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Initial D - First Stage
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Animation - 7.0 |
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Sound - 9.2 |
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Story - 8.2 |
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Character - 8.1 |
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Value - 8.6 |
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Enjoyment - 9.4 |
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Average - 8.4 |
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| If youre not interested in cars and racing, then this is not for you because most the series is about racing and only little about romance and life. The animation is not so good for its release date, more like it was created in in the 80s, about the cars, well, not realistic enough, but its gotten better in the succeeding stages. Soundtrack is not bad but I think its better that the soundtrack is rock rather than disco-mix. The story is about racing so unless your interested in cars and racing, you wont appreciate this, there also some technical terms here related to auto mechanics so sometimes im really having a hard time understanding this even though im a driver myself. But what's really interesting is how a tofu delivery driver became a downhill specialist and how an outdated car wins races against racing-tuned sports cars, yeah i know its unbelievable but pretty interesting too. Well its not like this series is just about illegal mountain races but you can also learn something from here in terms of racing techniques, mechanics and cars as well.
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brynolf |
(2007-10-10 11:24:01) 2007-10-10 11:22:51 |
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| Average |
6.0 |
| Animation |
4 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| I'm not into cars or racing at all, but somehow I enjoyed this one a bit regardless. Basically it's about a couple of gangs competing for honour in reckless downhill street racing.
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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midas |
(2007-06-18 01:39:22) 2007-06-18 01:27:40 |
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Fun series. Lots of vroom vroom and screech screech, it will get you excited. Girls will be bored and prolly think it's really dumb. I was hesitant for a long time and thought the same thing, gave it a try though and it was worth it. Pretty macho and thrilling stuff. Lots of car talk, I didn't get it but I didn't care. I didn't recognize the cars either. Watch it if you're manly. It is repetitive but somehow it stays fresh. It's overdramatic but what can you do, the series focuses on racing and has to emphasize it. Safety concerns are thrown out the window, also wear and tear on the cars. So it's not very realistic. I will watch the sequels and OVAs.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| The only draw back to this show i think is the animation. Besides that this show stands alone as the single best racing anime out there. It makes for compelling situations which you dont know how hes going to come out of them. The sound by far is one of the best out of any anime i've watched. The race scenes would of been way better if the animation was better. If you really want to see initial D at its best then you should watch fourth stage.
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Sergio |
(2007-03-08 14:56:53) 2006-12-14 17:35:32 |
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Initial D es de los pocos animes que me motiva a verlos por segunda ocasion, se me hizo tan adictivo que una vez no es suficiente.
Un gran anime significa para mi, que soy una persona que de hecho se le hacia tonto el asunto del automovilismo.
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Summoner |
(2006-12-09 10:40:26) 2006-10-11 11:33:02 |
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| Average |
6.8 |
| Animation |
4 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| People sweating over a race. People giving their best to win, to prove that they are the fastest. Their manly pride run on this, shaking in fear only from the thought of the possibility to be passed on their home course. Dreaming of ghost cars beating them and shattering their racing dreams. Sounds like crap doesn't it? I mean, for racing or car fans it might sound cool, but for me a car is nothing more than a tool to transport me to my intended location. After I've seen "Too Fast and Furious" and fell asleep in the cinema grounds I was thinking that I wont touch any racing related stuff anymore. I have no idea why I picked this show to watch, really, it was like a sudden idea to try something new, as I haven't seen any racing animes yet. To tell the truth I wasn't disappointed in Initial D, actually, I was very pleasantly surprised. This show is better than it looks.
Basically the plot revolves about races and badly portrayed love stories (though there is an exception). The fact why I found races to be so exciting were because they were just so original. There's no tough acting two cool dudes racing each other in a billion of spectators group. In fact the main character doesn't even like racing, he's not even interested in cars. It's just that his job is to deliver tofu through the flexuous Akina mountain pass. He's been doing his job for 5 years trying to improve his speed on the pass simply because he wanted to get home sooner. Well, one day the so called strongest racing team in the Gunma region come to check out the local races, beat them and conquer the mountain. Unfortunately, one of their best racers happens to meet the delivery boy on the road and is totally vanquished. And so the guy, not willingly, gets dragged into the racing world, soon a legend of undefeated eight-six (10 years old car) is born and many challengers appear. I don't know about you, but I have a huge smile on my face when racers with their highly tuned cars start to shake in fear by the sight of an old eight-six.
I'd recommend this anime to any action or sport fans out here, of course racing fans would feel the best while watching this. Initial D is by no means a good show, it's not astounding, but it does well for a show like this. I actually expected something way worse than I have seen. Races are fun, upbeat music is great and most importantly characters don't suck.
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
3 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Overall, “Initial D: First Stage” impressed me a great deal, offering a unique approach to the stagnate shounen genre, whilst integrating a number of elements one doesn’t normally see in this, or any type of anime. The animation is a major downfall in an otherwise great show.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
4 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Initial D is practically synonymous to the term 'car-racing'. :)
it is of course about 1 simple concept -- car-racing & car-racing only. yes, one-on-one races, winding mountain tracks, tyres screeching, sliding cars.. all the works.
it may sound repetitive & boring for the whole anime series to be based on one objective, but heck, somehow it works. i didnt even have a driver's licence when i watched this anime, but it kept me up to late midnight just to finish it. i must say the races were really addictive and engaging.
so i guess it is ok to say it's an anime worth watching. u'll either love the 1st ep and watch through the whole thing in one sitting, or u'll just find the idea of racing through mountain paths totally senseless and be done with the series before it even reaches halfway checkpoint.
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|
isokana |
(2006-01-24 17:25:09) 2006-01-24 14:58:46 |
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Talking about simple shows. Initial D is mainly about driving a car down a mountain pass as fast as possible. You might see some attempts to show that Takumi has actually feelings like a normal person but don't let that distract you. He's just one driving machine.
So how are the races? I have to admit I never thought I could get this much kicks off them. When the first time the headlights of Takumi's Trueno hit the opponents mirrors and the eurobeatish voice counts down 5-4-3-2-1... heck, I noticed that I was grinning from expectation to see how Takumi would win this battle. I had already seen 3rd stage and half of 4th stage so I knew what to expect. It isn't like there's logically anything interesting about the races: they start, everyone is 'Takumi is so losing this battle', they drive some time, Takumi does something special, opponent is 'OMGWTF!!!1', Takumi wins. Repeat this until the counter hits 26 episodes. Can't be interesting. Well, it's hard to describe but it is damn interesting. Maybe it's the tight eurobeat is played during the battles, maybe it's fast cars and tight curves, maybe it's because Takumi is such an incredible driver, I don't know. Initial D just works. It's a series I had to stay up to 3 a.m. because I couldn't stop watching the last episodes.
The story hasn't much to offer. It's a normal sports anime formula of fighting increasingly tough opponents. It's not even hard to guess how the battles will work out. On the background there's a bit of romance that is probably the most unpassionate relationship I've seen. It's clear that Takumi's only true lover is his car.
While the sound may be excellent the animation definately isn't. The battles are done in 3D and since the series is from 1998 means it looks badly outdated. I got used to it in a while but it still bothered me a bit. The normal animation is also sub par. Their mouths are usually the only thing moving and they look so unnatural it's almost hilarious. There's also something wrong with the characters designs. Take Mogi who is supposed to be beauty of the school. I could have used a beautiful girl tag attached to her. She looks so totally unappealing it's easy to understand why Takumi isn't so hot after her. The guys look more normal but their mouths are weird enough to make anyone look ridicilous.
While the animation may be crude compared to the 3rd and 4th, 1st stage is more fun to watch because people seem to react more strongly than in the later series. Takumi, Itsuki and Iketani are at times fun to watch even outside the car.
Initial D is something reason can't explain. You might drool over it or find your eyes bleeding. I thought I was one of the latter group but noticed to be one of the first.
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Villain |
(2006-01-22 10:17:12) 2006-01-12 09:24:50 |
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| Average |
4.7 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
| Fast cars and ugly women.
While Initial D tells about car races, it is actually a fighting anime by heart. It has an extremely talented young protagonist, a very simple plotline that leads from one race to another, and numerous opponents who have various special traits - just like any typical fighting series. Tactics and planning play a large part in every race, not to mention the different driving styles and "techniques". The races are not merely races, but "battles". Words like pride and honor are repeated often.
Just as I find the concept of fighting people utterly ridiculous in real life, I similarly find racing on the streets equally stupid. Granted, there are plenty of stupid things that need to be ignored in most anime-series, but Initial D offers so very little of anything else but driving up and down a mountainpass that I just couldn't get into it.
Sure, there is the basic romantic relationship (that doesn't really develope at all in the whole season), some lame attempts at tension between the characters and a few glimpses of their everyday life, but it all boils down to racing. Each time an opponent is defeated a new one appears, and there we go again.
Thus, whether or not you will enjoy this series depends solely on whether or not you like to see animated car races. Apparently, I don't.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
5.8 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| The animation isn't good. The CGI may have been good for its time, but it's surpassed by bargain bin video games now.
The soundtrack... Well, I like it better in the Japanese version, the TokyoPop dubbed version is irritating, so that's not saying much.
The storyline is linear, predictable, and contrived. Everyone knows when the big race is, and not only is there not a cop to be seen in the area, the adults are actively encouraging the kids to race!
Most of the characters are 2 dimensional, Even the main characters don't have much depth to them. In a wierd way, it works, though. I gues it lest you imbue the characters with a little more of your own motivations and reasons for things.
Value: 3 episodes per DVD. 'nuff siad. I guess I'll watch 'em again, though.
It may seem as though I'm slamming the series, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed it. Maybe it's because I found freedom in my first car way back then, and maybe it's because I love driving to this day. I'm no drift specialist street racer by any stretch of the imagination, but I do like to take my corners fast.
So maybe what I really enjoy is the chance to live vicariously through the hollow shell of the character, through the fast-paced action. The technical details of how the car moves were well done, even if the animation is outdated, I guess it's impressive the level of detail that they went to in order to get the technical elements correct.
I just wish that someone drove a Supra. :)
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I generally like cars, but in a detached sort of way. I'm not a dedicated race car watcher, and I don't even have a license yet dispite reaching the neccessary age almost two years ago. Having said this, I really think this anime should be viewed regardless of any love towards cars - even if you're not a racing fan, you should check it out just to see what it's like. The characters are not very deep, but at any given time there are enough interesting stuff going on between races to keep you glued to the screen. The races themselves are very, very exciting and awesome. While the plot is linear, repetitive, and you can rarely see where it's headed next... I think that the overall fun compensates that enormously. What this anime lacks in depth (which would be unneccessary and even distracting for an anime of its kind) it compensates in sheer fun, good CGI and sound, and general wickedness. Maybe if you really can't stand car racing you should pass on Initial D, but like I said above, watch this even if you're "neutral" about cars. BTW, First Stage should, like the name implies, be watched first, before the other stages.
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De Baer |
(2006-09-06 07:27:27) 2005-07-12 01:02:16 |
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| Average |
7.7 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Ich habe für Autos absolut nichts übrig und Autorennen lassen mich grundsätzlich kalt. Mich muss ein Auto nur schnell und gediegen von A nach B bringen und damit hat es seinen Daseinszweck für mich schon erfüllt. Kein Wunder also das ich lange Zeit um Initial D einen mindest genauso großen Bogen gemacht habe wie seiner Zeit um Hajime no Ippo. Doch wenn ein Anime über Boxen mich so dermaßen gut unterhalten hat warum kann das nicht auch bei einem anderen Anime der Fall sein der sich mal wieder um etwas dreht was mich normalerweise kein Stück tangiert? Also gab ich mir einen Ruck und begab mich einmal mehr auf komplett unerforschtes Terrain. Das Ergebnis: Initial D macht tatsächlich einen mordsmäßigen Riesenspaß und ich war völlig baff wie süchtig ich irgendwann nach der nächsten Episode war. Die Serie startet noch recht verhalten und es steht schnell fest dass sich Initial D fast ausschließlich mit Autos beschäftigt: Fachjargon über Motoren, Reifen, Technik usw. eingeschlossen. Wenig interessant für jemanden der damit nicht das Geringste am Hut hat und somit eher abschreckend. Doch sobald es zum ersten Rennen kommt steigt die Stimmung immer mehr an und sobald sich zum ersten Mal 2 Boliden auf dem Asphalt einen packenden Dogfight liefern schlägt die Stimmung schlagartig um und die volle Konzentration gilt dem rasanten Geschehen auf dem Bildschirm. Plötzlich fiebert man mit, das Adrenalin ist am Kochen und die Haare richten sich auf. Kaum ein Anime hat das bisher bei mir geschafft und ausgerechnet von einer Serie über Autorennen sah ich mich plötzlich völlig mitgerissen und euphorisch. Bereits nach dem Spektakel sehnte ich sofort das nächste Rennen herbei, die Vorfreude war immens und ich begann ungeduldig mit den Füßen zu scharren. Und genau DIESE Vorfreude ist es die Initial D so souverän über die Runden trägt denn trotz des großartigen Feelings bei den Races hat dieser Anime einige eklatante Schwächen die so schwerwiegend sind das man es hier ohne die Autorennen mit einem der ödesten Animes der Geschichte zu tun hätte. Denn die Story ist objektiv betrachtet ein einziges Wrack das dank der Schwere an Monotonie und Einfallslosigkeit nie eine Chance auf Bergung hätte und die Charaktere sind nichts als durchsichtige Schatten deren Daseinsberechtigung ausschließlich daraus besteht in ihr Auto zu steigen und sich im Wettstreit miteinander zu messen. Dennoch wird es nicht langweilig und selbst die Episoden in denen kein Rennen stattfindet kommen einem nicht schleppend oder öde vor. Wie bereits angesprochen sorgt die Vorfreude, darauf dass bald wieder die Reifen quietschen und die Motoren heulen, dafür das man angespannt vor dem Bildschirm sitzen bleibt. Es liegen durchschnittlich 3-4 Episoden zwischen jedem Rennen und diese Zeit wird geschickt genutzt um die Stimmung bei den Fahrern, die als nächstes gegeneinander antreten, aufzuheizen und sorgt dafür das man es als Zuschauer gar nicht mehr abwarten kann bis es auf dem Asphalt wieder hoch her geht. Mein Resümee: Initial D ist ein Anime über Autos PUNKT! Keine Romanze, kein Drama, nicht tiefgründig und nicht anspruchsvoll aber die fette Rennaction macht das alles locker wett und sorgt für Dauermotivation. Initial D macht die Träume eines jeden fanatischen Autofreaks wahr und selbst mir hat diese Serie großen Spaß gemacht. Der Anime ist einfach Adrenalin pur und mir kribbelt es schon jetzt in den Fingern bei dem Gedanken mir die nachfolgenden Stages reinzuziehen!
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Who'd have thought I could enjoy an anime about car racing so much?
I certainly didn't.
But here I was, pretty into this little piece of work.
Quite a good anime, even for those (most) of us who aren't race car enthusiasts.
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| Average |
10.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| As the reviewer below mentions that this is one of the best of the entire series. I would like to say that this, along with the fourth stage are the top of the series. Still as far as the storyline goes, this is by far the best. The animation holds up against even today's releases. Having said that this was an exceptionally well animated series of its time.
The seiyuu were perfect, they matched the age and personalities of each character, major or minor perfectly--not only from the age and personality point of view, but the rythm each individual character had in the story. The soundtrack is one of the best i've ever heard eventhough i'm more into heavy metal, I thoroughly enjoyed the music, it complements the animation and story so well that if the music was something else it would have detracted from the story.
The story eventhough fictional, it harks back to the early days of toge racing in Japan and introduces the noninitate to the hashiriya culture of Japan that is now making it's way across the world. I mean how many animes actually influence world culture like this series managed to do?!?! On top of that this story is technically very accurate, some people who watched the fansubs or are unfamiliar with the street racing seen will realize this, but those who know the sport will understand how accurate this series actually is.
The character's are well developed and have multiple sides to them, ranging from having simple fun, to succeeding in life, and love.
As far as value and enjoyment, this entire series, especially the first stage is exceptional. its rewatch value is the highest i've come across, i mean i've seen this series like 40 times. it is one of my all time favorite anime.
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|
yuzo |
(2005-05-08 08:58:17) 2005-05-06 00:51:44 |
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| The story of First Stage is by far the best out of the series. The amount of time spent to reach each peak of battle was long, but, it really turns you on as the battle is progressing. The sound, amongst car racing anime, is the most suitable, making the hard boiled action much more pumped up. In terms of character development though, not much depth is spent on developing characters. The surface personalities of every character is explored, but not much is furthered in this series. In addition, the CG's in this series is not particularly spectacular.
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0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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nauXolo |
(2005-12-03 14:25:33) 2005-03-16 16:24:55 |
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Initial D is an anime lacking story in the traditional sense. It is mostly based on a King of the Mountain type thing. Although I find it hilarious how Fujiwara learns how to drive by delivering Tofu, it makes it all the more enjoyable.
Overall, this is a racing anime. Nothing more, nothing less. Although it might try to do more... like romance
Animation in terms of the characters is very very ugly. However, it is equally balanced by the great details they put into the CG car graphics which is most likely what this anime boasts.
Sound is quite good. Depends on your style of music. If you like voice techno, in a kind of cheesy way, then you'll love this music. A few of the soundtracks are okay, but most of its quite embarassing to listen to in public.
Character development is close to nil. They try to toss in a love story, but that fails miserably cuz this isn't what Initial D is about. Nevertheless Takumi is an interesting character. Typical of most protaganists. Clueless, but has almost infinite potential.
Overall this is an anime that anyone will enjoy if they have the slighest love for cars. Although many of the races really don't seem too realistic. Its really does well in its dramatic effects.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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|
|
|
| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| I gave this series a shot. I'm not very knowledgeable about cars, however now that I have seen the series, I am more interested in the subject of cars, heh. I must admit the long races between competitors is a bit redundant, but in the end, Takumi's awareness builds more and more and he gets into the heat and passion of wanting to become a really good racer. Besides the car theme story-line, there is a bit of romance and drama from all the action, so even fans of romance/drama series can actually have interest in this series.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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|
|
|
| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| There's just something about Initial D... I know, it's lame, the characters tend to be annoying, the animation is terrible and it's repetitive as hell, but still, I couldn't help enjoying it. The people who live around my area probably aren't too happy about that either, since I tend to screech around corners a lot more now, partially due in some respects to Initial D. You'll get hooked, trust me.
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SuprSonik |
(2005-02-08 03:21:18) 2005-01-19 03:09:22 |
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I'm a big fan of cars, so obviously Initial D was an anime that I would definitely be checking out. Initial D is most definitely an anime focused on cars, both the more technical aspects and the racing. It surprised me however, with the amount of character development it has, and that they actually managed to fit a decent romance subplot into the anime.
The animation is just plain weird; some of the characters look good, and some just don't. I think it's because they have lips...most anime characters don't really have lips. The races are all done in full CG (although they throw a few drawn scenes in for style on occasion) and it gets the job done, but doesn't look spectacular or anything.
The music is perfect. Mostly heard during the race scenes, the soundtrack is filled with a lot of excellent techno tracks which do an excellent job of getting your heart pumping. The openings/endings are also very good, and the sound effects for the cars are very realistic. Not much more you could ask for, here.
Initial D isn't real heavy on story, but honestly, you won't care. The race scenes alone are enough to make Initial D worth watching, but when you add in the awesome soundtrack, good character development, and sheer enjoyment you get out of the whole thing, it all makes Initial D a must watch for anyone with an interest in cars. Even if you're not real into cars, it might still be worth checking out if you want something with intense action and a great soundtrack.
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