Spurred on by Paul Walker's recent comments about the Fast and the Furious 3 sequel to be shot in Japan and Peter’s review earlier this week I figured it was about high time I pipe in with my own review of Andy Lau and Alan Mak's live action adaptation of the famed Japanese manga/anime, Initial D. It seemed coincidental as well as I just picked up the DVD the other week. And, given my affection for the anime has been publicized on this site it would seem that I am suitable for the job. I enter this review fingers crossed that I am.
I have been a long time fan of the anime from having borrowed poorly copied fan-subs from another anime fan years ago to now trying to keep up with the 4th stage, Initial D has always been a favorite. But how does Lau and Mak’s adaptation measure up?
If you need reminding the story is as such. Ryousuke Takahashi [Edison Chen] and Takeshi Nakazato [Shawn Yue] are touring the Gunma Prefecture challenging all the local racers on their home courses, and winning. Takeshi is taking in the downhill course on Mt. Akina when he is soundly passed by a mysterious white Panda Trueno AE-86. The identity of this mysterious driver must be found out and they must be challenged to the downhill of Mt. Akina. Who is the god of Mt. Akina? They discover the driver of the AE-86 is Takumi Fujiwara [Jay Chou] who has been running the early morning tofu deliveries for his father, Bunta, since he was 13 years old. Takumi is thrust into the world of downhill racing.
As a fan of the series nothing much is missing. Screenwriter Felix Chong collects a number of great moments from early in the Initial D universe and transcribes them into the script. The movie will feel very familiar to any fan of ID. It is a faithful adaptation of the original source material. However, the novelty of seeing it live threatens to wear thin and any regular of the series, possibly even someone not familiar with the anime, could adopt the 'see it coming' mindset. Whether or not you allow that to dictate how much you enjoy the film is up to you, the viewer.
The production values are slick and the film looks nice. Lau and Mak do indeed come to the picture with a very big bag of tricks, pulling all stops from excellent race filming to all too obvious CGI fill-ins. There is no hesitation on their behalf to mask the monotony of cars drifting around endless corners with cheap camera tricks and gimmicks. I also think Peter hit the nail on the head in his review when he said that it appears that great effort was made to reflect the style of anime in a live adaptation.
What has changed? Chapman To’s character, Itsuki, is a combination of two characters from the anime series, Itsuki and Iketani. And he isn’t Yuuichi’s [Bunta’s long-time friend and owner of the gas station that Takumi and Itsuki work at after school] son. Mostly he is there for comic relief and it is done well though I think the Itsuki character was just fine from the series and would have been just as successful delivering laughs, if not more.
We only get one of the Takahashi brothers, played by Edison Chen. Chen’s Ryousuke serves as key motivation for Chou’s Takumi. He also fills the void for all the tech freaks in the audience though I miss the mind behind the racing that the brothers provide in the series. But you still get the contradiction in racing styles between the two. Ryousuke is a calculating and precision minded driver. Takumi drives merely by skill and instinct. Which one is better? Watch the movie sillies and find out for yourselves.
Anthony Wong is well suited for the role of Bunta Fujiwara but he seems dopier than the anime version. There's also something edgy and mean about the character that is hinted at in the film that I didn't sense in the anime. Scenes hinting towards physical abuse and a callous attitude towards it took me a bit by surprise. Anne Suzuki’s Natsuki is just as cute as the character from the series and the relationship between herself and Takumi is played out very real. Enough of that relationship is left open at the end of the film for the possible sequel.
The only point that could possibly be labled at knit-picking would be about the music. But gone is the signature manic synth-pop of the series. It is replaced by rock and pop tunes. I hope you would agree that Chinese and Japanese soundtracks are distinctly different [Anime soundtracks for that matter are even more different] and this is definitely Chinese. It’s not bad but man do I miss that gagillion bpm synth-pop.
I suppose there is great difficulty in taking an anime that cleverly paced a single race over a couple episodes and trying to achieve that same excitement in a single film. Does it work in the live adaptation? Not entirely. The races are exciting to watch but without the build-up and the tension you are just left with a number of the same shots of cars drifting around corners and hairpins.
Lau and Mak also neglected to put one of the unique features of Initial D into their adaptation. Thought not entirely unique to just Initial D I miss the cerebral battle that went on in each episode. I mentioned before that Chen’s Ryousuke helps fill the void of the mind ‘behind’ the racing but what is sorely missed is the mind ‘during’ the racing. The anime series beautifully played out the head games that go on with drivers during each race. I felt it added to the tension of the race and there is only one account of thought narration in the entire film. Not only did the cerebral game add to the tension of the race but it was also helpful in conveying Takumi’s own growth as a racer to the viewer. Because it is not included in this adaptation one of the unique features is missing but also some keys points of character development are lost as well. Whether or not that was a concern of Lau and Mak I don’t know but purists may have issue with it.
After all is said and done though, how is Initial D? You know, it’s not entirely that bad. Since I have the DVD at home I had the benefit of watching it a couple times before I wrote this review. Does it hold up to the anime? Not fully. Does that matter? That depends who you talk to. Devotees of the Initial D universe will certainly have their issues with the film. I do. But if you don’t get hung up on the omissions and liberties taken by Lau, Mak and Chong you can still enjoy Initial D for its bubbly entertainment value and keep your fingers crossed that the success of this film and its open ending will mean that we will have a sequel sometime.
Tell you what I want to see in the sequal. Gum tape death match. If you've watched the series you will know what I mean.