Product Description: The Initial D Boxed set contains volume 1-5 for a total of 15 episodes! After years of navigating treacherous mountain passes to deliver tofu Tak has unknowingly acquired the driving skills of a master street racer. When his hometown racing team gets pummeled by a visiting team it's up to Tak to save the day.System Requirements: Running Time 750 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ADULT SWIM Rating: NR UPC: 645573322267 Manufacturer No: TPDV32226
Amazon.com: Despite his amazing driving skills, spacey Takumi "Tak" Fujiwara, the hero of the broadcast series Initial D, isn't fascinated by street racing, the way his friends Iggy and Cole are--at least not at first. The teenagers in their dead-end town north of Tokyo hold high-speed races because there's nothing else to do. The technical challenges of performing various maneuvers and the arrogant racers from various gangs propel Tak into competition. Initial D mythologizes street racing as if it were a new martial art. Tak drives with a "powerful aura," and races become duels of honor. Viewers may find it odd that the adults in the cast encourage the kids to take part in the dangerous and illegal races. Tak's father, who runs a tofu shop, has been making his son drive a delivery route since he was in the 7th grade. That route runs up and down Mt. Akina, the course of the only race that matters, so Tak knows every curve. The characters are less developed than the endless discussions of driving techniques.
Initial D was a huge hit in Japan when it premiered in 1996, but any game today boasts better computer animation of car races: more realistic physics, flashier editing, more polished rendering. Although each episode is presented in both "classic" (original video, Japanese audio) and "tricked out" (enhanced video, English audio) versions, including only three per disc seems stingy. (Rated 13 and older: minor violence, tobacco and alcohol use, some profanity) --Charles Solomon
Awesome anime This is one of the best anime if you are into racing and cars. I just want to say that it is drifting though not "drafting" as written below.
Initial D Boxed Set - Limited Edition (Vols. 1-5) Initial D is uber coolbeans even if the animation really sucks I whole drafting experience on screen is like you are there it kicks ass man! I really love the extras as well!
Great Anime I went out of my way to by the boxed set. The translation (several years study of the language), for its use of America slang is actually very good. There are several nuances that are missed, ( the Japonese never say a direct no, but rather look away and say "CHOTO", - give me a second to think) that are missed, but there is no direct English translation. The Driving tech is right on. I was taught by my Uncle ( a pro driver) and he used the very same methode on me, water glass and all. You can learn a lot on HiPo driving from this Anime. One thing, you really do need to practice if you want to be able to drift! If you get to know how to do the stuff, you actually become a safer driver ( ! ), because you are forced to realise your limitations, and your cars.
forget anything TOKYOPOP brings... TOKYOPOP doesn't know anime and transform it into uglyness (change score, characters' names, cut scenes, etc...). Pioneer at least keep the original score and characters' names for their animes.
Worst translation ever This series is so great and one of favorite BUT don't trust the translation. Normal dialog is kinda OK but MAKE SURE shut it off when the battle starts. The translation is so completely screwed up whenever conversation or the line gets technical. It's really a JOKE!! If you like or know or do this kind of high speed cornering rather than drag racing, you will know what's going on by just watching. They show you enough images to help you understand. Use your imagination but not your ears if you can't understand original Japanese. That's how bad translation is. One of the great thing about this series is that they stay as realistic as possible (at least somewhat). The writer does same kind of thing and famous racing driver is helping to create the show. The translation spoiled all those sweet things if you trust it. Having mentioned that, if you still want it, it will worth buying but otherwise forget it.
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