|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contact Us: SSR SP1 "Professor" starting at $249.00
Bridestone Potenza RE01r starting at $141.00
|
Drifting Pop Culture: Initial D
Set in the late 1990's, the story of Initial D follows the life of high school student Takumi Fujiwara. Takumi is the son of Bunta Fujiwara, a tofu shop owner and former street racer who dominated the Gunma area as a young man. To help out with his father's tofu business, Takumi was forced at a young age to drive his father's Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT Apex (AE86 Toyota Corolla GT-S) each morning to the top of Mount Akina to deliver tofu to a hotel at the summit.
New
Balance shoes
and clothing line are also very commonly used in the series as the
characters always wear different clothing everyday. This was not so common
in earlier Stages, but are more apparently seen in much later Stages. Manga creator Shuichi
Shigeno has his very own Eight-Six and Impreza STi, which are the two
main cars Takumi and Bunta drive. His Impreza STi is gunmetal just like the
manga and arcade, where in the anime it was blue. Some mountain passes, like Mt.
Haruna (Mt. Akina), have added large speed bumps to the road. These
"drift bumps" are placed to prevent racing on the mountains. They
are usually placed at the entrance and exit of corners, like the five
sequential hairpins on Haruna. As of late, many precautions have been taken,
such as the drift bumps, to deter street racing. This includes extending the
guardrails to prevent the infamous jumps on Irohazaka Pass. Large road
reflectors, nicknamed "Cat's eyes" are placed in the middle of the
road to prevent drifting, as these reflectors are large enough to tear the
oil pan off of a lowered vehicle, though they more commonly destroy alloy
wheels. Plastic poles are also placed in the middle of the lanes to deter
drifting, as Japanese roads are narrow. These poles are frequently removed
by drifters, as they interfere with the required line of the road. Initial D Characters Takumi Fujiwara 18 years old, Takumi Fujiwara is
the son of Bunta Fujiwara, the owner of a tofu shop in his hometown Akina.
He hardly shows much emotion on his face. His best friend is Itsuki
Takeuchi, who is a racing fan. Takumi works part-time at a gas
station with Itsuki, along with Iketani, who is a member of the local racing
team, the Akina Speed Stars. In the first few episodes, both Itsuki and
Iketani think that Takumi is totally ignorant about cars and racing, judging
by Takumi's statements on his lack of interest on the subject. The only one who suspects that
Takumi has a great deal of knowledge on cars and racing techniques is the
owner of the gas station, Yuuichi, as seen in the episode where Takumi
discusses the drifting technique with Iketani and Itsuki. In fact, Takumi
has far more experience with downhill racing than Iketani and Itsuki, as
Takumi has been driving his father's AE86 Trueno for five years since he was
13 (in his second year of junior high school), delivering tofu to a hotel at
4 a.m. every day. Takumi's driving technique is
regarded among the best in Akina; the very fact that he has managed to win
races against more powerful cars with his AE86 Trueno is testament to his
driving skills. As a result of constant everyday practice and over 5 years
of experience on Akina, Takumi is able to adapt to nearly any situation that
presents itself during a race with astonishing speed. One of the main
factors for his nearly unparalleled driving skills is his ability to
visualize the road in his head, thus making up for the lack of visuals, no
matter how dark the mountain pass may be. Officially, Takumi is not part
of a team, but later, Takumi joins Project D, a super-team created by
Ryosuke Takahashi aimed at capturing all the time records in Japan. Bunta Fujiwara is the owner of a
tofu shop in Akina, and the father of Takumi. He is the best driver in the
series, but he'd rather just have more of an indirect hand in Takumi's
racing development. He is the original driver of the mysterious AE86 that
holds the record of the fastest downhill time at Akina. Back in his youth,
Bunta was also a legendary street racer. Bunta has a unique way of training
his son to drive; every morning when Takumi has to go on his tofu delivery
route, Bunta will give Takumi a cup of water. The cup of water is placed in
the drink holder; Takumi must not spill even a drop of it while he is
driving. Later in the series, Takumi has
been using the Trueno more than Bunta has, he agrees to let Takumi own the
car and pay for its shaken (car tax). Not known by Takumi until recently,
(Fourth Stage, 14th episode) Bunta got a new car, a Subaru Impreza WRX Type
R Version V. To test his new car, Bunta drove it down Akina, and raced his
son who just finished doing his deliveries. Takumi's love interest. Although
only a high school senior, Natsuki also has a much older (middle-aged)
boyfriend that pays her several thousand dollars a month for regularly
scheduled “meetings.” Yuuichi
Tachibana The boss of the gas station that
Takumi worked in. An old friend of Bunta's, and a racer in his youth. Masashi
Suzuki A mechanic that helps Bunta
install the TRD
tuned Group A Spec 20V SilverTop 4AGE from an AE101 Trueno (Not a Formula
Atlantic 4AGE Engine, which is a 16V First Generation 4AGE) into the
Fujiwara Tofu Shop Hachiroku after Takumi blows the engine in a run against
Kyouichi. He also finds Bunta the GC8V Subaru Impreza WRX STi Version V Keiichi
Tsuchiya Voice on the Phone to Bunta in Stage 1, Ep23
- This is actually Keiichi
Tsuchiya, who is considered the father of Drift
and who is on the Technical advisory crew for the Anime series. In the Stage
1, Ep2, the Speedstar drivers are shown watching and chatting over his
video, The Drift Bible, a beginner's guide to drift. Ken
Kogashiwa Kai's father. Bunta's life-long
rival. Miki A senior in the football
(soccer) club of the school that Takumi attended. He was Natsuki's ex and
drives a Celica GT-Four
(ST205). He also got assaulted by Takumi as a result of his
(apparently sexual) mistreatment of Natsuki. He kidnaps Natsuki and forces
her to come to Mount Akina with him. His plans are foiled by Takumi who gets
Natsuki's call for help and chases Miki with his Trueno until he spins out
and Natsuki escapes his Celica. Kouichirou
Iketani One of Takumi's friends, Iketani
works at a local gas station with both Takumi and Itsuki. Itsuki admires
him, as Iketani is leader of the local racing team, the Akina Speed Stars.
Iketani drives a Nissan S13 Silvia. At first, Iketani thinks that the Speed
Stars are the best drivers in Akina but later his boss Yuuichi tells Iketani
of the mysterious driver of an AE86 who was the fastest driver in his time,
and that he suspects that the driver is the owner of the local tofu shop. He is an average racer at best,
but he is decently skilled enough to be leader of the Speedstars. It is Iketani (along with Itsuki)
who explains to Takumi the practice of referring to street-racing cars by
their chassis codes, since this is the simplest way of denoting different
body style/engine combinations. For example, instead of specifying the
1983-1986 Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX hatchback with the 4A-GE engine,
one can simply call it an AE86, or more simply, an "86". Itsuki Takeuchi Itsuki is Takumi's best friend;
he provides the comic relief in the series but quite loud and obnoxious.
Itsuki works part-time at a gas station with Takumi and Iketani; Itsuki
plans to use the money he earns to buy an AE86 but mistakenly buys an
inferior (less power, poor brakes, and worse suspension) AE85 Levin. With a
car, he is a self proclaimed member of the Akina Speedstars. In Fourth
Stage, it is revealed that Itsuki has installed a turbo for his AE85. In the live action movie, Itsuki
was changed dramatically: his role was merged with Kouichirou (and thus
becomes the leader of Speed Stars) and likewise, drive the S13, as well as
experienced the crash that Cole experienced. Additionally, his father is now
Yuuichi, the boss of the gas station. His character was even more obnoxious
then the original version. His new car, the AE86, is also inferior due to
the fact it was stock, unlike Takumi's AE86 which was tuned by his father. Kenji A member of the Akina Speed
Stars and Iketani's best friend, Kenji drives a Nissan 180SX. He hangs out
at the gas station where Iketani, Takumi and Itsuki from time to time,
usually discussing cars and driving techniques with Iketani and Yuuichi. He
has respect and admiration for Iketani and Takumi; Iketani since he's the
leader of the Speed Stars and Takumi for his driving skills. Kenji seems to be a decent
enough driver; when Iketani wasn't able to race against Keisuke due to his
accident and the Speed Stars weren't sure if the AE86 driver was going to
show up, it was Kenji who was chosen to race against Keisuke. To this day, his last name
hasn't been revealed in any media form of Initial D Ryosuke Takahashi One of the more highly skilled
drivers in the series (he is the Red Sun's fastest member as well as their
leader); he and his younger brother Keisuke have been featured in racing
magazines and are regarded highly by other drivers. Ryousuke drives a Mazda
FC3S RX-7 and has never been defeated in a race before, until he met Takumi
Fujiwara. Ryousuke is very serious about racing; he pours over technical
data just like any professional driver and he's one of the few drivers who
are just as good at mechanics as well as driving skills. He is known to be
able to tell what kind of modifications have been made to a car just by
hearing it, and what a driver is capable of just by watching the car drift.
Ryousuke's fame is so wide spread throughout Japan that he has been given
the moniker, "Akagi's White Comet". His only rival would be Kyouchi
Sudou; they had an argument about racing theories when Ryousuke ended
Kyouichi's winning streak a year before the series' start. Currently, he is
enrolled in college studying medicine, and planning to become a doctor to
work at his father's clinic. He has only one year of racing left, he
estimates, and assembles a new team (named Project D) aimed to capture all
of the records in Japan. Keisuke Takahashi Keisuke is the number two driver
for the Red Suns. Keisuke drives a Mazda FD3S RX-7 and is a skilled driver,
second only to his brother. Keisuke is a rather hot-headed young man and
does not like losing. He joins his brother's new team and has a rivalry with
Takumi. Keisuke races the Hillclimb (Uphill) on most races, while Takumi
races the downhill. Keisuke isn't quite as
analytical as his older brother, and Ryousuke's ability to compute and
analyze amazes Keisuke. But at the same time, Keisuke's ability to think
less while he's driving, and to do only what he feels amazes Ryosuke. While
Ryousuke has decided that he wasn't going to be racing much longer, and that
he was going to become a doctor in the future, Keisuke has dedicated his
life to racing, setting his goal as becoming a professional racer. Kenta Nakamura One of the youngest members of
the Akagi Red Suns, Kenta absolutely adores Keisuke Takahashi and is always
eager to prove himself to Keisuke. Kenta was recognized by Keisuke himself
for his driving skills, and has been somewhat taken under Keisuke's wing.
Kenta specializes in rain conditions, because he had a habit of practicing
in the rain since the wet roads wouldn't wear his tires down as much. Takeshi Nakazato Takeshi Nakazato of the Myogi
NightKids, who is also known as the Black Lightning, first makes his
appearance at the race in Akina where Keisuke Takahashi of the Red Suns is
to race against Takumi. Surprised that Takumi could defeat Keisuke, Takeshi
decides that he's going to be the one to challenge the 'Akina downhill
specialist', and that the Red Suns are next on his list. He is skilled but his downfall
is his anger and emotions getting in the way of his mind, this resulting in
poor throttle control. He is very good at acceleration and is known for his
grip driving philosophy. His previous car was a Nissan Silvia (S13), with
which he used drifting techniques. He changed to the R32 after a devastating
loss to a white R32, on his home course of Myogi. Following the defeat by
the White Skyline, his philosophy has become that grip driving techniques
are faster than "weak" drifting techniques. Takeshi is the leader of the
NightKids team on Myogi mountains and he also has an interest in Sayuki of
Impact Blue. In the live action movie, he's the one that first encountered
Takumi's AE86, and also the one that challenged (and lost to) Takumi,
instead of Keisuke and the Akagi Red Suns Shingo Shouji A member of the Night Kids,
Shingo drives a red Honda Civic EG-6 (SIR-II). Shingo is a dangerous driver;
not because of his driving skills, but because he races dangerously - Shingo
will nudge his rival's car in order to make the other driver lose control.
He will also challenge another driver to a 'Duct Tape Death Match'- in which
each driver tapes his right hand to the steering wheel for the duration of
the race, limiting the steering capabilities of the driver. He also has been
seen undermining Takeshi's leadership. Shingo is the 2nd best driver in the
NightKids team and has a childhood friendship with Sayuki of Impact Blue. Mako Satou & Sayuki Hailing from Usui, Mako Satou is
the driver of the Usui combination; Sayuki is her co-driver/navigator,
similar to that in the WRC.
Mako has a love interest with Iketani of the Akina Speedstars, whom she
originally got close to in order to acquire a race with Takumi. Sayuki is a cheerful girl and
she's always looking for good looking guys like the Takahashi brothers. As
navigator, she gives out instructions to Mako when they're racing (when to
brake, what drifting technique to use etc.). Driving
a blue Nissan SilEighty, the duo are the fastest in their hometown. They
first appear in the series on Mt. Akina before the race between Keisuke and
Takumi. |
Drifting Links D1 Grand Prix - Professional Drifting Series Cool Links Tapper - Old School Video Game |
|
©2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Drift Session, LLC. Any and all contents, concepts and / or creative ideas contained within this website are the sole property of Drift Session, LLC. The videos contained on this website are reposted with the permission of their authors. The Drift Session assumes no responsibility or liability for the content of others. Unauthorized duplication or use of this website in any form including the execution of any recommendations / ideas / promotions / etc. contained herein, whether in full or in part, is expressly forbidden and constitutes fraud. All images are property of the Drift Session, LLC. Unauthorized duplication, reproduction, or usage of these images is strictly prohibited. |
