Final Stage - Act 3

Dangerous Scent (危険な匂い, Kiken'na nioi) is the third Act of Initial D Final Stage.

This episode features the third part of the battle between Takumi Fujiwara and Shinji Inui.

Synopsis
Both drivers are equally strong, towards the middle of the race. They face a battle of gaining the lead.

Plot
As Takumi struggled to maintain his lead in the race due to the concentration he lost after Shinji purposefully gave him the lead, Fumihiro talks to Project D members that this is a good thing as now Takumi has a chance of winning the battle. But Keisuke counters it by saying that Shinji definitely has plans to overtake him back as no one would do this on purpose. Fumihiro finds it hard to believe that someone like Takumi will be overtaken again, but Ryosuke agrees with Keisuke and states Shinji is the worthy opponent for Project D's final battle. Meanwhile Kai Kogashiwa and Hideo Minagawa talk about how the battle is about to get serious as there's a "strong sense of danger in the air" according to Minagawa. Meanwhile Shinji tailing Takumi in the rear realizes he cannot see the 'wings' he wanted to see from the Eight-Six, and hence decides he's not gonna be behind for any longer.

Go Hojo speaks to Eiji Kubo and Mrs. Inui that when other drivers try to keep up with Shinji, they often lose their rhythm and makes mistakes, sometimes even close to spinning out. Kubo supports this and states this is why he opted for Shinji to take the lead in the race. But Go Hojo tells that Shinji definitely did this on purpose as both drivers drive the same type of car, and Shinji usually isn't interested in other's driving. And while Shinji's inexperience is his strength, its also his obvious weakness. And that's where Takumi's role comes in as breaking that mold of Shinji. Meanwhile Mako and Sayuki were speaking about why Shinji switched places and how just like Takumi, Shinji is another young miracle boy with incredible potential. Just as they were speaking about this, Takumi and Shinji suddenly appears on the scene, racing towards the hairpin they were situated. As Takumi starts to corner towards the turn, Shinji suddenly pulls up next to Takumi from the inside, and before he knew it Shinji bumps Takumi from the side as he overtakes him, leaving Mako, Sayuki and the rest of the spectators in shock. They states this corner isn't a usual passing point. The Speedstars at the bottom were shocked to hear Takumi has been passed and Kenji wonders if there is any other passing point left. Mako states how there's only one line in the corner thanks to it S-shaped entry into the hairpin and Shinji just casually dove into it. Sayuki states her speculation to Mako that Shinji purposefully did the overtake in front of them so that they can see he can pass at any point or line in the course, which Mako can't believe. Takumi, now enraged that Shinji purposefully hit his car while overtaking decides to go all out to catch him. Eiji Kubo in surprise tells Go Hojo that his prediction turned out to be correct as Shinji passed Takumi at the view platform hairpin and states how its unusual for any street racer to race without any care about damaging their car's body like that. Mrs Inui reveals to them how Shinji had practiced driving in a beat up car and didn't care about brushing into guardrails or trees, but even then its mostly just minor scuffs. Kubo says he purposefully repaired and repainted the body of the Eight-Six so that his opponent to feel suspicious on the opponent's car. Go then wonders if Shinji had made his move rather too early as he knows that Takumi is a more frightening opponent than Shinji can imagine. Meanwhile Bunta and Mika in their respective homes think of what's happening in the battle. When Project D got the news of Takumi being passed, Fumihiro was worried that Takumi would lose all his motivation after being humiliated this many times, But Keisuke thinks otherwise. He states Takumi isn't just battling for his sake as he knows the opponents he defeated earlier are watching him, and there's no way Takumi he knows would lose motivation like that. Ryosuke agrees with him, as he knows Takumi is the kind of genius who progressively gets faster and faster in every trouble he gets into. Meanwhile Kubo is now relaxed, knowing the battle will end smoothly know that Shinji had reclaimed his lead and keeping up with Shinji is almost impossible as whoever trying to copy Shinji's driving style will crash. Meanwhile as Shinji notes while driving in lead that Takumi isn't falling back, Mako talks to Sayuki on how Shinji's thorough course knowledge helped him overtake Takumi at that point. This worries Sayuki as she thinks Takumi is now at a disadvantage, but Sayuki reminds her of the time Takumi battled them at Usui when he was there for the very first time and how he kept up with them at an even faster pace in the C-121 corner. Meanwhile at this time Shinji and Takumi enters one of the toughest corners of the course where the exit narrows up. Both the Eight-Sixes enters the corners at incredible speeds, with Takumi keeping up with Shinji right until the end, surprising Shinji as no one was able to keep up with him after that corner. Eiji gets the news of Takumi keeping up Shinji in that corner and shares it with Go and Mrs Inui on how that corner is incredibly difficult to pass through in downhill, with details of how many drivers have slid out at the exit and crashed into the guardrail there but Takumi managed to keep up just with Shinji. Go states this is a good thing as another genius has now broken the mold of Shinji who had kept building it for the past 13 years. Eiji notes the change in Go as he seemed to be obsessed over victory until some time ago. Go tells the defeat on his battle changed it for him as now he cares about Shinji being on the ultimate stage, and not just about winning or losing. Mrs Inui tells them that seeing by the way Shinji was behaving this morning, she was surprised to see him arrive at the starting point for the battle even. She shares on how he's timid and scared when he's not driving, and that must be the case now, but Go tells Shinji isn't weak as a driver with that kind of speed can't be weak. Meanwhile Shinji feels scared and worried as Takumi continues to tail him.

Airdates

 * Animax: June 22, 2014

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * 1) Takumi Fujiwara
 * 2) Shinji Inui
 * 3) Go Hojo
 * 4) Mrs. Inui
 * 5) Eiji Kubo
 * 6) Ryosuke Takahashi
 * 7) Keisuke Takahashi
 * 8) Fumihiro
 * 9) Tomiguchi
 * 10) Shuichi Matsumoto
 * 11) Kenta Nakamura
 * 12) Kai Kogashiwa
 * 13) Hideo Minagawa
 * 14) Mako Sato
 * 15) Sayuki
 * 16) Itsuki Takeuchi
 * 17) Kenji
 * 18) Koichiro Iketani
 * 19) Bunta Fujiwara
 * 20) Mika Uehara
 * 21) Shingo Shoji
 * 22) Takeshi Nakazato
 * 23) Seiji Iwaki
 * 24) Kyoichi Sudo
 * 25) Kobayakawa
 * 26) Satoshi Omiya
 * 27) Smiley Sakai
 * 28) Daiki Ninomiya
 * 29) Tomoyuki Tachi
 * 30) Ryuji Ikeda
 * 31) Hiroya Okuyama

Cars

 * 1) Toyota Sprinter Trueno 3door GT-APEX (AE86)
 * 2) Toyota Sprinter Trueno 2door GT-APEX (AE86)
 * 3) Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (BNR32)
 * 4) Honda Civic SiR-II (EG6)
 * 5) Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
 * 6) Nissan SilEighty (RPS13)

Music

 * 1) Outsoar The Rainbow - M.o.v.e
 * 2) Flash Light - Igoda
 * 3) Strike On - M.o.v.e
 * 4) 1 Fire - Dave Rodgers
 * 5) Gamble Rumble - M.o.v.e

Quotes
Go Hojo: No, Shinji isn't weak. He's put in a lot of time. He has unique senses and techniques. Even if he feels weak and loses confidence for a short period of time, a driver with that kind of speed can't be weak. In the end, a fighter can only rely in the backbone he's for built himself. He has it, which makes him strong.

Differences from the Manga

 * Ryuji Ikeda and Hiroya Okuyama's dialogue about the 'Zero Theory' and it's connection with the battle was removed.

Notes & Trivia

 * Strike On by M.o.v.e was previously featured during Takumi's chase against Miki in Third Stage.