Anime In A Nutshell - Part 1

Anime in a nutshell - Part 1

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Anime is a form of Japanese Animation that's usually based on a Manga of the same name - the printed story format depicted in a graphic novel style.

Sometimes Anime are fantastical in nature, featuring protagonists (very often multiple) who are gifted, supernatural, or alien (DragonBall Z). If the lead character is not depicted in this way, then the main antagonists will be the ones who have these traits (Attack On Titan). The main plot line is often a very simple ‘Good VS Evil’ story with sub-plots that help develop the characters and bring the audience into the world. Anime takes many forms, with some having been around since the 1980s such as the original 'Transformers', which was created as tie-in to the toys sold by Bandai, and some are very recent such as 'Sword Art Online' which focuses on fully-interactive virtual reality video games.

Anime have multiple styles that are given a one or two word name that focuses on the main storyline. Examples include: Cars – Car Anime either feature characters who are street racers (Wangan Midnight) or track racers (Capeta), or focus on futuristic scenarios in which AI controlled cars become sentient beings.

Let’s look at ‘Initial D’.

‘Initial D’ is a Car Anime, focusing on drift racing on Japanese mountain roads in the province of Gunma, Japan in a town known as Akina. The main character – Takumi – is a gifted high-school aged protagonist, his ability being an excellent night-time delivery driver while his part-time job is working as a gas station attendant. The secondary protagonists include his friends, his boss, his father, and eventually the other racers whom he meets as the storyline progresses.

The loose ‘Good VS Evil’ plotline concerns racers who seek to sabotage Takumi’s car, others who cheat to try and destroy his confidence, or those who actually try and kill him in order to ensure their team prevails.

Sub-Plots

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Sub-plots include his interactions with his father, his friends, his girlfriend, and his day job.

Sub-Plot 1 – Bunta Fujiwara was a former street racer who now owns a Tofu shop at the top of a twisting mountain road. Takumi is his son, and only child. Bunta teaches Takumi how to drive down the mountain safely but quickly, by placing a cup of water into the Toyota AE86’s cup holder, and instructing him not to spill any, which ensures the tofu in the trunk does not get damaged. Bunta is a quiet, imposing, but intelligent character who shows a true love and respect for his son, while also teaching him the skills he needs to be a truly great racer.

Sub-Plot 2 – Takumi’s best friend is named Itsuki Takeuchi, and he is mainly the comic relief of the series. He is loud, excitable, and sometime obnoxious, but his heart is always in the right place. He admires Takumi for his racing skills, even going so far as to invest in a similar car to be like him.

Koichiro Iketani is the leader of the ‘Akina Speedstars’, the local racing team, and another of Takumi’s close friends. He is very knowledgeable on racing techniques, and can hold his own in a race, being the top driver in the town until Takumi is unmasked as the ‘Ghost of Akina’ and the driver of the AE86.

Keisuke & Ryosuke Takahashi are two brothers who form the ‘Akagi RedSuns’ racing team. Keisuke is a hot-headed racer who prefers to be the muscle of the team, and Ryosuke is the cool, calm, and collected brother who does the thinking and designing of the techniques the team uses to win races. When they are introduced to Takumi, they recruit him to form ‘Project D’, a team that relies on using the both the car and the driver to their full capacity.

Sub-Plot 3 – Takumi’s girlfriends: He has two girlfriends over the course of the series. The first is Natsuki Mogi, a girl whom he defended when she was slandered in school. When they started dating a brief rift was caused when he found out that she was seeing a rich man on the side to substitute her meagre income. Upon graduation, they separated when she left for Tokyo and he remained in Gunma to race.

The second is named Mika Uehara, a skilled golfer who was the first person to share a ride with Takumi without being scared by his driving skills. Their similar upbringing as child prodigies with single fathers helped them form a strong bond.

Sub-Plot 4 – Takumi along with Itsuki and Koichiro work at a gas station part-time. This is where most of their interaction takes place since Takumi spends the rest of his time driving for the Tofu shop, at school, or racing. This also serves as the place where the audience learns more about the cars in the series, and the characters also discuss their personal lives, problems, and romantic interests. Due to the location being a gas station, racers from out of town also pull up to issue challenges or to ask for information on the town’s team.

Music

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Initial D is well-known for using Japanese Eurobeat as its soundtrack, mostly during the races as the rapid beats and synths helped match the fast paced speed of the races. Initial D also helped bring the band m.o.v.e to prominence in the west, introducing many (including myself) to their music. The songs ‘Around the World’ and ‘Gamble Rumble’ were used as the intro music for most episodes in the series.

'Initial D' is an easy Anime for newcomers to the genres due to it being set in a real-world scenario, and not featuring any supernatural elements. The plotline is very simple, but the highly detailed races are engrossing and almost ballet-like in their design and execution. Any terminology used that would be considered niche is translated by the characters into an easy to understand language for the benefit of lesser characters like Itsuki, and in turn helps the audience understand as well. The cars used in the series are also all real models that would be found on city streets. The Toyota Corolla AE86 Sprinter being the most famous, followed by the Nissan Skyline, and the S13 SilEighty.

Translations

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Initial D has been translated into multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The entire series is available on DVD, as well as on certain Streaming services including Funimation.com.

That's Anime in a Nutshell - Part 1. Next time I'll focus on a different style of Anime that uses more supernatural and fantasy elements.