Initial D Fourth Stage

Well the series has a certain pattern or formula which may seem repetitive, but the series is willing to somewhat break the 4th wall in an indirect sense to explain that and help you understand better. This will be explained between Takumi’s races with Tomoyuki and Sakamoto on the subject of “oh this opponent will be your toughest yet, etc.” For that formula, mostly one episode is that they introduce Project D’s opponents and the following episode they will race. At times the pace will change a bit, but I think it brings a more definitive balance to keep you hooked. It is very character ... development driven which is what I loved best. Every race Takumi and Keisuke have is a new kind of challenge in multiple angles, and it’s Ryosuke’s purpose to use that factor to help develop them. The development is obvious and predictable, but Ryosuke keeps things at a certain ambiguity where it does make you curious to how they get to that goal. But it’s not about development as racers, but development as individuals as well. Especially with Keisuke since you get to learn about him more and sympathize with him.

Itsuki, Iketani, and Kenji are of course present. Itsuki will also have his time to somewhat shine again. I think they are useful but not impacting. I think the purpose of their presence is to demonstrate that Takumi is developing and can talk about racing and cars, and Takumi won’t explain things all spaced out like in 1st stage. Other characters from previous season will be making a return and they also have their own contributions. The newer characters are interesting in their own right and you’re getting characters from all kinds of backgrounds and skill levels. Granted it’s been the same with previous installments, but this takes it to a whole new level in ways you can never have expected. By the end, you get characters that are not traditionally found in Initial D, but you would tend to find in Wangan Midnight, another racing anime and manga. Some teams go as far as getting professional racers to challenge Project D. A flaw that will stand out to those familiar with the manga is that Keisuke’s races such as that with the Integra and the R34 are mentioned, but are never shown, but afterwards they show his races. I don’t know why. But I heard they were animated for Battle Stage 2, which I have yet to see. I also recall that Kyoko, the black FD driver being spunkier in the manga while in this one, she’s more of a likeable and sweet girl, but with a unique passion for cars and racing. Over looking these flaws, the pacing felt as fast as the races, which will be my next topic of discussion.

Well, you’ll notice a lot of changes in this series in style. What I liked is that it brings a style more manga-like. The art was sketchier and it used a lot more cross-hatching to show the shadowing. I’m personally more of a manga person, so I felt appreciated as a manga fan. I also loved how the coloring and resolution complimented this approach as well. But one thing in particular that really stood out to me was that the characters wore different clothes in every episode. Usually in cartoons, video games, and anime, characters will always wear one set of clothes just to make them “iconic.” I know it may sound stupid those who are listening to this review, but this quality just stood out to me and I just happened to enjoy it. But one thing I didn’t like personally is that Shigeno-sensei at this point is sort of getting lazy with his female designs. How come Kyoko and Nao have to look like Natsuki? Why can’t he draw women in the fashion of Impact Blue? I don’t know where he went wrong there.

The rendering of the cars this time has more of a cel-shaded style, though not really in the same nature of that as in Jet Set Radio or Okami. It still has a CG kind of look, and I thought the rendering blended excellently with the style of this season. The races in this one are of course more exciting than ever, but I think they relied on the chase race more. You know the races like what Takumi had with Impact Blue in first stage, and with Wataru in second. But I heard in mountain races in Japan, that kind of racing is most common. I prefer the time attack races and I think in addition to realism they used the chase race just to drag the races a little bit more, but I feel the conclusions and finishes are more dramatic as a result, though sometimes anti-climatic, but there are legitimate reasons and purposes. But like other installments as the series progresses, new courses will of course mean new features and factors to how the races will turn out which is another contribution to motivating development. And sorry to bring up a spoiler, but I couldn’t help but mention that by the end, it will feature Mt. Tsukuba, also known as the Purple Mountain, a course I used to live not too far from and have hiked. And the home team is appropriately named the Purple Shadow. And I haven’t played the newer games enough to give the judgment of the accuracy of the course’s portrayal.

Even though I skim through this section in the last two reviews of Initial D, I need to really extend this particular section more in relation to the voice acting. First I will briefly talk about the music. My favorite song is the 2005 remix of Wild Reputation by Dave Rodgers, and it’s featured in episode 13. I just think the song really reflected the bad boy images of Wataru and Keisuke. And to conclude with the music, MOVE’s style has gone more radical where it was more reliant on rap in previous seasons, while they added more rock elements to come across as more extreme and it works out really well. So that’s it for music.

The voice acting in this season starting with Takahashi Ryosuke played by Koyasu Takehito, is taken to a new level of appreciation in my book. It’s not just his unique charisma and intimidation, but I just love how he makes the character distinguishing. His acting abilities truly bring those qualities to Ryosuke. It makes him sound like a Bruce Lee of street racing though that’s really Bunta’s role, but Koyasu’s acting just steals that spotlight. Miki Shin’ichiro also brings out Takumi’s development in relation to his ability to articulate his abilities racing and doesn’t sound as spaced out. He just really pulls you into the character and you can’t call him an empty shell. And as usual, I love Seki Tomokazu’s hot tempered portrayal as Keisuke. And Toyoguchi Megumi, who you may know as the voice of Elena in Advent Children, Millaria in Gundam SEED, and Sei in Maria-san ga Miteru did an excellent performance with the anime’s portrayal of Kyoko who is passionate, but yet mellow and focused. Even though my perfect scores in previous installments was out of fanboyism on my part, I just feel that for the first time I felt moved and more educated by the performances.

Despite how highly I rate this, I still acknowledge Initial D isn’t an anime for everyone whether new, casual, or hardcore. I’m just saying this as a guy who’ll try everything, and I didn’t expect to like Initial D. I like what’s fresh and original, which Initial D has always offered me and is free from most anime stereotypes, and it’s very educational to me as someone who has friends who like to race and I have been going to car shows and drag races since I was in high school, though I don’t participate in them. But the concept of racing isn’t something everyone is going to embrace and I know that eurobeat isn’t universally appealing. And the tech speak is something that can turn off people and I’ve seen that a lot. But if you want character and story development that is well motivated, maybe these qualities will make up for the surface ones that make you uninterested, I don’t know.

Now I will conclude this on a note that people will call me stupid and crazy, and for all the right reasons by fans and non-fans alike. It’s just that when I watched this, I felt the execution and presentation made me start to think that touge racing is a legitimate sport in its own way and requires a unique set of skills and customization of your car. After all, some famous racers started out on the street and Tsuchiya Keiichi, the drift king and supervisor of this anime was no different. Outside of public traffic risk and legality factors, other conditions that are explained and portrayed truly demonstrate this distinction to make you come to that assumption and I do have a new sense of respect for touge racing as a sport thanks to watching this anime. As for a fifth stage, the manga is still going on, so you can look forward to it at some point, or read the manga.

Initial D Fourth Stage is the newest series in the long-running franchise. Fast-paced street racing, modified cars, and determined drivers all combine to create a series that has become one that is unique in it's style. Fourth Stage breathes in new art and an outstanding face lift to the series and guarantees to please fans of it's predecessors.

The story of Fourth Stage has come from the budding of Fujiwara Takumi's driving skill to the nationwide domination of Project D, a new race team established by Takahashi Ryouske. The story proceeds well from the small victories in various regions, to the eventual domination of the prefecture ... as a whole. The story however, does also drop into the various personal lives of the characters. By allowing viewers to see what is driving the character's ambitions and dreams, they can come to understand the determination that all hold.

The artwork has come a long way since the original First Stage. Character animations are more fluid and polished. Overall, they more attractive as well since they were pretty hard to view in the beginning. The biggest improvements have come, of course, in the vehicle and race animations. All the cars are depicted almost flawlessly both inside and out to let auto enthusiasts truly appreciate their favorite vehicles. The races are much smother and the vehicles have lost that "paste-on-top" feel that they used to have. A very welcome change. Fans can now truly feel the races blend together in solid animation.

The soundwork of Initial D has always been a key point to it's success. The squeeling tires, high-revving engines, and bursting exhausts are all delivered in an excellence that is to be expected. The background music has stayed true to the Initial D style with it's happy-pop Eurobeat soundtrack. The music, while perhaps annoying on it's own, does help to provide a great sense of energy during the race scenes. By combining the music and sounds in great choreography with the revamped animation, a completed scene gives it's viewers a real sense of awe. The new introduction and ending music are pretty similar to the previous tunes held by the earlier seasons. The intro music is fastpaced and energetic while the ending themes are a bit softer to give a sense of closure after each episode.

The characters in Initial D have come a long way since the original series, yet they still seem to have a hard time developing aside from their driving skill. Anger, drama, sadness, and determination are all delivered well enough, but any actual development is rarely made. The traditional overcoming by Takumi is nothing new but is fun to watch as new techniques and skills are found. The drama, itself, is pretty much based on a would-be relationship that is similar to one found in Second Stage. Again, while the characters learn and grow as drivers, they don't seem to evolve much as people.

Overall, Initial D Fourth Stage is an excellent addition to growing franchise. The new artwork will be a welcomed upgrade amongst fans of previous series and may even captivate the eyes of new viewers. For series focused on automotive enthusiasm, drifting, and driver determination, it does well for itself. However, it may find difficulty in capturing the attention of those that have little or no interest in auto racing or drifting.

Initial D Fourth Stage Review
There are no spoilers in this review
Well what can I say? I enjoyed it allot like I have with the previous instalments. It felt different though. They fixed the biggest flaw that I though there was but another one came up which just messed with atmosphere of the show. My enjoyment was somewhat less because of that but I'll explain in detail later.

Story
What can I say, it's typical Initial D fashion. Absolutely immersion for a car fanatic like me, with them layering on more and more technical talk about the mechanics and the techniques used I enjoyed ... it allot. I have to say my favourite battle was the AE86 vs the Cappuccino, it was a truly thrilling race.

I have to say this series move the story along quite well and it was interesting learning more about some of the side characters stories allot more than just the main characters. The Third Stage focused more on Takumi, probably because it was a movie. As usual I can't wait for the next stage.

Tech
Now this is probably the section where I saw the most change in the quality and atmosphere of the show. I said in my Third Stage review that the art in it had increased in quality but wasn't up to how I wanted quite yet. I was happy to see in the Fifth Stage that the art is finally where it should be at. The CGI was a massive improvement and really makes the series greater.

The animation quality and sound quality both improve really well to and is note worthy to mention. The sound effects where also better and generally the show felt allot more developed than previous seasons.

This is all good. But unfortunately it isn't all a jolly good time. The biggest new floor to come from the changes is the sound track. The Eurobeat music which Initial D is famous for is gone and replaced with more typical OST music.

This I think damaged the atmosphere of the show and the thrill factor the most. It was one of my favourite things about the show and the loss of it has prevented Initial D getting a 10/10 in my book. Which is a shame because it's such a great show. But overall I am mostly happy with the improvements to the show.

Characters
The characters developed nicely and we saw a bit more about some of the side characters and their love interests. It was interesting seeing a certain best friend spending time with his interest from Stage 2, but it was unfortunate how it ended.

I feel sorry for the guy but I doubt we have seen the last of that. I do think I missed out on a bit of character development by not seeing Extra Stage 2 yet. It hasn't been translated officially yet and may not have, so we don't see any more of Mako and how she's doing. Hopefully she surfaces in the Fifth stage.

Conclusion
Fifth Stage increases the standards the rest of the series has set and is a vast improvement overall. Some changes to the music did take away the thrill factor of the battle scenes somewhat but it can't be helped.

Unfortunately I can't give a stage of Initial D 10/10 status yet but I have high hopes for the Fifth Stage. I have to say my love of cars has become somewhat increased due to Initial D and I am thankful for that. I'd highly recommend Initial D to anyone who is a car fan like me. I think it's the best of it's genre and it's reputation amongst fans mirrors that.

Score: 9/10

Stage four was definitely better than stage three in terms of everything. Fourth stage started out a bit weak, the races in starting didn't feel very strong, felt kind of slow but then it picked up. The races became more and more fierce and difficult for both Takumi and Keisuke, this time they faced all types of opponents. There was tremendous growth for Takumi, Keisuke and Itsuki in this season, both in terms of racing and overall character growth. Takumi and Keisuke have become very strong drivers now.

Takumi is a great driver, calling him great would be an understatement but one thing is that in ... many of his races, luck is a very big factor in winning the race, sometimes it all boils down to luck when the skills of the drivers are evenly matched, that's what happned in most of the races in this season, you will know what I'm talking about once you finish watching this season.

The intensity of racing was on-par with the first stage this time, you could feel the thrill, nervousness and the tense atmosphere while watching them race. The brilliant use of stratergies and plans was amazing to watch, Takumi came up with a bunch of his own techniques to win his races and they were really great and unexpected, it was like a wild card for a guranteed win.

Coming to character development of Itsuki, he is the one who has grown a lot in this season, he's not the immature kid who used to just hang around Takumi all the time, he's grown now, he's become more adult, he's matured due to his experiences in this season. He's still the best buddy of Takumi but a bit more mature.

Love life of our characters were explored a bit more in this season and it has lead to us finding out more about the characters and them growing from those experiences.

Story is a 10/10. Plus they put lots of story in the episodes, the recaps were short and still every episode was more than 27 minutes and that's telling something.

Art is a 10/10 considering how old this anime is, can't really compare with today's animation but it's pretty good for it's time, there was no noticeable CGI too, not even on cars.

Sound is 8/10, can't compare it with the OG first stage music, nothing can beat eurobeat in terms of anything.

Enjoyment was 9/10. I deducted 1 point because of how the fourth stage started a bit weak, it was weak for a few episodes and I wasn't able to fully pay attention to the episode but then it became very enjoyable and I couldn't stop watching at all. I completed this whole season in 2 days even with my college going on as always, I spent all of my free time watching this, that's how enjoyable this was. Though I would add that it can't be compared to the raw thrill and excitement of the first stage. First stage will remain legendary.

Overall, it's a 9/10 for me.

This is my first ever review so I don't know how helpful it will be but I'm guessing if you have come as far as fourth season then you are going to watch it anyways regardless of the ratings, right?

Anyway have fun while watching this!

After finishing this series I must say...I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Initial D has become one of my all-time favorites. Surprisingly, this show got me back into cars like how I used to when I was younger and I'm even more of a fan now than before.

I enjoyed every plot twist, funny and thrilling moments that had me on the edge of my seat. Some of my favorite ones were whenever Takumi pulled a new trick up his sleeve, all the guys working at the gas station talking about the new upcoming races or how Takumi beat an skilled opponent, or even when ... Ryosuke would give advice to Takumi before a race starts and many more especially whenever Bunta was on screen!!

There's not many bad things I could say about this series because all the elements of what made this show is amazing imo. There are at times some things feel like it is repetitive however it's not unwatchable because the series has good pacing and surprises you. I love everything about Initial D and I can't wait to watch it again whenever I choose to in the future.

Lastly, it's very hard to choose which Stage I like the most but as to who's my favorite character is, that would have to be Keisuke Takahashi. Because his character development shines throughout the series along with a couple of others however once I saw that yellow Mazda RX-7 FD for the first time I was sold!!

Seemingly after a poor Stage 3, they threw every conceivable race that could in this 24 episode, adrenaline fueled Stage 4. Thank goodness they did too are Stage 3 really could have set the series up to plummet into the depths of garbage.

There are many things to like here. 2 things in particular have become consistent points of quality; The music and the driving animation. There isn't really much more I can say about these elements to be honest. Music fits perfectly to the absolutely perfectly animated driving. Every single race, these elements shine, providing the viewer with everything you could possibly ... need from a anime based upon street racing.

If you've seen stage 3, you will know where we are at in the overall story of Initial D. I won't spoil it if not however. In the begining of this season, the races come thick and fast. There is a ligimate reason for the frequency and intensity. At first I thought the season was wasting every opportunity to make something of these races. It seems rushed with little really invested in them. However, the further you get and the more the characters develop, you start to realise the real reason for the race frequency at the beginning. Every race in the early parts of the season is subtly building the dynamic. When you arrive are the later on the season, you realise exactly what our protagonists are up against and the excitement for what is to come really hits you. Great example of story writing.

This series has two main protagonists. Obviously, one of them is Takumi. In the begining, little is explored of the other protagonist. I was left feeling cheated in the beginning. Takumi's races were detailed and then when I was the second protagonists turn, the race started, immediate cut scene, then dialog about the race finishing. However, the more this happend, the more I wanted our second protagonist to have there moment. Once their time to shine came, it was all the more satisfying. Similar to the preceding paragraph. A point that I was struggling with turned into a subtle and superb bit of writing and dynamic building which left me really appreciate the two points of frustration I had in the early episodes.

In the end, this left me very satisfied. Although I initially had an issue with pacing and character exploration, my initial issues essentially turned into the opposite and are what I believe make Stage 4 so great.

I watch this show for the characters, music and the races after the first 3 seasons I took a little break from season 4 since it seemed like it would be slow and that it would maybe not be that interesting. In contrast to the earlier seasons this one doesn't have much stories outside of the street racing which I was hoping to see, but however the pace of this season is so fast that I don't personally mind it at all. Even though I definitely want them in the future. Otherwise it's very good quality and worth your time to watch if you like ... the characters and previous seasons. Only thins that annoyed me was that Ryosuke can predict everything that happends in the future, since it's not realistic, but I get the idea that it's so that the watchers can understand the events better.

(Minor spoilers that probably do not matter to many people)

This season is the bridging of the great episodes and the more foreseeable decline in quality to the fifth stage.
The major issue with this season of Initial D is that it pushes the plotline out and slides (Pun definitely not intended) these races to be three episodes to the completion of a race. The order of these episodes are like this: small pitch in with side characters, race revealed and group see it, pushover drift racer that is usually a jerk and has zero tolerance, lastly win & continue this formula.
This makes these high ... octane races feel slow, with a actual race of a 7 mile or 5 kilometer course taking around 15 minutes with a mediocre driver sliding around a corner, I would assume Takumi and his Project D to be able to do these races in the matter of an episode, and maybe at the max the show could finish the race at the beginning of the next episode, not dragged to thee.
The music has a steady decrease in quality throughout the season too, should be able to notice after 2 mediocre eurobeat songs, that later develop into actual garbage songs.
Takumi feels emo with how philosophical he gets when he thinks of a plan to pass the racer in front of him that it gets annoying, not to mention flashbacks. This all could've been just not shown, besides a glimmer in his eyes and a smart move that makes us say "WOW" instead of describing what will happen.

Flat 7 Rating

If you agree with my complaints, don't feel shy to say its helpful!

Overall, breathtaking and enjoyable anime

There's so many reasons to give every installment of this anime a 10/10

All of these stages are so good....

Story - Flawless, the story of Takumi and start of Project D is amazing. The tension of the races that go onward prove to be breathtaking every time

Art - Designs are amazing but could get choppy at times

... Sound - When it comes to Initial D, sounds is what Initial D does the best. The sounds create the tension between the races and it's always pleasant

Character - Every single character is flawless and not a single character is poorly written nor doesn't have any lacking talents that make the character non-enjoyable

Overall - 10/10. Every stage of Initial D is flawless.

Quick take: If you like cars, you'll like the story of Takumi Fujiwara, his Trueno 86 and the Probed D team. Fourth stage is the beginning of Project D and as such, we see a lot of forward development from Takumi and Keisuke. From this point forward, the manga shines as the better media of the two and I would suggest that over this anime. Until this point, they were about equal in storyline quality.

Much like first and second stage, the storyline of Initial D is super simple and easy to follow. Much of what we're watching is the birth of a drifting legend that ... is destined to go pro. Takumi learns different skills in every race and each race sees him face a different challenge that keeps them somewhat refreshing. The manga handles all these situations much better than the anime as it feels rushed within the anime. The timeline also feels awkward in the anime, feeling compressed from a year long venture to a summer's time

While I felt critical of the art in Stages 1-3, Fourth stage is the beginning of a huge shift. No longer does the art or CGI feel outdated and it begins to become a bit more difficult in distinguishing the two. From a visual perspective, I enjoyed this. By no means did it reach it's peak yet though.

Sound quality is good, both acting languages (English, Japanese) are well done and comprehensible. The Eurobeat is great and really helps propel the excitement of the races. OST music outside of the Eurobeat actually sounds and feels pretty good compared to previous stages. Car sounds are the best so far and feel a bit more authentic to each car.

Characters are well developed and thought out. There is a ton of forward development in Takumi and Keisuke while most of the other character merely play important supporting roles. The manga makes Project D as much about Keisuke as Takumi, but you won’t find that focus on Keisuke in the anime. Most of the time his development is merely mentioned or talked about. We're told he's improving but are never really shown those battles that lead to that improvement.

Fourth stage is enjoyable, but you won’t find a ton of sub-plot. What you see on the surface is what you get. The story is well written, entertaining and highly recommended. You’ll get some good from the anime, but if you want great, stick to the manga.

Ok now it's fast and furious
I freaking love this fourth stage and my boy Takahashi was a beast.

Here we see how two boys in their 20's improve themselves with every wall presented.
Specially with Takahashi. I love it every time I've seen it racing. I really want it seen it more but well the main star is Takumi and his "Hachi Roku" but don't underestimate the power of the Mazda RX-7, it was beautiful seen it race.
Also, Takahashi has a little bit of drama but like every character here it's a big drop in terms of love. I can't be so mad about how every ... single attempt of having some romance is vanished by the emotions of racing. As a viewer I really wanted a good relationship but here doesn't happen because they are "lonely drivers".
Despite of the drama flops, the races are great but we have an issue and this is like DBZ. Not gonna lie I really liked the races and both drivers has their own problems and has to figure out how to win by a tiny miracle but becomes really repetitive. And the final race was anticlimactic.
Despite of that it's a pretty solid story and I repeat, I love Takahashi in this fourth stage.

The art is really good, I was amazed when I saw the first episode. The CGI looks pretty decent but obviously has his limitations and you can see it in the environment and in the wheels. The environment looks like cardboards sometimes and if you watch the wheels doesn't give you a feel of huge amount of speed. But the art is good, I really liked and was very pleasant to see.

The music is amazing like always. I can't be excited when I hear the Eurodance Poppin off in the start or the climax of the race.
But, I have a tiny problem, the music for the "first stage" is so good that I can't feel what I've feel in the first season. The music of the first season are bops from the beginning to the end and for the following seasons doesn't feel the same but it still has their power.

This is an issue I have and maybe it's because the subs but I had a really bad time figuring out the cars with a few exceptions like the Nissan Skyline, the Honda S2000 and the Mitsubishi Lancer. This was a little bit painful because I really want to know the cars that are racing but I don't know how to interpret a "cappuccino". I have to pause the anime and search the car and that's annoying. Again maybe it's for the subs but I have to point that.

Overall this was an amazing season. I think this and the first stage are the best. We seen a lot of races, you kinda want to smash the screen because of the drama flops (in a good and bad way), the Eurodance is here and obviously we see the Hachi Roku and the FD in their best form.