Car Racing Anime

"-Amateur" (amateur)
10/03/2013 at 23:46 • Filed to: None

A clip of my favorite Car Anime and it's not Initial D!

DISCUSSION (18)

GhostZ > -Amateur
10/03/2013 at 23:51

Wangan Midnight is a better production, with cars that I like better than Initial D, but it does lack one thing: Initial D survived primarily on dispelling fascinating myths about mountain racing and tuning, and was a lot more scientific in that respect. Wangan Midnight was more about the personal emotions of driving, the "big questions" like "Why do we risk our lives to go fast?" than Initial D was.

It didn't take until halfway through (during the Chassis modification sections) for me to really get hooked on Wangan Midnight.

I already knew about the Z and the legends (and reality) behind the show before watching though.

Lets Just Drive > -Amateur
10/03/2013 at 23:51

What the shit is it?

-Amateur > Lets Just Drive
10/03/2013 at 23:52

It's Wangan Midnight. You can see all the episodes here if it catches your eye:

http://www.anime44.com/category/wanga…

daender > -Amateur
10/03/2013 at 23:57

One of the non-racing but still driving scenes from Wangan Midnight. More R33's than you should crash and good old speeding shenanigans. Although the Evo 5/6 pair against the R34 was one of the more exciting races.

Lets Just Drive > -Amateur
10/03/2013 at 23:58

I've heard of it. Now, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't is just an Initial D ripoff with a Midnight Club vibe?

I think someone once told me that it was inspired by and sort of about the original Midnight Club back in Japan. That true?

RotaryLover > -Amateur
10/04/2013 at 00:00

Seriously it had more potential and it could had been longer if they actually followed the manga at certain points. I was pissed that they decided to keep it short after the BlackBird/Reina story. The manga is not even done being translated which leaves me with the story I understood from Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune and I'm still waiting for the F1 Turbine story from the manga! The live action movies? Messed them up imo but still enjoyable.

-Amateur > Lets Just Drive
10/04/2013 at 00:01

All I know is that Wangan Midnight was first serialized as a manga in 1990. The story is based on the real racing that occured in Japan's Shuto Expressway back in the day.

Lets Just Drive > -Amateur
10/04/2013 at 00:02

Thanks!

-Amateur > RotaryLover
10/04/2013 at 00:06

I saw the most recent live action movie and had high hopes for it. I was utterly disappointed. The characters and cars were awesome, but the overall movie story sucked pretty bad. I should probably start reading the manga!

RotaryLover > -Amateur
10/04/2013 at 00:15

The cars aren't even the right ones in the live action movie, except for the Devil Z and Blackbird. The manga has a lot more crashes in it, remember the episode where the Devil Z crashed and burned? They never showed what really happened, just a newspaper article and a small flashback. But in the manga you see it all. Remember when Ishida spun out of control in front of a truck and didn't crash? Ishida did crash that time in the manga and was a bloody mess along with Kitami but they had same reaction as in the anime, smiling and taking a photo. Go see the manga, it's really worth it.

Boxer_4 > GhostZ
10/04/2013 at 00:17

One thing I liked about Initial D in addition to the science of tuning is that it seemed to focus just as much, if not more, on driver skill rather than the performance of the cars. The capabilities of the car were important, but how the driver used them was equally, if not more important.

I find it a bit hard to compare Initial D and Wangan Midnight, simply because each focuses on very different forms of racing, with no form standing out as being better.

Boxer_4 > Lets Just Drive
10/04/2013 at 00:22

I've watched a lot more Initial D than Wangan, but I think they are pretty differentiated. They follow two very different forms of racing in two very different environments. They do share the common thread of being Japanese animes about automotive culture in Japan, but each follows a different variant of that culture and show the unique aspects of each respective culture. I think both do a very good job in immersing the viewer.

daender > -Amateur
10/04/2013 at 00:25

(good bit starts at 12 minutes, 30 seconds in; sorry but the only 480p video doesn't have english subs)

Without a doubt, Eiji's initial race was one of the more enjoyable races from the show. He's got a cocky and younger step-brother who's caught up trying to use just logic and theories to figure out why his older brother can out-match him in identical Lancer Evolutions. Eiji forces him to sit shotgun next to the highly-experienced Blackbird driver, as both cars play a game of cats and mouse against a tuned rival GT-R in traffic, to show him that true skill comes from experience and understanding.

Besides the neat mini-lesson, Eiji's hot-blooded personality stands out against all the other drivers in the show. He was always hyped and excited to race whereas everyone else usually had a poker face on.

Anon > -Amateur
10/04/2013 at 00:28

A clip from my favorite Car anime and it's not Initial D!

"It's Wangan Midnight isn't it."

*clicks link*

Yep.

daender > RotaryLover
10/04/2013 at 00:29

Wait, they still haven't translated the F1 turbine arc? Aw man!

Lets Just Drive > Boxer_4
10/04/2013 at 00:31

I'm not big on Anime, but I love automotive themed shit so there's a good chance that when I have the time I'll be checking out this Wangan stuff!

RotaryLover > daender
10/04/2013 at 00:33

Nope. Last time I checked, they stopped at the arc when the Devil Z crashed and burned for months. Now that C1 Runner spin-off manga is done too, they might get back into translating all the volumes.

GhostZ > Boxer_4
10/04/2013 at 00:37

Completely agreed. Initial D got me to research slip angles, tire deformation, brake bias, and many driving techniques.

Wangan Midnight made me consider how much of life is given up pursuing speed and victory in racing, and how to more accurately measure that cost.