Initial D Second Stage comes up with its predecessor's
strengths with a few added pluses and minuses. Initial D 2nd Stage follows
the life of Takumi and his racing career after his summer of illustrious wins
and his undefeatable record and legend.
Ok let's
put it out. The plot really sucks. Was there even a plot in this 13 episode series
besides the fact that people wanted to race Takumi? Probably not besides the entire
thing of Takumi being a better racer. But they did manage to get their subplot
semi-right. The romance subplot has a little more focus this time around and works
itself a lot better than the first. But even then the subplot could've used some
more attention to it. The races are a bit better than the first but still have
it's predictability in it. The races also seemed much more lively in the first
series than the second and created a better hype to seeing the race play itself
out. Also the commentaries on the races, while knowledgeable, really get annoying
at times.
The animation was slightly better than
the first. Better character movements and major cleanup on the animation really
helped. But they still have the horrible character designs and the shadowing of
characters was way overdone. The CG got a boost also with better looking models
for the cars. But the CG still looks way out of place compared to the rest of
the animation.
The characters were much more alive
this time around. The sub characters probably didn't have as many lines as Takumi
this time around and each character seems to hold a much stronger sense about
them. Also of note is that they are no longer overly shallow and have a more caring
attitude besides just the races. Takumi also seems more likeable instead of the
dead and dumb attitude he carried with him in the first series.
The
cars, of course, are where this anime shines. Unfortunately not too many new cars
were introduced besides the Lancer Evolutions, the new engine, and the turbo.
But the cars did look pretty though and provided some good eye candy. Also the
introduction of talk into the engines and car specs gives it more appeal to the
car lovers out there. But for those looking to see more tips on techniques probably
will be disappointed to see that not as many tricks or tips on racing is provided.
But nonetheless, the car specs talk and the occasional racing tips would make
most racing/car fans happy. Also, just like last time, the Euro-beat music is
great, as usual, as well as the intro and ending song. The music and anime really
complement each other well, which was great.
Final
judgment: For fans of the first series or racing/car fanatics this would be a
definite look for you guys. But like before if you're not into cars or racing
you should skip over this.
(3.5)
