Customer Reviews

Initial D The Movie (DVD)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

INITIAL D is a Hong Kong movie based on the popular Japanese anime/manga title about downhill mountain road racing in Japan's Gunma Prefecture. It was a boxoffice hit earlier this year (2005) in HK and was directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, the directing team that also gave us the acclaimed INFERNAL AFFAIRS police-vs.-triad trilogy from 2002-03. The cast is topped by young stars Jay Chou, Edison Chen and Shawn Yue and veteran stars Anthony Wong, Kenny Bee, and Jordan Chan. The lead female role is taken by Japanese actress Anne Suzuki (RETURNER). The film is set in Japan but mostly shot in HK and everyone behaves like they're in a Hong Kong movie, especially Chapman To's Itsuki, who is not the excitable, buffoonish sidekick basking in Tak's glow from the anime but a huskier overbearing race star wannabe who seeks glory and success on the backs of others' efforts.

The events in the movie basically all originate in the anime/manga, but are greatly condensed here. Elements are taken from the entire first season of the TV show and the beginning of the second. The film is probably best seen by those unfamiliar with the anime or manga. As someone who's read a lot of the manga and seen much of the anime (and reviewed several volumes for this site), I found that I couldn't separate my view of the characters and story from my attachment to the anime. I couldn't help but continually compare the movie unfavorably with the anime, which I find so much more involving in every way.

There's nothing wrong per se with the actors or the plotting or the racing scenes in the movie. Everyone does a fine job, for the most part. It's just that the anime and manga, because of the longform continuing storylines, were able to develop the characters and build the emotional elements to make them much more effective and engaging in the long run. In the anime, the technology used to devise the racing scenes kept getting better as the series progressed and the editing techniques grew more sophisticated, until the racing scenes late in the series became some of the most exciting knockout action scenes ever created for anime. The downhill races in the HK movie are good, but are just not as intricate as those in the anime.

I do, however, have two major objections to the movie. Bunta, Tak's father (played by Anthony Wong), is made a hopeless drunk, which seriously compromises the father-son relationship which is so subtly and gently handled in the anime/manga. Also, the music in the movie consists mostly of English-language rap songs that sound too similar to the dreadful new rap pieces splattered on the English dub soundtracks of the anime DVDs. We don't get any of the great Eurobeat songs composed for the original Japanese anime soundtracks.

Otherwise, it's a well-made movie and should provide ample entertainment to those with no particular attachment to the original.

Initial D is a live action movie based on the anime/comic books series of the same name. It tells the story of Takumi, a tofu delivery boy who goes on to become a street racing legend, having unwittingly perfected the art of driving during his many delivery runs.

Make no mistake about it; any live action Initial D flick has a lot to live up to and compressing an entire anime series into a movie was never going to be an easy task, so it's unsurprising that some of the main characters from the series have been left out. The most notable absences were those of Keisuke Takahashi and Iketani, both of whom were pivotal to the plot. In this movie, the role of both of these characters seems to have been taken over by a now moustache-sporting Nakazato Takeshi, who not only introduces Takumi to road racing but provides him with his first real race, too.

Needless to say that fans of the series may not like what they see here. Many of the characters that appear have been heavily doctored, most notably Takumi's chain smoking father, who is now depicted as an alcoholic, a womaniser and a child-beater (!) There are other character changes too, most of them I didn't welcome but none proved to be particularly damaging to the movie as a whole. That said, the acting isn't exceedingly bad, especially considering that the lead role was given to a Taiwanese pop-musician, although it did leave much to be desired in places, as did the plot or rather, lack of one. Some of the car races aren't that good either, relying too heavily on "fade to black" shots, most notably at the beginning when one car passes another. The final race at the end, however, was the most spectacular and equal to anything Hollywood could have produced.

Overall, it was worth watching, exceeding my admittedly low expectations and possessing more entertainment value than the vast majority of movies to come out of Hong Kong.

I watched this movie with pretty low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. I was a bit shocked at how many of the characters and races that the movie left out from the manga, but I still think that the movie was true to the overall feel and spirit of Initial D. Anime enthusiasts will definitely be dissappointed by the hip-hop soundtrack and the lack of detail paid to some of the supporting cast, but I'm sure they will appreciate the careful attention paid to detail on the characters they do show. I love the characters, but Initial D started out for me as a love for the cars. That being said, it was great to see real versions of the cars drifting around corners and getting so much screen time. By no means is this a perfect movie, but the great characters, creative camera work and smooth drift scenes are good enough to make me look past it's flaws and enjoy it for what it is - a kick @$$ car movie based on one of the best anime series ever created. Highly recommended for car enthusiasts and Initial D fans anywhere.

To new and interested viewers, consider buying the animated series first and watch 'em with original Japanese dialouge with English subtitles before buying the Initial D Live Action Movie. I think it's important to learn about the characters, and this movie compresses 39 animated episodes (1st Stage & 2nd Stage) in 109 minutes. Initial D started out as a Japanese comics series by Shigeno Shuichi in comic form in 1996, then adapted to animated series, and finally to a live-action movie.

The U.S. DVD release comes with 2-disc-widescreen (the movie & bonus/making/deleted scenes/etc) and a perforated cardstock sheet that you can separate to use as bookmarkers, (4 total).

If you're a long time fan of Initial D, you will not hear any of the original soundtracks or any of the euro-remixes. The music has more of a hip-hop feel and the cars were limited to an excellent AE86 Trueno, RX-7 FC3S, Skyline R-32 GTR, two EVOs. Many of the characters are missing, but the important ones were well represented. Takeuchi Itsuki and Yuuichi's character background were revamped.

I rated the movie at 3.8...almost 4 stars, but it just couldn't pull through. It had the cars, the drifting scenes were great, and the roads were on the spot with the animated series. I thought the actors were held back a bit...they needed more facial expressions...too monotonous, ie: Itsuki/Iggy and Takumi (Jay Chou)...not enough development to feel and see how great Takumi's drifting techniques...or Itsuki's comical relief...and the greatness of Bunta Fujiwara!

There wasn't enough boasting of horsepower, suspension, tires, cars, turbos and the principles of racing mountain passes...elements that made the animated series catchy and made the viewer say, "ah yeeeaaah." Anthony Wong Chau-Sang (Bunta) and Anne Suzuki (Natsuki) were on the spot. I think music would have made a tremendous difference...the hip-hop beats didn't feel right, especially when you're watching cars take on corners at 70 mph.

Keep your expectations low, don't aim too high or you'll crash! Personally, this is a rental...watch once and that's it.

(...)

Feel the difference? ...'hope this helps.

I like pretty much everything in this movie. The humor is cheeze, like a comic book come to life. I like how they explain techniques in the movie like the "hints" in the game. This is a totally biased review coming from me, but it does a great job of conveying story and staying true to the original spirit of the anime's.

When you're driving tofu around, punctuality is everything to keep your customers happy. But eighteen-year-old Takumi Fujiwara's customers must be left grinning, because he has always arrived early without damaging the tofu.
Initial D is based on a popular Japanese anime about mountain road racing in Japan's Gunma Prefecture written by Shuichi Shigueno, moreover, a live action Initial D directed by Andrew Lau Wai-Keung and Alan Mak Siu- Fai was formed in 2005 situated in Hong Kong. Starring Taiwanese pop star, Jay Chou, Takumi Fujiwara has been delivering tofu in his father's heavily modified AE86 ever since he was twelve years old. After five years of delivering, Takumi encounters a top class driver, Shawn Yue as Takeshi Nakazato on his home road, Mt. Akina. While Fujiwara is delivering his tofu in his AE86, Nakazato tries to outrun him in his 280hp R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R. Fujiwara passes Nakazato effortlessly and ever since that day, Fujiwara discovers that he is a drifting genius. Not only is Takumi Fujiwara a drifting genius, his father, Anthony Wong as Bunta, is a world champion drifter. Starring Hong Kong pop star, Edison Chen as driving legend Takahashi Ryosuke finds out that a top class driver driving an engineering marvel has been defeated by a low class AE86, he is determined to defeat Fujiwara Takumi.
I think Edison Chen does a marvelous job on being driving legend Takahashi Ryosuke. In the anime, Takahashi Ryosuke, is a clever driver who carries his laptop with him everywhere he goes and he is known to be the best driver in Gunma after Takumi's father, Bunta, retired. Ryosuke is usually in the background of racing galleries by himself who comes up with simulations and attacks his opponents with their weaknesses. Edison Chen fits Ryosuke's description perfectly. In the movie, Edison Chen teaches Jay Chou about mechanics and he really knows what he is doing. On the racing battle between Takahashi Ryosuke and Takumi Fujiwara, Ryosuke tries to find a way to defeat Takumi with his opponent's weakness but has a trouble finding a weak point. This is because Takahashi Ryosuke has never faced an opponent as skilled as Takumi Fujiwara. The driving lines that Edison Chen and Jay Chou taking are almost exactly like the anime, which gave me quite a surprise.
The language spoken in this movie is Cantonese Chinese, even though Jay Chou comes from Taiwan. Most of his lines are unclear and slurred, resulting in bad acting. In the anime, Takumi Fujiwara is always tired, but when he drives he is very concentrated on defeating his opponent. When Chou is closing in to the finish line, he acts as if he is very sleepy and in a hurry to go home, but in the anime, Takumi is determined to reach the finish line first.
Anthony Wong as Bunta Fujiwara does not act according to the anime. In the anime, Bunta Fujiwara is a father who is a chain smoker who does not acknowledge or talk to Talkumi. However, in the movie Anthony Wong is an alcoholic and a chain smoker that acknowledges and talks to Takumi all the time. The time Bunta changes the engine in the AE86; he gave Takumi a driving lesson. In the anime, Bunta never give Takumi a driving lesson nor did Takumi know that his father is a racing legend.
Overall, I think Initial D has some great acting and some not so good acting, but Jay Chou did not do a very good job acting as Fujiwara Takumi. Anthony Wong, Takumi's father, did not act according to the description in the anime. On the other hand, Edison Chen did an unbelievable job acting as Takahashi Ryosuke.

When you're driving tofu around, punctuality is everything to keep your customers happy. But eighteen-year-old Takumi Fujiwara's customers must be left grinning, because he has always arrived early without damaging the tofu.
Initial D is based on a popular Japanese anime about mountain road racing in Japan's Gunma Prefecture written by Shuichi Shigueno, moreover, a live action Initial D directed by Andrew Lau Wai-Keung and Alan Mak Siu- Fai was formed in 2005 situated in Hong Kong. Starring Taiwanese pop star, Jay Chou, Takumi Fujiwara has been delivering tofu in his father's heavily modified AE86 ever since he was twelve years old. After five years of delivering, Takumi encounters a top class driver, Shawn Yue as Takeshi Nakazato on his home road, Mt. Akina. While Fujiwara is delivering his tofu in his AE86, Nakazato tries to outrun him in his 280hp R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R. Fujiwara passes Nakazato effortlessly and ever since that day, Fujiwara discovers that he is a drifting genius. Not only is Takumi Fujiwara a drifting genius, his father, Anthony Wong as Bunta, is a world champion drifter. Starring Hong Kong pop star, Edison Chen as driving legend Takahashi Ryosuke finds out that a top class driver driving an engineering marvel has been defeated by a low class AE86, he is determined to defeat Fujiwara Takumi.
I think Edison Chen does a marvelous job on being driving legend Takahashi Ryosuke. In the anime, Takahashi Ryosuke, is a clever driver who carries his laptop with him everywhere he goes and he is known to be the best driver in Gunma after Takumi's father, Bunta, retired. Ryosuke is usually in the background of racing galleries by himself who comes up with simulations and attacks his opponents with their weaknesses. Edison Chen fits Ryosuke's description perfectly. In the movie, Edison Chen teaches Jay Chou about mechanics and he really knows what he is doing. On the racing battle between Takahashi Ryosuke and Takumi Fujiwara, Ryosuke tries to find a way to defeat Takumi with his opponent's weakness but has a trouble finding a weak point. This is because Takahashi Ryosuke has never faced an opponent as skilled as Takumi Fujiwara. The driving lines that Edison Chen and Jay Chou taking are almost exactly like the anime, which gave me quite a surprise.
The language spoken in this movie is Cantonese Chinese, even though Jay Chou comes from Taiwan. Most of his lines are unclear and slurred, resulting in bad acting. In the anime, Takumi Fujiwara is always tired, but when he drives he is very concentrated on defeating his opponent. When Chou is closing in to the finish line, he acts as if he is very sleepy and in a hurry to go home, but in the anime, Takumi is determined to reach the finish line first.
Anthony Wong as Bunta Fujiwara does not act according to the anime. In the anime, Bunta Fujiwara is a father who is a chain smoker who does not acknowledge or talk to Talkumi. However, in the movie Anthony Wong is an alcoholic and a chain smoker that acknowledges and talks to Takumi all the time. The time Bunta changes the engine in the AE86; he gave Takumi a driving lesson. In the anime, Bunta never give Takumi a driving lesson nor did Takumi know that his father is a racing legend.
Overall, I think Initial D has some great acting and some not so good acting, but Jay Chou did not do a very good job acting as Fujiwara Takumi. Anthony Wong, Takumi's father, did not act according to the description in the anime. On the other hand, Edison Chen did an unbelievable job acting as Takahashi Ryosuke.

the scenes are awesome, but the father is made into a very disturbing person, in the series bunta(the dad) is not a heavy achloholic but drinks oocasionally. Also the soundtrack sucks
im into hip hop but you dont get any of the original dance and hardcore beats usedin the originals.
this is an ok initial D movie, but i would stick to the normal series is you have never seen the aspects of drifting.

When you're driving tofu around, punctuality is everything to keep your customers happy. But eighteen-year-old Takumi Fujiwara's customers must be left grinning, because he has always arrived early without damaging the tofu.
Initial D is based on a popular Japanese anime about mountain road racing in Japan's Gunma Prefecture written by Shuichi Shigueno, moreover, a live action Initial D directed by Andrew Lau Wai-Keung and Alan Mak Siu- Fai was formed in 2005 situated in Hong Kong. Starring Taiwanese pop star, Jay Chou, Takumi Fujiwara has been delivering tofu in his father's heavily modified AE86 ever since he was twelve years old. After five years of delivering, Takumi encounters a top class driver, Shawn Yue as Takeshi Nakazato on his home road, Mt. Akina. While Fujiwara is delivering his tofu in his AE86, Nakazato tries to outrun him in his 280hp R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R. Fujiwara passes Nakazato effortlessly and ever since that day, Fujiwara discovers that he is a drifting genius. Not only is Takumi Fujiwara a drifting genius, his father, Anthony Wong as Bunta, is a world champion drifter. Starring Hong Kong pop star, Edison Chen as driving legend Takahashi Ryosuke finds out that a top class driver driving an engineering marvel has been defeated by a low class AE86, he is determined to defeat Fujiwara Takumi.
I think Edison Chen does a marvelous job on being driving legend Takahashi Ryosuke. In the anime, Takahashi Ryosuke, is a clever driver who carries his laptop with him everywhere he goes and he is known to be the best driver in Gunma after Takumi's father, Bunta, retired. Ryosuke is usually in the background of racing galleries by himself who comes up with simulations and attacks his opponents with their weaknesses. Edison Chen fits Ryosuke's description perfectly. In the movie, Edison Chen teaches Jay Chou about mechanics and he really knows what he is doing. On the racing battle between Takahashi Ryosuke and Takumi Fujiwara, Ryosuke tries to find a way to defeat Takumi with his opponent's weakness but has a trouble finding a weak point. This is because Takahashi Ryosuke has never faced an opponent as skilled as Takumi Fujiwara. The driving lines that Edison Chen and Jay Chou taking are almost exactly like the anime, which gave me quite a surprise.
The language spoken in this movie is Cantonese Chinese, even though Jay Chou comes from Taiwan. Most of his lines are unclear and slurred, resulting in bad acting. In the anime, Takumi Fujiwara is always tired, but when he drives he is very concentrated on defeating his opponent. When Chou is closing in to the finish line, he acts as if he is very sleepy and in a hurry to go home, but in the anime, Takumi is determined to reach the finish line first.
Anthony Wong as Bunta Fujiwara does not act according to the anime. In the anime, Bunta Fujiwara is a father who is a chain smoker who does not acknowledge or talk to Talkumi. However, in the movie Anthony Wong is an alcoholic and a chain smoker that acknowledges and talks to Takumi all the time. The time Bunta changes the engine in the AE86; he gave Takumi a driving lesson. In the anime, Bunta never give Takumi a driving lesson nor did Takumi know that his father is a racing legend.
Overall, I think Initial D has some great acting and some not so good acting, but Jay Chou did not do a very good job acting as Fujiwara Takumi. Anthony Wong, Takumi's father, did not act according to the description in the anime. On the other hand, Edison Chen did an unbelievable job acting as Takahashi Ryosuke.

I was lucky enought to be in Bangkok Thailand opening night at the Parmont, for this movie, it is a awsome, however it does not follow the amie 100% but the action is there..

i recomend it to any car movie person, or Initial D fan....