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Initial D Third Stage
Taking the form a good-length feature film,
the Third Stage of the highly popular Initial D series proves
more satisfying than initially expected, particularly as there was talk
in some circles it functioned primarily as a stepping stone to the more
expansive and action-packed Fourth Stage.
The current Stage sees street racer
extraordinaire Takumi Fujiwara approaching high school graduation. His
services in demand, he is approached by fellow racer Takahashi Ryousuke,
who wishes to recruit the by-now famed Takumi to his fledgling racing
team with the intention of challenging, and defeating, some of Japan’s
greatest racers on their home turf.
The Third Stage also focuses more on
Takumi’s tempestuous relationship with his girlfriend Mogi, and provides
moments of emotional progression that neatly temper the
testosterone-fuelled downhill racing scenes. But fear not! There are
still plenty of these to be had, and amongst Takumi’s soul searching are
some moments of spellbinding intensity certain to appeal to petrolheads
the world over. In the scope of the overall series, Third Stage
is probably one for the fans, and newcomers would be advised to start
elsewhere. Those who have been with the show from the start, however,
will find much to recommend it.
Audio & Video
Despite being almost a decade old Third
Stage holds up extremely well. Backgrounds are textured and
luminous, the CG racing sequences are well staged and yes, the character
designs can be a little uninspired, but as ever they prove more than
adequate to requirements. At any rate the fact that the characters
occasionally verge on the generic simply reinforces who the real stars
of the show are: the cars. The film is presented in a lush 16:9
widescreen aspect ratio that looks great and fills the screen to good
overall effect. There are no artefacts or visual defects to speak of,
and Funmation appear to have done an excellent job restoring the film to
its full glory.
The Region 4 DVD release features English
and Japanese 5.1 surround audio. Both are well-balanced and expansive,
and feature the usual suitably up-tempo J-Pop accompaniment and a neatly
atmospheric score. Funmation’s new English dub is actually very good,
though why you’d watch anime in any language other than Japanese is
beyond me. The English subs are consistent and error-free.
Special Features
Though Funmation and Madman have been doing
a great job with the overall packaging and presentation of the Initial D
series thus far, they have been a little light on bonus features and
Third Stage is no exception. All that’s on offer are trailers for
Evangelion, Fullmetal Alchemist, Initial D Fourth Stage
Collection 1 and King of Bandit Jing, prefixed by an
anti-piracy warning. |
