Streaming link: https://www.amazon.com/Initial-D-First-Stage/dp/B0043U5R6U
Season 2 Review: @herosik/review-of-initial-d-second-stage
The case of "Initial D" is a great starting point for writing some interesting texts. For example, about comics that did not break through to the mass consciousness because they were not good enough or were unlucky enough to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or that there is a mine of great titles in Japan, which sometimes did not go beyond their country and nobody remembers them except the fanatical Otaku. It is also a good example that sometimes it is worth giving your best, because we can achieve success from nothing. ID is not a groundbreaking title like DBZ or "Doom" or "Dune 2" for games. I added DBZ here mainly because it was a worldwide success and, like the above-mentioned games, it accumulated the most important features of its genre into one title. The fact is, the car manga wasn't as copied and reworked many times as the ideas of Akira Toriyama, Id Software, or Westwood. Her legacy is different - tons of memes, Eurobeat's growing popularity, and sensational anime that hasn't aged a bit. First Stage looked inconspicuous compared to other titles from 1998. This year came out "Cowboy Bebop", "Yu-Gi-Oh!", "Oh my Goddess!", "Record of Lodoss War", "Serial Experiments Lain" and "Cardcaptor Sakura", but only 3 of them gained recognition and long-term worldwide popularity - CB, YGO and ID. I'm not slandering the rest of the TV series, it's just not that popularity scale - it's like comparing Earthman power levels with Saiyan Saga Saiya s in DBZ. Even if you hear the name of this cartoon for the first time, assuming you are 20-30 years old, like memes, use YT and FB, the chance that at least once you have not come across modifications with Gas Gas Gas or Deja Vu, it is quite short.
Well, assuming you don't know this anime and you're wondering what I'm fucking with, I'll write you a summary of the plot. The heroes of ID are racing drivers, the so-called street racers who drive on dangerous routes and compare the capabilities of their cars, the strength of characters, the size of cojones. They generally compete with each other like football ultras groups. In the first season, we meet Akina SpeedStars, Akagi RedSuns, Myogi NightKids. The main character is Takumi Fujiwara, an ordinary student who helps his father in his business as a supplier and earns some extra money at a gas station during the summer break. It soon turns out that the young Fujiwara inherited his talent from his father, and was trained by him to be his successor. Takumi was unaware of this fact and it is no wonder that Bunta not only knows how to lie but also had something to build his deceptions on. After several years of working as a supplier of Tofu, Bunta's son gained enormous skills. One day Fujiwara meets Keisuke Takahashi, a popular street racer, who not only beats but also embarrasses him. The ARS representative decides to challenge the local Akina SS drivers, hoping to get an opportunity for a rematch.
ID is basically DBZ, HxH, or FMA, but without power levels, super-techniques, physical strength, or other aspects. Instead, we have other indicators - the strength of character, a propensity to risk, self-confidence including arrogance, engine power, the quality of other parts and elements, synergy between them, skill in driving a car, etc. Instead of fancy techniques, super-blows, risking your own life, or attacks below the belt, here we have a driving style, turbo mode, and other improvements, very risky maneuvers that can quickly end the race with our death. Sure, they overlap partially with the points that can also qualify for battle-shounen, but from a different angle. More than once, I have felt similar emotions as when watching the Saiyan Saga, the events on Namek, the attack on Meruema Palace in HxH, or the best fragments from FMA: Brotherhood. Not only because of a really well-written and realistic story, but also outstanding music. Before I get into it, there are a few more words about history. Its skeleton presents a fairly standard level and patterns typical for WSJ manga. The plot is fairly predictable, and if you've seen a lot of rivalry or self-development titles, apart from the nuances of different topics and target groups, nothing should surprise you. Oh, a standard story about becoming a better version of yourself, developing your passion and discovering your character. The differences, as I mentioned, are that ID targets older boys than younger boys. As a result, the relationships between the characters are more complex, the plots are more complicated, and they also raise topics that would be incomprehensible or inappropriate for a young audience. I mean, for example, Natsuki Mogi, who has had a very liberal approach to sex for years, and from high school also a sugar-daddy with an expensive Mercedes (or rather, he has it). This is not the only female character, it is not a title completely devoid of women like "Kaiji Ultimate Survivor" or focusing mainly on their bodily qualities, no worries. I will say more, there are a couple of friends here who drive really well, and many seasons 1 and 3 racers are not competing for them. I wouldn't be myself if I didn't add a certain "but" - the ID shows well why women are worse at some things than men. This example can easily be applied not only to racing but also to e-sport, for example, because roughly the same factors are important in both cases. And if any lady wants to read what women are definitely better at than men, then I invite you to my texts about "FMA: Brotherhood".
Music is by far the biggest advantage of this anime. If not for Eurobeat, probably hardly anyone would hear about this anime today, and the authors of these songs would have a modest retirement and less fame. Artists certainly care about the former, but their popularity and recognition are not without significance for them. They definitely deserved it. Eurobeat is not my favorite genre, but thanks to ID showing me very well, I became a fan of it. It is true that the first season does not have the most famous songs, such as Deja Vu and Gas Gas Gas, but take it easy - there is so much that definitely everyone will find something for themselves. Do you want emotional, romantic songs? Are. Want songs that make your heart run like a Formula 1 engine? There are many of them. I could name a dozen great songs, but does that make sense? Better check out the playlist yourself. And when it comes to the overall impressions - the only correct rating for the soundtrack is at least 10/10. It is true that the epic finale of the compilation movie 3 was missing, but instead, we have many slightly weaker scenes. My favorite is the Takahashi brothers' input as they perform their signature piece for the first time - a synchronized double drift. When I heard Don't Stop The Music, I felt an emotion similar to the first time I saw Goku transform into Ssj on Namek. Maybe it was just me who reacted like that to this moment, but apart from that, I have no complaints about the choice of songs and their editing - amazing job! 
The opposite is true for animations, lines, graphics, and sounds. Taking the sounds of cars out of the latter, although in season 1 and 2 they are at a worse level than in the adaptation of the third part of the manga. In terms of visuals, this title is extremely poor. You can see the missing frames of the animation, the line is sometimes simplified, the characters move on the screen in a sparing way. I don't know if he rejects this as much as the first seasons of "Baki" or the first part of "Kengan Ashura", because in the case of ID I have long been aware of his weaknesses. However, it is worth putting aside your animosities aside and giving this anime a chance. I do not know Japanese cartoons as well as my friend who runs the fan page MangowyNałóg or some other friends, but I have heard many times from my friends that "I do not recommend anything." I'm not modest, so ... well, I agree with them. When it comes to sounds, as I wrote in the review of season 2, there are moments when we can hear some archaic sounds from some Windows 95 or 98. Generally, anime was made at a cheap cost, which can be seen in almost every field, but if similar if you value the script and character creations more, you will experience it. The more that the anime looks nice from season 3, so you will endure two series.
All in all, this is one of the best anime I have ever seen. This does not mean that this title is flawless - as I mentioned in the paragraphs above, it is a good, although quite standard and predictable (in terms of its course) story. However, you can feel that the author had an idea for his comic, he knew what he wanted to convey with it and prepared for it from the substantive side. Perhaps when I watch again in a few years, I will notice some flaws that I do not notice now because of my crush, but I don't think they are big. From the storytelling side, everything is at least the correct level - from the idea of characters, through their relationships, interactions between them and the challenges that await them, ending with development and story-telling skills. I don't know what it looks like in the comic, but the animated version is extremely light to watch. I felt similar to watching "Hunter x Hunter", "Space Brothers" (from a certain point on, because at the beginning I had to get used to it) or DBZ. Light and extremely rewarding entertainment.
