stoltenberg.nannie - 2013-12-29 08:13:03

After the passing of a whole era, Initial D has returned – and this Fifth Stage ushers in the cars, drifting, drama, and memorable characters which made the previous installments so phenomenal and unforgettable.

This heavily anticipated new season is neither a reboot, nor a re-imagining – but rather, a continuation of the story as presented in the original manga, which for the curious, is indeed still ongoing to this day.

Takumi Fujiwara takes the role of protagonist in Initial D – his lack of any particular outstanding traits is ironically one of his points of charm. Yet he’s indeed actually quite skilled – a tofu delivery driver gone street racing professional due to his extreme talent for sliding cars around corners, drifting. His ability inevitably draws some attention – and he’s forced into contending against several opponents at downhill mountain racing against his will.

Eventually, he comes to love the sport – joining a band of other downhill mountain racing, or “touge”, enthusiasts in dominating the many mountain passes of Japan.

Immediately, one can expect this season is bound to be a breakthrough of intensity. Just in the opening title sequence, connoisseurs of all things automotive will already notice new cars being showcased – glimpses of a Mitsubishi Evolution IX and a Nissan Fairlady Z are briefly shown, and a few more surprising guests, such as a Toyota Supra, and the supercar with a cultist following of its own, the Honda NSX, make an appearance.

The NSX in particular is definitely not a car for the Sunday driver – and that alone is enough indication that things aren’t even going to heat up, they’re going to sizzle and scorch.

Now aside from the obvious new additions, staples of the series have received minor tweaking as well. Takumi’s eight-six still sports the black carbon fiber hood – yet Keisuke’s yellow FD3S seems to have added more flair to its body, a lower lip kit and vented hood, with brother Ryosuke Takahashi’s FC3S also receiving an assumed carbon fiber hood and enormous wing. These changes are subtle, and add just enough taste to the models to keep them from getting stale – affixing a bit of personality from the owners.

Whilst there is a bit of physical aesthetic change, it’s earnestly baffling to see that the style of art and animation truly hasn’t changed much whatsoever since the last stage, almost six years ago. This Fifth Stage seems almost as if it were made around the same time frame as the fourth, and the studio forgot to release it – simply as the visuals are so spot on. This of course isn’t a negative in any way – the returning distinctive artwork is splendid, sustaining of the ideal atmosphere for downhill drift battles and dialogue.

There are a few noticeable, yet meager, differences – everything is generally a bit brighter for instance. The colors utilized to devise the characters are more vibrant than previous incarnations – contrasting the backgrounds which are most frequently dark given that the majority of the series takes place at night.

On a relevant note, as nighttime is frequent throughout Initial D, the previous seasons had issues with lighting in that various elements of the background usually blended together in a mess. Fifth Stage changes this as humans are more colorful, and the environment is much more impressive – with added detail to the flora and woods, offering multiple shades of green for example, instead of a single combined color.

As for the main attraction, the automobiles themselves have received a slight makeover. Most prominently, the interior of the cars have been enhanced significantly – previous iterations were dark, and lacking in detail. Now however, there is a striking abundance of numerous minute yet massively important intricacies that have received more attention – gear shifting is more explicitly animated, the dials are more lively, and the accessories are more unmissable.

The exterior of the autos are still blessed with accurate detail and proper licensing from each respective manufacturer – although a welcoming change however is the CG of said cars. Assuming a sort of cel shading, it’s as if the CG is composed through a mix of hand-drawn bodies with a digitally rendered overlay – providing a more flush experience in respect to how the cars interact with both the characters and environments alike.

Overall, the CG is relatively similar to the Fourth Stage, yet it’s definitely superior to the first two seasons of Initial D – where the CG was more cheesy than it was revolutionary. Since we’re mainly always witnessing the driver inside their car, or the car in question as it drives, this is of course a very integral aspect to account for – and the Fifth Stage has succeeded commendably.

Onto the story, there’s no room to backtrack – the series instantly picks right up following the previous season. Our protagonist, Takumi, is out testing the blue Impreza STI of his legendary father. Whilst the Trueno 86 is his staple vehicle, having received many suggestions from teammates to become familiar with newer autos, he’s agreed, albeit a bit reluctantly.

Remembering what a past rival told him, he will never be able to fully utilize his potential if he doesn’t strive to change his habits – it’s a subtle scene of recollection, although it’s actually quite powerful in that we’ve surely got quite a ride ahead of us.

After a slight re-introduction of the mainstays of the series, it’s explained that Takumi’s eight-six is out of commission due to a suspension fail in the previous race. Takumi’s number one buddy, the annoyingly talkative yet well-meaning Itsuki, suggests they go for a drive together in Itsuki’s eight-five Levin – just the two of them, their first get-together in quite a while as both have been rather busy.

Following a much-needed refresher between friends, the pair stop for a drink and are surprised to notice a fair amount of people gathered as if waiting for something. It is then when an iconic pair of cars, a panda hued eight-six Trueno, and a radiant orange Mazda FD3S, pull up to the greeting cheers of the many bystanders.

Oddly enough however, their autos sport the marque of “Project D”, Takumi’s racing team. Obviously having no relation, the doors are opened to reveal a pair of Cromartie Highschool reminiscent impostors – one made to look like Keisuke Takahashi, and the other, Takumi.

Reveling in the fame and attention, these two creeps in the guise as the legendary racers relish in the attention from the crowd. Itsuki being the big talker he is however won’t accept someone else bathing in fame that doesn’t rightfully belong to them – Itsuki explains that the real Takumi of Project D is his buddy right next to him. Yet amusingly, Takumi’s eight-six is in the shop, and he didn’t bring his license with him – leaving others to think Itsuki is simply all chatter.

The pair of fakes then continue to mock our two of Itsuki and the real Takumi – then proceed to speed off in what can only be called “typical asshole fashion”. Our two heroes leave the scene, Itsuki more upset than Takumi himself – who as always, doesn’t care much.

It is only when Takumi gets slapped in the face a day later that he starts to care about his name. Using Takumi’s celebrity status as a driver, the impostor took advantage of his false prestige to seduce easy target females – only to then toss them to the side. Mistaking the real Takumi for the fake, the aforementioned girl’s friend comes down to the gas station hangout of our characters in order to reap vengeance – subsequently slapping Takumi right across his face.

Takumi and friends explain their situation, yet she leaves in disbelief – only to, later in the day, arrive home and find out the truth as she speaks with her friend, a wave of guilt washing over her.

With a personal vendetta against the fakes having now settled in, Takumi procures his tuned ride, the real eight-six, and goes out to clear his name – though of course, not without help from the genuine Project D. Wataru, the coach and tuner of the team, makes it a point to find the impostors.

Arriving at a junction on a mountain pass no different than last time, the fakes are once again surrounded by an admiring crowd. Instead of calling them out directly, Wataru proposes a challenge – to perform a drift around the steeply inclined bend laid before them. The phonies laugh and explain that it is impossible even for “Takumi Fujiwara himself” – refusing. Wataru, in response, calls upon the authentic eight-six drift king – who comes bursting onto the scene by performing that “impossible” drift effortlessly right across the screen and into the unseen darkness of the mountain.

Shocking both crowd and impostors, the latter try to make a sneaky escape as they realize they’ve been found out – yet they’re stopped by FD3S owner Keisuke. Unlike Takumi, this fellow has muscles protruding from his muscles and is much less forgiving. The posers plea for mercy – and Takumi provides it to them, so long as they abandon their ways and apologize to the girl they’ve harmed.

This is a true seinen series through and through. Despite the lack of any advancement in terms of artwork and animation, which is actually a positive in this case, Initial D gives it’s audience more of what they love – fast cars, drifting, humor, and a familiar cast. If one can get past the fact that the visuals looks almost identical to those six years ago, assuming anyone even finds that as a flaw, Initial D will prove to be more of what the fans wanted, a continuation of what is loved.