23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't expect the anime/manga, January 20, 2006
This review is from: Initial D (DVD)
While the anime stayed fairly close to the manga, this live action movie makes substantial character and plot changes. For instance, Bunta is now perceived more as a drunken womanizer more than the retired legendary (yet still smug and egotistical) racer from Akina. Ryousuke and Keisuke Takahashi are essentially one character. Several other characters don't even appear in the movie.
The plot was also condensed considerably. Instead of being a movie covering a few races from the anime's first season, it compresses everything from the first three stages (which took the anime 39 thirty-minute episodes and its own two-hour movie). Obviously with about two hours of time, this movie had to drop several races and increase the pace of character and car driving technique development.
However, the movie does get some things right. Character development is focused on Takumi and his indecisiveness of what he wants to be in life. The actual car racing uses the real cars that the characters drive in the series, and most of the driving is more realistic than completely special effects. The mood of the movie fits, and it follows the general "teenager who has special skills but doesn't know it" plot of the series. Itsuki is still the overzealous racer wanna-be, even if his character's background was totally changed.
One thing to note is that there is absolutely no EuroBeat music in this version, which can be a good or bad thing depending if you're a fan. Most of the Chinese pop music is from Jay Chou, who plays Takumi.
In the end, if you're a previous fan of the series, don't go in expecting to see a live-action version of the anime or manga. You'll just end up disappointed that the movie tries to cover so much ground in such a short amount of time. This movie is like the later Harry Potter movies in that it is an okay adaption of a much better and more detailed story.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
D rocks, July 25, 2006
This review is from: Initial D (DVD)
Guys look I know that by the reviews that the movie is not like the manga anime series but for what it is the movie is a fun action comedy that you can enjoy. Aleast you don't have to dramatize it into a life or death situaition like the Fast and Furious series has beeen doing. This has cool racing scenes and sweet cars doing the best drifting i've ever seen. And not to mention the comidic side of this story works and Anthony Wong is the man. If you hate this movie just because it did not stay true to the anime then you are being unfair to this movie. This is a fun film to watch and you will find it refreshing to see as Initial D will take you to the wildest drift of your life.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Initial D, March 10, 2006
This review is from: Initial D (DVD)
It's hard to give a review of this, because it could go either way. Some people like it and some people don't, but I don't think you'd be able to tell until you've watched it. Personally, I liked the live action movie--I liked the anime better, but the live action was still pretty cool. There are obviously changes that the directors made that many people won't like, but... Overall, I liked it, and if you haven't seen it, check it out and see for yourself.
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