Posted on 19 September 2006 by Mark | Visited 180 times
Recently, I’ve been going through the episodes of Initial D Fourth Stage on my computer and I must say that this is definitely one of those shows that I never get tired of watching over and over again. I’m not really that much into cars. My brother actually knows more about the difference between a Honda Civic Hatchback EG6 and a Honda Civic Hatchback EK9. But I definitely love how Shuuichi Shigeno and everyone in production have made the anime as thrilling as the manga minus the obvious fanservice in the manga.
Fourth Stage
For those who don’t know about Initial D 4th Stage or Initial D in general, it was originally a manga by Shuuichi Shigeno which was turned into an anime and shot up into greater fame thanks to CG car animations mixed with hand-drawn animation.
The story is about Takumi Fujiwara (main protagonist and driver of the popular Panda Trueno with the Fujiwara Tofu Shop sign on the side) who is the son of Bunta, a tofu store owner who started the legend of Akina’s 86. Unlike the others racers who were circuit trained or learned driving because they were into racing, Takumi grew in Akina’s highways delivering tofu for his father. He can drive through the winding roads of Akina and keep the tofu intact primarily because his training involved going through Akina without spilling a single drop from a glass of water mounted on a cupholder inside the car.
Basically, Fourth Stage covers Takumi’s battles as a member of Project D, a racing team put up by the leader of the Akagi Red Suns – Ryosuke Takahashi. The team comprises of three support cars, the AE86 Trueno and the RX-7 FD, and its two aces: Takumi for the downhill races and Keisuke Takahashi for the uphill races.
If the previous battles showed Takumi’s raw skill and awesome luck with regards to driving conditions, 4th Stage covers more technical stuff like weight shifting, weight reduction, other types of drifting as well as driving techniques. 4th Stage also delves into the differences of FRs, FFs and 4WDs.
Why Expect A 5th Stage?
The main reason is that 4th Stage showed a lot of growth for Takumi but the end of 4th Stage didn’t exactly reveal the end of Project D itself. Meaning there is still much to know about Takumi and his driving skills and experiences. Besides, I don’t think that Takumi will be driving that Panda Trueno for the rest of his life – something even his father was well aware of. I recall Bunta mentioning in 4th Stage that at some point, Takumi has to recognize that there are better cars out there. For Takumi, the Trueno is his image of the perfect car because it’s the car that has won him so many races despite everyone criticizing him for driving an underpowered racing car. But Bunta also believes that unless Takumi gets out of his shell as a Trueno specialist, he’ll never grow as a racer/driver. He doesn’t even think the Trueno will live through another year given its age. For Bunta to point that out means that there is a high possibility of Takumi being seen with a new car. It may not be a 4WD like the one his dad picked but it could be a more powerful FR that can allow him to improve his already supernatural driving skills.
So yes, I am anxiously waiting for the producers of Initial D to announce that they will be making a 5th Stage. I’ve read in forums that the manga is still running so there’s still a high possibility of it being animated. I hope it’s soon!
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About the Author:
Mark is a simple Japanese toy collector who started seriously collecting and blogging about Japanese toys back in 2005.
oh and sonicfire.... u r an idiot.
The Mr2 has it rear motor. there fore, oversteering plays a huge factor when it comes to the mr2's weakness's so gripping with strong tires is extremely recommended.
the ae86 is suppurb in aerodynamics and weight distrbution. however, its weakness is EXTREME lack in acceleration. If the MR2 is turbo he will take u out from start to finish with out breaking a sweat.
unless u know how to drift without breaking more than 25mph. the MR2 would remain at its minimum speed of mmm depends on tires really...100-115.
ur eight six would be at say 110mph top speed i suppose 115 then u would most likely try to drift but end up power sliding losing 30-60mph. then whats next. you try to pull off a Takumi drift but spinout.
How exactly does takumi you drift a hairpin with out gutters?
try to steer nd slightly brake to go side ways then the tricky part.
leaving ur car in neuatral then rev ur motor and make sure the dame rpm stays near redline. this way you can shift back nd ur car peels forward . (powershift)
causing u to drive straight again.
if a racer screws up he/she usually blows their motor or stall their vehicle.
this is why drifting is dangerous.
or if your an ammature faint drift and then gas. or a super ammature then pull the e breake which a 90 year old grandma can probably do too.
Well, to be frank, I wouldn't really call an MR2 a rear engine. A Porsche is a rear engine. Some supercars are rear engine. The MR2 is a midship. The glory of this car is the weight distribution due to its engine placement.
I wonder if anybody here can tell me the website where i can read the 5th Stage manga so i can have something to somewhat keep me updated in Initial D until de 5th Stage anime comes out
correct mark weight distribution works for AWHILE.
toyota manufacturers were just trying to find the cheapest rwd distribution.
they saw the VW bug and realized they could put the motor in the back and now they dont have to use as much metal since the motor is right next to the Rear Wheels. kinda like the cheaper fwd idea. closer to the designated wheels the cheaper.
however their was a problem with safety regulations. they found out the mr2 turbohad sever acccidents due to over steering at high speeds and would take more money than what it was already worth to make the weight dist perfect. kbb orginal 15000 then the next yeaar would be 25000. just didnt seem reasonable to TOYOTA.
what happened next? They stopped manufacturing Toyota MR2 after a couple of more attempts.
VW and Porsche saw this as an oppurtunitty and decided to design porsche carrera GT.
http://www.tribalboyz.net/forum/showthread.php?p=768
This is the website to see how far the manga currently is on intial D stage 5.
The AE86 downhill against a porsche 911 carrera
Project D defeats an uphill climb against Evo 4 because of the FDs GT wing by 7 seconds.
After this battle secenrio blalh blah blah Project D has its first challenge!
Acura NSX and toyota supra vs Project D.
To be continued...
yes their will be a 5th stage. Their just trying to complete the manga. then their will also be another waiting period for drawing the anime and finding new voices for the characters.
approximate waiting period till initial d stage 5. year 2010 I'm serious too.
sorry for the bad news but its the truth.
Until then i guess..
;( i was also sad when i found out how long its gonna be till stage 5
i really hope that 5th stage comes out. it would seriously make me the happiest person alive
i hope stage 5 comes out i want to know how the group evolves in skill and how the relationship turn out pls japan producers continue initial d
guess what initiald extra stage 2 just came out its a new cartoon movies showing relationships and how akina speed stars have evolved otheer than takumi.
their still producing initial d its just that stage five manga is taking a long time and this side movie can be found on youtube..
Initial d extra stage2 however no one has subbed it yet!
didnt extra stage 2 come out a long time ago? well i hope 5th stage comes out cuz i wanna see wat everyone else does and btw any1 noe where we can read the initial d manga?and if its still on goin?