Initial D First Stage

Initial D First Stage
Number	1
Number of Episodes	26
First Episode	First Stage - Act 1
Last Episode	First Stage - Act 26
Intro	around the world (1-19) BREAK IN2 THE NITE (20-26)
Outro	Rage your dream (1-14) Kiseki no Hana (15-26)
Original Airing	April 18, 1998 -  December 5, 1998
Producer	OB Planning Fuji TV
Next Series	Initial D Second Stage

Initial D, retroactively known as Initial D First Stage, is a 1998 anime television series. It is the first installment in the anime adaptation of the Initial D manga. It covers the chapters 1-77 (volumes 1 to 7).

Characters

These are the prominent characters in this season of the series.

• Bunta Fujiwara
• Takumi Fujiwara
• Fumihiro
• Koichiro Iketani
• Kenji
• Natsuki Mogi
• Kenta Nakamura
• Takeshi Nakazato
• Papa
• Mako Sato
• Sayuki
• Shingo Shoji
• Yuichi Tachibana
• Itsuki Takeuchi
• Keisuke Takahashi
• Ryosuke Takahashi

Battles

• Takumi Fujiwara vs Keisuke Takahashi (Impromptu)
• Takumi Fujiwara vs Keisuke Takahashi
• Ryosuke Takahashi vs Takeshi Nakazato (Impromptu)
• Takeshi Nakazato vs Eikichi Shimamura (Flashback)
• Takeshi Nakazato vs the two racers (Impromptu)
• Takumi Fujiwara vs Takeshi Nakazato
• Takumi Fujiwara in the Eight-Five (Impromptu)
• Koichiro Iketani vs Shingo Shoji (Impromptu)
• Itsuki Takeuchi vs Shingo Shoji (Impromptu) (Anime only)
• Takumi Fujiwara vs Shingo Shoji
• Takumi Fujiwara vs Impact Blue
• Keisuke Takahashi vs Takeshi Nakazato
• Takumi Fujiwara vs Kenta Nakamura
• Takumi Fujiwara vs Ryosuke Takahashi

Acts

1. The Ultimate Tofu Store Drift (究極のとうふ屋ドリフト, Kyūkyoku no tōfuya dorifuto)
2. Revenge! The Rumbling Turbo (リベンジ宣言!ほえるターボ, Ribenji sengen! Hoeru tābo)
3. Downhill Specialist Arrives (ダウンヒルスペシャリスト登場, Daunhirusupesharisuto tōjō, known as The Downhill Specialist Appears in the Tokyopop version)
4. The Battle Begins (交流戦突入!, Kōryū-sen totsunyū!, known as Into the Battle! in the Tokyopop version)
5. Dogfight! (決着!ドッグファイト!, Ketchaku! Doggufaito!)
6. A New Challenger (新たなる挑戦者, Aratanaru chōsen-sha)
7. Pride of a Racer (走りやのプライド, Hashiri ya no puraido, known as A Racer's Pride in the Tokyopop version)
8. Time's Almost Up! (タイムアップ寸前!, Taimuappu sunzen!)
9. Battle to the Limit (限界バトル!, Genkai batoru!)
10. The Five Consecutive Hairpins (爆裂!5連ヘアピン, Bakuretsu! 5-Ren heapin, known as 5 Point Hairpin! in the Tokyopop version)
11. Shingo Arrives (デンジャラス慎吾登場!, Denjarasu Shingo tōjō!)
12. The FR Killer (FR殺しのデスマッチ!, FR-goroshi no desumatchi!) 
13. First Date (イツキの初デート, Itsuki no hatsu dēto, known as Iggy's First Date! in the Tokyopop version)
14. Evolving Drift (進化するドリフト天才!, Shinka suru dorifuto tensai!)
15. Takumi's Fury (拓海·怒涛の激走!, Takumi· dotō no gekisō!, known as Takumi's Fury! in the Tokyopop version)
16. The Angel of Usui (碓氷峠のエンジェル, Usuitōge no Enjeru)
17. Sudden-Death Death Match (サドンデス·デスマッチ, Sadondesu· desumatchi)
18. Hot Winds and Furious Driving (熱風!激走!碓氷峠, Neppū! Gekisō! Usuitōge)
19. Super Drift! (決着!スーパードリフト, Ketchaku! Sūpādorifuto)
20. The End of Summer (ジ·エンド·オブ·サマー, Ji· endo· Obu· samā)
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)
22. Fierce Uphill Battle! (激闘!ヒルクライム, Gekitō! Hirukuraimu)
23. The Rainy Downhill (雨のダウンヒルバトル!, Ame no daunhirubatoru!)
24. Akagi's White Comet (赤城の白い彗星!, Akagi no shiroi suisei!)
25. Last Great Battle (決戦!ラストバトル, Kessen! Rasutobatoru, known as The Decisive Final Battle! in the Tokyopop version)
26. The New Downhill Legend (新ダウンヒル伝説!, Shin daunhiru densetsu!, known as The New Downhill Legend! in the Tokyopop version)

Difference between the anime and manga

• Ryosuke Takahashi's against Takumi Fujiwara race is after Takumi had raced against Impact Blue on Usui Pass and against Kenta Nakamura on Myogi Downhill. In the manga, Ryosuke's race was first, with the said races following afterward.
• In manga Emperor makes it's first appearance during a battle between Kenta and Takumi, with Seiji and his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV appearing as a silhouette. Emperor is first seen in anime in the first episode of Second stage.
• Itsuki Takeuchi had a girlfriend named Saori who only appeared in the anime. This would lead up to an accident that never happened in the manga, inflicted on Itsuki by Shingo Shoji. The following race would proceed as normal, albeit as a public race, and with the absence of Itsuki.
• Takeshi Nakazato has a short race on Akina against two street racers, one of the cars is a white Silvia S13, in the manga, this car is a Honda Integra.

• The race between Takumi Fujiwara and Itsuki Takeuchi against three riders who made fun of Itsuki's 85 Levin have different cars.
  • In the manga version the drivers appear to be members of the NightKids and their cars are a black Nissan Silvia S13 and a black Toyota MR2 SW20. In the anime, the cars are a black Nissan Silvia S13 and a white Nissan 180SX and the drivers are members of Thunder Fire.
• The impromptu battle between Keisuke and Nakazato never happened in First Stage. Instead it was replaced with their official battle.

Trivia

• This series' 2.0 and 5.1 audio versions feature different soundfiles, with the 2.0 featuring a lot of unreleased tracks, whereas the 5.1 is constucted nearly entirely out of released soundfiles.