Completed
“Takumi's AE86 faces elite Emperor team's Lan Evos, testing his undefeated street-racing streak.”
Initial D Second Stage
頭文字〈イニシャル〉D SECOND STAGE
8.2
440 rank · 265,568 viewers · 1,237 favorites
Action
Drama
Racing
Seinen
Watch on
Crunchyroll
Would You Love or Hate This?
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Based on your preference for character-driven stories with layered emotional arcs, this title's exploration of identity and belonging would deeply resonate. The pacing mirrors series you've rated highly, and its thematic depth aligns with your appreciation for nuanced storytelling...
However, the slow initial episodes might test your patience given your history of dropping shows that don't hook you early. The art style shift in the middle arc could also be a concern...
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Synopsis
Takumi's AE86 faces elite Emperor team's Lan Evos, testing his undefeated street-racing streak.
Accumulating an impressive series of victories with his AE86, Takumi Fujiwara has imposed himself as street racing's newest rising star. However, his newly found confidence of winning at his home turf of Mount Akina has been put in jeopardy by a new Emperor team exclusively using a car model favored by most professional racing pilots: the Mitsubishi four-wheel drive Lancer Evolutions—also known as Lan Evos. The Emperor team leader, Kyouichi Sudou, looks down on Takumi and regards him as an inferior pilot for driving an antique car that lacks the makings of a true modern race car. Kyouichi's elitist philosophy is also the reason why his team is only made of Lan Evo drivers. Will Takumi be able to keep his perfect track record intact against the highly skilled and mechanically superior Emperor team, or does his hot streak end here?
What people say
Community consensus
Derived from 24 sampled reviews
8.7
/10
What 24 viewers settled on.
100%
recommend
Score distribution
median 9
mode 9
σ 1.43
Agreement
Mostly aligned
σ 1.43 · some divergence
The polarity gap
—
Not enough recommend signal yet
Score over time
↑ 0.71
Running avg · Oct 2008 → Jun 2026
Snap verdicts
· shortest highly-rated reviews
- 9 “Second Stage delivers even more exhilarating race sequences thanks to cleaner, smoother artwork and a tighter storytelling focus, all while maintaining the emotional punch of First Stage in half...”
- 9 “The story remains compelling enough to binge-watch in one sitting, and the animation style serves as a refreshing change of pace from the typical shows currently airing. However, the drastic...”
- 10 “This is a very good anime that features a solid story, plenty of action, emotional depth, and impressive technical accuracy regarding car mechanics. While the characters are generally well-minded,...”
Verbosity
Short · 38%
Medium · 42%
Long · 21%
Watch Order & Related
Explore the Initial D Second Stage universe
Cast
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See all credits →Production slate
- Format 13 × 23′ eps × min
- Total runtime 4h 59m all episodes
- Aired Oct 1999 – Jan 2000 Fall 1999
- Source Tv media type
- Rated PG 13 - Teens 13 or older
- Ref. BS-0164 catalog
Produced by
- OB Planning Producer
- Fuji TV Producer
Licensed by
- Funimation Licensor
- Tokyopop Licensor