Initial D Second Stage

TV (13 eps)
1999 - 2000
Fall 1999
4.139 out of 5 from 7,493 votes
Rank #483

The Gunma region is being invaded by the fearsome Emperors, a street racing team who drive nothing but powerful Lan-EVOs. With the ambition to conquer the entire region in one month and the most powerful 4-wheel-drive cars at their disposal, Kyoichi and the Emperors have set out to get their long awaited revenge on Takahashi Ryousuke, their archnemesis. Together with the undefeated downhill hero Takumi, Ryousuke is all that stands in the way of Kyoichi and his gang. But winning will be a difficult task -- do the Gunma region's drivers really stand a chance?

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Reviews

Rbastid
6

Just like a good car needs upgrades to go from a junker to winner, so do some anime series. While the changes don’t have this show running at the front of the pack, it at least started to make it’s way from the way back. Story - 4/10 While most of the show still follows the same formula as the first season; where Takumi get’s challenged, decides not to race, then changes his mind; they managed to add much more story to this shorter season. We finally get to see Takumi face some challenges, and in turn he begins to actually care about his car, and how it works. Itsuki grows along side his friend, but in ways outside of racing. Both stories serve to make the show more than just the same race footage over and over.  The series still hasn’t come anywhere near the many great shows of its era, but with this second installment it took a big jump up.  Animation - 6/10 With a new season, came a new production company, and apparently a new art designer, as there was a major upgrade to how the show looked. While the characters still resemble their season one versions, each is drawn in more detail, with bolder coloring and animation. They also don’t all have the distorted, almost non-human at times, faces we had to previously deal with; though you’d be safe in assuming no one from the studio has ever met a female, as those faces are still just awful.  They also managed to deliver a better version of CGI for the driving. While still not great, the action is a bit smoother and does looks as if it blends in more than the awful attempts a season earlier. They also kept their one real high point, delivering realistic cars spanning the previous two decades of JDM rides. Sound - 5/10 I didn’t like the music as much as I did in the original. For that season it felt like they just accidentally stumbled on a soundtrack so bad, that it was good. On the other hand here the music seems like they tried to force that same feel. The themes were a mixed bag too, I wasn’t too crazy about the opening, but I think the closing once again did a great job of capturing that late nineties anime feel.   The voices from Funimation were all still done very well, and the new additions were a plus, well except for Kazumi, who just made you want to stick pens in your ears. Characters - 6/10 They only really focused on our main two characters this time around. Much like the plot each got small little tweaks to make them more believable. Takumi finally decides he wants to not only take racing seriously, but wants to begin challenging himself for real, though with that comes the emotions associated with dealing with problems with what you love most. Likewise love plays a big factor in Itsuki’s life, as he starts to develop feelings for a girl that are more than just lust. Both serve as major upgrades to the story, as now we have characters who are more than just bodies to show off cars and racing. The “villains” of the series were also a slight bit better. They still feel a bit cliche, but are now more about enjoying the world of racing, while finding strong rivals. Overall - 6/10 The first season just didn’t seem like an actual show. While it had a very small story, the series was more or less animated racing highlights. This time they tried to give us a reason to connect to the characters themselves, and not just the cars. If the first season had taken a similar slice of life turn, it might have lived up to all the hype it’s had for so many years. Positive Reasons for Score:  * The characters have become much more realistic.  * They made a massive upgrade to the animation.  * While not great drama, the small addition went a long way. Negative Reasons for Score:  * I can still do without the constant references to car names.  * We’re again given info dump after info dump on cars and racing.  * Takumi still isn’t a very likable character.  Ways to make the show better:  * Go even further with tilting the show towards story, over racing.  * For the love of god figure out how to draw female faces.  * Decide if your fans are knowledgable of race, and can understand the jargon, or do they need constant info dumps, but choose one. 

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