# Initial D (1998)

> A tofu delivery driver with a gift for mountain road racing is drawn into the underground street racing scene and sets out to prove he is the best.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/37066

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 81
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, action, drama
- Network: ANIMAX, Fuji TV
- Cast: Shin-ichiro Miki, Atsushi Abe, Takehito Koyasu, Tomokazu Seki, Hidenobu Kiuchi, Yasuyuki Kase, Yuuka Hirose, Mitsuo Iwata
- TMDB rating: 8.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385426/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: intense, earnest, gritty, competitive, nocturnal

## What critics say

Viewers broadly acclaim the series for its intense, precisely staged street racing and its grounded love of car culture, rating it highly across all five seasons.

## Synopsis

Initial D (1998-2014) is a Japanese animated seinen racing series created as a Japanese anime adaptation for ANIMAX and Fuji TV. The story follows Takumi Fujiwara (voice by Shin-ichiro Miki), a tofu delivery boy whose hard-won skill behind the wheel of his Eight-Six makes him a formidable driver on the region's mountain roads. Rivals such as Keisuke Takahashi (voice by Tomokazu Seki) and Ryosuke Takahashi (voice by Takehito Koyasu) push him toward the underground street racing world, where drivers line up for a shot at the newcomer. Each episode is built around a head-to-head race, with the engine of the series being Takumi's drive to prove he is the best while the rivalries and challenges mount. Spanning five seasons and 81 episodes, it is a serialized sports anime that keeps the focus on racing rather than spectacle. Set in contemporary rural Japan, it offers a gritty, working-class atmosphere of night roads and tense duels. Its tone is intense and earnest, with a sense of rivalry and loyalty at its core. Fans of Wangan Midnight, Yowamushi Pedal and Tokyo Drift will find resonance here.

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- [Slam Dunk (1993)](https://ember.film/tv/38881)
- [SK8 the Infinity (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/92057)
- [Umamusume: Pretty Derby (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/67164)
- [KENGAN ASHURA (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/76838)
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- [Fighting Spirit: Rising (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/1105095)
- [Yowamushi Pedal (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/54781)

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