Hiya!

It’s been a good while since I went back to Initial D. I actually did a review of the anime’s First Stage, AKA the first season, several years back and I wonder why I didn’t continue watching. I just stopped for one reason or another. Well, whatever the reason, I decided to head back to the world of underground drift racing scene of Japan with Initial D: Second Stage.

Although the is a very popular anime and a veritable classic, I’m still going to make this review a SPOILER FREE review. I know a lot of anime fans who may be familiar with Initial D but have only seen clips of the show floating around the Internet and not the entire show, let alone Second Stage. So, yeah. SPOILER FREE review.

Anyway, Initial D: Second Stage takes place pretty much right after the events of First Stage. Takumi Fujiwara and his AE86‘s legend is starting to grow and, after his victory over the Akagi RedSun‘s leader, Ryosuke Fujiwara and his FC3S. However, a new racing group named Emperor with their fleet of Mitsubishi Lancer EVOs are going all over the Gunma prefecture and racing all of the other teams in the area. Their goal is to beat every team in order to proclaim themselves as the fastest racing team in the prefecture.

One of the things I realized I love about Initial D is how low stakes everything is but they do make it feel big. There’s not world ending catastrophe involved. No big bad planning to become the ruler of the world. No evil corporation trying to snuff out the little guy. No, it’s just a bunch of dude racing in their cars for pride. That’s it! Emperor isn’t really doing anything super evil if you really think about it. They just want to prove their the fastest and the other teams won’t stand for it! It’s a simple premise but they do make it feel like their entire world is in danger. It’s melodramatic and I love it!

I will say they really upped the animation budget here from the First Stage. One of my problems with the first season was how outdated everything came off. From the rather undetailed character designs of the characters to the low polygon models they used for the CGI races, it looked like something from a bygone era.

That’s not the case with the Second Stage. The characters look more vibrant thanks to them using brighter and bolder colors and they don’t look like carboard cutouts anymore, especially during the racing scenes. However, I do find the art style in First Stage a little more… charming. They had a unique look to make them stand out to the other animes out during that time. Making the characters look more “realistic” kind of took away from one of Initial D’s defining characteristics. I did get used to it but… I don’t know. It just makes them lack more of an identity.

Speaking of the racing scenes, the cars looked really detailed now. While the CGI models were passable in First Stage, the ones in Second Stage really blow them out of the water! The cars look much more like real cars here rather than the CGI models they actually are. It really adds to the immersion of the races and I really appreciate all the effort done here as it makes the races more exciting.

Sound design, like with First Stage, is exceptional in Initial D: Second Stage. The voice acting is, once again, on point, with everyone delivering their lines to suit their personality and the situation. Takumu wouldn’t sound like Takumi if he didn’t sound bored most of the time and Itsuki wouldn’t sound like himself if he didn’t have those overacting vocal moments. This makes it so, even without watching the screen, you know exactly who’s talking. Well, I still had to be looking at the TV since I watched the subbed version available on Prime Video. Still, I appreciate the effort!

The excellent sound design also leads into the cars themselves as each and every car sounds distinct. This is certainly true for Takumi’s AE86 as it’s kind of the star of the show. There’s almost something hypnotically relaxing about hearing that rhythmic pinging each time Takumi takes the AE86 to the redline. It’s supposed to signal that you’re taking the engine to its limit but it just sounds so soothing and a distinct part of what makes the car so iconic.

Of course, I can’t be talking about Initial D and not talk about the soundtrack and, while Second Stage still uses the weird choice of overlaying Eurobeat tracks over their races, I do feel like the music here is a little bit of a step down from First Stage. It’s not like the tracks they chose are bad. I just don’t think they’re as memorable as the ones from the first season. Sure, this is the season where Deja Vu was first played and has become synonymous with Initial D. However, that’s pretty much the only real memorable song from this time around. Not bashing the song choices but I just like the first season’s songs more because I find myself humming them more.

There are a couple of things I didn’t care for, however. Once again, the romantic subplot given to Takumi is there and, after watching it reach its conclusion, I don’t see the point of it. I also didn’t really like how the Emperor storyline doesn’t actually be the central focus of Second Stage as another rival shows up near the end and that becomes the main focus. I guess that’s how it was in the original manga but I just would’ve liked it if they just did one storyline instead of tacking on another one at the end.

While it was hard for me to recommend First Stage because of the outdated visuals, that’s certainly not the case for Second Stage. The updated look makes it much more pleasing to the eyes even though I do miss the more charming look of the first season. Well, time to dive into Third Stage now!

Byee!

Have you seen Initial D: Second Stage? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!