Rewind: Initial D Second Stage

I wrote about the first season of Initial D almost exactly a year ago. I didn't plan this post accordingly, but since I recently rewatched the "second stage," it's fresh in my mind. Last year, I mentioned that I received Initial D Second Stage as a Christmas gift, since I didn't realize it would eventually show up on Hulu. I'm thankful for my mistake; DVDs work a lot better than Hulu when the internet goes out.

Takumi usually has a very placid expression, even when racing,
but as he races a scornful opponent in the third episode, his
intensity shows on his face.

For those of you who don't know: Initial D centers around Fujiwara Takumi, a teenage street racer who specializes in downhill racing. His skill developed when he drove back and forth over the mountain pass to deliver tofu for his father's business. He didn't realize it at the time, but his father, a former street racer himself, was grooming him to be a racer. In the first season, the local racing team convinces him to start racing with them. They use the pass as their course, so Takumi is on familiar ground. He becomes well known by racers in the general area.

Just like with the first season, I enjoy Second Stage primarily for the races. Still, there are a few notable differences between seasons. I'll start with the positives: Takumi, the main character, meets challenges he can't overcome with the current state of his car, an old Toyota AE 86 Trueno. (The car is mostly referred to as an 86, not "eighty-six" but "Eight Six.") Takumi is forced to learn more about automechanics, whereas he relied primarily on experience and talent for victory before. His father continues to guide his growth as a racer, and he helps make changes to the car.

Other differences, I'm not so happy with. There is a big change in animation between the first and second seasons. Granted, the art wasn't exactly pretty before, and the new look is... shinier, I guess. It's probably supposed to be better. But there are a few characters who almost look like different people. One of the Takumi's most respectable opponents, Ryosuke, even has a different hair color, and I don't think it's because he picked up a package of hair dye. His whole appearance is off.

And then there's the romance piece... In the first season, Takumi grew close with Mogi Natsuki, a girl he knew from school. In Second Stage, they still have feelings for each other. However, an anonymous busybody tells Takumi a secret about Natsuki. He deals with the news like the clumsy teenager he is. This part is executed decently, I admit, but I don't enjoy it.

Despite all my negative comments, I've watched Initial D: Second Stage three times now, and I continue to enjoy it. I can't bear to give the season less than four stars out of five. Takumi's development as a racer is fun to watch, and I've grown fond of a few of the secondary characters as well.

Sports Anime: The Favorites, the Blahs, and What Defines Them

Time for a master post about my favorite anime genre! I already wrote about how sports anime first earned my favor, so I won't repeat myself. You can check out old posts on the topic if you want. This post will deal with current favorites, as well as those that are, well, blah, and how I tend to judge them. If you haven't tried any good sports anime, I hope you'll check out a few of the titles I mention in this post.

New Prince of Tennis fits under blah, but boy, it was good to see
Echizen and the rest again. And he looks good in more modern
visuals (from ep. 1).

Obviously, not all sports anime are created equal. After watching about 15 of them (including currently airing titles), I know what I look for in sports anime. Some, like Kuroko's Basketball, win my favor through decent character development, great suspense, and smooth animation. Others, like Area no Kishi, fall flat. Still, I've become just enough of a fan girl to welcome all new sports anime into my watching list, with only a few qualifications:

1. It must not be ecchi or otherwise distractingly offensive. Thus, Wanna be the Strongest in the World never made it near my watching list. I'm pretty sure the creators of that show were more concerned with anatomy than pro wrestling, anyway.

2. If it's a sequel series, and the earlier seasons aren't legally available online, I probably won't watch it. Sorry, Haijime no Ippo Rising.

3. It must be available on one of my preferred viewing sites. My entertainment budget is small: Crunchyroll subscription + the occasional book/movie/etc. And anime isn't the only thing on my birthday list.

4. If sports only take a small role in the anime, it must win my attention through other avenues. Suzuka, for example, got my attention a few years ago because of the track element, but lost my attention after a few episodes. I can't remember much about it, except that it was only available dubbed on Hulu.

5. I trust my fellow Anime-Planet users. If they only give an anime 1-2 stars on average, I probably won't try it--even if it's a sports anime.

Once a sports anime gets on my watching list, it won't easily get kicked off. For example, Area no Kishi, or Knight in the Area, continues to sit on the list, over two years after it started airing. I still have four more episodes to go. At an average rate of one episode a month, I should be done by the end of summer. The only character I care for at all in the show is the main one, Kakeru. It's not his fault that I've lost interest in his story or that some of his friends annoy me. Unfortunately, my affection for Kakeru comes mostly from my sense of duty.

When I don't care much about the characters in a sports anime, we have a serious problem. Even one very good character can save a show from hitting the bottom of my list. Dear Boys, for example, has Aikawa. For those of you who don't know, Aikawa is a little like Kuroko in size and personality, but with more presence on the court (and much less presence in my heart). Aikawa makes me smile as I remember his show, which otherwise bored me.

So, what makes a sports anime good? I've started a list of traits shared by anime I enjoy.

1. As already mentioned, good character development is vital. Usually, as in The Prince of Tennis and Kuroko's Basketball, many of the main character's teammates and opponents are as fully developed as he is. In fact, I almost know more about some of Kuroko's friends than I do about him. But, sometimes, as in Initial D, one character is enough to gain my love.

2. Similarly, the characters must play off each other well. Imagine Ace of the Diamond (Daiya no Ace) without the catchers, Miyuki and Kris, prodding the pitchers into shape. It wouldn't be nearly the show we've come to love.

3. Animation is key. Yes, I realize this applies to any animated production. But the way basketball players move in Kuroko's Basketball enchants me. I love watching how Kagami and the rest handle the ball with flowing agility and elegance. Same goes for the newer anime, Haikyuu!!, which comes from the same studio. Even if I didn't care about the characters, I'd enjoy watching them play.

As a side note, I've enjoyed Ping Pong: The Animation this season, even though it's rather ugly at first glance. The animation is very different than anything else I'm watching... but I like some of the angles and action sequences anyway.

4. I enjoy good pacing and edge-of-my-seat suspense. When shows get this part right, I'm worked up like a football fan during Superbowl. When shows get it wrong, I imagine it's like when your favorite football team is have a really lackluster, bad game. For example, New Prince of Tennis tried to capitalize on the character development from the first 170 or so episodes. But this new, 13 episode series fell completely flat in the pacing and suspense department. An important match was squished into a single episode. If I didn't already love the characters, I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed it at all.

These anime got it right:

From Kuroko's Basketball 2, episode 21. Kuroko continues to
prove that you shouldn't underestimate the scrawny kids, and
Production I.G. reminds me why it's the only studio on my A-P
<3 far.="" list="" so="" td="">

Kuroko's Basketball
- My Superbowl analogy applies five times over with this one. See my February post about it for an example. I can't wait for another season to air. I think we'll finally get to see Kuroko's old captain in action. He kinda scares me, more than a dude with pink hair should.

Ace of the Diamond
- Eijun, an earnest young pitcher, has contagious passion, and he's fun to watch with the pitchers. But I also like the honor paid to his sempai, both by him and by the creators. The upperclassmen on the team have admirable solidarity, and I'm glad we get to see that.

Giant Killing
- This one is about adults, and they definitely won't let the young'uns from other anime beat them with their passion... okay, yeah, it's time for me to re-watch this. It's been a very long time since I saw it. Looks like I haven't used this for a Rewind post yet, so I'll harvest screenshots when I start this up again.

Big Windup
- This one isn't fresh in my memory, but I'm still confident recommending it, and I wish the second season was online. Maybe I'll give in and buy it.

Prince of Tennis
- This introduced me to sports anime. It might be over-the-top for some people, but the characters and matches really are fun... and, again, it introduced me to the genre, which puts it just barely below Naruto in sentimental value.

Currently airing jewels (these haven't aired a full season yet, so are counted separately):

The volleyball captain informs Hinata and Kageyama that
they can't participate in the club until the can act like
teammates (ep. 2).

Haikyuu!!
- From Production I.G., the same studio that brought us Kuroko's Basketball, we have an anime about... volleyball. Hey, that's something different. And very fun. The animation is as wonderful to watch as that in KuroBas. The characters delight me, especially Hinata Shouyou. He's cute. He could compete with my dog for cuteness, and since I'm very biased toward my pup, that's saying something. But he's also an interesting young player -- singleminded, trusting, and usually confident, although his nerves can get in the way. I like his dynamics with Kageyama.

Baby Steps
- Not as lovely to look at as Haikyuu!!, but it's the first good tennis anime to cross my radar since The Prince of Tennis. The main character, Eijun, has an analytical approach to tennis, a lot like Inui from PoT. But, unlike Inui, Eijun is a newbie at the beginning of the show. Also, his eyes got all sparkly in episode 7, and Inui was never innocent enough for the sparkly-eye thing.

Tsukimoto's friend, "Peco," playing in the first ep. I don't like
him, but his character fits well with the anime's style and themes.

Ping Pong: The Animation
- This is the oddball on my watching list. It's different in almost every way, starting with the visual style. Then there's the sport... who'd have thought you could make an interesting anime about
ping pong? The characters are different, too. Tsukimoto (aka Smile), never smiles. He lacks aspiration, even though he's an amazing ping pong player. The supporting cast is a bit off-klter, too. This anime will never be my favorite, but I enjoy its uniqueness. 

I enjoyed these, but they're not high on my recommendation list:
Cross Game
- I don't remember this one well enough to recommend it too highly, but it was very good. I enjoyed it even before I made a habit of watching tear-jerkers. Guess that means I'd like it even more now.

Eyeshield 21
- Very fun, but too over the top to recommend to anyone who doesn't already love Prince of Tennis or other school sports anime.

Initial D
- Okay, so I loved this, although I still haven't seen Fifth Stage (come on, Crunchyroll! Funimation! Somebody, please make this available!) But the animation isn't exactly pretty, and I guess it's not super fresh in my memory.

Bamboo Blade
- I don't remember this one very well. But I liked it, and it's about girls. No other sports anime on my list can make that second claim, although I recall girls playing a fairly large role (without being exploited for ridiculous fan service) in Cross Game.

This one is gaining more favor:
Yowapeda
- I'm not a hug fan of Yowapeda (Yowamushi Pedal), but it's gaining on me. You'd think that I'd like it better, since it's a racing anime, and I loved Initial D. But it just hasn't clicked with me the same way. Still, it's earned its way out of the last list.

Meh and Blah:

Dear Boys 

- A bit boring, but decent. I enjoyed some of the episodes, especially near the end. But I felt that the negatives outweighed the positives, as I explained when I first finished it.

Area no Kishi
- Too much drama, too much annoying "comedy," and too much of that opening theme music stuck in my head. On the positive side, interesting moves and game play occasionally appear between beach episodes (I'm exaggerating, of course -- the majority of episodes aren't on the beach. They must make room for festival and hot springs episodes... okay, still a slight exaggeration). Yes, I plan to finish this. I'm too stubborn for my own good.

Conclusion

There are still some great sports anime I'd like to see, including the long-running baseball anime Major. Fifteen shows (and several hundred episodes) don't make me a genre expert... they just make me a bit of a fan.

Stay tuned for more in-depth posts about sports anime. I have a couple ideas that may appear throughout coming weeks. And comment if I didn't mention one of your favorite sports anime - especially if it's available somewhere like Crunchyroll or Hulu, so I can watch it. If it's not, maybe you can make a good enough case to move a DVD set to the top of my birthday list. Maybe.

Rewind: Initial D

I don't remember the first time I watched Initial D. I know that I saw it on Hulu before I understood how Funimation rotates the availability of its shows. I put the second season on my Christmas list that year, and I received it... though it ended up being available on Hulu anyway. Oh well. The second season is officially the only anime TV series I own - the three other anime on my shelf are movies. I don't mind the that the honor goes to Initial D: Second Stage. But I digress. That's the second season, and I'm writing primarily about the first.

Initial D is about street racing. People race cars, especially on hills. Okay, they call it a mountain, but Mt. Akina is a bit short to be considered a mountain in my book.

Is their racing legal? No. Does anyone in the anime care? No. So I choose ignore the little legality issue, too. The main character, Takumi, is a pretty normal teenager at first glance. He doesn't seem passionate about much. He goes to school, works partime at a gas station, tolerates his excitable friend, and makes deliveries for his dad's tofu shop. It's not exciting to drive over the pass in his dad's old car every night, so he gets it done quickly, with no regard for any speed limit signs. He's picked up some pretty amazing skills in the process, with a little guidance from his dad, a former street racer. Takumi is clueless about this, of course. Then he catches the right people's eyes, and one thing leads to another until he's on a street racing team. Let the fun begin.

The animation isn't pretty. It was made fifteen years ago, though, so what do expect? Initial D wouldn't promise to be super popular either, so it's not like they were going to be generous with the budget. The animation does its job. Figures and, more importantly, cars move across the screen. What more can you want? I love watching Takumi drive. The screen shows him shifting and his feet working the pedals - to me, it was like he was dancing, especially with the background music.

The races always had me on the edge of my seat. Takumi is bit of an underdog. Yes, he has skill, but he's new to the scene. Plus, his car is the same old Toyota 86 that his dad raced in. His opponents consistently underestimate him. Since he races downhill, his lack of horsepower and such doesn't get in his way at first. Actually, the simplicity of his car sometimes gives him an advantage over those who let their car do too much with its automatic features. It's still an old car.

Initial D comes to mind anytime I drive a winding downhill road or mountain pass. Unlike Takumi, I've always followed speed limits fairly well. During my first long drives, I generally paid attention to the suggested speeds for curves. Then I stopped taking those suggestions seriously. It wasn't because of Initial D's influence, of course - just plain overconfidence in my vehicle and myself. I can now tell you from personal experience that it's a really good idea to slow down around corners. We don't all have reflexes and control like Takumi, and his car is definitely more loyal to him than some of ours are. I bet his Trueno's steering system would never rebel against him.

It's been a while since I last watched Initial D, but I still do a double take every time I see a small, old black and white car. I couldn't identify a Lamborghini or any other fancy car for the life of me, but I know the basic look of an old Toyota Trueno.

Initial D is pretty bland in all ways that don't relate to driving. I just tolerate the bits of romance and drama. Thankfully, that stuff rarely distracts from the parts I like: the races and preparation for the races.

Miyazaki, Dubs, and a Car Crash

Hi there, everyone! 

I had an exciting weekend. I finally watched two of Miyazaki’s acclaimed works, I discovered that good dubs do indeed exist, and, last but not least, I crashed my car. All within the space of twenty four hours. 

As absurd as it may sound, I spent my two years of anime fandom without finishing a single anime directed by the famous Miyazaki Hayao. Sure, I watched Spirited Away about six years ago, but that doesn’t count. Back then, I had no idea what anime was. I just thought Spirited Away was a little weird. 

Then, when I was researching anime for “Anime 101” during my first year of anime watching, I tried Princess Mononoke. I didn’t fully appreciate it and ended up stopping midway.

Only recently did my interest in Miyazaki’s work surface. On Saturday evening, I watched Howl’s Moving Castle with my dear friend. It was amazing! The art, the music, the creativity and plot, and even the English dubs were great! Howl quickly made his way to my favorite anime guy list. Granted, he’s not nearly as cool as Brandon Heat from Gungrave, but still; Howl is pretty high up there.

After my friend left, leaving me alone with the dogs I was watching for the weekend, I found myself craving more Miyazaki. Thankfully, she’d lent me My Neighbor Totoro as well. While I didn’t love Totoro as much as Howl’s Moving Castle, I still liked it. It contained many of the same things that I enjoyed so much in Howl – from the art to the music to the story. I watched it in the original Japanese, and I found the children’s voices slightly annoying, but it was still good.

Then Sunday rolled along. It started well. I woke up to hungry dogs, fed them, and wrapped up my house sitting job. I considered sticking around to meet one of the owners, but wanted to make sure I was home before dark. I live almost three hours away from the place I was house sitting, and I still had to get gas.

So I wrote a note, packed up my car, found a gas station, and headed home. I blasted the soundtrack from Pixar’s Cars, like I always do on long road trips. Scenes from the anime Initial D flashed through my mind as I drove down the highway. Again, it was a typical road trip. I always think about Initial D when I make that drive. I’m not near as reckless as those fictional street racers, but I enjoy thinking about them as I round highway curves.

When I was about a half hour away from home, I drove around a right hand curve. The steering wheel jerked the opposite direction, but I was able to regain control and thought nothing of it. Looking back, I really, really wish I’d taken better note of the way my car was acting.

A minute, maybe two, after I’d noticed that little quirk, I encountered another right hand curve, a larger one this time. I approached it faster than the suggested speed, though still within legal limits. I repeat, that was nothing atypical. Before that day, I’d never had any trouble with rounding those corners.

As I began following the curve to the right, the steering wheel decided to go against my wishes. It jerked again to the left. This time, I couldn’t direct it back on course. My car veered across the empty passing lane, across the opposing traffic lane, and off the other side of the road. From the angle my car landed in, you’d think I was coming from the opposite direction.

A very rough diagram of the crash site

At some point in the crashing process, it looked like the passenger side of the car banged against a boulder. I think that’s what resulted in the greatest amount of damage. Either way, when I first crashed, I didn’t particularly care. The engine died when I crashed off the side of the road. My imagination went wild with images of exploding vehicles. With such thoughts in mind, I hurriedly left the car and stood a few feet away.

Some men, I’m guessing in their late twenties or early thirties, pulled off the road about a dozen yards away. They called the police, lent me a jacket and a water bottle, and stayed with me until my parents and the tow truck came. I only learned two of their names, but I am very thankful for each of them. I needed adult support and company, and they provided it (yes, I’m technically an adult, but still).

The police didn’t come, but an officer on the phone gave me the number for the tow truck company Mom wanted. Everyone involved – the police on the phone, the men who stopped their van and suburban to help, the paramedic in training who came right before my parents and checked on me, and even the tow truck man – was very helpful and kind.

It took almost exactly twenty four hours to get over the shock of it all. I got what I can best describe as an annoying seatbelt burn on my right arm, and my ankles are slightly bruised where the knobby parts knocked together. I woke up sore and with very minor whiplash. But overall, I’m fine. The car, on the other hand, could very well be totaled.

So, that’s what’s been going on with me. I watched Howl’s Moving Castle a second time to help recover from the shock. By the time I finished that and the latest Naruto Shippuden filler, I felt mentally all better.

To sum this blog post up: Miyazaki is cool, great English dubs actually exist, and car crashes aren’t fun.

My Excuses for Not Blogging

Okay, I know I've been slacking off on the blog. And the more I stay away, the harder it is to come back. But I had good reasons, I promise!

First of all, I finally graduated from high school. I procrastinated on a lot of the home school course until last minute, so I had to scramble to get it done. That took quite a bit of time and energy.

Second, I've been writing a lot of fiction in the past two months. Much of my writing energy has gone into that. I made quite a few false starts, but I finally settled on something. And I'm happy to report that I will probably finish the story this time. I'm even posting it online! I just prefer to use Wattpad for long stories.

Last but not least, reading, writing, and editing have distracted me from my favorite blogging topic - anime. Oh, I've continued to watch some, of course. Hulu finally put up the second season of Initial D. I re-watched the first season and hungrily consumed the second. The animation change between seasons was annoying at first, but I quickly got over it.

Anyway, one of the main characters in my new story, At His Whim, is an otaku. It's hard for me not to put my love of anime into at least a couple of my characters! Her otaku habits aren't a big part of the plot, but it's there. So, in a way, I have been writing about anime.

If you're at all interested, I'd love it if you'd check out my Wattpad profile or At His Whim. I've only uploaded the prologue and first chapter of At His Whim, but there's more coming. Eventually, I'll put at least the prologue on this blog. But it's so much easier to read and organize stories on Wattpad! I've even decided to start editing and uploading an old story of mine.

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I'll just copy and paste my description for At His Whim...

Danny Carter is one of the youngest and best members of his organization. But when girls start disappearing, even Danny can’t seem to crack the case. His enemy is on the move, and the trail leads toward Danny’s home state – toward his twin sister.

Lila Carter fears many things: drowning, darkness, and boys, to name a few. Her largest concern, besides her absent brother, is her parents’ plan to cure her of her social anxiety. First she has to face her shyness around boys, and then she encounters situations far more frightening. She can’t rely on Danny’s protection forever, but does she have the strength to overcome her fears?

Danny, Lila, and their friends find themselves at the whim of an invisible enemy. They try desperately to protect the ones they love, and their success is far from guaranteed.



At His Whim is a suspense/action/fantasy novel with a smaller twist of romance. Rated PG-13 for dark situations and violence (I considered “PG” but wanted to be safe).

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Wattpad has its users rate their stories G, PG, etc. I tend to be a LOT more conservative with my ratings than most people. There have been a couple PG-13 stories that really should have been labeled "mature." I ran away from those pretty quickly.

Okay, my internet is going to be cut off in three minutes, so I'd better wrap this up. I hope to blog more soon!