Tag Archives: Initial D
Initial D Toyota AE86 gets schooled by GR86 again, with a different master behind the wheel
In January a series of commercials for the 2022 Toyota GR86 reunited it with the famous Initial D AE86. In those commercials tofu delivery boy Takumi is defeated by none other than the Drift King himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya (or at … Continue reading
An Initial D and MF Ghost Casio watch is here to keep time on your touge runs
Expensive motorsports-themed watches are nothing new, but typically they involve a Formula 1 team or some kind of luxury brand tie-in. Now there’s a watch — ahem, timepiece — for the lone wolf mountain racer in a humble Toyota. The … Continue reading
Posted in Watches
Tagged ae86, corolla, Initial D, MF Ghost, Shuichi Shigeno, sprinter trueno, toyota 86
2 Comments
Toyota AE86 meets 2022 GR86 in stunning Initial D-inspired commercials
We promise we are not turning into an Initial D blog, but this was too cool not to share. We’ve not been shy about crapping on Toyota’s terrible ads before. So consider us flabbergasted that the same company, just before … Continue reading
Posted in cm
Tagged ae86, corolla, GR86, Initial D, keiichi tsuchiya, sprinter trueno, toyota
7 Comments
Initial D‘s beloved characters: “Where are they now?” according to MF Ghost
We last wrote about MF Ghost in 2017, when Shuichi Shigeno had but published one chapter in Young Weekly, the same manga serial that Initial D ran in from 1995-2013. Back then, little was known about the plot, but now … Continue reading
There is now a Takumi motor oil for Initial D fans
Since its debut about a decade ago, Japan’s Takumi motor oil has had nothing to do with Initial D. If Sears had been Japanese, its in-house line of tools would have been named Takumi, because though Takumi is a popular … Continue reading
Inside the world of Kimono My House, one of the oldest Japanese hobby shops in the US
Before anime and Japanese sci-fi became mainstream on US shores, a small hobby shop in Emeryville, California filled that niche for those in the know. Kimono My House is probably the oldest Japanese toy store in the United States, its … Continue reading
Posted in minicar, minicars
Tagged diapet, Initial D, Mazinger Z, minicars, tomica, Ultraman, wangan midnight
6 Comments
Behold, Japan’s suddenly famous Drift Dog
Earlier this month, a video of a Japanese dog went viral when the owner filmed it running down the side of an irrigation canal. Its cuteness, plus the fact that it had kind of an angled gait, quickly garnered it … Continue reading
MINICARS: Lego should license this unlicensed Initial D AE86
In the old days unlicensed toys used to be somewhat janky, but in recent years in China, where manufacturing prowess and the wild west of intelletctual property law intersect, a lot of it has gotten quite good. Case in point: … Continue reading
Drift back to school with an Initial D AE86 backpack
It’s hard getting up for class but when you’re wearing a snazzy AE86 backpack, you can slide to school in style. Forget your Jansport, a Japanese shop has made a replica of the Initial D Toyota Sprinter Trueno for all … Continue reading
Forget tofu, Arby’s gets the drift
Takumi has gotten a new job, delivering roast beef sandwiches for Arby’s.
ART CORNER: Japanese artist recreates Initial D touge scenes with amazing model cars
It’s an iconic scene from the pages of Initial D — Takumi Fujiwara’s AE86 touge-battling Keisuke Takahashi’s FD RX-7, drifting through a hairpin. A Japanese artist known as Shinga on Twitter has recreated the moment, but as much as the finished product looks … Continue reading
Posted in Art Corner
Tagged ae86, corolla, fd3s, Initial D, mazda, rx-7, sprinter trueno, toyota
8 Comments
ART CORNER: Initial D author’s new racing manga has begun
Four years after the conclusion of Initial D, author Shuichi Shigeno has embarked on the development of a new racing manga. The first chapter of the series, MF Ghost, has kicked off in Japan’s Weekly Young Magazine, where Initial D began … Continue reading
Posted in Art Corner
Tagged gt-r, impreza, Initial D, MF Ghost, nissan, r35, toyota, toyota 86
13 Comments
NEWS: Toyota creates Initial D-inspired 86
Often, things that are blindingly obvious to enthusiasts sail high over the heads of the automakers themselves. Sometimes, though, they nail it. Take, for example, Toyota UK’s creation of a Toyota GT86 (aka FR-S) inspired by Takumi Fujiwara’s fictional hachiroku from the classic … Continue reading
VIDEO: 157 of Japan’s best Touge roads, brought to you by the Toyota 86
Going strictly by land mass, Japan is about 10 percent smaller than California, and a full 70 percent of its terrain is mountains. That’s why the twisting passes that cut through the ridges known as touge provide Japan’s preferred method of hooning. When the Toyota … Continue reading
