It’s a story about the fastest street racer of Mt Akina. Takumi, a delivery boy; Ryousuke, an engineer of speed; and Kyouichi, a professional racer: the three of them become duelists of drifts.
For five years, 18-year-old Takumi has been delivering tofu in his father’s obsolescent Toyota AE86 every morning. Not only has he become a good racer, but he has also unwittingly perfected the art of drifting.
He was never an aficionado of hill racing until he is asked by his father to drive his AE86 in a David and Goliath race against Night Kids’ EVO. A glorious but unexpected victory awakens the competitive genes in his blood, while his overnight fame inevitably leads to hellraising races one after another, each one more perilous and exciting than the previous one.
Starring Asia’s hottest heartthrobs, Jay Chou and Edison Chen, Initial D is adapted from one of the most popular eponymous manga and anime series in Japan. This is the first live-action feature based on the series to ever grace the silver screen in the world.
THE ART OF DRIFTING
The D of the title stands for drifting, a racing technique of braking the rear tires loose in a controlled manner right before an uncontrolled skid. Drifting is the fastest way through a corner. A car is considered to be drifting when all of its wheels are slipping, but the front wheels are still pointed in the direction of the corner, or at least straight.
TOYOTA AE86 LEVIN/TRUENO
Although out of the market 16 years ago, Toyota AE86 has become ever so popular in the used car market in Japan these days, thanks to the immense success of the manga and anime series Initial D. So many young buyers are lining up to buy used AE86 that Toyota is said to consider reviving this classic model. |
