Chapter 288

Chapter 288
Kodansha USA
Kanji	最大の難関
Romaji	Saidai no Nankan
English	The Last Barrier's the Biggest
French	La Plus Grande Difficulté
Release Date	January 1st 2002
Volume	23
Length	14 pages
Anime Episodes	Fourth Stage - Act 10
Chapter Guide
Previous Chapter	Chapter 287
Next Chapter	Chapter 289

The Last Barrier's the Biggest (最大の難関, Saidai no Nankan, "The Biggest Barrier") is the two hundred and eighty-eighth chapter of Initial D.

Plot

Takumi returns home from his tofu deliveries, and Bunta comments on how far the Eight-Six has come. As Takumi has been using the car more and more, Bunta decides to give the Eight-Six to him, much to his shock. He says that he intends on getting something newer and easier to drive, which Takumi finds hard to believe. Bunta tells Takumi that isn't sure if the Eight-Six will be running in a years time, but Takumi thinks it will be.

The next day, Fumihiro and Keisuke return home from a scouting mission to Maze Pass, and both think that the course will be a challenge. Fumihiro teases Keisuke over Kyoko, and he repeats that he just wants to give Project D his full attention. Fumihiro mocks him for only being able to focus on one thing, and says that its obvious he likes her, which Keisuke's expression proves. Fumihiro tells him that Kyoko wouldn't get in his way like his last girlfriend, as she is also a racer, but Keisuke tells him that he doesn't see the full picture.

In Saitama, Kyoko's car club tell her about the Northern Saitama Alliance, a new team Nobuhiko is putting together to get all the local racers to help beat Project D. Kyoko offers to chip in some money, but one of her fellow racers tells her she should only do it if her heart is fully in it. He tells Kyoko that the Takahashi family owns a hospital, and that the fact that they are rich should mean tonnes of girls are throwing themselves at them. Kyoko wonders if that's why Keisuke was trying to dissuade her from pursuing him.

Stats

Release Dates

Japan

• January 1st 2002 (Weekly Young Magazine, 2002 Volume 1)
• December 26th 2001 (Tankōbon, Volume 23)
• February 5th 2021 (Shinsōban Omnibus, Volume 12)

Chinese

• February 18th 2002 (Tankōbon, Volume 23, Sharp Point Press)

English

• August 1st 2006 (Tankōbon, Volume 23, Tokyopop)
• April 17th 2019 (Digital re-release, Volume 23, Kodansha USA)

French

• October 23rd 2013 (Tankōbon, Volume 23, Kazé)

Characters (in order of appearance)

• Takumi Fujiwara
• Bunta Fujiwara
• Fumihiro
• Keisuke Takahashi
• Kyoko Iwase

Cars (in order of appearance)

• Toyota Sprinter Trueno 3door GT-APEX (AE86)
• Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)