Initial D references in other media

Since its release, Initial D has been referenced in many other works of media. The following is a list of said references.

Aho-Girl
In the episode, "Drive! Aho Girl!", Yoshiko Hanabatake rides her dog to Akina and ends up challenging a legendary rider to a race similar to the Initial D series. The race sequence is also in a manga form. It also somewhat resembles "Baribari Legend", a motorbike manga series also produced by Shuichi Shigeno.

Choro Q HG 2
One of the recruitable racers found in the game is Steve, who is a white Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86) the same model that Takumi Fujiwara uses in the series. Steve will also gives the player advice about parts in-game, which references to Takumi's personality facets from the series.

Chousuku Henkei Gyrozetter
In Episode 37 of the anime adaptation, Shunsuke Hayami, driving a blue Nissan Fairlady Z (Z34), races with his former senior Yuzuru (nicknamed "Yuzuru-86"), driving a Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86) (similar to the one driven by Takumi Fujiwara) carrying tofu behind his car. Yuzuru's AE86 has side decals written in Japanese similar to Takumi's reading "Hakkai Tofu Store (Private Use)".

Driveclub
In the Sakura Tour Pack, which was released for the game in 2015, one of the 11 events is called "Initial Drift", where the player must score up to 10,500 points by drifting and speeding in a mountain course in Japan using a BMW M5 (F10). The event title, as well the objective and the course is a reference to Initial D.

Forza
The Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex has been featured in the Forza series since the original Forza Motorsport in 2005 with the exception of Forza Motorsport 7. When it was added in the Series 18 update for Forza Horizon 4, its perks available for the car's mastery features various references to its heritage, including several nods to Initial D.


 * "[Eurobeat Intensifies]" is a reference to the Eurobeat Intensifies meme, which originates from Initial D's use of Eurobeat during its racing scenes.
 * "Déjà Vu" is a reference to Dave Rodgers' song of the same name, which prominently featured in Initial D: Second Stage.
 * "Pass Master" is a reference to touge racing (touge means 'pass' in Japanese).
 * "Meme Machine" is a reference to many memes that have been come out of the Initial D franchise, with the AE86 itself being the most numerously used.
 * "Step on the Gas" is a reference to Gas Gas Gas by Manuel, which first appeared in Initial D Arcade Stage 5.
 * "Bonus Stage" is a reference to how the Initial D series includes the naming 'stage' in its titles (e.g. First Stage, Arcade Stage).
 * "Multi-Track Drifting" is a reference to Densha de D, a fan comic parodying the Initial D series featuring trains instead of cars. It is specifically a reference to a two-page spread highlighting a character's shock of a train drifting across two sets of tracks.
 * "Bring Home the Tofu" is a reference to Bunta Fujiwara's tofu business, as well as Takumi's role as a tofu delivery driver.
 * "Kansei Dorifuto" and "NANI?!" are both references to the scene from the first battle of the series (which the scene was later featured as an internet meme afterwards), featured in Chapter 003 of the manga and the ending scene of Act 1 of First Stage, where Keisuke Takahashi is ambushed and passed by Takumi, in which he exclaims "NANI?! Kansei Dorifuto?!" (means "WHAT?! Inertia Drift?!" in Japanese).

Gran Turismo
The Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86 Shuichi Shigeno Version) '00 was introduced in Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec and has appeared in every Gran Turismo installment since with the exception of Gran Turismo Sport. It is based on the actual AE86 that Shuichi Shigeno owns in real-life, based on the Project D version of Takumi's AE86.

Grand Theft Auto

 * In Grand Theft Auto IV, if you look at the rear of the ambulance near the rear left door, there is a set of letters and numbers, 'AE-86-4AG', which is a reference the Toyota AE86 and its engine, 4AGEU.
 * In Grand Theft Auto V like in GTA IV, The Los Santos Medical Center variant of the Ambulance has a small decal on the bottom of both front doors reading '4AG-86', referring to the Toyota AE86 and its engine, the 4AGE. Similarly, the Los Santos Fire Department variant has a decal in the same location reading 'RB26-32R', referring to the Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) and its engine, the RB26DETT. Both Easter eggs are a nod to the AE86 and R32 GT-R, which appears in the show.


 * In Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V, there is a tuner car called the Karin Futo, which is based on the notchback version of the Toyota Corolla Levin (AE86), its name is derived from the Japanese pronunciation for the word drift, "Dorifuto" (ドリフト), but it is also an anagram for tofu, which references Takumi Fujiwara's Toyota Sprinter Trueno (AE86), having used both for drifting and tofu delivery in the series. The Futo's stock wheels is closely resembles the RS Watanabe F8, the same wheels that was found on Takumi's AE86. The Futo's stock wheels can be also purchased in GTA V via the in-game's mod shops, found under the Tuner category in Wheels section, named "Fujiwara", the surname of both Takumi and Bunta.
 * In the GTA Online update 'Los Santos Tuners', Rockstar Games added a new version of the Karin Futo, the Futo GTX, based on the hatchback Trueno. The "Delivery Boy" livery for the car is a based on Takumi Fujiwara's Toyota AE86.
 * The livery features Kanji on the side of the car, similar to that featured on Takumi's Eight-Six. The text reads "スタンスアンドレアス" which translates to "Stance Andreas", a company in the GTA series.
 * The livery also changes the Futo logo on the back of the car to read "Tofu", a reference to Takumi's role as a tofu delivery driver.

Lucky☆Star
In the sixth episode of the anime adaption, Fixtures of Summer, Nanako Kuroi and Yui Narumi are driving to the Miuru-kaigan beach area. However, on the way, a yellow Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) (similar to the one owned by Keisuke Takahashi) begins to pass them, resulting in Yui, driving her blue Subaru Vivio (possibly a RX-R), challenging the unseen driver to a race. It is revealed in the segment that Yui is a skilled driver. Other references in the race segment include:


 * The Vivio having a cup of water in the cupholder, similar to how Bunta places a cup of water in the AE86 to prevent Takumi from breaking the Tofu, and to improve his driving skills.
 * The 2D visuals, 3D effects, and the two onlookers were drawn in a similar style to Initial D.
 * Yui pulls off a gutter drop, one of Takumi's specialties.
 * Konata Izumi telling Nanako that she normally feels car sick but feels better when she rides inside Nanako's car may be a reference to Natsuki Mogi telling Takumi the same thing.
 * This race features the song "Gravity" by "m.o.e.v", which is a parody of Noizy Tribe by m.o.v.e (used as an opening theme in Fourth Stage). m.o.e.v. is a self parody. m.o.v.e. would later remix the song on their 2009 album anim.o.v.e 01.

Magical Witch Punie-chan
In the second part of the sixth episode of the anime adaption, Anego and Yamada gets teleported by Punie Tanaka during their date. Near the end of their date, Anego gets teleported into a backseat of a car. Punie then talks to Anego via the car's radio, where she announces that Anego is now on a car ride through Hitouko and introduces a crazy male driver under bad influence, who got his driver's license and is a big fan of Initial D. Soon, the camera pans away from the interior view to reveal that the driver drives a Toyota Sprinter Trueno (AE86), similar to the one that is driven by Takumi. The car's side decal reads "Tanaka Punie Shop (Home Business)". The car enters a mountain pass that is similar to Mt. Akina. Anego kicks the driver's face, causing him to pass out and forcing her drive the AE86. She then passes a yellow Mazda RX-7 (FD3S), similar to Keisuke's FD3S. The scene where both cars drift together head-to-head is a reference to the first battle from the series.

My Mental Choices are Completely Interfering with my School Romantic Comedy
In the ninth episode of the anime adaption, Utage Doraku, driving her purple Toyota Vellfire (H20W), races against a black R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R.

Need for Speed (2015)
The Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86) mentions Initial D in its description.

Need for Speed: No Limits
The Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86) is featured in a Special Event called "Drift King". At one point, Kim, the player's friend who supported them in the game's original storyline and a few other special events, references "Kansei Dorifuto" and "Tofu Delivery" during the conversation of the first Drift challenge in Chapter 1. Also, in the third Drift challenge from Chapter 2, the character "Isabella" drives a modified yellow Mazda RX-7 (FD3S), similar to Keisuke's Fifth Stage FD3S.

Pop Team Epic
In Episode 4 of the anime adaption, SWGP 2018, a character known as "GTR" appears, based on Takeshi Nakazato from the series. His skeleton bobsled is based on the R32, with him saying that the ""R" in GTR stands for the legend who is invincible!". He is promptly blown up with a rocket launcher.

In the Funimation dub of the anime, GTR is voiced by Joel McDonald, who is the English voice actor of Takumi Fujiwara.

SHIROBAKO
In the first episode of the anime adaption, Exodus to Tomorrow!, the opening credits sequence of the episode is similar to the opening credits sequence to Initial D. In the opening sequence, Aoi Miyamori is driving to Misato Segawa's house for an animation check-up in a white Suzuki Alto (HA25) owned by the animation studio company that she works with, Musashino Animation. While waiting on the traffic light and listening to the radio announcement about [https://shirobako.fandom.com/wiki/Exodus! Exodus!], a blue Nissan March (K13) shows up next to her, the March is actually belongs to another animation studio company, G.I. Staff. The driver of the March, Tomigaya challenges Aoi to a race, in which Aoi accepts. Both hatchbacks races through the streets to Segawa's house from the city to a mountain course, but near the end of the race, Tomigaya ends up driving over a road construction site as he is getting closer to Segawa's, causing his car to spin out of control and miss the turn on the left that leads to Segawa's, which Aoi eventually passes him, arriving at Segawa's house and takes the victory.

Aside to the opening credits, the closeups of the pedals and the speedometer imitates the ones found in Initial D. The scene showing the March and the Alto going airborne during the highway sequence is a homage to the second bridge jump scene featuring Takumi Fujiwara's Toyota AE86 and Kai Kogashiwa's Toyota MR-2 (SW20) in Third Stage. The scene where Tomigaya's March is shown drifting around the corners in front of Aoi's Alto is similar to what Keisuke Takahashi did in his FD3S RX-7 in front of Hideo Minagawa's Toyota Supra RZ (JZA80).

Steven Universe
The Season 3, Episode 11, Beach City Drift, forms an extended parody to Initial D.


 * The driving sequences, with the Eurobeat-inspired soundtrack and closeups of the pedals, imitates the races from the said anime series.
 * The site where Kevin and Stevonnie race resembles Mt. Akina.
 * The cars that both Kevin and Stevonnie drives has a few design elements to the cars featured in the anime; The fictional Dondai Supremo driven by Greg Universe in the series (but borrowed by Stevonnie in the episode), while it is mostly based on the Volkswagen Golf Mk2, it has some elements borrowed from the Toyota Sprinter Trueno (AE86), however the Supremo's elements are more similar to the Kouki model, rather than the Zenki model like the one Takumi has, while Kevin's Himitsu X-12 is based on Keisuke Takahashi's Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S). Both cars are painted similar to the Initial D counterparts as well.
 * Stevonnie's ignorance about the car (knowing it only as a "Dondai", when Ronaldo talks about the "power of Supremo") also references the anime, in which Takumi initially doesn't understand when his car is referred to as an "AE86", as he only knows the "Trueno" name on the badge.

The Fast and The Furious (2006 Video Game)
In the "drift" portion of the main story, the first racing team encountered, called Kansai, is full of members referencing Initial D. The most blatant ones are "Hiroto", who drives an AE86 Sprinter Trueno identical to Takumi's Fifth Stage AE86 (complete with a kanji sticker on the side door), "Reisuke", who drives an FD3S RX-7 being very similar to Keisuke's in Third Stage (where it bore the early Project D Mazdaspeed body kit as well as the RedSuns stickers), and "Kyosuke", who drives an FC RX-7 being nearly identical to Ryosuke's in the first three stages. "Katsuhiro" drives an AE86 Levin similar to Wataru Akiyama's AE86 but the driver background of "Katsuhiro" mentions a nonexistent driving style and not a very fast driver, and thus references Itsuki Takeuchi. "Masako" drives a Blue Mica Subaru Impreza WRX STi V-Limited, it references Bunta Fujiwara's Subaru Impreza.

Kansai Racing Team drivers' background


 * Katsuhiro "The youngest of nine siblings, two of whom are pro racecar drivers, Katsuhiro's driving style is nonexistent, and his choices are often questionable. Still, Katsuhiro drives with all his heart....but even so, he still isn't very fast. Katsuhiro's stubbornness prevents him from further improving and refining his skills."
 * Hiroto "A 20-valve 4-AG motor with an 11,000 rpm redline gives Hiroto's AE86 surprising ability on the downhill. Hiroto was born completely deaf but his drifting techniques display no handicaps. He is an inspiration to his entire team and to everyone in his community. A well-liked individual, Hiroto takes wins and losses in stride-- a true model of sportsmanship."
 * Reisuke "Reisuke is the fire and spirit behind the Kansai Racing Team. His wild technique and burning passion to be the best have led him to master the uphill battle with his re-built yellow RX-7. He is able to focus on the track and become one with the race line, no matter the opponent."
 * Kyosuke "The charismatic leader of the Kansai Racing Team, Kyosuke rarely ever drives his white RX-7 fot competition. Instead he is the nerve-center of the crew, putting together simulations and training his two main drivers to master the streets in hopes of one day going on the closed circuit."

They Are My Noble Masters
In Episode 3, Colonel is transporting Ren Usuegi in his personal limousine. However, a black R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R (similar to the one owned by Takeshi Nakazato) passes them. Colonel then challenges the R32 to a duel, resulting in him drifting easily to beat the car. During the race, Ren screams in fear while Colonel is drifting the limousine.

Tokyo Xtreme Racer
There are several references to the Initial D franchise in the Tokyo Xtreme Racer series.

Kaido Battle: Touge no Densetsu

 * The rival Tofu Maniac (Toshiro Kaneko) is possibly a reference to Initial D, as they drive an AE86 (albeit a Levin) and their name could possibly be a reference to Takumi Fujiwara's job as a tofu delivery driver.
 * The rival Lightning Shift (Takuya Hagiwara) is a direct reference to Initial D. The Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86) he drives is almost identical to Takumi's, with a carbon fibre bonnet (though without carbon fibre popup lights), eight spoke Watanabes, and a kanji sticker on the side. His name is relatively similar to Takumi's as well. His backstory references delivering milk to hotels at the top of a mountain, similar to Takumi's tofu delivery. It also mentions that he has been noticed by the leader of a team, and is trying to go pro, a reference to Takumi's relationship to Ryosuke Takahashi, and his desire to go pro.
 * The rival Black Onyx (Sukemasa Okajima) is said to use a technique where he turns off his headlights and drives blind. This is possibly a reference to Takumi's Blind Attack.
 * The rival Autumn Lord (Takumi Kirazu} is a reference to Inital D. He drives a Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86) with eight spoke Watanabes, and is said to be famous for calling Mount Haruna by a weird name, likely a reference to how Haruna is called Akina in Initial D. He is also said to drive with a cup of water in the cupholder (similar to Takumi) and always races while listening to "trance music", likely a reference to the shows Eurobeat soundtrack. His number plate reads TO-FU, a reference to Takumi's tofu delivery job.
 * The team Haruna Starlights is a parody of the Akina SpeedStars. Each member is an Initial D reference.
 * The rival Fake (Kazuya Takenouchi) is a parody of Itsuki Takeuchi. He accidentally bought an Eight-Five instead of an Eight-Six, much to the ridicule of the Starlights. He would later turbo his Eight-Five and grows to love the car.
 * The rival Rev SR (Ken Yushima) is a parody of Kenji. He drives a Nissan 180SX, and while a part of the Starlights, he's never been in a race. His driving skill is pretty low, similar to the other Starlights. He is best friends with the Starlights leader Kamiikedai.
 * The rival Total FR (Kouji Kamiikedai) is a parody of Koichiro Iketani. He is the leader of the Starlights, though his skill is low. He is said to be targeted by other teams because of this.
 * The rival Pretty Boy (Masayuki Ishii) is possibly a parody of Kenta Nakamura. He is said to be the sidekick of the leader of Akagi Blue Sign (similar to Kenta's relationship to Keisuke. He drives a Nissan Silvia S14, though it is a K's unlike Kenta's Q's.

Wangan Midnight
There are a few references to Initial D in Wangan Midnight. One of the characters, Kouichi Kijima, drives a FC RX-7 similar to the one driven by Ryosuke Takahashi, while Masaki, drives a yellow FD3S RX-7 similar to the one driven by Keisuke Takahashi. In the arcade games (starting with Maximum Tune 4 til 5DX+), a group of "Racer Wannabes" drives a modified AE86 and a yellow FD3S RX-7, cosplaying as the vehicles driven by Takumi Fujiwara and Keisuke Takahashi during the Project D arc in the series.

Yakuza
The Yakuza series by SEGA (who also distribute the Initial D Arcade Stage series) features a few references from the Initial D franchise.


 * In Yakuza Kiwami, Initial D Street Stage can be seen advertised on the cover of a PlayStation magazine in the convenience stores.


 * In Yakuza 5, the Taxi Racing mini-game is inspired by Initial D.
 * Some of Initial D Arcade Stage 4 menu music is featured as background music in the game.
 * At the magazine stand area inside the convenience stores, the player can read the Initial D manga. This feature was removed in the remastered version.


 * In Yakuza 6, the character Pocket Circuit Fighter runs a tofu shop called Fujisawa. This is a reference to the Fujiwara Tofu Shop. Pocket Circuit Fighter is also a racing enthusiast, hosting the Pocket Circuit in Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, and Dragon Kart in Yakuza: Like A Dragon.