Tak may be in over his head against Shingo in a downhill with his hand fastened to the steering wheel, especially considering that this kind of race favors an FF like Shingo's Civic against an FR like Tak's Eight Six. Tak's life is changing in so many other ways, too. Bunta waxes emotional about his Zen-like training of the increasingly popular Akina downhill specialist, expressing for the first time the importance of Tak's racing reputation to his own ego, and Natalie advances ever-closer to the edge of a romantic relationship with Tak. And, in a related development, how will the racing scene in Gunma change if Ry actually does get an offer to race professionally in Tokyo?

Takumi Fujiwara
An 18-year-old with a passion for driving, Tak began his motoring career by delivering tofu every morning to a hotel. He was trained by his father.

Bunta Fujiwara
Owner of a tofu restaurant, Bunta is Tak's dad. He is the mysterious driver who holds the fastest downhill record in Akina.

Natalie Mogi
She is Tak's love interest and goes to the same school as Tak and Iggy.

Iggy Takeuchi
Iggy is Tak's best friend. He works with Tak at the gas station.

Shuichi Shigeno

Something magical happens when Shigeno-sensei touches pencil to paper and begins to render the street poetics of drifting, oversteering, powersliding, and studder cuts. His visual palette in Initial D is grace personified - characters, cars, and movement leap off the page with power ... and with an economy of stroke that is stunning.

A veteran manga-ka (manga artist), Shigeno-sensei is also known as the creator of an earlier series on motorbike racing called Bari Bari Densetsu.