Tag: Initial D (Page 1 of 4)

The cars of Initial D – Manga Car Spotting – part 1

April 20, 2018 / banpei / 1 Comment

Manga Cars

Ever wondered which cars are featured in Initial D? And perhaps also wondered which model, make and type these manga cars are? In this third episode of Manga car spotting, I’ll be spotting cars in the first book of Initial D! This first book is the US version of the Manga by Tokyopop and covers chapters 1 to 10 of the Japanese Manga.

Initial D by Shuichi Shigeno

I don’t think Initial D needs an introduction: it’s the classic racing manga / racing anime series that gained huge popularity during the mid 1990s in Japan and mid 2000s outside Japan. The manga itself contains many layers of depth and isn’t just about cars, but also about (family) relationships and harsh training by commitment and determination. These first 10 chapters are mostly the introductory of the characters and the setting, so not a lot of action will happen. Still it was fun to do!

You can find the video and the high resolution scans of the panels containing manga cars below:

Initial Ka: initial d sticker plus Ford Ka

Initial Ka: 10hp for this worn Initial D sticker! [Found on the Street]

March 8, 2017 / banpei / 0 Comments

In this video we have an Initial D sticker applied to a Ford Ka. Would this make it an Initial Ka?

Sunday is always a special day. That’s the day when you go out, take a long hike in the woods and eventually end up where most people go to after a long day out: a small local restaurant. Last Sunday I ended up doing exactly what I just described.

In the parking lot of the restaurant a small sticker drew my attention: an Initial D sticker! The sticker looked old and worn, but unmistakably it was an Initial D sticker! What was worse: it had been attached on the bootlid of a Ford Ka, delivering at least an additional 10 horses!

Watch my interpretation below: Continue reading

Panda AE86 paint scheme [JDM Trivia #8]

January 27, 2016 / banpei / 1 Comment

JDM Trivia number eight!

I expected people to jump on the Fujiwara Tofu livery of the Corolla E80 sedan and I was right about that. Actually I wasn’t aiming for the Initial D inspired sticker but rather for the panda AE86 paint scheme applied to it. Why? Well because the two tone panda paint scheme of the AE86 is actually quite subtle and it is easy to make mistakes in it.

Panda AE86 paint scheme

To get started, and sorry if you already know this, but there are two types of the hachi roku: the Toyota Corolla Levin and the Toyota Sprinter Trueno. The former has fixed square head lights while the latter has 70s and 80s style popup head lights. Both of them featured in two body styles: 3 door hatch back and 2 door sedan. People also refer both as a coupe as they have been marketed as a coupe in various regions. However according to the Toyota firewall ID plates the real coupe is the 3 door hatchback and the 2 door sedan is called a hardtop. But enough about introducing even more confusion… Continue reading

Friday video: Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 “Next One” campaign

January 30, 2015 / banpei / 5 Comments

Just hot from the press: Toyota released three mini movies (3 minutes each) called The World Is One in their Next One campaign featuring the Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 in three continents: Japan, Africa (South Africa) and Australia.

The movie really feels like following the Initial D vibe: two high school students, the nerdy one falls in love with a girl, works his ass of to get a license and a car and then buys a kouki ~~zenki~~ Toyota Corolla Levin AE86. They both go for a ride in the AE86: drifting/hooning off and then cruising along the shores. There the girl is found with another guy and see for yourselves the ending in all three parts. It is really well made!

Japan: Continue reading

Hilarious: Initial D Cosplay (part 2)

January 19, 2015 / banpei / 1 Comment

Seven years ago I posted a funny picture of Initial D cosplayers, so when I bumped into these two cosplay pictures I remembered the first vividly:

I must say these costumes are really sturdy made: three of them are based on shopping strollers. Itsuki’s Levin looks horrible, Takumi’s Sprinter Trueno even worse and the Subaru Impreza 22b looks acceptable. Ryosuke’s Mazda Savanna RX-7 looks the best and I bet the most sweat and tears were put into that costume!
BTW: the best looking character is Bunta Fujiwara in the Subaru! That guy really lives up to the original role!

Now there is another Takumi in the second picture: Continue reading

Sanctuary Fujiwara Tofu Shop in Yakota Museum

Sanctuary: the Initial D Fujiwara Tofu shop (part two)

January 15, 2014 / banpei / 1 Comment

Yesterday I already posted about the demolishing of the Initial D Fujiwara Tofu Shop and that it used to be a shrine for Initial D fans throughout the world. For those who felt really sad about the demolishing: the store front actually has been saved and moved in 2012 to the nearby Yokota Museum.

What happened was that there was no original store. Shuichi Shigeno just drew up a tofu store that resembled the average tofu store in small Japanese towns. When Andrew Lau and his crew were scouting locations in Shibukawan for the Initial D movie they found the Fujino tofu store and it resembled the store in the manga quite well and they altered the sign to Fujiwara Tofu Shop. After the movie Mr. Fujino never changed his sign back to Fujino Tofu Shop.

I made a couple of manga cut outs to show the difference between the manga and the Fujino Tofu Store: Continue reading