Ok imma just be honest with you guys.
Despite many people hating on Fifth Stage, I loved it a lot.
Now I know there are some downsides and cons to this season, which I am very aware of. but I will just explain why -
*The art/CGI :
Initial D was known for one of the first anime to make the extensive use of CGI in the genre. CGI at that time was primitive and did it not mix with animes well. However the show managed to make the right use of it as the years went, and Fifth Stage was a huge improvement in terms of CGI. The cars are more clearer, more detailed in Fifth Stage, making it feel very modern.
The art is kinda another story though. Character designs have been compromised compared to Fourth Stage. The characters I felt who have been compromised were Takumi, Ryosuke (at times only, especially at the first few episodes), and maybe some shots of Keisuke. Takumi's design improves a lot by Final Stage.
*Music/Soundtracks :
Ofc do I need to give any introduction? The show is known for one of the best soundtracks. And Fifth Stage does it exceptionally well. The eurobeat selection is awesome for this season. So many of my favorite songs are from this season. Even better than Fourth Stage imo. The soundfiles are as good as any other eurobeat OSTs. The car audio files are equally as impressive.
*Special effects :
Now this is where MANY OTHERS criticize. The Fujiwara zone/ Aura parts etc. Now I fully understand these and that's why I enjoy it and don't criticize it. Many people don't understand how and why these things are. All they see is "Whoa teleportation plot armor wtf rrrrrrrreeeeeeee, Imma hate it". Now I don't have all the time/luxury to explain what they are so I suggest everyone to check out my reddit post about Fifth Stage 'Why Fifth and Final Stage wasn't that bad'. Also there's a YouTube video explaining it.
*Story :
One interesting thing I've noticed is that Fifth Stage is mostly based around the Takahashi brothers this time around. It was mostly Keisuke's and Ryosuke's time to shine, who especially the latter one didn't get their time to shine in the previous season.
Keisuke really learnt a lot from his previous battles from Fourth Stage, especially his battles with Smiley Sakai and God Foot. He learnt many things about acceleration control, tire preservation. Ryosuke also has a key role to Keisuke's advancement in racing,. His method of teaching Keisuke in Fourth Stage made him really improve in Fifth Sage. Keisuke's quick sprinting at unexpected times and tire preservation in Fifth Stage was an improvement from what he learnt in Fourth Stage.
Ryosuke, who was last seen in action in Third Stage, finally got his time to shine this Season. Not just an amazing battle which is considered one of the best on the series, but his backstory, and the real meaning of the word 'D' which would be revealed in Final Stage was thanks to his role in Fifth Stage. That one battle really changed the whole season for me. It was not any ordinary battle. it was a deathmatch, a unique one i haven't seen so far. For the first time I wondered if anyone would win, lose or even die in a battle. the backstory was deep and unexpected. It was really sad and kinda satisfying to learn about it. He was my favorite character. I finally got to know about him in this Season.
So there you go. That's my review about Fifth Stage, a season which is overhated imo. It deserves some love and attention. Hopefully Funimation will do a dub soon so that more people can see it. Thank you for reading my review.