Kyoichi Sudo

"Team Emperor reigns supreme throughout Japan! And I plan to prove that to Takahashi!!"

- Kyoichi Sudo Kyoichi Sudo (須藤 京一 Sudō Kyōichi, also known as Kyle in the Tokyopop version) is the leader of Emperor. Like the rest of the team, he drives a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. He has a long time rivalry with Ryosuke Takahashi.

He is also a graduate of the Todo School. Unlike other students, however, he doesn't drive a Honda, and uses no Spoon parts on his car.

Emperor
An old acquaintance of Ryosuke Takahashi of the Akagi RedSuns, Kyoichi is much like Ryosuke; he is a calm and composed driver, especially compared to his teammate Seiji Iwaki. Eager to show Ryosuke that he and his team are the best, ever since his defeat to Ryosuke some years ago when Ryosuke was known as the 'White Comet of Akagi', Kyoichi and the Emperor team go on to defeat the various teams of Gunma, including Thunder Fire (Exclusively in the anime) and the NightKids. He believes in the ultimate superiority of his race circuit techniques, whilst Ryosuke holds that street racing has its own special requirements. His home course is one-way, so he is unable to fully attack blind corners on two way roads, supporting Ryosuke's view. After Seiji's defeat to Takumi Fujiwara in their battle at Akina, resulting in Emperor's Gunma sweep streak coming to a halt, Kyoichi vows to battle Takumi before defeating Ryosuke. Hence, he is often considered the first driver to have beaten Takumi Fujiwara, as Takumi blew out his engine at Akagi due to Kyoichi gapping him after a corner and pulling away from him, which lead to Takumi to overrev his engine and blowing it up. However, Kyoichi stated he didn't count it as a real race, as he was demonstrating the difference in power before racing Ryosuke. After hearing news of Takumi's loss, Ryosuke agrees to battle Kyoichi. During the battle, after Kyoichi takes the lead, Ryosuke exploits Kyoichi's one small, yet fatal weakness - his fear of (particular) right turns. As Kyoichi practices on racing circuits and his single-lane home turf, Kyoichi didn't have to face the probability of oncoming traffic cars. Ryosuke took advantage of this, trapping Kyoichi in a right turn corner, and overtook him on the next corner. Kyoichi accepted his defeat as well as his mistakes in his racing theory.

The New Eight-Six
After Takumi gets the new engine, he goes to Irohazaka for a rematch against Kyoichi Sudo. Kyoichi, as usual, gives Takumi the head start for having a less powerful car, while at the same time noticing the changes Takumi made with his newer engine. Kyoichi attempts to counterattack at the third bridge, where he usually overtakes most of his opponents. However, Takumi forces him into a position in which Kyoichi cannot overtake, which caused Kyoichi to forfeit from counterattacking. It should be noted, however, that the result should normally be considered a tie at best, and the race itself did not last more than one round. Kyoichi declared Takumi as the winner for merely being able to resist being overtaken at the last part of the course where other drivers fell prey to him. To Kyoichi, who takes pride in his ability to win, a tie at his home turf is equivalent to a loss.

Later on Kai Kogashiwa, a lone racer who earlier defeated Seiji, battled Takumi at Irohazaka. Kyoichi and others spectated the battle unfold, and when Takumi won, he realized Takumi would be someone greater and more skilled than Ryosuke.

Exclusively in the anime, he spectated Takumi's rematch against Ryosuke at Akagi with Seiji, commenting on their driving skills.

Project D - Tochigi
As mentioned earlier, Kyoichi was a student at the Todo School. So when Project D faces off against Todo at Tochigi, Kyoichi and Seiji visit the area to spectate the battle. After Project D's initial win against Todo, Kyoichi warns Ryosuke about Tomoyuki Tachi, a top student of the school and a pro racer who will face off against Project D on behalf of Todo. Ryosuke plans carefully for this, and despite others thinking Ryosuke would choose Keisuke and his FD3S to face off against Tomoyuki and The Todo School's Honda Civic, Ryosuke choses Takumi, which surprised nearly everyone. Even Kyoichi wondered why Ryosuke chose Takumi. After Takumi uses the 'Blind Attack', a technique he came up with on his own while under pressure, Kyoichi understood why Ryosuke chose Takumi, as although Keisuke would be good at uphill, Takumi's adaptability on the downhill would make them win the match.

Kanagawa Expedition
As Project D fought their final battles in Kanagawa prefecture, Kyoichi and Seiji, along with many other racing teams Project D faced earlier on, visited Kanagawa to spectate Project D's final battles. During Takumi's battle against Shinji, Kyoichi comments on the difference between Takumi's and Shinji's driving techniques, especially on their corner entries, and compares it with his AWD Evo corner entry on the Iroha slopes. After Takumi wins the final battle, Kyoichi and every other team congratulate Takumi for the win.

Seiji Iwaki
He is the second best driver in his team as well as the co-founder of Team Emperor. In his races, he orders him to follow his instructions precisely, and not to succumb to impatience or to take their opponents lightly. A failure to obey these would result in a slap, as he disobeyed Simulation 3 when he lost against Takumi in Akina.

Ryosuke Takahashi
Ryosuke is his biggest rival. During their first race in Akagi, he lost to him and argues about their different racing theories. He was told if his theory is superior, then he can rematch him. This caused him to form Team Emperor and crush every team in Gunma (with the exceptions of the SpeedStars, the RedSuns and Impact Blue) to prove their superiority. After conquering much of Gunma, he rematches him again the year after his first race with him. He lost the rematch due his fear of oncoming traffic, making him unable to fully attack blind corners. Ryosuke points this out to him after the race, noting how both circuits and Kyoichi's home course of Irohazaka are one-way, making it such that street racing requires its own technique. Kyoichi then realizes this and accepts his delusions resulted in his defeat. He ended his rivalry with Ryosuke, as both spectate Takumi's battle with Kai Kogashiwa and both share their theories about how the race would play out.

Takumi Fujiwara
Although he looked down on his car, he admired his driving skills and adaptability. He is the first one to ever defeat Takumi during his race in Akagi which resulted in Takumi blowing his engine. Although he didn't count it as a real race from the beginning, he lectured him to get a proper car to compete in a racing environment. However, he was defeated in a rematch, as he failed to perform a counterattack on the last corner of the bridge on his home turf. He praised the new Eight-Six after his defeat. After Takumi's victory against Kai Kogashiwa, Kyoichi sees lots of potential in him and states he can surpass his rival Ryosuke Takahashi.

Tomoyuki Tachi
Both him and Tomoyuki went to the Todo School. He spectated his race against Project D with Seiji Iwaki at Happogahara.

Trivia

 * He is one of the few opponents/antagonists of the show to actually defeat Takumi Fujiwara in a battle, with the others being Bunta Fujiwara and (arguably) Dr. Toshiya Joshima.
 * In the Latin Spanish dub his name was mispronounced as "Kyochi" until Act 6 where they use the correct pronunciation.
 * His Tokyopop dub voice actor, Richard Cansino also voices Satake in Extra Stage - Act 1.
 * In Chapter 213 of the Tokyopop release of the manga, his name is mistranslated to Sugiwara.