Initial D:Battle 5

Rating:
Summary: Cheat but fail......
Review: After Iggy being hospitalized by Shingo who thought it was Tak driving the 86 on the mountain, Tak finally accepted the 'Duck Tape Death Match" challenged to get revenge for his buddy Iggy. Man, I have never seen any animation that keep me glue to the seat and keep on wanting to continue watching Initial D. After seeing battle 4 from Toyokopop studio, I decided to buy the Hong Kong version and finish watching the rest of this "Stage 1" series which have 26 episodes because I don't want to wait for every 2 months for them to release the next 3 episodes. There is also "Stage 2" have 13 episodes and "Stage 3" is the movie. I would recommended everyone to watch the Japanese dialog track because the character voices and the music are ways better than the dub version. I heard that "Stage 4" is being air on Japan right now and I hope it will be on DVD soon.

Natsuki has a secret and you guys will know in "Stage 2" series. *Hint* The old man is not her real father even though the subtitle said "papa".

Rating:
Summary: One great race and some pleasant romantic encounters
Review: Fans of this anime series about mountain road racing in Japan's Gunma Prefecture will find much in this volume to justify their continuing enthusiasm. One spectacular downhill race dominates, taking up most of episodes 14 and 15--"The Duct Tape Death Match" of the volume's title. Young protagonist Takumi faces off against a new rival, Shingo of the Myogi Night Kids, who insists that both drivers have their right hands duct-taped to the steering wheel, thus limiting the ability to steer completely clear of some of Mt. Akina's hairpin turns. It's quite a suspenseful and exciting race and one of the highlights of the series so far. The masterful editing of scenes like this is a key component of this outstanding series' consistently high quality.

Also of note is the headway that Tak and his buddies make on the romantic front. Tak gets closer to Natsuki and even calls her for the first time. Goofy, overeager little Itsuki has his first date ever (with Natsuki's friend Saori) and team leader Iketani meets a beautiful girl when he stops to help her start her car. This is all good news for fans of these characters. There is also good father-son stuff involving Tak and his former racer dad. These characters all behave, talk and interact like real people. They're believable human beings, which goes a long way toward keeping non-racing fans thoroughly gripped by the story.

The music in this volume, at least on the "Classic" version (Japanese soundtrack), draws on several rousing "Eurobeat" tracks, putting it on a par with the best of this series. One of the songs featured during the race is "Don't Stand So Close to Me," which appears on the "Initial D: Vocal Battle" CD. Also, a new end song and music video (by Galla) are introduced at the end of episode 15. One of the DVD extras is a video essay called "In Search of Mt. Akagi, Pt. 2" which shows us some of the real-life race sites that inspired the animators.


Rating:
Summary: One of the few products that i anticipate then hate.
Review: That's right. I hate it. I caught a glimpse of initial-d on shoutcast streaming video and loved the show. Very quickly bought up 1-4. But at the extreamly slow pace the dvds are coming out (them spending all the time to make the "tricked out" version which i'm not terribly interested in) i'm quickly loosing my paitience. stage1, stage2, movie/stage3 and now stage4 is out in japan, and we are only 1/4 the way though stage1? kinda hard to swallow.

OK... that being said. The show is a must for everyone. Car lover or not, the show pulls you in very well. If you like cars it's a added bonus because the show covers all the details (so much so it can be funny at times). Personally i kinda wish i waited a year before i started buying the episodes so i dont have to wait a month before the next episode, but at the same time i'm enjoy them.