy today is that we'll probably never see a story like this again - not over-the-top, nothing too serious nor too comedic in nature, subtle romance and mature handling of relationships. Things like these don't sell blurays nowadays.VisualsNot gonna lie here, the visuals are pretty outdated. That being said, it's aged fairly well. Not particularly high budget, but definitely far from shoddy work. Once again we're talking good old '90s hand-drawn stuff, real nostalgic, real a e s t h e t i c.What's worth noting is that Initial D was one of the "landmark" shows for CGI usage in anime. The use of CGI in Initial D solidified CGI's usage in anime, proving to the world that complicated scenes could be animated with 3D to a successful degree.The first season's CGI is pretty basic and somewhat ugly by today's standards, but the movement of the cars, from body roll to weight transfer, are fairly accurate. It's more than enough to send keep the action going, and crucial to the non-stop andrenalin rush this show gives the viewer.The later "stages" or seasons for Initial D sees the CGI and animation artstyle go through a few changes. Some good, some bad, I'd say the best CGI scenes for cinematography and general excitement would go to Stage 2 and 3, while the best artstyle would definitely be the first stage. The change in artstyle between the first stage and second stage is pretty jarring but not off-putting.Ultimately, what matters is that the chase scenes make the show, and definitely do the original manga pages justice.SoundtrackThis is a thing of legend. Initial D propagated eurobeat, a foreign genre imported by avex at the time, around Japan. Eurobeat grew so immensely popular after that, that Japan very quickly became the only market for the genre. The Japanese Super Eurobeat CDs which Initial D takes its music from is still the world's longest-running compilation series of all time. The music really makes the show as good as it is.Not gonna explain any further, just listen to this shit man. You could watch this series just for the sick '90s beats."So why should I watch it?"Initial D is the perfect blend of everything that defined the '90s in Japan. Combining a unique (albeit simplistic) storyline, excellent pacing, non-stop action scenes and a kickass '90s soundtrack, Initial D is sure to get your blood pumping, as it did for the hundreds of thousands of watchers around the world when it first came out.Initial D was the first exposure to the world of Japanese car culture and drifting for most car guys nowadays, Initial D was undoubtedly the way many people first learnt about the sport of drifting. Whether you like cars or understand absolutely nothing about them, you're sure to fall in love with Initial D's relentless, non-stop action.It's influence continues to be felt 18 years later, as the hero car, the AE86, continues to demand ridiculously high prices, and it's high-speed car race scenes continued to be parodied by all sorts of anime to this day.I suppose Initial D falls under the radar for most anime viewers partly due to its age, partly due to its theme and partly due to the fact that Initial D's massive popularity lies largely outside of the modern anime community.In the late '90s and early '00s, my family was very involved in the local car culture - for many of us, Japanese DVDs such as hot version and best motoring had just begun to arrive on our shores for the first time, and this particular anime somehow snuck onto the same DVD/VCD racks... Initial D was one of the few anime that gained mainstream appreciation through the car community. Forums back in '03 and '04 were littered with Initial D avatars and GIFs in the signatures.Those who remember it, though, remember it with great fondness. I continue to rewatch the whole series at least once a year with my rewatch friends and one or two new people each time - it never fails to put a smile on our faces.Hope you guys enjoyed this one. I know I dragged it on a little too long, but this series is very dear to my heart, and I feel it's a bit of a waste if people are missing out on this legendary series. Admittedly, Initial D is pretty hard to get your hands on.hinthint But with a little effort and perhaps a PM, I can drop you a lead...MAL page http://ift.tt/1nIWlGJ
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