Initial D First Stage

Both series feature seemingly ordinary protagonists, that is until you put them behind the wheel of a car. Both series are about racing tuner cars during the nighttime. Both feature a very similar art style, although Wangan is more refined in this aspect. Pacing is the same with both series starting out slowly, but gaining momentum in the later episodes. Both series spend a lot of time focused on the cars themselves, treating them as a part of the main cast. Bottom line is if you liked one, then you'll like the other. And if you hated one then you'll most likely hate the other. I recommend both series only to those into cars.  read more 

Similar art style, both about sports, although one is boxing the other is street racing. Follows the story of shy underachiever, with a unexpected talent for their sport. Both have romantic side plots and sprinkles of comedy. 

Take Initial D, swap the sport from mountain pass car racing (touge) to skateboarding and add plenty of flamboyance! Both feature a stoic main character who appears to be a beginner not knowing the technical details of the sport (Takumi in Initial D, Langa in Sk8) but once they are pitted against well-regarded opponents they make unexpected victories. With the sports they do, the characters use intricacies of their racecourse to gain advantages (guardrails, gutters etc. in initial D, handrails, even trees in Sk8), there are very specific moments in Sk8 that feel like direct references to Initial D, particularly Langa's dangerous technique the first episode of Sk8). Inertia drifting is featured a couple of times in Sk8 as well. Furthermore, when Takumi and Langa aren't racing, they have friends obsessed with their sport to teach them (and us, the audience) about tuning their vehicles and many real world details about the sport. Oh, and Ryosuke Takahashi's VA, Takehito Koyasu, plays a big role in Sk8 as well! read more 

Both main characters ride their machine (car in Initial D and bicycle in Yowapeda) and somehow they end up in a team and race against other people in mountain roads. 

Both anime revolves around a game/competition between charismatic and memorable characters. They are both funny at times but when it comes to presenting their respective field of sport they both excel to show us it with a serious and believable tone. Both series has a tons of enigmatic characters and when it comes to the showdown between these characters we remain astonished and wanting to see more and more. Both of them are manga adaptations.  

Fast cars, intense races and a great story! If you like to have a different style and setting, yet want to have an anime focused on the epic race battles, then yes these anime are for you!  

Capeta has a younger feel to it than Initial D, but both are your competitive/sports animes about racing. Capeta drives a go cart and Takumi is a street racer, but they have similar themes about skill vs equipment and the meld of man and machine. The main difference is probably attitude: Capeta has a blue collar, constant struggle feel to it (like Hajime no Ippo) and Initial D is much more of a diamond waiting to be polished (like Major). 

Ryoma (PoT) and Takumi (Initial D) are pretty much the same person. One plays tennis and one is a street racer, but they're both aloof prodigies that pull out new miracle techniques whenever they need to, who were privately groomed by their "retired" fathers. ;) So even though the sport, setting and animation styles differ dramatically, if you liked the basis of the story or the main character in one, you'd probably like th other. 

- Popular Shounen animes - Kuroko and Takumi have similar personalities in that they are really blank and deadpan most of the time. They don't show strong emotions and generally act spacey despite being the protagonists. - Focus is on the action, so you get plenty of court time in KnB and plenty of street time in Initial D. - Little character development yet they have many solid flat characters that are still able to contribute and further the story. - Badly written female characters that will make many women cringe. - Good clean fun between competitors. Even though there is a lot of smack talking in both, the challengers are people who love the sports and take it seriously. So you don't really get petty antagonists.  read more 

The plot progression is very similar, firstly, like any other shounen, the main char aims for the top, secondly, their tools/methods are similar, they are trained/pushed by an enigmatic single dad and soma uses "cheap" public "low end" materials competiting with people from a prestige background while takumi on the other hand kickass with his 86 

Both anime revolves around a game/competition between charismatic and memorable characters. They are both funny at times but when it comes to presenting their respective field of sport they both excel to show us it with a serious and believable tone. Both series has a tons of enigmatic characters and when it comes to the showdown between these characters we remain astonished and wanting to see more and more. Both of them are manga adaptations.  

What do these two anime have in common? They're both centered around cars and driving. Fast driving and real car models in both, other than that, there really aren't much similarities, if any. Ex-Driver is more lighthearted and shounen style, while Initial D has drama and is somewhat more realistic. But if you have seen one and liked the car theme, then you might want the check the other as well, since there must be less than a handful of animes about cars. 

What connects Takumi Fujiwara to Subaru Natsuki? Wandering life in search of purpose, of course. Subaru hates himself for being a lonely shut-in that doesn't know what to do with the time he has left, while Takumi deplores having to drive tofu deliveries for his old man. That is, until one day, fate gives them their greatest gift, and possibly... their greatest curse. Subaru is literally brought into another fantasy world, whereas Takumi is brought into the more metaphorical racing world of Mount Akina. In these worlds, they find their purpose and their true convictions. For Subaru, it's nothing more than saving Emilia no matter how many times he has to die in the name of his beliefs, and for Takumi, it's evolving as a racer, no matter how much of his personal life he has to abandon to reach his limits and fulfill Ryosuke's initial dream. They encounter people that they fall in love with - Natsuki for Takumi and Emilia for Subaru - and they ruin their romance for different reasons, intentional or unintentional. Subaru does it because he can't control himself when it comes to dealing with his loneliness, and Takumi does it because he feels he has to be alone in order to tackle the challenges that come with being the ultimate street-racing group. While the morality behind these actions is questionable, they do it anyway. In the end, their ultimate enemy is themselves, both literally and proverbially, and they must confront whether they've developed as people or not. Takumi faces another incredibly proficient AE86 driver, reflecting how he was in the past before he had any of his Project D experience, while Subaru has to deal with his own misery and climb out of the self-pity he's dug himself into with the help of Rem. Overall, these two protagonists follow a very similar story that resonates with a wide audience. read more 

Both anime are detailing the lives of young lives with ambitious dreams that require great amount of skill, experience and dedication. Though Takumi might not be living as troubling a life as Eikichi and Ryuji of Shonan Junai Gumi! his dreams and passion are just as ambitious and inspiring as theirs. 

Both are over the top sports anime, both have very unconventionally trained overpowered main characters. The only thing Birdy Wing is missing, is the kickass Eurobeat soundtrack. 

Both delve deep into their respected sport's technicality, to a point you have to be seriously knowledgeable about the sport to understand a thing. Both share a similar final opponent, from their looks to their observant patient mind. 

MF Ghost is thje "spiritual successor" to Initial D in that Takumi is explicitly stated in the anime and manga, although it is legit fine to not know any Initial D/MF Ghost knowledge to watch either of them. Both are car-oriented animes that race a ton, and both feature teenage boys wanting to push their cars faster and faster, and also both Takumi and Kanata possess insane racing skills. 

- You'd expect The Initial D series and One outs to be your 'average' sports anime, but you'll end with the most thrilling and mind blowing shows you'll ever see. You can call it 2 of the best sports series ever. - Both feature Ingenious, Godlike Main Characters who use complex techniques to defeat their opponents. - They give an Extremely detailed description of both their opponent's and the MC's plans and tactics. - Even though the MCs are very strong, the battles are definitely 2 sided and give u the thrill like you are watching it live in real life, which makes it super fun to watch. - Extremely Intense and will throw you out of your seat. - Have the most well suited soundtracks that u can imagine. - Aimed mainly towards an older audience cuz kids wont understand any of this shit xd. - Above all both the series as a whole are highly recommended, even if u dont like sports. read more 

I would only recommend F if you understand spoken Japanese well as the subbed versions that I have found are trash. However, if you can understand what is being said, then F is a fantastic watch as F is another anime featuring racing that has very good character development. While Initial D features Takumi, a spacey dude who has not yet found his love of racing, F has his polar opposite Gunma, a fiery guy who is determined to be the fastest in the world. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed F, to the point where I think the reason why it doesn't have a bigger MAL community is because of MAL's two character minimum search (half-joking). If you watch Initial D for the eurobeat races though, this recommendation may not apply to you. read more 

If you are talking about racing/ motorsports, Initial D has to be the holy grail. Both main characters start from the bottom and build up their career/reputation 

the concepts of beack and inisal d are very different but the way its passed and the things that happen are very similar if you like one your like the other  

Think about it. Instead of stand-users, in initial D we have car users. MC will pull epic 200 IQ moves against his opponents in each battle.  

similar music and animation and are some interesting stories revolving around sports. 

Long-running series with similar high-energy soundtracks and parity shifts between action and SOL drama. 

Older anime about illegal street racing - cars in one case, motocycles in other. 

This may be a bit of a stretch, but both Kaiji and Initial D share a distinct passion for their subject matters, both on different sides of the spectrum. On the one hand, Kaiji very much romanticizes its subject matter (gambling) building it up as an much larger than life thing. On the other hand, Initial D plays it straight with its subject matter (street racing) giving you an incredibly earnest look at it. Both series do not come off contrived at all, and have this real purity to them; a true interest in the subjects that they are dealing with, subjects that most people would not find to be a fascinating premise for anime, but sure enough, provide enthralling experiences. read more 

Both involve seemingly rookie drivers who turn out to be out of this world drivers. Future GPX involved a more high-tech car where as Initial D involves an older car. 

These series are both focused on car racing, while Initial D is more focused on Street/Drift racing, Goddamn is focused on Rally racing. Both series are pretty intense and definitly a great watch if you like intense car races! 

Bakuman, first off, 'reminded' me of Initial D somewhat in the feeling of it; and second off, they both involve (a) young boy(s) who at first doesn't/don't have any set plans for the future starting to take part/interest in something like a life/career path. And they're both basically good series IMHO. So go check 'em out! 

While they seem very different from the synopsis or just looking at pictures, Over Drive is very literally Initial D - but on bicycles. The music (especially the opening), the drama, the story, the characters, the feel of the show - everything is extremely alike to that of Initial D. Beyond even just the basic things, the more detailed things like character development, personalities, the things the characters go through - it's all like watching a redone version where someone took out the cars and threw in bikes instead. 

Well, this is my first recommendation. And why I recommend this anime, even I don't know. Initial D is similar to Tonari no Seki-kun because of Takumi and Seki. I can't help it, but whenever I see Seki-kun, I see Takumi doing all sorts of crazy things in the classroom. When Takumi is spaced out he actually is doing what Seki-kun REALLY does on his desk! They both don't talk often, and make the same faces (Takumi spaced out, Seki-kun 'Killing Time' face). Both don't like losing. Also, Yokoi reminds me of Itsuki, they always look up to Seki(Takumi) and speak most of the time. -Vortrex 

Racing and upbeat music. As weird as it might seem, this Love Live music video does give off a vibe bit similar to Initial D. 

- Both anime feature sports that aren't of the usual PE variety and may be unfamiliar to most viewers, yet lack of fore knowledge will not impede enjoyment. - Drama and suspense during competition (touge battles/karuta matches) is amplified through clever use of inner monologue, creating psychological tension. - Characters are forced to strategize on the fly as they face tougher opponents and situations. - Excellent use of rivalries to boost motivation among multiple characters in each series. - Nearly abusive use of cliffhanger endings throughout each season making it difficult to stop binge-watching. - Both anime are about passion. 

Both shows is about racing. And its the end of the similarities, whats probably a good thing 

They're both mecha anime, 'nuff said. Joke joke, that was a joke (or was it??) Huge fan of Initial D, the dated style, stilted jargon dumps, and exuberant soundtrack chips away at my cynicism one verse at a time. While GaruPan doesn't have the sick eurobeat, it's chock full of bait for tank nerds, lapses in realism, and unapologetic cheese. 

Althrough different in story, if you like eurobeat music you might enjoy the soundtrack of these anime - the soundtracks even share one song directly. Both titles also happen to have examples of early 3D CGI animation. 

If you're into sports anime that have genius MCs, fathers who were pros, and follow the MC as he matures through each of his battles/tournaments, if you enjoy Major, you should definitely check out Initial D. Initial D is a bit older but it still has its charm in terms of exciting showdowns, great music during the suspenseful moments, and love interests. It's also nice that both are long series so you can watch as much as you want, and they both have satisfying endings. A major difference, besides the sport - Major is baseball, and Initial D is street racing, is the personality of the MCs. Goro is hot-headed and passionate whereas Takumi is more cool-headed and calm, sometimes even aloof or just spaced out. However, you'll find out that both hate to lose, and both constantly surprise their opponents and make friends/supporters who have high expectations. Will not disappoint.  read more