Search - Initial D - Battle 2 - Challenge, Red Suns on DVD

Mmmmmm...

RJ | 04/07/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, so my friend starts telling me about Initial D, and gets me curious about it. I'm a big fan of imports to begin with, I have both Tokyo Extreme Racer 0 and Three, and I own two sport compacts, so it's only natural I get into the series, no? Vol. 2 was the first DVD I bought, as I had bought Vol. 1 of the manga first. I watched it, both Japanese sub and the American dub versions.American dub : crap. I was not impressed with the dialog very much(Itsuki's voice gets... irritating). It actually amuses me that the American dub had more harsh language, though minor, than the original(Didn't have to Americanize it with cussing). The "Tricked Out" camera work is all hype and silly, not to mention distracting, and the music... well, let's just say it does NOT fit the scenes. Americanizing is a bad thing, and it's sad. Can you tell I'm bitter?Japanese dub : much, much better. Sure, they don't call the 86 the Hachi-Roku, like it's supposed to be, and the subtitles aren't as accurate as they could be otherwise, but... original score, no silly camera angles, and it just feels right. It seems a lot cleaner-cut. And I prefer a deep-voiced Ryosuke. ^.~I also have #3, and if you can deal with the story-eps that show the story between Takumi and Mogi and other elements, it all comes together for a great anime, so long as one avoids the Tricked Out viewing, my own personal opinion. It's the only reason I'm not rating it higher.Personally, as well... I'm sticking to the manga. Less money to spend, and much more worthwhile, IMO. 11 out so far, now for another 15. Ha ha ha. But if you like good anime and yer a car freak, domestic or import, give this series a look. =o)"Inertia drift?!""

Fantastic Anime, Practically Butchered

Elliott Niblock | Appleton, WI | 12/02/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I absolutely love Initial D, however, my love for the show is the only thing that is keeping this DVD's rating at 3 stars. The American liscenced version is just plain bad. The three best things about the japanese version of this show are: character interaction, music, and race scenes, all of which have been altered. If you've never seen it I'd say stay away unless you have an interest in cars, then it still MAY be worth your while."

Big improvement from the first dvd

Dennis Jiang | Visalia, California USA | 03/19/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I first viewed initial d this wasn't like any type of anime that I've seen before. I'm normally into stuff like inuyasha, tenchi muyo etc, but i decided to give initial d a chance. My first review about the akina downhill specialist will tell you a little bit about what I saw and after that dvd I was kinda hooked on the story line. After Tak was on his way to akina I wanted to see the race even though I already knew the result of the race. It's just kinda funny how a old beat up 86' can beat the latest mazda rx-7 fd. I mean the graphics on the character weren't like all of my other anime choices, but I mainly watch this one because of the story line. I just want to see how far they will take this series. So if you want my opinion If you have seen the first dvd and was kinda interested then this dvd is just right for you!!!"