Second Stage - Act 12

Eight-Six vs. Eight-Six (ハチロクVSハチロク 魂のバトル, Hachiroku VS hachiroku tamashī no batoru) is the twelfth Act of Initial D Second Stage.

This episode features the first half of the battle between Takumi Fujiwara and Wataru Akiyama.

Synopsis
Takumi’s taking on Wataru on a treacherous mountain pass riddled with dangerous traps and obstacles. The true nature of Takumi’s new hidden weapon emerges in all its monstrous glory, however, and his opponent is in store for an intense challenge.

Plot
While Takumi and Itsuki make their way on the highway, the RedSuns coincidentally make their way to Shomaru too to finally see the Eight-Six in action to see what the new engine is capable of after being informed by Kenta. On the last few hours on their night shift, Iketani encourages Kenji to watch the race without him but Yuichi nonetheless allowed him to go and watch the race in which they both hurry. Yuichi said if he were younger he would have closed his shop temporarily to see the race himself. Impatient on being delayed by the red light, Iketani points out to Kenji that Natsuki is at a burger joint and is wondering what she's doing there. Kenji assumes she's got a job interview for a part time job at Fast Hamburger. The light has changed to green and they continue to make their way to the race. Takumi pulls up in-front of Seibu Chichibu Station where Wataru awaits him. Itsuki is surprised of Kazumi's presence and tells Itsuki how things suddenly transpired the night before. Wataru orders Kazumi to stay where she is until the race is over. Catch bus or train in the morning if necessary. Kazumi implores Takumi to reconsider but Wataru told it's nothing to do with her. He points out the course is narrow and tricky like no other place he has raced before and the first round he will lead to see the first glimpse of the course to get the feel what it's like. It will be an endurance race based on changing positions each time. If the chaser overtakes the leader instant win or if the leader pulls away then he wins. Takumi agrees with the conditions and they make their way to the pass to begin the race.

Kazumi feels uneasy on both of them racing there due to rusted guardrails, countless accidents and uneven roads. Wataru suffered 2 accidents while running there. As both cars arrive at the pass, Wataru turns on his hazard lights to signal the start of their race. Round 1 begins as an uphill battle. During the course of the race, Natsuki leaves Fast Hamburger vowing to be a better person for Takumi by having a part-time job. Wataru feels the aura in the Trueno and feels the adrenaline rush for the race and vows not to lose to him. The RedSuns observe the battle and Kenta asks how those two cars run differently. Keisuke isn't good with putting it words as good as Ryosuke and suggests he asks him instead. Ryosuke's expertise explains while the Trueno and Levin are like twin siblings both engines have different tuning methods which make them run like different cars. The car method that gets used in a car without a turbo charger is called mechanical tuning which is common in which Takumi's Trueno is. His foot on the accelerator controls the rpms directly and it's instant response is its strength. Even after entering a corner near its top speed, it can make adjustments to its attack giving it good advantage. In other words he can attack the corners more aggressively than his turbo could ever do. When it comes to entering corners, their types of cars are best suited for the road. However he points out that the Levin is a turbo it might be a hair slower on corning than the Trueno but how it accelerates on a straight lines covers that difference between the two. Turbos are better in exiting corners.

Kenta then moves on about the Levin's fishtailing methods would be a problem. Ryosuke explains about how the boom turbo problem tends to lag quite a bit but once the boom pressure goes down it takes a while to go back up which is something the driver should know what to do and why he keeps his foot on the accelerator while exiting the corners and controls the vehicle using only counter-steering. That's what his counter-steering is all about so he can deal with peculiar details his car has which are quite a few from then on. Keisuke then tells Kenta the answer is solved and Kenta finally realised. The race resumes and Takumi nearly crashes near that mudslide but barely was able to avoid it and close to bumping the guardrail. Kenji and Iketani made it on time to spectate the race and sees both cars running. Round 2 begins with Takumi being the leader. Iketani senses the danger of his home turf and the Levin is a faster car like no other. Wataru can finally see where Takumi's strength lie on how he's undefeated. Takumi finds cornering uncomfortable there. Ryosuke observes that every element that can line up against Takumi is doing that by driving in tough terrain of unfamiliarity and the Levin's irregular pace that breaks his rhythm. But above everything else he has that uneasy feeling in his guts as he is still struggling to adapt to the new engine due to the handling still being a mystery to him which gave him that handicap. Takumi is barely able to control due to the conditions of the road and if he couldn't find a way to control the tyre pressure it can slip. He also can't use the outer edge coming out of the corners and isn't any useable areas in the roads on his observation. Bunta hopes for Takumi to figure the problems fast and the suspension settings changed based on the powers coming out of the engine. After he installed the new engines he couldn't corner as he used to which made perfect sense for him since that's the way he set up the car from the beginning. Only by getting the car revved up by the highest rpm he can be able to corner at the higher speed at his own will. He has to pick up on that sooner or later in order to win. Takumi suddenly feels a dramatic change.

While waiting in-front of the train station, Kazumi doubts she can go back to Gunma and their meeting would probably be their last. Itsuki becomes devastated. Her parents discovered how she skipped work and very resentful of her actions. But that's not the main reason of their decision. Its because she needs to choose her own path in which she can't keep out of her head. Those jobs she had especially her temporary job weren't of her own choosing but wants to have a career of something for herself. She also wants to save up to get her driver's license like Itsuki did. That's one stepping stone to her independent life. But she thought wrong moving far away would solve her problems and holding a steering wheel on his life sounds better than being in a passenger's seat. She wants a life of her own without anyone's interference but nonetheless is thankful to have met Itsuki for making her stay at Gunma worthwhile. Itsuki becomes devastated. Round 2 continues and Ryosuke realises Takumi's adapting to the new engine and the rebirth new Eight-Six is beginning to surface. Takumi now gets accustomed to the new engine and can control it alot better than how he first drove it and believes the race is his. Wataru feels the aura in him and is impressed to have adapted to his home course overnight. With the same determination he will not lose to Takumi and full of excitement and adrenaline. As round 3 begins, Wataru then acknowledges Takumi as his worthy opponent and at the end of that round he assures he will beat him.

Airdates

 * Fuji TV: January 13, 2000

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * 1) Keisuke Takahashi
 * 2) Ryosuke Takahashi
 * 3) Koichiro Iketani
 * 4) Kenji
 * 5) Yuichi Tachibana
 * 6) Natsuki Mogi
 * 7) Wataru Akiyama
 * 8) Kazumi Akiyama
 * 9) Itsuki Takeuchi
 * 10) Takumi Fujiwara
 * 11) Kenta Nakamura
 * 12) Bunta Fujiwara

Cars

 * 1) Mazda SAVANNA RX-7 ∞ III (FC3S)
 * 2) Nissan Silvia Q's (S14)
 * 3) Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
 * 4) Nissan 180SX Type II (RPS13)
 * 5) Toyota Corolla Levin GT-APEX (AE86)
 * 6) Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86)

Music

 * 1) Blazin' Beat - M.o.v.e
 * Gimme The Night - Dave McLoud
 * Make Up Your Mind - Wain L.
 * 1) キミがいる (Kimi Ga Iru) - Galla

Differences from the Manga

 * Ryosuke, Keisuke, Kenta, Kenji, and Iketani do not witness Takumi Fujiwara's battle against Wataru Akiyama in the manga.

Notes & Trivia

 * "Make Up Your Mind" by Wain L., along with "Ever And Ever" by Queen Of Times, are by far the oldest songs in Initial D Second Stage, both being released in 1994, predating all other songs from Initial D, and Initial D itself.
 * In the credits of this episode Take Me To Your Heart by Cherry and Speedy Speed Boy by Marko Polo are credited in place of Make Up Your Mind and Gimme The Night. It's possible this song was originally supposed to be used in the episode but was at some point removed and the credits weren't updated.
 * Also, "Take Me To You Heart" was misspelled as "Take Me Your Heart"