Chapter 045

Tak Feels the Heat (拓海苦戦はじめてのプレッシャー, Takumi Kusen Hajimete no Puresshā, "Takumi struggles under pressure for the first time") is the forty-fifth chapter of Initial D.

Plot
Ryosuke realises that the weakness he had identified previously in Takumi's driving, his countersteering, has completely disappeared, leaving him shocked as only two weeks have passed since the battle with Nakazato.

Near the finish line, Shingo pulls up behind where Nakazato has parked. He insists that he didn't pull up just because he saw his car, but that it's because he believes the climax of the race will be had on the corner they are looking at, which Nakazato agrees with.

Ryosuke piles on the pressure by keeping right behind Takumi, and Takumi begins to lose his focus as well as his confidence.

Japan

 * June 17th 1996 (Weekly Young Magazine, 1996 Volume 26)
 * December 6th 1996 (Tankōbon, Volume 05)

Chinese

 * May 1st 1998 (Tankōbon, Volume 05, Sharp Point Press)

English

 * April 15th 2003 (Tankōbon, Volume 05, Tokyopop)
 * April 17th 2019 (Digital re-release, Volume 05, Kodansha USA)

French

 * October 8th 2009 (Tankōbon, Volume 05, Kazé)

Italian

 * June 27th 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 03, J-Pop)

Polish

 * July 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 03, J. P. Fantastica)

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Ryosuke Takahashi
 * Shingo Shoji
 * Takeshi Nakazato
 * Takumi Fujiwara

Cars (in order of appearance)

 * Toyota Sprinter Trueno 3door GT-APEX (AE86)
 * Mazda SAVANNA RX-7 Infini III (FC3S)
 * Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (BNR32)
 * Honda Civic SiR-II (EG6)

Notes & Trivia

 * Manuscript copies of pages from this chapter were sold as merchandise during the Shuichi Shigeno Art Exhibit