Original subtitles

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION.

PLEASE DRIVE SAFE AND FOLLOW THE RULES.

(Initial D Fifth Stage)

Huh...

It started raining after all.

Really?

The rain is quite heavy.

What's the weather forecast for later?

You can't rely on the weather forecast at all.

The weather on the mountain is always like this.

This kind of half-wet road surface is the worst.

Let it be completely wet or completely dry.

That's easier for us to adjust the car.

Don't worry about it.

The worse the conditions, the better it is for me.

The more difficult it is to control the accelerator, the happier I am.

I also don't mind a wet road surface that causes skidding.

Although everyone thinks it's scary not knowing whether it'll skid,

when I'm driving the 86, I never care about this.

Because before entering a corner, I know how slippery the road would be.

So I can drive as usual.

Don't be so arrogant.

Ah... How can you steal my food?

I specifically left it for the last bite.

It really is raining.

It can't be helped.

This is fate.

Bad weather is exactly what can reveal the essence of the "ZERO theory".

A road race where no one can predict what will happen is the best stage.

By the way, Ryosuke Takahashi...

I sensed certain things from that man.

Generous, magnanimous, profound,

and gentle.

But why...

do I still feel melancholy from him?

Eh, Ryosuke, you're up so early?

Three hours of sleep is enough for me.

Hiroshi, more importantly, this thing is very interesting.

Ikeda from the "Team Spiral".

He has published his own driving theory "ZERO Theory" on the internet.

His views are very unique.

TEAM SPIRAL, ZERO THEORY I agree with a lot of it.

TEAM SPIRAL, ZERO THEORY This theory seems very interesting.

Are you referring to your "Fastest Road Theory"?

Facing such an opponent, Keisuke will indeed be in for a tough fight.

He is probably not an easy opponent.

But we still have a chance of winning, right?

Of course.

Finding the key to victory is my job.

(Episode 7: Zero Hearts)

Heck, it's raining.

It should be raining in Hakone too.

I really hate it. It's scary to drive on mountain roads in the rain.

You never know when you'll skid.

The brakes are also hard to control.

And the vision is bad.

It's really unthinkable.

In a rainy night, even with the headlights on,

you can hardly see anything in front. It's just total darkness.

The visibility should be only half of that on a sunny day.

And the wipers will also obstruct the view.

There's nothing scarier than not being able to see the road conditions clearly.

Speaking of which...

I experienced his race in the rain when I had a ride in Takumi's car, do you remember?

Yes, Takumi won beautifully that time.

He shook off the opponent directly.

That must be a speed from a different dimension.

I witnessed Takumi's amazing control skills from the back seat.

The most puzzling thing to me is...

He literally couldn't see anything. Why didn't anything go wrong?

He stepped on the gas and went sideways, rushing into the bend at an astonishing speed.

That terrifying feeling... is really hard for me to describe in words.

Your expression is more horrifying.

I understand what Itsuki meant. I even fainted once because of that.

I think it's no longer about driving skills.

That should be considered a special ability.

I think Takumi could see...

I think he has an extra eye.

He must rely on that eye to see the road conditions.

So, even when racing in heavy rain, Takumi won't be at a disadvantage.

Stop!

How is the road condition?

The water on the ground is not moving.

The rain on the entire mountain road has almost stopped.

It's probably not going to rain anymore.

The weather forecast also says it won't rain heavily anymore.

I think the road conditions will stay this way.

Okay.

Let's set it to B mode for semi-wet road surface.

Keisuke, is there fog on the road?

Well...

There's a bit of fog in some places,

but it doesn't obstruct the view.

I see.

Is it time?

I often wonder

what you are thinking about during meditation.

I'm not thinking about anything.

The point of meditation is to empty your mind.

This time, I intentionally did not plan any tactics.

The will to win could expose one's weakness.

All I need to do is to fully utilize the potential of the car.

As long as I do that, a good result will naturally come.

The most important thing is to have "zero hearts".

I will lead in the first round.

Once you get through the tunnel under the highway,

start speeding up at full power.

Let's begin.

The race is about to start, "Project D" versus "Team Spiral".

It's a pity that the road is wet today.

I really wanted to see a full-throttle uphill race.

It's rare to have this kind of ultra-speed race.

If they can't go full throttle, they won't reach top speed. The race will be less exciting.

No, I don't think so.

Even if it's not an ultra-speed race, we'll still see an excellent technical showdown.

In this kind of road condition,

the key is not just to utilize the horsepower of the car,

but also a competition of comprehensive abilities of both sides.

From another perspective, this is actually a very interesting race.

Today's rain is really annoying.

I just increased the horsepower and upgraded to wider tires.

With the road so wet now, I don't have any advantage.

By the time the uphill race ends, there should be a few sections that will dry up.

After all, the rain has stopped now.

I can only hope that Ikeda will try his best to save time for me.

The drier the road, the more advantage I will have when it's my turn to race.

Ikeda chose to lead first?

He chose to lead first under these road conditions.

After all, Kobayakawa of "Team 246"

and Minagawa of "Katagiri" both lost when they were chasing.

He doesn't want to repeat the same mistake.

But in a race in the rain, the driver who leads after the start

will carry a great deal of pressure.

After all, he has to confirm the road conditions while speeding up.

This is the same in road races.

He is a man with a very strong mentality.

ZERO of "Team Spiral".

Everyone thinks our "Team Spiral" is a team that emphasizes vehicle modification.

Although we do emphasize modification,

we are not just about spending money on modifying cars.

Prioritizing the "direction" of modification is the style of our "Team Spiral".

A car is something that is tailored for the driver according to his driving style.

Having a clear direction for modification

is the foundation of the "ZERO Theory".

Human minds are fragile.

Because humans are emotional animals,

emotions can hinder drivers from making calm judgments and proper controls.

For instance, this wet road.

The feeling of anxiety and discontent when you can't step on the gas,

and the insecurity and fear of the slippery road surface.

These emotions that humans have

can all lead to mistakes.

Allow all emotions enter into a state of "mindless".

Listen to the sound of the car attentively.

The "ZERO theory" starts from the conversation between the driver and the car.

This guy is really good. His skills are superb.

His car doesn't swerve around on such a wet road surface?

The drive wheels don't even spin.

And he's not speeding.

The evidence is my tail is swaying constantly.

This means his throttle control is very precise.

This laid-back feeling of his is really irritating.

Indeed, it's unbreakable.

How will Keisuke Takahashi handle ZERO?

Let me witness it.

Good cars usually have their own consciousness.

Therefore, as a driver, you need to stay humble.

You are not controlling the car,

but becoming one with the car and obey its consciousness.

Anger, uneasiness, anxiety.

These feelings only bring negative results.

Even competitiveness is an emotion that the "ZERO theory" wants to eliminate.

Speaking of which, what exactly is the "ZERO theory"?

It seems a bit abstract. I don't quite understand.

For me, it's a theory that prioritizes avoiding mistakes.

The driver is not the subject.

The driver must become one with the car.

Let the driver obey the car's consciousness.

This is what I don't understand.

To exaggerate a bit, one of the ideal situations of this theory

is to make the driver become an emotionless computer.

Completely excluding the driver's consciousness and emotions.

This argument is not wrong.

Because all mistakes are caused by the human mind.

Emphasizing the conversation between the driver and the car...

I have the same opinion.

This is just like the relationship between Fujiwara and 86.

How to obtain correct information from the car

depends on the driver's ability.

Especially on this kind of slippery road surface.

The information that the driver gets from the tires is especially important.

A flawless opponent?

Can we still find the key to break through?

Of course.

As long as you are human, you cannot fully control your emotions.

He can't deceive me.

Although the "ZERO theory" suggests to even eliminate competitive spirit,

this argument is wrong.

His control is extremely stable.

He is a very difficult opponent.

His skills are very exquisite.

Even under these road conditions, he can still speed up.

In order to drive faster, the driver has an absolutely necessary characteristic.

The keyword for me and Keisuke in this competition

is "competitive spirit".

It really appeared...

The worst condition Mr. Kubo spoke of yesterday apart from the rain...

Hakone specialty...

White devil.

(Initial D Fifth Stage)

(Initial D Fifth Stage)

There's fog?

People nearby the finish line called,

saying the fog on the mountain seems to be getting thicker.

You must be kidding me.

The uphill race is halfway through.

This is a total disaster.

If it were at the Fuji Speedway, they would have waved the red flag to stop the race.

Now we can only pray that the fog doesn't get any denser.

As long as there is a minimal amount of visibility,

with Ikeda's skills, there definitely won't be a problem.

But in this case,

the marshals we sent to the mountain road will all be useless.

After all, you can't see anything now.

It can't be helped.

Anyway,

no driver would dare to keep charging in this heavy fog.

Did you guess there'd be fog?

The weather forecast mentioned that the weather for this weekend would deteriorate.

Before coming to Hakone, I collected all the past weather observation data I could find.

I researched the correlation between rain and fog.

Given today's weather conditions, I thought there was a high probability of fog.

So, I informed Keisuke in advance.

Since we were planning our strategy, we assumed that it'd be foggy during the race.

This really surprised me.

Normally, it's hard for anyone to think of this.

But Ryosuke,

poor visibility is bad for both sides.

Doesn't this favor the local drivers who are familiar with the route?

Not necessarily.

There's fog.

So scary.

Suddenly rushing out of the fog and then disappearing into it again.

Both are terrifying.

How can they still step on the gas in such heavy fog?

The biggest characteristic of this region

is that they have the nationally renowned racetrack Fuji Speedway as their backing.

So their skills naturally improve as a result.

Here it comes.

Everything went exactly as my brother predicted.

The opportunity to attack came earlier than I imagined.

I can't miss this moment.

So whether it's their skills or cars, modifications are based on the racetrack.

That makes sense.

I've looked at Ikeda's "Zero Theory".

It gives me a strong feeling

that the theory was developed on a closed racetrack that allows one to drive comfortably.

Although this theory can be directly applied to road races,

it can't handle unexpected circumstances.

Looking at it now, leading in the first round might not have been a good idea.

But the race has already started, I need to keep my speed up as much as possible.

I'm clearly panicking now.

No matter how much I understand the "Zero Theory" or how well I can communicate with the car,

I can't handle this situation.

The vision is so poor, I'm scared.

But the car accelerating in front are under more pressure than me.

There's something about him that's been different than before.

His emotion was unchanging...

Now I can make out his emotion changes from the ZERO.

The "Fastest Road Theory" I've conceived

is even more daring.

Inspired by Takumi's "Blind Attack", I asked Keisuke to make it a daily practice.

Are you serious?

Although that isn't a skill to deal with the fog,

it's enough to let him drive in the rain at night.

Listen carefully, Sakamoto.

If you are afraid, you should let off the gas.

This is a basic tenet of "Zero Hearts".

Once you start to feel fear, you will fall into a state of panic.

Not to mention the act of feeling fear itself is a mistake.

At this time, you should let off the gas to calm your mind.

Rushing forward with fear is just seeking a dead end.

You must not forget that.

The road ahead is a struggle with fear.

Even if you dislike this feeling, it will govern your body.

What is this uncomfortable feeling?

My heart has been telling me to let off the gas,

but another part of me is resisting it, desperately stepping on the gas.

These conflicts have caused my stress.

But I cannot lose.

What I need most now is focus.

And...

The desire to win.

Isn't this what I usually deny?

That is... competitive spirit.

"Project D" is a pure road racing team.

Regardless of the fog or anything else, we will use everything to win.

His route has changed.

It's very different from when the race just started.

How could this be?

Am I not currently racing in the "Zero Hearts" state?

His racing route could be because he's concerned about the incoming traffic.

After all, with this visibility, you can't dodge if an incoming car suddenly appears.

There should be marshals arranged at blind turns to inform him of the situation.

But now the fog is so heavy, you can't see anything.

Brother's prediction is completely correct.

Keisuke still hasn't arrived?

I'll choose here.

Where the average speed rises instantly after passing through the low-speed section.

If as my brother predicted, there is heavy fog during the race,

even a person with a very strong mentality will hesitate about stepping on the gas.

So I need to plan out an overtaking route in advance,

practice relentlessly and imprint it in my mind.

I don't know how heavy the fog will be,

but I have to practice until I can pass through here even with my eyes closed.

Your mission is very important during the official race.

I'm counting on you, Kenta.

Keisuke kept opening and closing his eyes,

practicing on this section of road.

It's a practice for him to be able to drive normally under visually poor conditions.

So, is God also helping Keisuke now?

The fog is even heavier than predicted.

He actually thought of overtaking under this condition.

Indeed, only the courageous Keisuke would have such an idea.

This is just too dangerous.

The sound of the exhaust is very close.

Keisuke is about to rush into the preset location.

But...

The most important is the sound behind me.

My responsibility is huge.

For Keisuke, I can't afford any mistakes.

Shin, Ikeda of "Team Spiral" is really amazing.

He can actually floor the throttle so hard in this dense fog.

Is that so?

The shorter car behind is more impressive.

It looks like a ball of yellow flame.

Mom.

After crossing the forest, I will enter the hilly area.

If the fog goes away a bit, there will be a great view on the right.

As long as I get there, I can sweep away the grudges in my heart,

and then push the pedal to the metal.

The fog is so heavy...

I can't...

see anything...

It's all white before my eyes...

The phone rang, so there are no incoming cars at the preset location.

Kenta did a good job. The timing is just right.

It's really scary.

No matter how I command my brain,

my instinct is resisting.