Before Initial D, its author penned the illegal motorcycle racing manga Bari Bari Densetsu

Shuichi Shigeno is best known for penning the seminal touge battle manga Initial D, which played a huge part in bringing drifting to the US. But long before the beloved panda AE86 delivered its first tofu order, there was Bari Bari Densetsu, Shigeno’s award-winning manga about motorcycle racing. The two stories have a lot of parallels, not least of which was Shigeno’s realistic depiction of bikes, various riding styles, and real-world locations.

It could be said that Bari Bari Densetsu is “Initial D but with motorcycles,” although since it debuted in 1983, it would be more accurate to describe Initial D as “Bari Bari Densetsu, but with cars.” The 38-volume series was originally published serially in Weekly Shonen Magazine from 1983 to 1991.

The story of BariDen, as it is affectionately called, can be broken up into three main sections. In the first, the protagonist, Koma Gun is a high school student with a preternatural skill for riding motorcycles. He spends his days riding touge roads with his best friend Hiro. Eventually, he catches the attention of professional motorcycle racers and is recruited to join a team of young riders.

In the second part, Koma competes professionally in the All-Japan Road Race Championship, a real racing series that dates back to 1961. He rides a tuned Honda RS250R that tests his riding skills, but as he ascends through the ranks Koma masters a unique and aggressive “drift” riding style, patterned after real Japanese WGP riders at the time. Actual figures from Japan’s motorcycling world, such as Pop Yoshimura and Dai Kobayashi, make cameos as well.

The the third and final part, Koma joins Honda’s satellite team and heads to Europe to compete in the WGP. As he competes in legendary circuits like Misano and Hockenheim, he encounters real-life legends of the motorcycling world like Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson. The fictional Honda team manager, Matsuo Umei, was based in part on Honda’s F1 manager at the time, Yoshitoshi Sakurai. Koma’s given an NSR500 to race, and the story follows the Honda Works (HRC) team’s efforts to take down rival Yamaha.

If that arc sounds familiar, don’t worry. There are differences as well. For example, in BariDen Koma marries his high school sweetheart before he goes off to race as a pro in Europe. Koma’s senpai Hideyoshi, a highly technical rider that approaches racing with a craftsman-like attitude, is killed when he his hit by an oncoming car while trying to swerve around a fallen rider.

Throughout the series extremely accurate depictions of real-life bikes exist — Koma’s personal Honda CB750F, Hideyoshi’s Suzuki GSX750S Katana, Hiro’s Kawasaki Z400GP. After getting his driver’s license, Koma drives an FC Mazda RX-7 as well, a favorite car that shows up again in Initial D.

If Bari Bari Densetsu mimicked real life, the reverse was also true. As the manga gained popularity, aspects of the story bled into the real-life world of motorcycling. The JRP racing suit and Shoei helmet worn by Koma were eventually made into real products. Koma also appears as a special character in the 2000 video game MotoGP. And Koma’s racing number, 56, was adopted by actual MotoGP rider Shinya Nakano.

Though perhaps not as well known in the west as Shigeno’s subsequent works, BariDen‘s impact should not be overlooked. It won the Kodansha Manga Award in the Boys’ category in 1985 and has sold over 26 million copies. If you love Initial D, you owe it to yourself to check out its influential predecessor.