Jan 3, 2025
Take this with a grain of salt, as I've never seen Initial D. As a motorsport and car fan, hearing that a new racing/motorsport/car culture anime was being made and available to watch was amazing to hear. The story is more of an underdog going pro, which is basically a feel-good story where our main character gets a shitbox car, a Toyota 86, and goes all out with his knowledge and skill from a European driving school. Oh, and not to mention, he wants to know his father, which is why he's joining this racing series.
However, the series lacks world-building, particularly with regard to the
...
fact that the world has gone electric, as the MF Ghost announcer has hardly mentioned it. Most of the cars you see are internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, and the cars on the road don't look electric.
The romance side quest is boring, and I'm not sure why it's necessary to include romance in a series for it to be good. The main character is hardly interested in the girl, with whom he lives with her family. The girl is basically doing anything to try and get the main character to like her, including helping him find his father.
There's also too much fan service, with panty shots that are annoying and feel forced. The camera is being shoved up a 20-year-old or underage girl panties. This leaves people who came for the racing content, as shown in the poster, and trailer, feeling disappointed and distracted by the fan service.
If you can get past these three elements I've described and only care about the racing aspect of the series, then go for it. I really enjoyed the underdog story of a rookie going pro quickly with a shitbox car, competing with cars that have over 500+ horsepower. I also like the fact that the cars in the series aren't as advanced and have insane track performance; they're just ordinary sports cars or cars with a few track modifications. Overall, I still enjoyed the anime despite the annoying fan service and romance side quest.
I would really like to hear more engine noise in these races. Unfortunately, the only engine you're likely to hear is the Boxer-4 of the Toyota 86, rather than the Ferrari 488's V12 or the Audi R8's V8. There is some engine noise in the anime, but most of the time it gets masked by the music.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all