- "Street Racing Is On Fire"
- ―Kazé's slogan for Initial D
Kazé was a French publishing company that specialized in the distribution and publication of anime and manga in Europe, mainly in France. The company was founded in September 1994 by Cédric Littardi and was based in Paris, France. In September 2019, Crunchyroll LLC announced an agreement to merge VIZ Media Europe with Crunchyroll, which then became Crunchyroll EMEA, with the former being the parent company of Kazé.[1] In June 2022, Crunchyroll announced that Kazé would be rebranded and fully absorbed into Crunchyroll, with the rebranding taking effect on October 1, 2022.[2][3]
Kazé was responsible for the publication and distribution of the French-language localization of the Initial D series, including both the manga and anime. The company released the first DVDs for Initial D First Stage in 2005, offering both VF (Version Française, dubbed) and VOSTFR (Version Originale Sous-titrée en Français, subtitled) versions. They would eventually release the entire main series, excluding the Battle Stages.
The Initial D manga was originally published in France under Kazé's label Asuka before they decided to rebrand to Kazé Manga in late 2009.[4] Due to their merger the last two volumes of the series were released by Crunchyroll, with subsequent rereleases using the Crunchyroll branding. Crunchyroll offered to send collectors of the series the new dustcovers for their volumes, so their collections were consistent.[5]
Anime[]
Kazé distributed the Initial D anime on DVD in both VF (Version Française) and VOSTFR (Version Originale Sous-titrée en Français), releasing the entire main series except for the Battle Stages. The series was also broadcast on French television channels such as AB Moteurs and NT1 up until Initial D Fourth Stage, excluding Initial D Third Stage.[6][7]
Kazé released First Stage to Fourth Stage from 2005 to 2009 and later released Extra Stage 2, Fifth Stage, and Final Stage on Blu-ray in 2018. The French dubbing was outsourced to various studios, including Studios Lincoln, Midisync, Mirroring, and O'Bahamas.[6] Due to this, much of the voice cast remained inconsistent across different stages.
| Voice Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Hervé Caradec Jean-Michel Vovk (Extra, Third, Fourth) Charles Mendiant (Extra Stage 2 and Final) |
Yuichi Tachibana |
| Yann Pichon Laurent Vernin (Third, Fourth) |
Takumi Fujiwara |
| Éric Chevallier Tony Beck (Extra, Third, Fourth) Alan Aubert (Extra Stage 2, Fifth, Final) |
Itsuki Takeuchi |
| Frederique Charpentier Stéphane Flamand (Third, Fourth; Act 1) Mélanie Dermont (Fourth Stage; Act 14) |
Natsuki Mogi |
| Cyrille Monge | Papa |
| Martial Leminoux David Manet (Extra, Third, Fourth) Jean-Marco Montalto (Extra Stage 2, Fifth, Final) |
Koichiro Iketani |
| Jean-Pascal Quilichini André Pauwels (Third, Fourth) Frédéric Souterelle (Fifth and Final) |
Bunta Fujiwara |
| François Cretonv Christophe Hespel (Extra, Third, Fourth) |
Keisuke Takahashi |
| Frederic Popovic Xavier Percy (Extra, Third, Fourth; Acts 1-12) Bruno Mullenaerts (Fourth Stage; Acts 13-24) Jochen Haegele (Fifth and Final) |
Ryosuke Takahashi |
| Constantin Pappas Sébastien Hebrant (Third, Fourth; Acts 1-12) Erwin Grunspan (Fourth Stage; Acts 13-24) Jean-Pierre Leblan (Fifth and Final) |
Fumihiro |
| Cyrille Monge Aurélien Ringelheim (Extra, Third, Fourth; Acts 1-12) Mathieu Moreau (Fourth Stage; Acts 13-24) Charles Mendiant (Extra Stage 2, Fifth, Final) |
Kenji |
| Fabien Briche Pablo Hertsen (Extra, Third) Charles Mendiant (Fifth and Final) |
Takeshi Nakazato |
| Stéphane Ronchewski Antoni LoPresti (Extra, Third) Jean-Pierre Leblan (Fifth and Final) |
Shingo Shoji |
| Francoise Escobar | Saori |
| Naïké Fauveau Audrey D'Hulstere (Extra, Third) Dany Benedito (Extra Stage 2, Fifth, Final) |
Mako Sato |
| Nathalie Bleynie Cathy Boquet (Extra, Third) Karl-Line Heller (Extra Stage 2, Fifth, Final) |
Sayuki |
| Daniel Lafourcade Marc Weiss (Fourth Stage; Acts 1-12) Gauthier De Fauconval (Fourth Stage; Acts 13-24) Jean-Pierre Leblan (Fifth and Final) |
Kenta Nakamura |
| Alexandre Aubry | Narrator |
| Cyrille Artaux Pierre Bodson (Extra, Third, Fourth) Michaël Maino (Final Stage) |
Seiji Iwaki |
| Antoine Tome Olivier Cuvelier (Third Stage) Patrick Brüll (Fourth Stage) Marc Wilhelm (Final Stage) |
Kyoichi Sudo |
| Daniel Lafourcade | Masashi Suzuki |
| Agnes Manoury | Kazumi Akiyama |
| Benoît Du Pac Karim Barras (Fourth Stage; Until Act 12) Jean-Pierre Denuit (Fourth Stage; Act 13-24) Adrien Solis (Fifth Stage) |
Wataru Akiyama |
| Pierre Bodson | Satake |
| Philippe Allard | Ren Nogami |
| Gauthier De Fauconval | Miyahara |
| Christophe Seugnet | Kai Kogashiwa |
| Charles Mendiant | Ken Kogashiwa |
| ? | Atsuro Kawai |
| ? | Shinichi |
| Philippe Allard | Toru Suetsugu |
| Géraldine Frippiat | Nao |
| Adrien Solis | Shuichi Matsumoto |
| ? | Tomiguchi |
| Thierry Janssen Michaël Maino (Final Stage) |
Daiki Ninomiya |
| Martin Spinhayer | Todo |
| Gregory Praet Laurent Pasquier (Final Stage) |
Smiley Sakai |
| Frédéric Meaux Jean-Pierre Leblan (Final Stage) |
Tomoyuki Tachi |
| ? | Two Guys From Tokyo |
| Alice Ley (Until Act 10) Audrey D'Hulstere |
Kyoko Iwase |
| ? | Kyoko's Friend |
| Alexandre Crépet (Until Act 12) Renaud Tefnin |
Nobuhiko Akiyama |
| Pablo Hertsen | Sakamoto |
| ? | Ichijo |
| ? | Aikawa |
| Patrick Brüll | Toshiya Joshima |
| Emmanuel Liénart | Kozo Hoshino |
| Sophie Planet (Extra Stage 2) | Mrs. Iketani |
| ? | The Altezza Guys |
| ? | Old Man |
| ? | Fake Project D |
| Sophie Planet | Mika Uehara |
| Laurent Pasquier | Mika's Father |
| Alexandre Coadour | Go Hojo |
| Frédéric Souterelle | Eiji Kubo |
| Laurent Pasquier | Satoshi Omiya |
| Michaël Maino | Kobayakawa |
| Marc Wilhelm | Hideo Minagawa |
| Antoine Tome | Ryuji Ikeda |
| Laurent Pasquier | Hiroya Okuyama |
| Christophe Seugnet | Rin Hojo |
| Michaël Maino | Junichi Sakamoto |
| Sophie Planet | Mrs. Inui |
| Adrien Solis | Shinji Inui |
| Karl-Line Heller | Kaori |
| Michaël Maino | Kaori's Father |
Home Video Releases[]
- See also: Initial D Anime Releases
DVD[]
Blu-rays[]
| Title | Release date | Episodes featured | No. of Discs | ID numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial D Intégrale First Stage Second Stage | 7th of June 2017 | Initial D First Stage (full series) Initial D Second Stage (full series) |
3 | BR3149 |
| Initial D Intégrale Third Stage Extra Stage 1 Fourth Stage | 11th of October 2017 | Initial D Third Stage Initial D Extra Stage Initial D Fourth Stage (full series) |
3 | BR3150 |
| Initial D Intégrale Fifth Stage Final Stage Extra Stage 2 | 28th of February 2018 | Initial D Extra Stage 2 Initial D Fifth Stage (full series) Initial D Final Stage (full series) |
3 | BR3192 |
Gallery[]
E-Cards[]
Wallpapers[]
References[]
- ↑ GoToon (September 5, 2019). "Crunchyroll et VIZ Media Europe unissent leurs forces" (fr). Crunchyroll. Retrieved on March 2, 2025.
- ↑ "Kazé devient Crunchyroll" (fr). Manga News (June 2, 2022). Retrieved on March 2, 2025.
- ↑ "Changement de charte graphique chez Kazé/Crunchyroll" (fr). Manga News (September 12, 2022). Retrieved on March 2, 2025.
- ↑ Benjamin Roure (November 30, 2009). "Kaze lance son label de manga" (fr). BoDoï. Archived from the original on December 1, 2009. Retrieved on March 2, 2025.
- ↑ "Kazé devient Crunchyroll : tous les détails du changement de marque" (fr). Crunchyroll (September 6, 2022). Retrieved on March 5, 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Initial D on Planete Jeunesse" (fr). Planete Jeunesse. Retrieved on March 2, 2025.
- ↑ "Initial D (TV) on Anime News Network". Anime News Network. Retrieved on March 2, 2025.