Chapter 2 of "Initial D, the Movie" and two supervising drivers held a talk show!　The original author gave a highly praised comment, "I was very moved."

The animated film "Initial D Legend 2: Fighting Race" will be released in theaters on May 23, and a talk show with the supervising racing driver was held.

Initial D" is an anime based on the popular manga (author: Shuichi Shigeno), which was serialized in Weekly Young Magazine from 1995 to 2013 and has sold 48.6 million copies in its 48 volumes. The main character, who has the mark of a "young leaf," drives his father's old Hachi Roku (AE86 Sprinter Treno), which is owned by his father who runs a tofu shop, and engages in heated public road battles with other drivers from all over the country with his amazing drift driving skills... The story is told in 4 TV series + 1 movie version + several OVAs from 1998 to 2012. The series was a huge hit from 1998 to 2012, with four TV series, one theater version, and several OVAs produced. The new film version is produced by Sanzigen and Raidenfilm, which are known for their CG production techniques, and all the sounds of the cars in the film are reproduced by professional racing drivers. In addition, the cast has been completely renewed, and the trilogy depicts the battle between the "Rotary Takahashi Brothers" (older brother Ryosuke: FC3S RX-7, younger brother Keisuke: FD3S RX-7), who claim to be the fastest in the Gunma area, and Takumi Fujiwara, the main character of the film.

This time, a talk show featuring racing drivers will be held at Yomiuri Hall on May 20. The promotion ambassador of this work, Nanami Tsukamoto, was the MC, and racing drivers Nobuteru Taniguchi and Tatsuya Kataoka of Good Smile Racing, who supervised the show, talked about the appeal of the work, which was enjoyed by the approximately 1000 fans who came to the event. The following are their comments.

Taniguchi:
I used to drive an AE86. I actually drove on mountain passes. Also... I worked at a tofu shop! I was watching Yanmaga at the time, and I thought, drifting? Tofu? and I thought it was a manga that was close to me, but I was ahead of you! lol The story was pretty much linked to me. People around me used to say, "You do paper cups too?" I thought, "How could I do that? I thought, "No way! But I thought, "No, I can't do that," because I was delivering them with a 2-ton truck! I was always saying to myself, "I can't do that!
I was supervising the sound recording, and I was recording the sound inside the car (drifting sound, etc. inside the car), but I had turned off the air conditioner to prevent noise, but I said, "Damn, that's painful! I was turning off the air conditioner to prevent noise, but then I said, "Damn, I'm in pain! (Laughs) The success of this film depends on all of you! When you go home, please tell the five of us to "look" at it (laughs)!

Kataoka:
I had never been involved in mountain passes or sports cars, but when I entered a drifting competition, the first car I used was an AE86! I had to tell the staff how the car moved while using a model, but to be honest, it was difficult to communicate because a model and a car are still different. However, this Legend 2 went more smoothly than Legend 1. The battle scenes this time were very intense, so we had to redo many times the way they hit and bounce.
(In response to Shuichi Shigeno's comment) It would be boring if the finished product was less than the original creator's image, but he said it was more than he imagined, so in that sense, I think the finished product is very good. I hope you will help us to make it a success. Thank you very much.

Shuichi Shigeno (original author) comment
The animation was so good that I wondered if it would be possible to make a better battle than the one in the anime. The characteristics of each car are well depicted, and Nakazato is a great character. The characters are attractive and cool. The aesthetics of the loser makes me cry. It's refreshing. At the end, Nakazato's "I'm glad you're alive..." really got to me.
Actually, when I saw Legend 1, I thought it couldn't get any better. But the battle with Nakazato was exciting enough to add on to it. It was hot, fast, and exciting, and the representation of the GT-R was especially good, like the story of the GT-R emblem, and the birthplace and pedigree of the GT-R were also properly shown, so you can properly understand the car called GT-R. I am satisfied with the film. I hope you will watch it!
The car expressions in the battles are very hot. The ingenuity that can only be achieved with animation is great. The air goes through the turbine and explodes with a bang, and the pistons just move like a dart. It made me say, "Go, go, go! The battle with Shingo also had FF-like movements, and I thought the way the three cars' different movements were well-drawn was fresh and fun in the anime. The battle scenes are unconditionally exciting.
The characters were also given a proper build up, and I like the eyes. The animation staff has evolved, like when Nakazato's eyes come in for a close-up. They are making the most of it. I'm happy if they make the material I've created seem unexpected and "wow, it's really great. I didn't expect it to look that cool.
I want people who have always loved "Initial D" and read it with great enthusiasm to be satisfied. This time around, the anime staff read the original story in depth and had a good grasp of things that you wouldn't notice if you weren't careful. I think people who love the original work will be pleased. It was that good this time. I was very impressed.