Chapter 028

A Friend Indeed Has A Levin In Need (友情パワーレビン激走!!, Yūjō Pawā Rebin Gekisō!!, "Friendship-powered Levin Race!!") is the twenty-eighth chapter of Initial D.

Plot
Itsuki doesnt believe that Takumi is envious of him, but Takumi explains that he's jealous because he has his own car, even if it isn't the most powerful. Itsuki is surprised to know Takumi wants his own car because he has the Eight-Six back home, but he tells him that it isn't his car. He wants to know the satisfaction of owning a car, to be able to dedicate himself to taking care of a car. Itsuki invites Takumi on a trip up Akina in the Eight-Five that evening.

That evening on Akina, several members of the Myogi NightKids are waiting to get a glimpse of the Eight-Six that beat Nakazato. The Eight-Five arrives at the top, and Itsuki is overjoyed with his car, and can't stop looking at it.

At a diner, Iketani and Kenji feel bad for how they laughed at Itsuki over his car. They think about offering to find him a 4A-G engine and helping him swap it in. Kenji asks Iketani about his Silvia, and he tells him that he's getting it back tomorrow.

The NightKids approach Itsuki and Takumi, asking about the Eight-Six, and Itsuki lies and tells them it probably wont show up. The NightKids go to leave, but tell Itsuki that he should treat his car right, as the engine sounds terrible. Itsuki corrects them, telling them that the car is an Eight-Five, which causes the NightKids to burst into mocking laughter. The NightKids leave, and Takumi angrily decides to race against them in the Eight-Five, promising to show them that they've underestimated the car. Takumi quickly catches up with the two cars.

Japan

 * February 12th 1996 (Weekly Young Magazine, 1996 Volume 8)
 * May 8th 1996 (Tankōbon, Volume 03)

Chinese

 * March 1st 1998 (Tankōbon, Volume 03, Sharp Point Press)

English

 * October 22nd 2002 (Tankōbon, Volume 03, Tokyopop)
 * April 17th 2019 (Digital re-release, Volume 03, Kodansha USA)

French

 * May 28th 2009 (Tankōbon, Volume 03, Kazé)

Italian

 * March 28th 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 02, J-Pop)

Polish

 * April 2023 (Tankōbon 2-in-1, Volume 02, J. P. Fantastica)

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Itsuki Takeuchi
 * Takumi Fujiwara
 * Hiromichi
 * Shoichi
 * Akio
 * Koichiro Iketani
 * Kenji

Cars (in order of appearance)

 * Toyota MR2 (SW20)
 * Toyota Corolla Levin SR (AE85)
 * Nissan Silvia (S13)

Tokyopop/Kodansha USA version

 * The title is completely changed in this version. The new title appears to be a reference to the idiom "A friend in need is a friend indeed".

Notes & Trivia

 * The three members of the NightKids (Hiromichi, Shoichi and Akio) are left unnamed in the manga, but were later named in the anime.