Keisuke Takahashi (高橋 啓介, Takahashi Keisuke, known as K.T. in the Tokyopop version) is a major character in Initial D, and the secondary protagonist of the Project D Arc.
An ex-bosozoku gang member, he was introduced to street racing by his brother Ryosuke and joined his team, the Akagi RedSuns, and soon became their second best driver in his Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S). He and his brother are nicknamed "The Rotary Brothers", as they both drive cars with rotary engines. During the RedSuns expedition to Akina, he was defeated by Takumi Fujiwara in an impromptu battle, an event that helped kickstart Fujiwara's racing career and created a rivalry between the two. He was invited by his brother to join Project D as their uphill ace.
Contents
Biography[edit | edit source]
Unlike his older brother's calm demeanor, Keisuke was a hot-headed individual, he was known for driving with his emotions and his dislike for losing made him very arrogant. His pride was shattered when he encountered the mysterious AE86 during a practice trial on Mount Akina. Unwilling to accept this loss, he continually traveled to Akina to encounter the Eight Six again. He finally got his chance during the RedSuns race against the Akina SpeedStars when the AE86 driver and future rival Takumi Fujiwara arrived where he was defeated once again, since this defeat he has desired to have a rematch with Takumi until the time was right and both have become rivals since.
When Ryosuke later disbands the RedSuns in favor of Project D, Keisuke joins as well becoming a main driver of the team alongside Takumi. Under Ryosuke’s mentorship, he gained more experience as a racer with his skills dramatically improving and no longer driving with his emotions and controlling them. After Project D’s final race with Kanagawa’s Sidewinder, he pursues his goal as a professional driver, taking his Project D mechanic Tomiguchi with him.
In the new manga MF Ghost, Keisuke has retired from racing and is now the CEO of TK Mach Corporation.
As Takumi trained Kanata, Keisuke also trained one of his students to compete in MFG: Moroboshi Sena, a Toyota Supra MK5 driver.
Information[edit | edit source]
Height: 182cm (6'0")
Weight: 63 kilos (138lb)
Likes: His own FD
Dislikes: The Skyline GT-R, Bubble-brained School Girls
Special Skills: The ABS Drift (Exact Meaning Unclear)
Vehicle: Pre-Facelift (Zenki) Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
Battles[edit | edit source]
| Race | Vehicle | Opponent | Opponent's Vehicle(s) | Course | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takumi Fujiwara vs Keisuke Takahashi (Impromptu) | Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S) | Takumi Fujiwara | Toyota Sprinter Trueno 3door GT-APEX (AE86) | Akina | Takumi outruns Keisuke with an inertia drift |
| Takumi Fujiwara vs Keisuke Takahashi | Takumi passes Keisuke with a Gutter Run | ||||
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Takeshi Nakazato (Impromptu) | Takeshi Nakazato | Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (BNR32) | No actual winners as they both retain their postions | ||
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Takeshi Nakazato | Myogi | Keisuke overtakes Nakazato in the final corner using the sidewalk in the outer corner | |||
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Seiji Iwaki | Seiji Iwaki | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV RS (CN9A) | Akagi | Keisuke tricks Seiiji by going outside, then takes the inside almost suddenly and overtakes | |
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Wataru Akiyama (Impromptu) | Wataru Akiyama | Toyota Corolla Levin GT-APEX (AE86) | Unclear as they both skid to a stop as another car was blocking the road | ||
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Atsuro Kawai | Atsuro Kawai | Nissan Skyline 25GT Turbo (ER34) | Momiji Line | Keisuke overtakes Atsuro on a straight due to greater corner exit speed. | |
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Smiley Sakai | Smiley Sakai | Honda Integra Type R (DC2) | Enna Skyline | Keisuke and Sakai enter a corner together, forcing them into a lower-speed, low-gear scenario. Keisuke is able to overtake due to the Integra struggling to put down power. | |
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Kyoko Iwase | Kyoko Iwase | Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S) | Sadamine | Keisuke bumps Kyoko's FD's rear end a little, causing her to lose turbo boost, overtaking her | |
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Wataru Akiyama | Wataru Akiyama | Toyota Corolla Levin GT-APEX (AE86) | Maze Pass | Wataru spins out after ignoring a gutter in the middle of the road, Keisuke overtakes | |
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Aikawa | Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S) | Aikawa | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V RS (CP9A) | Tsuchisaka | Aikawa brakes to defeat as he was afraid Keisuke may cause him to fall over the road when he overtake him in a narrow path |
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Kozo Hoshino | Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S) | Kozo Hoshino | Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II Nür (BNR34) | Tsukuba Fruits Line | Even though the race should have continued, Kozo forfeights as he doesn't have any remaining grip in his tires to enter a third round |
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Kobayakawa | Kobayakawa | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII GSR (CT9A) | Yabitsu | Keisuke suddenly sprints away in front of Kobayakawa unexpectedly, escaping from him | |
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Hideo Minagawa | Hideo Minagawa | Toyota Supra RZ (JZA80) | Nagao | Hideo forfiets as he lacks enough tire grip to enter into a second round | |
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Ryuji Ikeda | Ryuji Ikeda | Nissan Fairlady Z Version S (Z33) | Nanamagari | Keisuke overtakes him in a heavy fog area with the help of Kenta's phone call indication that it was safe to overtake | |
| Keisuke Takahashi vs Go Hojo | Go Hojo | Honda NSX (NA1) | Tsubaki Line | Go Hojo loses all his grip by entering corners too fast, spins out while Keisuke sprints away |
Relationships[edit | edit source]
Love Interests[edit | edit source]
Kyoko Iwase Just like him, she too drives an FD3S. She fell in love with Keisuke at first sight. When Keisuke's FD broke down, she offered him to borrow her's in his next battle. Both then dated each other. In the end, Keisuke turned her down reasonably because he wants to concentrate on his goal. He did admit he liked her.
Family[edit | edit source]
He is his older brother. After being influenced by his racing skills, he decided to follow his footsteps and reason to become a professional racer. He co-founded the Akagi RedSuns and also helped his brother create Project D. Ryosuke would often coach him and prep talk in his battles.
She is his younger cousin. She usually mocks at him and even causes some tantrums.
Akagi RedSuns/Project D[edit | edit source]
During an impromptu battle in Takumi's delivery run, he was outpaced by him when he performed inertia drift. He lost again in their second battle became obsessed with defeating him. Because of that, he doesn't want him to lose to anyone but him and his brother. However, he began to gain profound respect for him and convinced him to join Project D before he can rematch him and turn pro. He considers him a friendly rival.
He is idolised by him and would do anything to prove himself to him. Just like Keisuke, he was part of the Akagi RedSuns (until the creation of Project D).
Myogi NightKids[edit | edit source]
After both were unable to defeat Takumi in their battles with him, Nakazato challenges Keisuke in a rainy battle in Myogi in an uphill race. Keisuke won the battle leading Nakazato to argue believing he won the race by luck. Keisuke then corrects him that he used his skills to win the race fair and square.
Emperor[edit | edit source]
He was his opponent prior to Ryosuke's battle against Kyoichi. The battle was decided by hillclimb. Keisuke won that battle when he overtook Seiji in the S sections.
Northern Saitama Alliance[edit | edit source]
After his brother's victory against Sudo, he challenged him next but declined because it was against the RedSuns' policy to not race on their own turf. Wataru nonetheless shows him off which nearly caused an accident. They accepted each other's challenge to race again in which they eventually did during Project D's Saitama expedition. He won against him after slipping out. They eventually became friends after their battle. Keisuke later requested help from Wataru to expose imposter Project D's schemes.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Add a photo to this gallery
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Keisuke appeared in MF Ghost as a CEO of TK Mach Corporation with Kenta.
- Keisuke is apparently most famous for the words "Nani" (what) and "Kansei dorifto" (inertia drift) when he gets overtaken by Takumi performing said maneuver, which became a meme. He would also utter this out occasionally in the games (starting from Special Stage on consoles, and Arcade Stage 4 on arcade cabinets).
- Keisuke and his brother Ryosuke were parodied in Kaido Battle 2 & 3, two touge racing games by Genki. Keisuke was parodied as Ryuji Hashimoto (Mischievous Fool in KB2, HC Top in KB3) of Akagi BlueSign.
- In New Initial D the Movie, Keisuke's voice actor, which is Yuichi Nakamura, who is also VA for Rin Hojo in Initial D: Fifth Stage and Final Stage.
Appearances[edit | edit source]
| First Stage | ||||||||||||
| Act 1: | Introduced | Act 14: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 2: | Appears | Act 15: | Absent | |||||||||
| Act 3: | Appears | Act 16: | Absent | |||||||||
| Act 4: | Appears | Act 17: | Absent | |||||||||
| Act 5: | Appears | Act 18: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 6: | Appears | Act 19: | Absent | |||||||||
| Act 7: | Appears | Act 20: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 8: | Appears | Act 21: | Flashback/Pictured | |||||||||
| Act 9: | Appears | Act 22: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 10: | Appears | Act 23: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 11: | Appears | Act 24: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 12: | Absent | Act 25: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 13: | Absent | Act 26: | Appears | |||||||||
| Second Stage | ||||||||||||
| Act 1: | Appears | Act 7: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 2: | Appears | Act 8: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 3: | Appears | Act 9: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 4: | Appears | Act 10: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 5: | Appears | Act 11: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 6: | Appears | Act 12: | Absent | |||||||||
| Act 13: | Absent | |||||||||||
| Extra Stage | ||||||||||||
| Act 1: | Appears | Act 2: | Appears | |||||||||
| Third Stage | ||||||||||||
| Initial D: Third Stage: | Appears | |||||||||||
| Fourth Stage | ||||||||||||
| Act 1: | Appears | Act 13: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 2: | Appears | Act 14: | Absent | |||||||||
| Act 3: | Appears | Act 15: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 4: | Appears | Act 16: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 5: | Appears | Act 17: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 6: | Appears | Act 18: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 7: | Appears | Act 19: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 8: | Appears | Act 20: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 9: | Appears | Act 21: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 10: | Appears | Act 22: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 11: | Appears | Act 23: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 12: | Appears | Act 24: | Appears | |||||||||
| Fifth Stage | ||||||||||||
| Act 1: | Appears | Act 8: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 2: | Appears | Act 9: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 3: | Appears | Act 10: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 4: | Appears | Act 11: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 5: | Appears | Act 12: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 6: | Appears | Act 13: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 7: | Appears | Act 14: | Appears | |||||||||
| Final Stage | ||||||||||||
| Act 1: | Appears | Act 3: | Appears | |||||||||
| Act 2: | Appears | Act 4: | Appears | |||||||||
| Legend Trilogy | ||||||||||||
| Legend 1: Awakening: | Appears | |||||||||||
| Legend 2: Racer: | Appears | |||||||||||
| Legend 3: Dream: | Appears | |||||||||||
