Initial D Omnibus 1 Review
Initial D is arguably one of the most important and influential sports manga around. However, if you are someone who is mainly used to modern sports series, it might take a while to get used to it, especially if you are the kind of person who mainly reads sports series just to ogle cute boys, as there are none of those here.
Created by Shuichi Shigeno back in the mid-90s, the story follows Takumi Fujiwara. By day he is a student, and when he is not at school he is normally either at his part-time job in a petrol station, or back at home in his father’s tofu shop. However, for five years now (by which I mean, “doing it way too early, he’s clearly breaking the law”), he has been doing the odd late-night tofu delivery in his father’s car, a black-and-white Toyota Tureno 86. His father also used to be a great racing driver, and he has been training Takumi to also become a great driver on the local mountain roads, often by getting him to drive with a glass of water in the cup holder without spilling a drop.
As a result of this, Takumi has for years built up a talent for racing, able to return home from his deliveries in super-quick time on the mountain roads, drifting his 86 to perfection downhill. He has no interest in racing; he just wants to get back home from his chores as soon as possible. However, it is only a matter of time before he finds himself the centre of attention of local late-night racing teams, namely the Akina Speed Stars, and a team made out of much more skilled drivers, the Red Suns. Takumi ends up in an unwanted race while driving home from a delivery, where his skills are so great that the Red Suns team become obsessed with trying to find out Takumi’s identity. Takumi thus ends up doing an actual race in the mountains where his skills terrify his rivals, even though Takumi has no in-depth knowledge about racing itself.
One thing needs to be made clear from the outset in this review. If you want to read this sporting series in the hope that the male lead might be some hunk like those in the wide range of modern sporting anime such as Free!, Haikyu!! or Yuri!!! on Ice, forget it. Not only is Takumi not that attractive, but the character design is possibly the worst thing about Initial D. My first reaction to opening this omnibus and seeing what the characters looked like was: “Woah! OK…” You get the feeling that the reason cover designer Phil Balsman decided to not show any faces on the cover of this book is because if people came across them first, they would just judge the book by its cover and never buy it. Instead it is the 86 that gets all the attention on the cover, and with good reason as it is literally the star vehicle. As for the character designs, when you first see them, the faces look so flat, and at times it looks like Shigeno doesn’t even bother with noses. He just gives people nostrils and doesn’t bother with the rest.
If you are into fan service, well there is some of that. However, the first bits of it are from female characters, namely from Takumi’s love interest, Natsuki. In one early scene she is wearing a short skirt and when she walks down the stairs you see her underwear. In another scene, in Takumi’s mind we see Natsuki topless, having sex. There is a later beach scene, with Takumi topless and Natsuki in a swimsuit. Thus, if fan service is your way into sports stories, be warned that it is not just boys you might find revealing their flesh.
When it comes to the writing, a lot of motoring jargon is inevitably going to come up. Fortunately there is an exhaustive translation notes section that not only gets into areas of Japanese culture, but also into the details of the cars and racing itself. However, at times, the plot feels like it drags a bit.
You may be wondering if there is any point in reading Initial D at all. The answer is that there is, because once you get into the actual action, the races themselves are utterly thrilling. These may be still images, but the way that Shigeno draws gives the car such a fluid motion that you feel as if you are drifting along with the 86. It is really exciting! It is even like this when Takumi is just showing off his skills, not when he is in a competition. For example, there is a scene where Takumi is driving the route with a passenger, going full throttle. You feel yourself in that passenger’s seat, thrilled and terrified of what is going to happen. The passenger sees his life flash before his eyes as Takumi waits to the last possible moment to hit the brake, and when he does, Shigeno writes that: “Takumi slams his foot on the brake like it killed his parents.” It is so gripping, that you cannot help but feel slightly disappointed when the journey ends and you have get back to more of the plot.
As for the production, this omnibus comes with a new translation by Kevin Steinbach, and nothing untoward or clearly erroneous appears. Scott O. Brown’s lettering and Maggie Le’s editing are both done generally well, although one is slightly worried about some text notes added in very small font between frames, which might be difficult for some people to read. The book also comes with some colour pages, which are nice, but also when you see the characters for the first time might compound the whole character design issue more for some readers. The omnibus covers the first two volumes of the series, which feels like the right number. If they went for three then you would feel like this book might be a bit too cumbersome.
However, having read this omnibus, I feel like a convert to this way of storytelling. Ok, Initial D has its issues, but the way the action plays out makes you want to read more. It is also interesting to come across a sports manga that covers its subject matter in a way that differs to what consumers are more used to seeing today. This is a sports manga whose most engrossing factor is not the people taking part, but the action of the sport itself.
Read a free extract on the publisher’s website here.
Our review copy from Kodansha was provided by Diamond Book Distributors.
