Initial D 4th Stage (and beyond) Discussion (Spoilers!)

[Johnny]

So, now that the 4th Stage has come to and end with the release of episode 24, what next for Initial D?

But before that, what have your thoughts on the 4th Stage as a whole been?
Personally I think that this is the best Initial D arc yet. The Third Stage movie raised the bar but with Project D up and running, the 4th Stage was always going to be amazing.
The CG used is now longer and embarassment and things looked fantastic throughout the whole of this season - even the slow-mo inner engine bits were cool.

I thought the "love" story (which old Keisuke wasn't really a part of /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif) between Kyoko and Keisuke was a nice touch (even though Keisuke is an idiot - Kyoko is hawt! /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif) and again showed that Initial D isn't just about guys racing.
Speaking of Keisuke, I thought that the shift from focusing on Takumi to him in some of the final episodes was cool and it was certainly interesting learning of his back story and the fact he was a bit of a punk before big brother Ryosuke introduced him to street racing. Incidentally, I have started reading the JP manga (up to volume 23 which is the start of the Kyoko arc) and I hear he gets a lot more races that they didn't include in the 4th Stage.

Two things I missed from this season were seeing Ryousuke race (IIRC we haven't seen him race properly ever throughout the entire Intial D anime) and of course, Takumi finally racing in the Impreza.
So, they would be the two things I would most like to see in the 5th Stage but from reading other Initial D forums, the favoured content for any future seasons would be:

A prequel showing Bunta's early racing days
A Kyoko arc (probably similar to the Extra Stage i.e. a one off OVA)
An OVA focusing on Itsuki and Kasumi's relationship which was focused on in more depth in the manga

Any of those would be cool but the main thing is that there needs to be more Initial D! /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[untoldsorrow]

I have yet to watch ep 24 but I absolutely LOVE 4th stage. It is by far the best season for Initial D. I love how everything was done, the director(s) is a genius. The car models were outstanding, the effects will great and the best part, the music were dead on. The music choice and directing were spot on, perfect for every moment and at the right moment.

The story is great. I have not read the manga series so if anyone did, is it pretty much the same for the anime? Are there any differences to the story from Manga to anime?

There HAS to be a 5th season, doesn't have to be anytime soon but I do hope it is. There are so many more things Project D needs to do plus he must beat his father, lol.

[Gatts]

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untoldsorrow said:
The story is great. I have not read the manga series so if anyone did, is it pretty much the same for the anime? Are there any differences to the story from Manga to anime?

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There are a large number of races that were cut out of the anime and some of the character relationships were trimmed as well to make room for the races that they kept.

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untoldsorrow said:
There HAS to be a 5th season, doesn't have to be anytime soon but I do hope it is. There are so many more things Project D needs to do plus he must beat his father, lol.

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Before he can beat Bunta, he'll need to at least force him to try. Nothing like Bunta out driving his son while steering with his knees and lighting a fresh cig. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Johnny]

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Gatts said:
Before he can beat Bunta, he'll need to at least force him to try. Nothing like Bunta out driving his son while steering with his knees and lighting a fresh cig. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

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Don't forget not even looking...the guys eyes are constantly closed /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[Captain Impulse]

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johnny said:
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Gatts said:
Before he can beat Bunta, he'll need to at least force him to try. Nothing like Bunta out driving his son while steering with his knees and lighting a fresh cig. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

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Don't forget not even looking...the guys eyes are constantly closed /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

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Haha...you know, that's something I don't even notice anymore. That is, unless one of my friends (one friend in particular ALWAYS does this) shouts, "Open your eyes, f###er!" /images/graemlins/icon_rolleyes.gif

[axoid]

I love Initial D, and I really hate to admit it. But more on that later.

I agree that this is the best season yet. All of the younger characters are showing more maturity, even Itsuki isn't as annoying and all of them are getting more depth. Keisuke is a fool in the way that he handled Kyoko, even though I can understand and even agree with his reasons. It seems clear the he feels something for her, but to just cut her out and not say that they could revisit the subject at the end of the year was an act of cruelty and stupidity. But maybe it's a cultural thing or maybe just well written stupidity of youth. It's lucky for him that she is so infatuated that may still be around waiting come the end of the year.

Being an anime fan, Initial D caught me with interesting characters and being well written and technically accurate. But being a amateur racer, the racing has always bothered me. Drifting every single corner is not the fast way though a course and this new season seemed to be moving away from that. Providing real racing philosophy and only drifting in corners where it provided a benefit. But during the last couple of episodes it looks like they have Takumi drifting every corner again. It had looked like that they were making the effort to move the driver characters from being show racers to real racers. But I'll reserve judgment until Stage 5 shows up. I'm sure that will tic off some drift lovers, but I also catch allot of flack for liking this show from fellow racers.

Some things I looking forward to in Stage 5:
- Finding out what Ryousuke's plain really is.
- Takumi loosing and finally realizing that even with amazing skill, his car can only take him so far. But that is something he should have learned in the 2nd Stage when he blew the engine.
- Kyoko returning to the plot, maybe even brought back by Ryousuke, since Keisuke seemed better and a more centered when she was around.

[Johnny]

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Axoid said:
But being a armature racer, the racing has always bothered me. Drifting every single corner is not the fast way though a course and this new season seemed to be moving away from that. Providing real racing philosophy and only drifting in corners where it provided a benefit. But during the last couple of episodes it looks like they have Takumi drifting every corner again. It had looked like that they were making the effort to move the driver characters from being show racers to real racers. But I'll reserve judgment until Stage 5 shows up. I'm sure that will tic off some drift lovers, but I also catch allot of flack for liking this show from fellow racers.



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Yeah, it gets pretty crazy at times but I think the anime has always been about "showing off" more compared with the manga. In the manga you see drifts of course, but they are done in a much more realistic way (if you've played any of the arcade/PS2 games which are based of the manga more than the anime you'll see what I mean - yeah you can drift, but your car isn't going sideways like in the anime).
I always just put it down to the people behind the anime giving fans a bit of fanservice with awesome drifting.

[Helschadenfreude]

It looks cool. That's all I need to say as I don't understand the logistics of it(... I still don't get the gutter trick no matter how many times someone explains it to me)

I don't know.... I would feel sad if Takumi moved to another car because of its limitations; it's because he's using the 86 that I feel he's an excellent driver(even if it's uppped and modded to the max /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif) I guess I like the whole idea of bonding with a car, I guess. I can't drive worth shit, and the driving in these episodes makes me want to cry.

So.. where are we in the manga compared to this anime? I heard that he does race his dad, but it was wayyyyy too soon for Takumi to try. At least that's according to my cousin.