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Initial D (頭文字イニシャルD, Inisharu Dī) is a Japanese seinen street racing manga by Shuichi Shigeno that ran from 1995 to 2013. It was adapted into an eleven part anime series, beginning with Initial D (commonly known as First Stage) in 1998 and ending with Initial D Final Stage in 2014. The series also spawned several video games, including a series of arcade games by SEGA. In 2005 a Hong Kong live action adaptation film was released. A trilogy of films known as New Initial D the Movie (or the Legends Trilogy) was released between 2014 and 2016. It was followed with a sequel manga series known as MF Ghost in 2017, which was subsequently followed by an anime adaptation in 2023.

The manga consists of 719 chapters and 48 volumes. The series is split into two parts, the Akina's Eight-Six Arc and the Project D Arc. The change in arc happens in Chapter 192, around halfway through Volume 17.

Story Arcs[]

Initial D is officially split into two main arcs, the Akina's Eight-Six Arc and the Project D Arc, known as Season One and Two in the French release. For the sake of making the series easier to break down, the Initial D Wiki splits these main arcs into six smaller arcs, three for each main arc. These are defined as:

Synopsis[]

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Set in the late 1990s in Japan's Gunma Prefecture, the series follows the adventures of Takumi Fujiwara, an eighteen year old who helps his father run a tofu store by making deliveries every morning to a hotel on Akina with his father's Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86). It is revealed that Takumi has been driving on Mt. Akina every morning to deliver Tofu to the summit five years before he even had his license. As a result his skills in mountain racing were honed, and is able to drive under adverse weather conditions.

Akina's Eight-Six[]

The White Ghost of Akina[]

The story begins when street racers called the Akagi RedSuns, a team from Mt. Akagi, come to challenge Mt. Akina's local team, the Akina SpeedStars, to a "friendly" race. After seeing how skilled the RedSuns are, the SpeedStars treat it as a race for pride, determined not to be humiliated on their home turf. However, the SpeedStars are left in a bind when their team leader and primary downhill driver Iketani has an accident during a practice run.

They were desperate for a replacement, until Iketani learns from Yuichi, the manager of the petrol station he is working in, that the fastest car on Akina's downhill was a panda-colored AE86 owned by a Tofu store owner, and traces the car back to a local Tofu store. He discovers that the store's owner, Bunta Fujiwara, was a street racer of great repute in his younger days known as the "Ghost of Akina". Iketani appeals to the older man to take his place in the race against the RedSuns. Iketani is confident that Bunta will come to save the day. But when the race day comes, his son Takumi appears with his Trueno instead. Although at first reluctant to let Takumi race, Iketani relents after it is revealed that he is actually the "Ghost of Akina," the one who outran Keisuke Takahashi while on one of his delivery runs. Takumi proceeds to defeat Keisuke and his Mazda RX-7 (FD3S), causing considerable astonishment in the local racing community and putting an end to the RedSuns winning streak.

Despite being originally apathetic about the notion of racing, Takumi begins to grow more interested as he receives challenges from the Myogi NightKids, and begins to understand the concept of a street racer's pride, culminating in the battle between him and Ryosuke Takahashi, the so-called "White Comet of Akagi." Takumi handed Ryosuke his first defeat.

Takumi later experiences his first battles on courses other than Akina, said courses being Myogi (where he races Kenta Nakamura of the Akagi RedSuns) and Usui (where he races Mako Sato and Sayuki of Impact Blue).

Emperor[]

A group of street racers called Team Emperor, all using Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions, appear in the Gunma area, aiming to conquer all of the courses in the prefecture. After defeating the Myogi NightKids, two members of Emperor head to Usui pass to battle with the local team, Impact Blue. Emperor loses this battle, although they choose not to tell their leader about it. When Emperor head to Akina their No. 2 racer, Seiji Iwaki, is defeated by Takumi, breaking their winning streak. Their leader, a professionally-trained driver named Kyoichi Sudo, challenged Takumi to a race at Akagi to “teach him some things” and as a sort of cover event for his race with Ryosuke, his primary target. Takumi declined his proposal at first but eventually accepted after being infuriated with seeing Natsuki with a Mercedes Driver which left him at a disadvantage from the get-go. This race saw Takumi's Eight-Six blow its engine. While it may have been a defeat for Takumi, Kyoichi did not consider it a race instead considering it more as a seminar to show Takumi how much he needs a better car as he believes the Eight-Six is far too old to match Takumi's skill level.

Kyoichi, believing in his street racing philosophy that professional circuit techniques were adequate to conquer the mountains passes, races Ryosuke who had the opposing philosophy that somehow, the fastest street racing required more than just what the circuit could teach. Ryosuke proceeds to defeat Kyoichi after noticing and exploiting Kyoichi's inability to tackle some right-hand corners with full confidence. When Kyoichi confronted Ryosuke about the loss, Ryosuke explains that their techniques and abilities are actually quite close but that Kyoichi's weakness were right-hand corners which, on Japan's right-handed roads, had the possibility of encountering head-on collisions. He goes on to cite how Kyoichi was unable to conquer this fear due to the fact that circuits don't have the danger of head-on collisions and that his home-course, Irohazaka, was a one-way road. This proved once and for all to Kyoichi that street-racing had its own special requirements just as Ryosuke had believed.

The New Eight-Six[]

Bunta knew that the engine in the Eight-Six was about to give out. In fact, one of Bunta's "secret" tasks for Takumi was "to lose." In anticipation, he had already bought a new engine - a high revving, race bred variation of the standard Toyota 4A-GE 20 valve twin cam engine, which is used for Group A Division 2 Touring Class races in the Japanese Touring Car Championship. This is extremely unusual, because this type of engine is supplied to race teams only, and is not street legal. The source of the engine was unknown. It should be noted that in addition to being a high-revving engine, the 20-valve 4A-GE in Takumi's car is missing the timing cover and runs Individual Throttle Bodies (ITB). Bunta installs the engine without a new tachometer to teach Takumi the importance of learning mechanical knowledge and understanding why the car behaves as it does, though he has an instrument set ready for installation once Takumi knows of it. A fellow AE86 driver named Wataru Akiyama, who was surprised with Takumi's lack of mechanical knowledge, told him that he needs a new tachometer. Natsuki then gets a part-time job in hopes to show redemption for Takumi.

Once Takumi unsealed the power of his new engine, Wataru challenges him to a race anywhere of Takumi's choosing. Choosing Wataru's home course, the treacherous Shomaru Pass, Takumi went on to race Wataru despite the risks. Wataru, who knew the course well, was absolutely sure that Shomaru Pass was a test of endurance and that it was not a course where overtaking was possible. After several long rounds, Takumi manages to pull alongside Wataru and overtakes him.

By this time Ryosuke approaches Takumi with an offer. Ryosuke has been putting together a racing team featuring the best racers of the Gunma prefecture, and would like Takumi to join. Takumi doesn't want to decide whether or not to accept the proposal until he settles his score with Team Emperor leader Sudo Kyoichi, who had looked down on the AE86 because of the car's age and had seriously damaged Takumi's confidence in the AE86 after being defeated by him. Takumi proceeds to Irohazaka pass to challenge Kyoichi. Kyoichi had chosen to let Takumi lead; if Takumi prevents Kyoichi from passing him, he wins, if Kyoichi passes him, he loses. Takumi notes how the match is unfair, but this is quickly dismissed by Kyoichi. In the end, Takumi is able to prevent Kyoichi from passing. Kyoichi, who takes great pride in his knowledge and ability to race on his home course, concedes defeat and also gave praise to the new AE86, although Takumi still believes it was more of a tie and was more concerned about Kyoichi finally acknowledging the abilities of the AE86. Natsuki then tries to redeem herself to Takumi before graduation.

Kai Kogashiwa, the son of Bunta's old rival, driving a Toyota MR2 (SW20) later challenges Takumi upon knowing he beat his original target, Kyoichi. He and his father planned to beat Takumi by using a line strategy his father had devised and used against Bunta: the In-Air hairpin jump on the hairpins of Irohazaka. Bunta, knowing how Kogashiwa has used the special line factor before, predicted to Takumi that Kai would surely be in front by the later half of the race and proceeds to give Takumi some obscure advice on how to beat Kai. Kyoichi, who had been with Seiji Iwaki, Keisuke, and Ryosuke Takahashi, had predicted as well that Kai would use the technique and explains how he himself could not come to use the strategy due to his pride in his skills alone without need for strategy. Kai, upon realising that he cannot win in a straight-forward clash of skill, uses the line strategy to overtake and further distance himself from Takumi. Takumi then finds it in himself to try this technique and masters it at the first try, finding himself catching up to Kai. At the last moment before they reach the finish, Takumi realises the meaning behind the advice given earlier by Bunta when he notices dead leaves piling up on one side of the road. Takumi proceeds to put his car past the shrubs and into the gutter to sling shot side-by-side forcing Kai to the side of the road where Takumi guesses the leaves would pile up on. Bunta, while talking to Yuichi, has predicted that Takumi had a 50% chance of passing Kai. As they pass the bridge side-by-side airborne, the 50% chance presents itself as Kai had landed on the side of the road where the leaves had piled up where he lost control and spun out right before the goal.

Natsuki's ex-boyfriend, Miki, a former student at the same high school Takumi attended who Takumi once punched over Miki's bragging about his sexual exploits with Natsuki. It was Christmas season, and Natsuki surprises Takumi at his house, and celebrates Christmas with him and Bunta. On New Year's Day, Miki takes Natsuki under duress, even attempting to assault her near Lake Akina. But Takumi, after hearing a few words of a call from Natsuki which was cut short, came to the rescue. Natsuki finally confessed the truth about her business with Mercedes Driver. Takumi confessed his love for her in return. Takumi parts ways with Natsuki after graduation when she decides to study in a college in Tokyo while Takumi joins Project D.

Project D[]

Tochigi[]

The newly formed Project D head to the Momiji Line to battle with Seven Star Leaves. Takumi and Keisuke show their skill by beating their opponents on the Uphill and Downhill. Iketani and Mako meet again and Mako tells Iketani that she wants to become a professional driver, and Iketani decides to not tell her that he still loves her, so that she can still follow her dream with no distractions. A week or so later Project D head to the Enna Skyline, to battle with the famous Todo School. Despite seeming outmatched by the talented students of the school, Project D manage to pull through and beat them. The Todo School bring in professional driver and ex-student, Tomoyuki Tachi to battle with Project D, and Ryosuke chooses Takumi to go up against him. Despite his disadvantage, Takumi manages to win by introducing his new technique, the Blind Attack, where he turns off his headlights to surprise his opponent. Takumi is later defeated by a Subaru Impreza during a delivery run, making his victory against the pro feel less important. Itsuki reveals his newly upgraded car, and Takumi and the SpeedStars head to Akina to test drive it. While on Akina, they initiate a battle against a duo of drivers with an S15, with Takumi beating them with Itsuki's Eight-Five.

Saitama and Ibaraki[]

Project D head to Saitama to battle with a Sadamine based car club. Keisuke goes up against a fellow FD driver, whilst Takumi goes up against the teams leader. Despite being a mediocre driver, the teams leader, Nobuhiko Akiyama, is able to construct a plan to defeat Project D on the downhill. Project D is challenged to a rematch on Maze Pass, with Takumi being put up against the rally driver Sakamoto. Keisuke battles against Wataru Akiyama, the two of them finally able to have an official battle. Project D are challenged by a duo of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution drivers from Tsuchisaka. The two drivers play dirty, spilling oil on the road to force Keisuke to crash his FD and threatening the team with violence if they win. Despite this, Project D win their races. Project D then head to the Mt. Tsukuba Fruits Line to battle with the veteran racers of Purple Shadow. Takumi participates in a grueling eight lap battle with Dr. Toshiya Joshima. During this battle Takumi damages the Eight-Six's suspension, however manages to cross the line first due to Joshima vomiting. Keisuke battles with Kozo Hoshino in a half uphill half downhill battle.

While Takumi's Eight-Six is being repaired, Takumi and Itsuki head to Sadamine and run into a pair of Project D impostors. Takumi initially thinks nothing of it but changes his mind when he is slapped by Mika Uehara, whose friend Tomoko had been rudely dumped by Takumi's impersonator. The members of Project D confront the impostors, and get them to apologise to those that they have hurt. Takumi and Mika meet up again, and start seeing each other regularly.

The Kanagawa Expedition[]

Project D head to Kanagawa, the final prefecture of their journey. Project D battle Team 246 on Yabitsu, with Keisuke going up against another Lancer Evolution driver, Kobayakawa, and Takumi going up against their leader, Satoshi Omiya. They then head to Nagao to battle with two members of the professional racing Katagiri. Takumi finally has a rematch with Kai Kogashiwa, now a professional racer, and Keisuke goes up against his first pro Hideo Minagawa. Project D head to Nanamagari to battle with Team Spiral. Keisuke is up against their leader Ryuji Ikeda and Takumi is put against Hiroya Okuyama. Ryosuke enters into a battle of his own against Rin Hojo, Kanagawa's Grim Reaper, on the Hakone Turnpike. Rin and Ryosuke had once both been interested in the same woman, Kaori, however she had committed suicide due to backlash from her family when she rejected Hojo. Along with Ryuji Ikeda, Ryosuke is able to stop Hojo from crashing into a toll booth and ending his life. The two settle their differences and agree to never forget Kaori. Project D's battles finally arrived, with them going up against Sidewinder on the Tsubaki Line. Keisuke goes against Go Hojo, and their battle lasts for two laps before Hojo spins out. Takumi races against fellow Eight-Six driver, Shinji Inui. Their race lasts one lap, but the two fight tooth and nail for the lead, with the battle ending with Takumi blowing his engine out in order to gain the lead. Project D wraps up and Takumi decides to leave the Eight-Six. Both aces have received several offers from professional racing teams. The story ends as it had began, with Takumi on a tofu delivery, this time in the Impreza.

Releases[]

Original version (1995 - 2013)[]

The series was collected in 48 tankōbon volumes between 1995 and 2013. These volumes have been rereleased in several languages.

Volume Original
(Japanese)
Tokyopop
(English)
Kodansha USA
(English)
Sharp Point Press
(Chinese)
Kazé
(French)
Volume 01 November 6th 1995 May 21st 2002 April 17th 2019 January 1st 1998 March 26th 2009
Volume 02 February 6th 1996 July 16th 2002 February 1st 1998 March 26th 2009
Volume 03 May 8th 1996 October 22nd 2002 March 1st 1998 May 28th 2009
Volume 04 August 6th 1996 January 14th 2003 April 1st 1998 August 27th 2009
Volume 05 December 6th 1996 April 15th 2003 May 1st 1998 October 8th 2009
Volume 06 February 6th 1997 June 17th 2003 June 1st 1998 December 10th 2009
Volume 07 June 6th 1997 August 5th 2003 July 1st 1998 February 25th 2010
Volume 08 September 5th 1997 October 7th 2003 August 1st 1998 April 22nd 2010
Volume 09 December 5th 1997 December 9th 2003 September 1st 1998 June 17th 2010
Volume 10 February 6th 1998 February 4th 2004 October 1st 1998 August 26th 2010
Volume 11 May 7th 1998 April 6th 2004 November 1st 1998 October 21st 2010
Volume 12 August 6th 1998 June 1st 2004 December 1st 1998 December 9th 2010
Volume 13 November 6th 1998 August 3rd 2004 February 1st 1999 March 10th 2011
Volume 14 March 5th 1999 October 12th 2004 May 1st 1999 June 9th 2011
Volume 15 May 7th 1999 December 14th 2004 July 1st 1999 September 3rd 2011
Volume 16 August 6th 1999 February 8th 2004 December 15th 1999 December 8th 2011
Volume 17 December 22nd 1999 April 12th 2005 May 10th 2000 March 21st 2012
Volume 18 April 6th 2000 June 7th 2005 September 10th 2000 June 20th 2012
Volume 19 August 4th 2000 August 9th 2005 November 15th 2000 September 12th 2012
Volume 20 December 26th 2000 November 8th 2005 March 22nd 2001 December 19th 2012
Volume 21 May 1st 2001 February 7th 2006 June 27th 2001 February 13th 2013
Volume 22 September 6th 2001 May 9th 2006 November 9th 2001 May 22nd 2013
Volume 23 December 26th 2001 August 1st 2006 February 18th 2002 October 23rd 2013
Volume 24 June 6th 2002 October 31st 2006 August 2nd 2002 February 12th 2014
Volume 25 November 6th 2002 January 30th 2007 December 26th 2002 April 23rd 2014
Volume 26 March 6th 2003 May 1st 2007 April 25th 2003 June 11th 2014
Volume 27 September 5th 2003 August 14th 2007 September 26th 2003 August 6th 2014
Volume 28 March 5th 2004 November 6th 2007 April 9th 2004 October 15th 2014
Volume 29 August 6th 2004 February 5th 2008 September 16th 2004 January 14th 2015
Volume 30 November 29th 2004 May 6th 2008 January 4th 2005 May 20th 2015
Volume 31 June 6th 2005 August 5th 2008 June 6th 2005 September 16th 2015
Volume 32 November 22nd 2005 October 12th 2008 January 21st 2006 January 20th 2016
Volume 33 August 4th 2006 January 13th 2009 October 21st 2006 September 21st 2016
Volume 34 November 27th 2006 April 7th 2009

(Unreleased)

March 20th 2007 March 15th 2017
Volume 35 May 2nd 2007 Unreleased due to

expiry of license

August 13th 2007 September 6th 2017
Volume 36 October 5th 2007 December 18th 2007 February 14th 2018
Volume 37 April 28th 2008 May 28th 2008 November 7th 2018
Volume 38 December 26th 2008 January 21st 2009 March 13th 2019
Volume 39 July 6th 2009 July 20th 2019 August 21st 2009 October 16th 2019
Volume 40 December 26th 2009 February 12th 2010 March 4th 2020
Volume 41 August 6th 2010 September 15th 2010 October 21st 2020
Volume 42 January 6th 2011 February 18th 2011 February 24th 2021
Volume 43 July 6th 2011 September 9th 2011 October 20th 2021
Volume 44 January 6th 2012 March 22nd 2012 January 19th 2022
Volume 45 June 6th 2012 August 4th 2012 May 11th 2022
Volume 46 January 4th 2013 March 7th 2013 September 21st 2022
Volume 47 August 6th 2013 September 24th 2013 January 11th 2023
Volume 48 November 6th 2013 January 16th 2014 March 24th 2023

New edition (2020 - 2021)[]

In 2020 Kodansha announced the release of a new edition of Initial D, to tie in with the series' 25th anniversary. This is a 2-in-1 version, with each volume featuring two of the original volumes. There are 24 volumes.

Volume Original
(Japanese)
J. P. Fantastica
(Polish)
J-Pop
(Italian)
Kodansha USA
(English)
Volume 1 November 6th 2020 December 2022 March 28th 2023 March 19th 2024
Volume 2 March 2023 April 25th 2023 June 4th 2024
Volume 3 May 2023 June 27th 2023 TBA
Volume 4 December 4th 2020 November 2023 August 31st 2023
Volume 5 March 2024 October 24th 2023
Volume 6 June 2024 December 5th 2023
Volume 7 January 6th 2021 TBA February 27th 2024
Volume 8 TBA
Volume 9
Volume 10 February 5th 2021
Volume 11
Volume 12
Volume 13 March 5th 2021
Volume 14
Volume 15
Volume 16 April 6th 2021
Volume 17
Volume 18
Volume 19 May 6th 2021
Volume 20
Volume 21
Volume 22 June 4th 2021
Volume 23
Volume 24

Gallery[]

Original Release[]

Japanese Covers[]

Tokyopop Covers[]

ComiXology Covers[]

Kazé Covers[]

New Edition[]

Adaptations[]

Anime[]

Initial D was adapted into an 11 part anime between 1998 and 2021. It consists of the following:

Film Trilogy[]

A trilogy of films known as New Initial D the Movie was released from 2014 to 2016. A compilation movie was released in 2022. The films are:

Live Action[]

A Hong Kong live action adaptation was released in 2005, released as just Initial D, and called Initial D: Drift Racer in the west.

Arcade Games[]

Several arcade games by SEGA based on Initial D have been released under the Initial D Arcade Stage name.

Three non-Arcade Stage arcade games have been released. These are:

Video Games[]

Several games based on Initial D have been made for home and portable consoles. These are:

Only one unreleased Initial D game is known to exist, Initial D EX. The game was reportedly in development for the Nintendo DS, however it was never released. There is evidence that suggests the game was a hoax.

Sequel[]

Initial D received a sequel in 2017 with the release of MF Ghost. The manga features several characters from the Initial D as minor characters, and follows Kanata Rivington, the student of Takumi Fujiwara. Kanata heads to Japan to compete in MFG, a racing competition, under the surname of his long-lost father, in an attempt to attract his attention.

An anime adaptation released in October 2023.

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