Initial D: Second Stage (1999)

You know what is annoying about "old anime" when you watch it evolve over the years with the artwork.

I did genuinely enjoy Stage one of Initial D. I am currently watching the movie depending on how it goes it may receive a word from me.

Ultimately I did not enjoy the Second stage. This particular season was vastly shorter than the first with only having 13-episodes. It could be noted as the Rebirth of The 86. I say this because Takumi only has three races between the death of his 86 and one after he receives a new engine. He races against the Red Sun's enemy, The Emperors, twice and his last race was against another 86 with a lesser engine.

The entire point of this season was to recognize the growth Takumi needs in order to become a better racer. He needed to lose and later develop knowledge about his vehicle.

The second race he had during the season was against The Emperors. He "lost" due to a shot engine in the middle of a race. I personally do not consider this a loss because it was a faulty engine. But a rematch is later conducted during the movie. Besides technicalities, he learns about his engine. Initially, he never cared about what was under the hood (I am the same way). When his dad returned the car repaired and ready to go suited with a bucket seat used for professional racing and also equipped the car with a professional modern racing engine. Takumi just assumed the car was heavier with the new engine and that the car runs slower than before.

The truth of the matter was Takumi, he needed a new speedometer in order to get his drift back in order and redeem his driving skills. At the end of the season, he decided that he wanted to learn more about his car and others so he knows what he is dealing with and how to improve his driving.

As I stated before, I was not a fan of the length and the limited number of races. From a plot aspect, the rebirth of the 86 was needed for Takumi's coming of age arc as a driver.

I also appreciated the romances provided in this season. Takumi finally broke up with the sugar-baby, Natsuki Mogi but it was never explained how he found out. Even Itsuki Takeuchi (who got uglier this season) got heartbroken again during this season (which I was not surprised). He truly has been having bad luck with women.

I will also like to make a note, many of the side characters are not recognizable at first because of the horrible updated art. The animation during the races did improve by getting rid of the cut drift scenes and filler racing images, this season they did a great job with following the movement of the vehicles and terrains