Ryosuke Takahashi

Takahashi Ryôsuke is modeled after the "Drift King" Keiichi Tsuchiya's mentor, retired race car driver Takahashi Kunimitsu.

(高橋 涼介 Takahashi Ryôsuke; known as "Ry" in the English adaptations) One of the most skilled drivers in the series (he is the Red Suns' fastest member as well as their leader); he and his younger brother Keisuke (the Takahashi Brothers, also known as the Rotary Brothers because they both drive RX-7's, albeit different generations of the vehicle) have been featured in racing magazines and are regarded highly by other drivers. Ryōsuke drives a second generation Mazda RX-7 (FC3S) and was previously undefeated until he met Takumi Fujiwara. Ryōsuke is very serious about racing; he pours over technical data just like any professional driver and he is one of the few drivers with skills as a mechanic to match those he possesses as a driver. He can usually be found in his room going over data on his laptop. He is known to be able to tell what kind of modifications have been made to a car just by hearing it, and what a driver is capable of just by watching the car drift. Ryosuke's fame is so wide spread throughout Japan that he has been given the moniker, "Akagi's White Comet". He is also referred to by "Akagi's Lone White Comet", possibly in reference to his inherent weariness towards females.

His only rival would be Kyouichi Sudou. They argued about racing theories when Ryōsuke ended Kyouichi's winning streak a year before the series' start. Currently, he is enrolled in college studying medicine, and planning to become a doctor to work at his father's clinic. But before retiring from street racing, and with only one year of racing left, he estimates, and assembles a new team (named Project D) aimed at capturing all of the records in Japan. In Fourth Stage, he is a coach for Project D while his brother Keisuke races in his place.

A rift in Ryōsuke's past became apparent in Volume 36, involving another racer only known as 'Shinigami'. An altercation between the two in medical school led to another student named Kaori (also another medical student and Shinigami's girlfriend) taking her life. Shinigami retreated from the racing scene for years, becoming a recluse, before making an abrupt return in Volume 39 against Spiral Zero's Leader, Ikeda. It appears that Ryōsuke races the 'Shinigami' in Volume 41.