Review of Initial D Second Stage

This is my second Initial D review. This one being, obviously, about Stage 2. If you are looking at the reviews for the second stage you more than likely know a little about the series already. That, or you are looking to see if -all- the stages/seasons will be worth your time. Either way, i will write this for both of you. I recommend reading my original Initial D Stage 1 review, because I may make references to it on occasion. (http://myanimelist.net/profile/AuronSurmount/reviews) This will be somewhat a comparison to the previous Stage. In comparison, stage 2 has improved tremendously over stage one. Stage 1 focusedmore on the crazy intimidating races while stage 2 threw in other elements on top of the races, while maintaining the original quality. (If not exceeding the previous quality).

One element they threw in more so than the first season they got quite a bit more technical with the talk. They explain why things work certain ways, and just my listening you learn more about them while enjoying exciting street races. In the two seasons I have watched I learned a little about cars, that i wouldn't have learned otherwise. It wasn't anything drastic, or too important, but awesome nonetheless. I mentioned in my previous review that I had little to no knowledge about cars nor did i really care. However, this series peaks my interest, if only by a little.

Another element, and I believe this is a huge improvement from the previous season, they threw in more side stories for the characters. It is quite obvious that they developed the characters drastically more. Using the example i mentioned in the previous review I will explain more about what I mean. I mentioned the annoying Iggy character, Tak's best friend, they made significant progress with this character. It is obvious the changes around him effected the character, along with the side story they included around Iggy. It most definitely made this series more exciting than the last.

I was very disappointed at the quality of art in Stage 1, both with the characters and with and the cars. However, they decided to go to a better CG route this season. In my opinion, i think it made the series look a whole lot better. Tho, some may disagree with that statement. It makes they stand out and be a bit for flashy. Not to mention They go into a whole lot more detail than the previous Stage. The cars were not the only improvement they made in this season, they also tremendously improved the character art too. It is still not as great as some of the art seen in other anime, but it is most defiantly better. They placed more effort into the cars than the characters, which was a smart move in my opinion.

I downloaded this season, so i didn't get a chance to see how the Japanese version compared to the Dub version. However the sounds, both with the cars and the soundtrack were decently picked and nicely done.

Now that I have mentioned most of the key points for this anime, i should get down to the Enjoyment and overall. There was one major thing that I liked about Stage 2 compared to stage 1, besides the ones stated previously. The length of the anime. It was half as long as stage one which did wonders for this season. I never once complained about the length, nor did they have any real fillers. That itself kept it up to the standard of stage 1. As for the enjoyment... It made it at my must see list. This season didn't slow down any from the previous. It was definitely worth watching. Rewatch Value: Medium - High.