Initial D Second Stage

Accumulating an impressive series of victories with his AE86, Takumi Fujiwara has imposed himself as street racing's newest rising star. However, his newly found confidence of winning at his home turf of Mount Akina has been put in jeopardy by a new Emperor team exclusively using a car model favored by most professional racing pilots: the Mitsubishi four-wheel drive Lancer Evolutions—also known as Lan Evos. The Emperor team leader, Kyouichi Sudou, looks down on Takumi and regards him as an inferior pilot for driving an antique car that lacks the makings of a true modern race car. Kyouichi's elitist philosophy is also the reason why his team is only made of Lan Evo drivers.

Will Takumi be able to keep his perfect track record intact against the highly skilled and mechanically superior Emperor team, or does his hot streak end here?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Fujiwara, Takumi Main

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Fujiwara, Bunta Supporting

Ishizuka, Unshou Japanese

Takahashi, Ryousuke Supporting

Koyasu, Takehito Japanese

Takahashi, Keisuke Supporting

Seki, Tomokazu Japanese

Takeuchi, Itsuki Supporting

Iwata, Mitsuo Japanese

Nakazato, Takeshi Supporting

Hiyama, Nobuyuki Japanese

Shouji, Shingo Supporting

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Iketani, Kouichirou Supporting

Yao, Kazuki Japanese

Sudou, Kyouichi Supporting

Tanaka, Masahiko Japanese

Mogi, Natsuki Supporting

Kawasumi, Ayako Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Simone, Jamie Producer

Masaki, Shinichi Director, Storyboard

Mima, Masafumi Sound Director

Reviews

Apr 17, 2024

NevyZine

Recommended

Initial D is one of the most influential car animes any car enthusiast can watch.

This is technically a follow-up to a review I wrote back in 2022, so this will not be an insightful review of the Initial D Second Stage itself.
| If you have any interest in cars, I think this anime is a must; if you don't, watch this anime if you only particularly want to. |

My life has changed a lot since my first review. In 2022, I deleted the first sentence that I was going to end up wrapped around a tree in five years because of Initial D. ... I'm now 19, and I'm a freshman at Northeastern University. While at Northeastern Oakland for a semester, I finally recognized how impactful Initial D is on my life and the car community as a whole. Ten minutes away from campus lies a road that hosts a diverse group of car enthusiasts. Driving a variety of cars and motorcycles, this community is bonded by one thing and one thing only: the road. With numerous curves and bends, the Touge community lives on through a dedicated group of people who race on the "track." Ask any of these people if they have watched Initial D, and 90% of enthusiasts would say yes. Initial D was the inspiration for many of the people at the Touge and is what pushed people to race their cars. Initial D is not a story about somebody with the fastest car; it is about a boy with skills and ambition. For these enthusiasts, Initial D was more than a story they watched or read, it has integrated itself as an occasional soundtrack in the background while racing.

I would argue that Initial D is one of the most influential animes, but I don't care for all the drama that comes with it. Initial D is important for car enthusiasts is what helped introduce many kids like me to Touge, and I can't express my gratitude for that enough in my life. hope to see myself in two years in something with 300 tw and on the track.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jun 16, 2023

Bensonas

Recommended

Well, I'll start with the only two negatives o have;
1. The story isn't as superb as Stage 1. I'm purposely using the word superb here for a reason. It's not at AS superb but it's still great.
2. The animation of the 'non driving' scenes is more polished but lost a little bit of the charm as stage 1. However, it just did what every anime did and got more polished with its animation. Again, this isn't really a negative.
And that is it. That's the only real things I can say are negatives. Let's face it though, they arnt really negatives.

Now, onto everything great. ... First of all, the racing animation is excellent. Better than that in stage 1. The corners are smoother and the movement in general is more realistic. The specific piece of animation that impressed me the most is the dramatic cuts from within the car. The movement between the drivers eyes, the pedals and the engine, oh the engine, was perfectly done. Especially with the engine taking center stage in this season it was a beautiful touch. As far as the non driving parts, it still great, despite my comments in the first paragraph. By the end of this season I had got used to it and really liked it in fact.

Setting aside the fact the story wasn't as superb as Stage 1, it was still excellent. It was also nice that it widened the focus to more than just the races of Takumi. It has lovely character development. The Redsuns along with the Speed Stars take great strides of progression due to this seasons antagonist for what seems to be the perfect set up for Stage 3, though sadly seems to be the worst reviewed season of the anime in general to I guess I'll have to set lower expectations. To me this seemed like a gateway season. One that's main purpose is to set up for the next and by the end of it Stage 2, you really want to continue with this anime.

The music again still hits the mark. Still everything you have come to expect of Initial D from Stage 1. Fits the action perfectly and really drives along with the races to ensure you are on the edge of your seat throughout.

Stage 2 is not as good as Stage 1. This statement really doesn't do the season justice though. It's still excellent, it's still fun, it's still exciting and most certainly is still Initial D.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jul 24, 2020

cameronrb24

Mixed Feelings

Second stage is more of the same, for better or worse. We get to see Takumi push the limitations of his 86 even further (eventually past its breaking point). More races outside of the usual Akina downhill get showcased as well. The drama/romance arcs still mostly fall flat, but it's definitely handled better than in first stage. Itsuki just takes more L's, but it plays an important role regarding Takumi's progression as a racer.

There are some odd changes in character design, but the art/animation is an improvement overall. The cgi is less jarring and animated more fluidly. The backgrounds are less flat and bland than ... before. The soundtrack remains unique and fits nicely with racing.

Overall, I had a decent time with this season. I'd imagine i would have enjoyed it more if I had more interest the more technical aspects of racing, but there enough stuff outside of that to keep me interested

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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