Original subtitles

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION.

PLEASE DRIVE SAFE AND FOLLOW THE RULES.

(Initial D Fifth Stage)

Are you Mr. Takumi Fujiwara of the "Project D"?

You are simply hypocritical and terrible.

FUJIWARA TOFU STORE

What's up? Are you off today?

I swapped shifts with someone.

So you're taking a day off today?

By the way, the Ibaraki expedition is over, right?

Did you lose?

I won.

Then why do you look so unhappy?

It has nothing to do with the race.

Who is calling?

Hello.

No, I...

Yes, I can...

Hold on a moment.

What? Is it a woman?

Hello.

Well...

I'm really sorry for calling you suddenly.

Actually, I should have apologized to you earlier.

No, it's fine...

But how did you get my phone number?

I found the number of the gas station and called them.

Their staff gave me your number.

I see.

I'm really sorry for the harsh words I said to you.

You must be really mad at me.

No...

It's fine as long as you know that wasn't me.

Well...

I know that I should not only call you, I should apologize to you in person.

But I just don't have time for that.

That's why I waited so long...

I'm really sorry.

I will definitely find another time to apologize to you in person.

So... that's it.

Um...

Maybe... I can come to you,

No, I mean if that's okay for you.

I can drive to your place.

W... what am I saying?

Well...

You can do that?

(Episode 2: The New Battlefield)

Thank you for making this trip.

To be honest, when I heard from Tomoko that you were not that guy,

I was a bit relieved and even happy.

From the moment I saw you, I knew you were not the type to do such things.

But still, you hit me quite hard.

It's because I was angry.

I am a person with a quick temper.

I'm sorry, it must have hurt a lot.

I have been training in the club, so I have strong hands.

What club are you in?

Golf.

I have been playing golf since I was a kid.

I see.

I often have to participate in competitions and go to training camps.

Even my summer vacation is filled with training courses.

That's why I couldn't make it to Gunma.

I'm really happy that you could come to see me today.

My dad made me learn playing golf,

whenever I slack off, he keeps nagging me.

Eh?

I feel that you're a bit like me.

I was also forced by my dad to learn driving when I was in middle school.

I really hated driving at first, and often argued with my dad about it.

But before I knew it, I actually started to like it.

I totally understand how you feel.

I used to argue with my dad a lot about golf too.

But now, golf has become a part of my life.

Our situations are a bit similar.

What? You went to see her in Saitama today?

And... and then?

Did you talk to her for long?

No... I just had tea with her at Familys for an hour.

What's her name?

How old is she?

Her name is Uehara Mika.

She is one year younger than us, now a senior in high school.

And? Does she have a boyfriend?

Are you going to date her?

What?

AKINA CABIN Why would I talk with her about that?

AKINA CABIN I'm not like you.

AKINA CABIN Really? That is very important.

Anyway, I didn't talk to her for very long.

We didn't really talk much.

After all, we didn't have much time...

Eh?

I'm just telling you this.

I think I fell for her the first time I saw her.

You actually said it. I'm so envious.

I also find it strange.

What should I do now? With this feeling...

I really don't understand.

What else can you do?

If you like her, you have to muster up the courage to take action.

But...

This might just be one-sided from me. She might not feel the same way.

For a genius racer, you're being too timid.

These are two different things.

I just don't have confidence.

For safety, we should set up four defense lines

to deal with the "Project D".

SIDEWINDER, CHIEF RACER, GO HOJO See it as a preliminary race in Hakone.

SIDEWINDER, CHIEF RACER, GO HOJO Let's see how good they are

through this mountain road.

SIDEWINDER, CHIEF MECHANIC, EIJI KUBO through this mountain road.

RACING TEAM KATAGIRI STREET VERSION

HIDEO MINAGAWA

TEAM SPIRAL, CAPTAIN, RYUJI IKEDA NICKNAME, ZERO

Let's form a team responsible for gathering information

and thoroughly analyze their strength.

Leave this to us.

Knowing yourself and the enemy is key to victory.

In this era, racing is about information and data.

Do we really need to make it such a big deal?

They're not that good for the three best teams in Kanagawa to secretly join forces.

Anyway, as long as I step in, they won't have a chance.

Sorry, but you won't get your turn by then.

You are pretty confident.

Alright, let's see.

TEAM 246, CAPTAIN, SATOSHI OMIYA Just had to make such a roundabout.

TEAM 246, CAPTAIN, SATOSHI OMIYA And they even made a strategy for this.

TEAM 246, RACER, KOBAYAKAWA This appearing order is irritating.

TEAM 246, RACER, KOBAYAKAWA So we're not to win the first round?

Does this mean we are not allowed to win the first round?

So, are you going to lose on purpose?

Just to give the teams behind a chance to show off?

Impossible.

If we can take them down directly, that would be the best.

I don't like those "Sidewinder" people very much.

No one even asked them, they just popped up and started barking orders.

There's no need to be polite to people like that.

We will let them see the strength of the "Team 246".

Impressive. The shot is long and straight.

Is something wrong with Mika?

I wonder what Takumi is doing right now.

Fujiwara, what are you daydreaming about?

I'm sorry.

Iketani, something big happened!

Look at this.

What is this, a golf magazine?

Here...

Look here.

Look at this girl.

The rising star in women's golf, Uehara Mika.

She's only 17.

Is she the one who slapped Takumi...

It's got to be her.

They look exactly the same.

If I knew she was so famous, I should have asked her for an autograph back then.

The genius young girl in white playing golf under the sun.

And a genius street driver on the mountain roads at night?

The difference between these two is too great, isn't it?

Can this romance develop smoothly?

This is checkpoint 3 on the downhill.

The 86 has passed here already.

The FD has passed checkpoint 7 on the uphill.

We haven't seen each other for years.

It's been a long time, Ryosuke Takahashi.

Ever since the horsepower of the FD was increased, you seem to have it hard.

Can't help it.

Uphill racing is simply a competition of horsepower.

But something else has been troubling me.

At several places along this mountain road, there are people holding stopwatches.

Are they... timing us?

Probably.

Though I figured it's useless timing us now.

The car will be adjusted later, and we're still not familiar with the routes.

Our time record in official races will certainly be different.

But timing at every section still makes me uncomfortable.

It's ready, Keisuke, you can go now.

Okay.

Fujiwara's condition is still pretty good.

I feel that he's enjoying tackling these difficult mountain roads.

No matter how I look at it, that car seems hard to control.

Yet he says, "it's easy to handle".

For us, this aspect of Fujiwara is pretty alien.

Ryosuke, are you sure about this?

They might have arranged a group of people to gather information on us,

and had them scattered across the mountain road.

The speed of the latter half of the practice will increase.

If they see us, wouldn't they be able to accurately grasp our strength?

Probably.

Should we disguise a little bit?

No, we don't need these tricks.

If they want information, we'll give them all the data today.

Hiroshi, you don't need to worry.

This is a decision I made after thorough consideration.

There's one thing I'm certain of.

Those gathering information are not our opponents this time.

Is that so?

Just think about it.

The race is tomorrow.

TANZAWA OYAMA NATIONAL PARK They don't have time to modify the car.

Well... you're right.

We'll probably meet these people later on.

So it means we still have time.

All we need to do now is concentrate and face the opponent in front of us.

(Initial D Fifth Stage)

(Initial D Fifth Stage)

The first half features a series of steep bends.

The latter half has a relatively gentle slope.

No, that's just uphill.

On downhill it's the other way around.

Yes.

But whether it's uphill or downhill,

the most distinct feature of this mountain road is its sudden changes in width.

Just like that.

Many two-lane sections will suddenly shrink to a single-lane.

These may become good spots for overtaking.

Yeah.

Although I remembered these spots already,

the local drivers must be more familiar with them than me.

They won't give me a chance to overtake.

You might even get a counterattack.

Well, another LAN EVO.

Why do all my opponents drive 4WD cars?

I'm almost sick of it.

How about you just call yourself the "Akagi's LAN EVO Killer"?

Stop joking with me.

You're not the one racing, so you can be so light-hearted.

Honestly speaking, that's the last opponent I want in a race.

That kind of car is outrageously fast.

They said we could choose to lead or chase.

Kobayakawa, which one do you want?

Either is fine for me.

But I want to observe the opponent carefully.

I think I won't get pulled away by a 2WD car so quickly.

I'll observe him in the first round and finish it in the second round.

OK.

So be it.

I'm Kobayakawa.

I'm Keisuke Takahashi.

Since you're taking the lead this time,

you don't need me to tell you what to do, right?

I know it.

My work was half done as of yesterday.

Brother, you meant this, didn't you?

Exactly.

I'll leave it to you then.

Counting down.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

GO.

Let's predict it.

What do you think the result will be?

How do you want me to predict?

It's hard to tell for now.

That FD's horsepower isn't bad. The shock absorbers also seem pretty good.

But there'll be many bends and the road conditions are terrible.

Let's see how you will deal with it.

I know the information is insufficient.

That's why I called it a "prediction".

If you had sufficient information, you definitely wouldn't misjudge.

The road starts to widen from here.

Then it will narrow again further ahead.

Let me give my opinion then.

This is just my guess.

Here is my answer.

This guy is quite skilled.

I rarely see RWD cars perform so well uphill.

However, something doesn't feel right.

It seems he relies too much on the car's performance.

I can't feel the burst of his driving skills.

The presence of the driver is too weak.

It is fast, yes.

But your driving is too boring, Keisuke Takahashi.

Omiya, what do you think?

Is Kobayakawa correct this time?

I think it's right to choose to chase in the first run.

After all, the road here is very narrow.

Even if the race drags on, it won't cause any disadvantage to Kobayakawa.

Who drives faster, and who drives slower.

As long as it's clear in the first run,

we can directly finish the race in the second run.

Omiya, are you planning the same?

Not necessarily.

I will make the decision after seeing the results of the uphill race.

The result of the uphill race?

Kobayakawa certainly has an absolute advantage.

After all, the opponent is just an FD.

I don't like the idea of "absolute advantage".

Because you never know what will happen until the end.

You are really amazing.

You can minimize tire spin even on such bad roads.

Being able to do this shows that you have some skills.

Your performance is indeed commendable.

I fully understand now,

as a driver, you are not particularly outstanding.

Lately,

I often feel that there is a mystery in your conversation with Keisuke.

Even when I listen to your conversation, I can't make sense of it.

Even the suggestions before the race started...

HIT THE BRAKES! "Keisuke finished half the work yesterday."

HIT THE BRAKES! What does this mean?

It doesn't mean anything special.

You don't have to overthink it.

Keisuke and I live together, so we can understand each other very well.

Keisuke is leading this time.

In principle, the key is to "finish it as fast as possible".

There are many bends in the first half of this mountain road.

In these sections, it is necessary to reduce tire wear.

In high-speed sections, the performance of the tires will be fully released.

Attacking the opponent at full speed.

This is halfway.

There are not so many bends in the second half.

Where will you make your move?

Very simple and clear. Keisuke's favorite strategy.

After all, with a LAN EVO as the opponent, it won't benefit us to drag out the race.

The key to this race is where Keisuke will sprint.

His work was half done as of yesterday.

That's what it means.

Where? Damn it.

Where do you plan to make your move?

I know what you're thinking.

In terms of burst strength, the EVO will not lose to any car.

Next is concentration, I guess.

Now it's a competition of concentration.

A single small error, and I will lose everything.

The road starts to broaden from here.

It's probably around here.

Right here?

Are you going to do it?

When it comes to EVO or IMPREZA drivers,

what they are driving is actually a kind of faith.

They believe that these cars developed specifically for rally races

are definitely the strongest on the road.

Are you going to start sprinting?

No, not yet... not here.

In the next section?

Where exactly? Damn it.

But rally racing was originally a race in snow or mud.

On a dry asphalt road,

the 4WD is not really an absolute advantage.

So this is my answer.

I think the race will end in the first round.

This is an area where the road gets narrow and visibility is poor.

He can't possibly accelerate and sprint here.

The area just before the finish line, so it should be the last two or three minutes.

If the opponent can keep up with the maximum speed when Keisuke is fully concentrated,

then Keisuke will definitely lose.

The winner...

Don't try to escape.

EVO, let's go.

I was too careless. He chose such a place.

The road is an unfair racing field.

No buffer zone, and the road is bumpy and uneven.

It's hard to define where the limit is.

If we talk about what kind of ability

the road racing specialists should have,

that would be courage,

competitive spirit,

experience,

the madness only young people have.

Come on, I must catch up with him.

I have to catch up with him...

And also, a certain special talent

only the chosen ones possess.