First Stage - Act 21

Challenge From the Superstar (スパースターからの挑戦状, Supāsutā kara no chōsen-jō, known as Challenge From a Superstar in the Tokyopop version) is the twenty-first Act of Initial D First Stage.

Synopsis
Takumi’s growing rep has attracted the attention of Ryosuke, who’s ready to face the Eight-Six on Mt. Akina. Takumi better get his head on straight - this will be his greatest challenge yet.

Airdates

 * Fuji TV: October 17, 1998

Characters

 * 1) Itsuki Takeuchi
 * 2) Takumi Fujiwara
 * 3) Keisuke Takahashi (Flashback)
 * 4) Takeshi Nakazato (Flashback)
 * 5) Shingo Shoji (Flashback)
 * 6) Sayuki (Flashback)
 * 7) Mako Sato (Flashback)
 * 8) Natsuki Mogi
 * 9) Koichiro Iketani
 * 10) Yuichi Tachibana
 * 11) Kenji
 * 12) Ryosuke Takahashi
 * 13) Kenta Nakamura

Cars

 * 1) Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
 * 2) Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86)
 * 3) Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (BNR32) (Flashback)
 * 4) Honda Civic SiR-II (EG6) (Flashback)
 * 5) Nissan SilEighty (RPS13) (Flashback)
 * 6) Nissan 180SX Type II (RPS13)
 * 7) Toyota Corolla Levin SR (AE85)
 * 8) Nissan Silvia Q's (S14)

Music

 * 1) Break In2 The Nite - m.o.v.e
 * 2) Saturday Night Fever - Dave Rodgers
 * 3) 奇跡の薔薇 (Kiseki No Hana) - Galla

Differences from the Manga

 * In the manga while Itsuki and Takumi are on Akina they witness an impromptu battle between Takeshi Nakazato and Keisuke Takahashi. Witnessing this battle is what gets Takumi out of his daydreams before he faces Ryosuke. This scene is instead merged into the main battle between Takeshi and Keisuke a few episodes later.

Notes & Trivia

 * First Stage Act 21 Bari Bari Coffee.png Natsuki and Takumi are talking in the Eight-Six, a can of "Bari Bari Coffee" can be seen. This could possibly be a reference to BariBari Legend, one of Shuichi Shigeno's previous works.