Initial D: Should It Die?

"Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura" (sundowne36)
09/07/2014 at 02:49 • Filed to: None

That is a question a number of petrolheads kept asking one another. If you may recall, the series' finale aired in the form of 4 Pay-per-view OVAs around Spring of this year, though the manga ended way before it did.

So it's over, right? Well, no.

It's back in the form of 2-3 remakes shown in theaters and that brings me to a point: Why do you have to keep repeating the same shit over and over? Why couldn't it die already?

Let me explain.

Certain series (Final Fantasy, NGE, Pokemon, Shin Megami Tensei, Phoenix Wright, Sonic, etc.) have the ability to start fresh whenever a series or a season ends - basically a new canvas to start over with. The problem with Initial D is the fact that it only works for one series, and I'd bet the man himself, Shuichi Shigeno, knew that the series was on its last legs. Hell, even Wangan Midnight isn't around anymore.

The point I'm trying to make is the fact that it's an idea that won't last, and yet people (either desperate producers or dumb fans) seem to hold on, not willing to let it go and let it rest eternally. Car based anime isn't exactly something you can keep going on for more than 2 decades and it shows in the form of third, fourth, fifth, final and now the OVA stages. Production wasn't exactly what it used to be, everything was rushed, and you have that live-action movie that brought the entire problems to light. Apart from some Arcade games, Initial D, as I am sad but sure to say, is dead. But do you think it should die?

DISCUSSION (9)

 V8 Rustler > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
09/07/2014 at 02:54

Anything after the first stage sucks.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
09/07/2014 at 03:05

Unless it has a eurobeat soundtrack - the animation and manga should die. Video games can continue.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
09/07/2014 at 03:05

That's kind of my point - the fans. Eurobeat is dead, as well as Initial D.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
09/07/2014 at 03:09

I stopped buying Super Eurobeat after I found myself only liking one or two songs per album. That and it is a royal pain in the ass. If they made an international site where you can buy individual tracks to make your own "Super Eurobeat" volumes, I would totally do that.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
09/07/2014 at 03:18

It'll live on in our memories. The manga (I've been reading scanlations) is getting really drawn out. I'm currently at the stage where Takumi is racing Shinji. After this "ultimate" battle is over, it could possibly extend to where Takumi starts racing legitimately at the track, but then the whole purpose and nature of Initial D being street drifting will die.

Meanwhile, I'm sitting here waiting for someone to scanlate pages of Countach. A story of a man with his childhood hero car, having adventures. It's been more than a year of nothing.

 V8 Rustler > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
09/07/2014 at 03:18

SEB discs are stupidly expensive.

promoted by the color red > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
09/07/2014 at 03:58

Initial D is firmly grounded in the late '90s, so that makes things weird. Shigeno did a number on the timeline by bringing in God Hand's R34 and things have gotten out of control since (e.g. Kobayakawa's Evo VII). Yeah, you could argue that the Shinji thing could be spun off into something fresh (I'm being deliberately vague because I haven't finished nor do I want to spoil it) and maybe that's what's going to happen.

To be fair, I'm okay if they redo the first three stages because computer graphics/animations have evolved so much since then. The original's Playstation-esque graphics are a bit hard to watch once you've seen 4th and 5th stage. My biggest beef with stage four was cutting out the Keisuke races because some were actually pretty good. Yes, I know it's about Takumi's evolution, but I expected to see some more Keisuke during the Project.D arc.

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
09/07/2014 at 04:44

I think it should comeback as a new generation kind of thing.

A new main character, new area, set in the present. Drift missiles, VIP cars and all that.

It would be cool to see a beat drift car, and when it zooms in, there is a half-torn sticker from one of the cars that crashed during the original Intial-D. That car is now used as a beater.

Stef Schrader > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
09/07/2014 at 06:40

It's pretty legendary, and I hate to see it devolve into a series of lame sequels and past-its-prime storylines.

They could spin off a series with newer cars, though. Would watch.