(For summarized review, please visit: http://www.wljack.com/2014/09/movie-review-new-initial-d-movie-legend.html)
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Introduction (From Press Release):
Takumi Fujiwara, a high
school student, works as a gas station attendant during the day and a delivery
boy for his father's tofu shop during late nights.
Little does he know that his precise
driving skills and his father's modified Toyota Sprinter AE86 Trueno make him
the best amateur road racer on Mt. Akina's highway!
His skill has attracted racing groups
from all over Gunma to issue
challenges to him!
Let’s witness how the legend of Akina AE86 is born!
Do race to your nearby GSC to watch the movie!
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Review (Summarized Review can found here: http://www.wljack.com/2014/09/movie-review-new-initial-d-movie-legend.html)
Initial D has been a well-loved manga and
anime series since many years ago and it was the anime which has introduced the
term of “drifting” significantly to all the anime fans. In fact, it has even
inspired the adaptation of LIVE action movie with the same title Initial D which
has Jay Chou playing Takumi Fujiwara. Apart from this, Initial
D has also been a prominent arcade game which I believed still popular
among the arcade-gamers until now. New Initial D the Movie Legend 1:
Awakening is the reboot of the series presented in three-part films to
bring the story once again to everyone!
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The storyline of the movie is
still very similar to the original version with some rearrangements of scenes.
Some of the scenes which were present during the original version were omitted
and only those more prominent and crucial ones were retold again in this new
version.
Plus, there are some additional
new scenes which are not present in the original version that created additional
chemistry between a few characters such as between Takumi Fujiwara and
his dad Bunta Fujiwara, Koichiro Iketani with Bunta and etc. In
my opinion, the new rearrangement has made the flow and pacing of the story
even better than it was previously presented.
Besides, it has now featured a
better graphics compared to the ones during 1998. The characters arts,
graphics of the cars and visual effects during the races in my opinion are a
lot smoother and more defined compared to the ones during Initial D: First
Stage. It is almost the same as the ones in Initial D: Fifth Stage &
Initial D: Final Stage.
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As for the background
soundtrack and the score of the film, it has a totally new set of scores which
are actually quite fresh and catchy too. However, I personally still prefer the
background music in the past such as “Running in the '90s” and “Beat
Of The Rising Sun” as those songs gave me more vibes and adrenaline rush
when I was watching Initial D: First Stage many years back.
They have also featured the new
batch of seiyuus (voice actors) for the characters. All of them have provided a
great voice over for the characters and it was as good as the original ones.
The only downsides of the movie
are the short length of screenplay time of the film (only approximately 60
minutes) and lacking of character development for a few characters. (For eg,
you will only know Natsuki Mogi superficially as Takumi’s love interest
via this movie but not her background stories which you might know if you watch
the original anime)
However, all of these were
compensated by all the other good elements as mentioned above.
*** Take note: There is a
post-credit scene which introduces the upcoming movie for you. However, if you already
watched the series before, you would know what is about to happen next.
What I like about the movie:
- The
well-loved plot with rearranged scenes
- Additional
chemistry between certain characters
- Better
flow and pacing
- Upgraded
visual effects
- New
soundtracks and scores which are quite catchy too
- Great
voice over by new batch seiyuu
What I dislike about the movie:
- Very short screenplay time (approximately 60 minutes)
- Lacking of character development for a few characters.
- Personal preferences of old background soundtrack
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Verdict:
It deserved a 7.5/10.0!
The origin of the series might
have been told in many ways before that many people would already have some
idea of how the story started. However, New
Initial D the Movie Legend 1: Awakening is still a great catch as a reboot
to our favorite racing anime series!
“If you are
new to the series, this is the best version for you to learn more about the
origin of Initial D. If you are old fans of the series, this is a movie which
can give you a revisit to your favorite anime in a better way!” – W.L Jack
Fellow Reviewer, Jose Yap’s opinion:
“The movie is very nice as it has recaptured some of the
essence of the original series and presented in a more relaxing way!”
Million thanks to GSC Movies for inviting our team from wljack.com & loong-updates.blogspot.com for the world premiere of the show!
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