List of Initial D characters and teams

This is a list of characters from the anime and manga series Initial D.

Primary Characters (Fujiwara Tofu Shop)
These are the protagonists from the Initial D Manga/Anime Series.

Takumi Fujiwara
18 years old, Takumi Fujiwara (藤原拓海 Fujiwara Takumi) is the son of Bunta Fujiwara, the owner of a tofu shop in his hometown Akina. He rarely shows emotion. His best friend is Itsuki Takeuchi, who is a racing fan.

Takumi works part-time at a gas station with Itsuki, along with Iketani, who is a member of the local racing team, the Akina Speed Stars. In the first few episodes both Itsuki and Iketani think that Takumi has no driving ability because of Takumi's total disinterest in cars and racing.

The only one who suspects that Takumi has an advanced driving technique is the owner of the gas station, Yuuichi, as seen in the episode where Takumi discusses drifting technique with Itsuki and Iketani. In fact, Takumi has far more experience on the touge than Iketani and Itsuki, as Takumi has been driving his father's AE86 Trueno for five years (since he was 12 in his first year of junior high school, 7th grade), delivering tofu to a hotel at 4:00 A.M. every day. Takumi has been manipulated subtly by Bunta into developing driving skills, without being fully aware of Bunta's intent.

Bunta aside, Takumi's driving technique is the best on Akina; the very fact that he has managed to win races against far more powerful cars with his AE86 Trueno is testament to his driving skills. As a result of constant everyday practice and over 5 years of experience on Akina, Takumi is able to quickly adapt to nearly any situation that presents itself during a race. One factor in his nearly unparalleled driving skill is his ability to visualize the road in his head, thus making up for the lack of visibility no matter how dark the mountain pass may be. This ability only takes effect if he has driven on the road before, which was not the case in some later races. He is an instinctive rather than an intellectual driver. Although the mizutoshi technique (a technique where the driver drops the inside tires into the rain gutters on the side of the road to defeat centrifugal force) is a great but difficult technique that his father taught him, it led him to many victories throughout the story.

At first, Takumi was not part of any team (he was just loosely affiliated with the Akina Speed Stars), but later joins Project D, a special team created by Ryosuke Takahashi aimed at breaking every course record in Japan.

Takumi looks docile and weak-minded, but he is stubborn and strong-willed, many remarks have been said about that. Yuuichi realized that Takumi was like his father in his behavior. Because he is not as outwardly ill-tempered as Keisuke, the mechanics of Project D tend to find him docile. However, to those who have raced against him, Takumi possesses tremendous concentration and instinctive insight once behind the wheel (and these qualities are most evident when he is chasing after his opponent). His apparent docility became traps for many opponents. Keisuke asks Takumi to become professional racers together and now Takumi's eventual goal is to become a professional racer with Keisuke. Keisuke and Takumi become rivals that aspire to the same dream.

Bunta Fujiwara
Bunta Fujiwara (藤原文太 Fujiwara Bunta) is the owner of a tofu shop in Akina, and the father of Takumi. He used to be the No.1 downhill racer in Mt. Akina years ago, but he no longer races, preferring to guide Takumi's racing development. He is the original driver of the mysterious "white ghost of Akina" AE86 Sprinter Trueno that holds the record of the fastest downhill time at Akina. Bunta has a unique way of training his son to drive—every morning when Takumi delivers tofu, Bunta gives Takumi a cup of water. The cup of water is placed in the drink holder; Takumi must not spill even a drop of it while he is driving. This is ostensibly to prevent breaking the tofu in the boot, but it forces Takumi to drive very smoothly. As for Bunta, he is still considered the best downhill racer in Akina. We see proof of this early in the series as he pushes the Trueno with Yuuichi in the passenger seat lighting a cigarette while drifting around a corner.

Later in the series, Takumi used the Trueno more than Bunta, so he gave the car to Takumi. While test driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STI Type R Version V on Akina, Bunta defeated his son, inducing a 4WD complex in Takumi. Bunta decided to buy the car, but hid this fact from Takumi for some time (Fourth Stage, 14th episode). After revealing that he was the driver, he then told Takumi to alternate between the Impreza and his Eight-Six for deliveries—another strategy to improve Takumi as a driver, showing him the potential of modern cars, and the characteristics of 4WD. While this shows his training strategy, we still see that Bunta is, once again, proven to be the most formidable opponent in Akina.

Trivia

 * There is a lot of confusion about Bunta’s car. It is a Subaru Impreza GC8 (C = Coupe, M = Sedan F = Wagon). Many confuse his car with the legendary Subaru Impreza 22B. This is because Bunta’s Impreza is not wearing the stock Version V front bumper, but rather the STi Sport Bumper which looks identical in almost every way to the 22B stock front bumper. It also has different rims compared to the GC8 and 22B.


 * In the anime and in the Arcade Stage 4 and 5, Bunta's Impreza is colored Sonic Blue Mica but in the original manga and in Arcade Stage 1-3, Special Stage, Street Stage, it was colored Gun Metal Gray.


 * Incidentally, the Impreza was built in Subaru's headquarters (also based on Gunma Prefecture), but it was not owned by Bunta yet. He owns it by trading from its previous owner, as the previous owner buys it at Ōta, Gunma (where Subaru's headquarters is located).


 * It is said that in the near end of episode 24 in 4th stage, Takumi said that Project.D fixed the suspension while the manga adds a few upgrades like extra power and a new dashboard.

Project D
Project D was created by Ryosuke Takahashi with the purpose of taking the best drivers in the Gunma Area (Takumi and Keisuke), and travelling to challenge other teams in various prefectures. While he vocalizes the purpose of Project D to establish a legend, it is apparent that the primary reason of D is to develop the skills of its drivers to a new and extraordinary level. Ryosuke points out before the formation of Project D that he has only one year left to realize his dream. While it is never revealed why this is the case, a commonly held belief is that Ryosuke pursuing a career in the medical profession prevents him from remaining involved in racing. While he never states anything explicitly, Ryosuke reveals on separate occasions as 4th Stage progresses that both the purpose of "D" and the true meaning of "the initial" will come to light.

Project D is different from the other mountain racing teams as it has a highly technical regimen and a support team of technicians, who are mostly members of the Akagi Redsuns. Each car has a dedicated mechanic, as well as other support personnel. Kenta Nakamura, being the only member of the RedSuns other than the Takahashi brothers and Fumihiro seen in earlier stages, is part of the Project D support staff; he usually scouts the course before the team and is more or less a gofer for Keisuke and occasionally drives one of the support vans.

Akagi RedSuns
A highly skilled team led by Ryosuke Takahashi. The RedSuns' team policy is not to race on their home course, because, according to Keisuke, they "can't get excited about it". Based in Gunma, their home course is Akagi.

Ryôsuke Takahashi
Takahashi Ryôsuke is modeled after the "Drift King" Keiichi Tsuchiya's mentor, retired race car driver Takahashi Kunimitsu.

(高橋 涼介 Takahashi Ryôsuke; known as "Ry" in the English adaptations) One of the most skilled drivers in the series (he is the Red Suns' fastest member as well as their leader); he and his younger brother Keisuke (the Takahashi Brothers, also known as the Rotary Brothers because they both drive RX-7's, albeit different generations of the vehicle) have been featured in racing magazines and are regarded highly by other drivers. Ryōsuke drives a second generation Mazda RX-7 (FC3S) and was previously undefeated until he met Takumi Fujiwara. Ryōsuke is very serious about racing; he pores over technical data just like any professional driver and he is one of the few drivers with skills as a mechanic to match those he possesses as a driver. He can usually be found in his room going over data on his laptop. He is known to be able to tell what kind of modifications have been made to a car just by hearing it, and what a driver is capable of just by watching the car drift. Ryosuke's fame is so wide spread throughout Japan that he has been given the moniker, "Akagi's White Comet". He is also referred to by "Akagi's Lone White Comet", possibly in reference to his inherent weariness towards females.

His only rival would be Kyouichi Sudou. They argued about racing theories when Ryōsuke ended Kyouichi's winning streak a year before the series' start. Currently, he is enrolled in college studying medicine, and planning to become a doctor to work at his father's clinic. But before retiring from street racing, and with only one year of racing left, he estimates, and assembles a new team (named Project D) aimed at capturing all of the records in Japan. In Fourth Stage, he is a coach for Project D while his brother Keisuke races in his place.

A rift in Ryōsuke's past became apparent in Volume 36, involving another racer only known as 'Shinigami'. An altercation between the two in medical school led to another student named Kaori (also another medical student and Shinigami's girlfriend) taking her life. Shinigami retreated from the racing scene for years, becoming a recluse, before making an abrupt return in Volume 39 against Spiral Zero's Leader, Ikeda. It appears that Ryōsuke races the 'Shinigami' in Volume 41, but is yet to be released.

Keisuke Takahashi
Keisuke (高橋 啓介 Takahashi Keisuke; known as "K.T." in the English adaptations) is the number two driver for the Red Suns. Keisuke drives a third generation Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) and is a skilled driver, second only to his brother. Keisuke is a rather hot-headed young man and does not like losing. Keisuke is also known to drive with his emotions, for example if he realises that he cannot win his driving suffers and if he is in the lead he is carefree and much relaxed. Before Ryôsuke got Keisuke involved in street racing he was the leader of a Bōsōzoku gang. He joins his brother's new team and has a rivalry with Takumi. Keisuke races the Hillclimb (Uphill) on most races, while Takumi races the downhill.

Keisuke isn't analytical like his older brother, and Ryôsuke's ability to compute and analyze amazes Keisuke. But at the same time, Keisuke's ability to think less while he is driving, and to do only what he feels amazes Ryosuke. While Ryôsuke has decided that he won't race much longer, and that he will become a doctor in the future, Keisuke has dedicated his life to racing, his eventual goal is to become a professional racer. But first he must defeat Takumi. Though visibly getting along, they still have some kind of argumentation over who is the ace, he has respect for Takumi. He stated once he was not as strong minded as Takumi, because Takumi fell asleep really fast before a great battle, making him ask himself if he knew what was pressure.

Kenta Nakamura
Nickname in English adaptations: "Danny" in the Ver.3 arcade & manga & "Kent" in the anime

(中村 ケンタ Nakamura Kenta) One of the youngest members of the Akagi RedSuns and the third best driver of the team, Kenta absolutely adores Keisuke Takahashi and is always eager to prove himself to Keisuke. Kenta was recognized by Keisuke himself for his driving skills, and has been somewhat taken under Keisuke's wing. Kenta specializes in rain conditions, because he had a habit of practicing in the rain since the wet roads wouldn't wear his tires down as much.

In the First Stage, he arrogantly challenged Takumi to a wet race and lost. This was the time when Takumi used Itsuki as ballast, simulating a load of tofu. (Note that Takumi delivers tofu everyday, even if it rains.)

In Fourth Stage, he drives the #2 van for Project D and mostly does the recon recording of courses before the team actually travels to the locations, but it's unknown if he uses his S14 for it.

Hiroshi Fumihiro
(史浩 Fumihiro) serves as Project D's second in command and handler, setting up and organizing battles with other teams, as well as scouting out prospective courses. In many ways he is also a sort of Executive Assistant to Ryousuke Takahashi. He had the same role during his time with the Akagi RedSuns and, presumably, has known Ryousuke for some time. It is not specifically known whether he has a history as a street racer or how he came into contact with Ryosuke and the RedSuns; his personal car, a Toyota SW20, is only seen once during a daytime meeting with Takahashi Keisuke but is never seen at any races. Fumihiro typically drives the Number 1 van during Project D's events.

Shuichi Matsumoto
(松本 修一 Matsumoto Shūichi) Personal mechanic for Takumi Fujiwara's AE86 and possibly Chief Mechanic for Project D. He's the driver for Project D's support van #3 during their expeditions. In chapter 39 of the manga, Matsumoto was asked by Ryosuke to tune his FC for his anticipated encounter with Rin Hojo.

Another thing to note about Matsumoto is his close relationship with Ryosuke, as he is often seen talking to Ryosuke about Project D. and Takumi during the latter's races.

Tomiguchi
Keisuke's assigned mechanic in Project D. He's likely the driver of van #4 during the latter part of Project D's expeditions where they go to farther prefectures

Teams
These are the teams from their respective cities or regions.

Akina SpeedStars
A team made up from a bunch of friends who like to race in their leisure time. Based in Gunma, their home course is Akina. Named after a Japanese brand of wheel, they are among the weakest teams in the series not having proper training and erroneous techniques.

Kouichiro Iketani
One of Takumi's friends, Iketani (池谷 浩一郎 Iketani Kōichirō; known as "Cole" in the English adaptations) works at a local gas station with both Takumi and Itsuki. Itsuki admires him, as Iketani is leader of the local racing team, the Akina Speed Stars. Iketani drives a Nissan S13 Silvia. At first, Iketani thinks that the Speed Stars are the best drivers in Akina but later his boss Yuuichi tells Iketani of the mysterious driver of an AE86 who was the fastest driver in his time, and that he suspects that the driver is the owner of the local tofu shop.

He is an average racer at best, but his skills are decent enough for him to be leader of the Speedstars.

It is Iketani (along with Itsuki) who explains to Takumi the practice of referring to street-racing cars by their chassis codes, since this is the simplest way of denoting different body style/engine combinations. For example, instead of specifying the 1983-1987 Toyota Sprinter Trueno or Corolla Levin with the 4A-GE engine, one can simply call it an AE86, or more simply, an "Eight-Six".

Itsuki Takeuchi
Itsuki (武内 イツキ Takeuchi Itsuki; nicknamed "Iggy" in the English adaptations) is Takumi's best friend; he provides the comic relief in the series, and is generally quite loud and obnoxious. Itsuki works part-time at a gas station with Takumi and Iketani; Itsuki plans to use the money he earns to buy an AE86 Corolla Levin (to complement Takumi's AE86 Trueno) but mistakenly buys an inferior (less power, poor brakes, less chassis bracing, and worse suspension) AE85. This upsets him until Takumi takes him for a drive, demonstrating that the driver's skill can make a difference. With a car, he is a self proclaimed member of the Akina Speedstars. In Fourth Stage, it is revealed that Itsuki has installed a turbo for his 85.

Kenji
A member of the Akina Speed Stars and Iketani's best friend, Kenji (健二) drives a Nissan 180SX. He hangs out at the gas station — where Iketani, Takumi and Itsuki work — from time to time, usually discussing cars and driving techniques with Iketani and Yuuichi. He has respect and admiration for Iketani and Takumi; Iketani since he is the leader of the Speed Stars and Takumi for his driving skills.

Kenji is believed to be the second-best driver of the Speedstars. He was set to race Keisuke in the first battle because Iketani was injured and the AE86 driver was thought to be a no-show.

To this day, his last name hasn't been revealed in any media form of Initial D. His age has also not been explicitly stated, though judging from Iketani and Itsuki's constant joking in regards to Kenji not having a girlfriend at his age, and that he and Iketani don't address each other as 'Senpai' (meaning older mentor in Japanese), it's probably safe to say that he is about the same age as Iketani. His occupation is also unknown, although he often goes to the gas station where his friends work bringing car magazines and racing news.

Thunder Fire
Not much is known about team Thunder Fire and where their home course is. Their symbol is a lightning bolt with the word Thunder Fire written within it. Thunder was the first team that was defeated by Team Emperor in the beginning of stage two. A purple 180SX driven by one of the members was beaten by Seiji Iwaki's Evo4, and tore their team sticker in half and stuck upside down on the spoiler. The same car also hit the guardrail midway in Second Stage, which halted the unofficial race between Keisuke and Wataru. Thunder Fire's prominent team members and skill level are unknown, but like the Akina Speedstars, Thunder Fire may be just a group of friends who race in their leisure time with little knowledge on proper technique.

They appear only in the anime and are not part of the manga series

Myogi Night Kids
A team of average skill led by Takeshi Nakazato. Even though the team is united under Takeshi, there seems to be two factions fighting for leadership, aligned with Takeshi and Shingo. Based in Gunma, their home course is Myogi.

Takeshi Nakazato
Nickname in English adaptations: "Zack"

Takeshi Nakazato (中里 毅 Nakazato Takeshi) of the Myogi Night Kids, also known as the Black Lightning, first makes his appearance at the race in Akina where Keisuke Takahashi of the Red Suns is to race against Takumi. Surprised that Takumi could defeat Keisuke, Takeshi decides that he is going to be the one to challenge and defeat the 'Akina downhill specialist', and that the Red Suns are next on his list.

He is an intelligent and skilled driver, notably recognizing Takumi's gutter-drop technique while observing the 86's first battle with Keisuke's FD3S. However, his downfall is his anger and emotions getting in the way of his mind, resulting in poor throttle control. He also races all-out and usually fails to consider tire wear, so in the end, he loses the race, sometimes crashing his car. He is very good at acceleration and is known for his grip driving philosophy. His previous car was a Nissan Silvia (S13), with which he used drifting techniques. He changed to the R32 after a devastating loss to a white (or rather silver) R32 on his home course of Myogi. Following the defeat by the Skyline, his philosophy changed, favoring grip driving techniques over "weak" and "showy" drifting techniques. He also believed that no matter what skill a driver has, a car will not run beyond its capabilities.

Takeshi is the leader of the NightKids team on Mount Myogi and he has shown an interest in Sayuki of Impact Blue.

He is a fan of the GT-R just like Takahashi Kunimitsu.

Shingo Shoji
Shingo Shoji (庄司 真吾 Shōji Shingo) is a member of the Night Kids who drives a red Honda Civic SiR-II (EG-6). Shingo races dangerously—he will nudge his rival's car in order to make the other driver lose control. He doesn't find plain downhill races any fun, preferring to race under a mutual handicap he calls the Duct Tape Death Match. In this handicap match, both drivers tape their right hand to the steering wheel for the duration of the race. By doing this, a driver limits their own steering capabilities and it makes turning a challenge in a rear wheel drive car, as 'catching' a car's oversteer on the exit becomes quite difficult. In a front-wheel car though, the use of the handbrake assists in turning the vehicle in corners. He detests Takeshi Nakazato because he believes that he is unfit to be leader of the Night Kids, a position that Shingo openly covets. In terms of racing ability, Shingo is the second best driver on the Night Kids team. He is also a childhood friend of Impact Blue's navigator, Sayuki.

Shingo actually shares many beliefs with Nakazato, but whenever they watch other battles, they stay away from one another so that people won't mistake them as friends. There were also times that he supported his teammate for the Night Kids' sake, like the battle against Seiji Iwaki and his Evo IV.

Impact Blue
This team is a partnership between its two members, Mako and Sayuki. Their home course is Usui. It is revealed that Impact Blue is disbanded in Extra Stage 2 due to Mako leaving for Tokyo to race there for a year.

Mako Sato and Sayuki
Mako Satou (佐藤 真子 Satō Mako) is the driver of the Usui combination; Sayuki (沙雪) is her co-driver/navigator, a combination similar to that found in the WRC. Mako is interested in Iketani of the Akina Speedstars. She originally got close to him in order to race Takumi's AE86 in Usui, offering her virginity in exchange. But she and Iketani had true feelings to each other later on. Unfortunately, a misunderstanding kept them apart.

Sayuki is a cheerful, outgoing girl and she is always looking for good looking guys like the Takahashi brothers. She also developed a crush on Takumi, finding him cute and invited him to a pool after his race against them. As navigator, she gives out instructions to Mako when they're racing (when to brake, what drifting technique to use etc.). Her last name is unknown.

Driving a blue Nissan SilEighty, the duo are the fastest in their hometown.

In the English adaptations, they are known as "Maya" and "Simone" respectively.

Team Emperor
A highly skilled team led by Kyoichi Sudou. The entire team is made of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions, claiming their cars are the king of the mountains. Based in Tochigi, their home course is the one way road of Irohazaka.

Seiji Iwaki
Nickname in English adaptations: "Hawk"

(岩城 清次 Iwaki Seiji) The Number two driver in the Lancer Evolution-only Emperor team, Seiji Iwaki drives the Lancer Evolution IV. Seiji is a driver with good racing skills, but he is rather arrogant and overconfident and occasionally imprudent. He has won many races driving for Emperor against other teams, including Takeshi Nakazato of the NightKids and a member of Thunder, driving a purple 180SX.

After defeating various teams in Gunma, the Emperor team then set their sights on the Akina Speed Stars, aiming to beat the infamous AE86 Trueno. Seiji volunteered to race for the Emperor team in his Evo IV against Takumi's AE86, but he was humiliated when his overconfidence and impatience led to his downfall, causing Kyouichi, the team leader, to have to race the AE86 before the team could move on to the next opponent. It was also verbally stated that Seiji lost to Kai Kogashiwa in Irohazaka, but no actual battle was shown in the series. In Battle Stage, his Evo IV also raced Keisuke's FD, and lost.

One of Seiji's trademarks is to take the team sticker of teams he has defeated, cut it in half, and stick it on his spoiler upside-down, emulating the "kill" markers that fighter pilots paint on their planes.

Kyoichi Sudo
Nickname in English adaptations: "Kyle"

(須藤 京一 Sudō Kyōichi) From Nikko, Tochigi and rated as one of the best drivers in the series, Kyoichi Sudou is the team leader and driving ace of the Lancer Evolution-only Emperor team. He drives a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III powered up to 350 hp equipped with a WRC style misfiring system. In his philosophy a car must have a high power turbo and all-wheel drive.

An old acquaintance of Ryosuke Takahashi of the Akagi Red Suns, Kyoichi is much like Ryosuke — he is a calm and composed driver, compared to his teammate Seiji. Eager to show Ryosuke that he and his team are the best, Kyoichi and the Emperor team goes on to beat the various teams of Gunma, including the Night Kids. He believes in the ultimate superiority of his race track techniques, whilst Ryosuke holds that street racing has its own special requirements. His home course is one way, so he is unable to fully attack blind corners on two way roads, supporting Ryousuke's view. He is also often considered the first driver to have beaten Takumi, when Takumi had a DNF when his engine blew, but he lost during a rematch at Irohazaka. It should be noted however, that the result should normally be considered a tie at best, and the race itself did not last more than one round. Kyoichi declared Takumi as the winner for merely being able to resist being overtaken at the last part of the course where other drivers fell prey to him. To Kyoichi, who takes pride in his ability to win, a tie at his home turf is equivalent to a loss.

He is also a graduate of the racing school, the Todo School.

Seven Star Leaf
Another average skilled team. They are the first team in Fourth Stage to face Project D. Based in Tochigi, their home course is the Nichien-Momiji line. Like the Akina SpeedStars, they are named after the same Japanese wheel manufacturer (Speed Star Racing)

Toru Suetsugu
Driving a red MX-5 Roadster, Tohru (末次 トオル Suetsugu Tōru) is the downhill racer for the S.S.R team known for his reckless, kamikaze downhill style. Tohru is also the only driver in the series who actually has a decent relationship; he has a girlfriend called Nao. Nao cares for him very much and she doesn't really approve of him racing, especially that he is practically broke almost all of the time and borrows money from her often. He promised Nao, before racing Takumi, he would quit street racing and they would settle down.

From the Tochigi Prefecture, the S.S.R team is the first team to race against Ryousuke's Project D. Tohru is slated to race against Takumi. Again he borrows money from his girlfriend for a new set of tires. She agreed, with a condition: if he is defeated, he'll have to stop racing, or they'll have to break up. He lost when he tried to emulate Takumi's weight-shifting technique of bypassing the uncovered gutters: his right front wheel snagged on the open gutter, flipping his car over once before coming to a standstill.

Atsurô Kawai
Atsurô (川井 淳郎 Kawai Atsurō) is the hillclimb racer and the leader of the Tochigi-based S.S.R team. He seems to be a decent enough driver, again favouring the grip racing techniques, but his mastery of it is uncomparable to that of Takeshi Nakazato. His car is powered up to 400 hp.

From the Tochigi Prefecture, the S.S.R team is one of the first to battle against Ryousuke's Project D. Tohru is slated to race against Takumi, while Atsurou is to race against Keisuke. Note:Atsurou is driving a 2.5L Turbo RWD Nissan GT R34 also known as 25GT-T Skyline not an AWD Nissan Skyline GT-R R34

Todo School
(東堂塾 Tōdō Juku) is a racing school run by a Performance Shop owner and an ex-Rally Driver named Todo (東堂). They are very highly skilled, with many of their graduates going semipro/professional. Interestingly, they preferred FWD cars, particularly Hondas, using the Civic Type R as their best "demonstration" car. Based in Tochigi, their home course is Enna.

Daiki Ninomiya
Nickname in English adaptations: "Dice"

The ace and current student of the Todo School, Daiki (ニノ宮 大輝 Ninomiya Daiki) is one of the better drivers of the series. Driving a yellow Civic EK-9 Type R, Daiki races against Takumi of Project D in a downhill battle. He excels in braking, being able to release the brake pedal in the perfect spot during a corner, every time. Daiki is also one of the school's all time three best downhill drivers.

Smiley Sakai
Nickname in English adaptations: "Smiley"

Another driver and current student of the Todo School, Smiley Sakai (スマイリー 酒井 Sumairī Sakai) is one of Daiki's friends and drives an Integra Type R, equipped with an aftermarket turbocharger. Sakai races against Keisuke of Project D in a hillclimb battle. He uses two techniques to race, first, using high speeds to enter a corner to get the other person to do the same, then correcting his speed during the turn. The other trick is to brake-test his opponent, forcing them to back off while he speeds away. His face tenses up when he is racing to make him look like he is smiling, hence his nickname, Smiley Sakai.

Tomoyuki Tachi
Nickname in English adaptations: "Touch"

The Todo School could not live with their team being completely annihilated by outsiders, so they invited Tachi (館 智幸 Tachi Tomoyuki), a graduate of the school who is now a professional racer, to have a rematch against Project D on Happogahara. Tachi took Ninomiya's EK9 and beat Takumi's downhill record in one try, without pushing the car to the limit. Tachi agreed to use the school's top car, the Demonstration EK9, at Happogahara, which is a course that consists of both downhill and hill climb sections. Tachi tuned the Civic the best he could to be able to compete with the FD3S on the straights, but surprisingly, Ryosuke decided to send out the AE86. He lost the race to Takumi when he steered off the center of the road to avoid hitting a racoon that crossed the street near the finish line. Because of this dodging he creates enough space for Takumi to pass him in his AE86. Afterwards Takumi asks Tachi why he suddenly created space for Takumi to pass. Tachi responded that he saw a (raccoon) jump across the road and because of his racing reflexes immediately dodged it. Takumi's headlights were turned off as part of his technique.

It is highly speculated that his professional racing outfit seems to be based on the racing outfit that the "Drift King" Keiichi Tsuchiya wears during his racing days and his appearances in Best Motoring. The green racing suit, gloves and the red racing shoes are evidence to this speculation

He attended the Todo School with Kyoichi Sudo.

Northern Saitama Alliance
A racing group made of teams located in the Northern Saitama Prefecture. Included in this alliance, is the team that Nobuhiko and Kyoko are on, which remains unnamed, and also includes Wataru. They joined together to meet the challenge they knew would be coming from Project D. Nobuhiko Akiyama is the leader of the Alliance. The Alliance faces Project D twice, on two different courses. The Alliance throws the first downhill race against Project D so that Nobuhiko can gather enough information on Takumi to defeat him during the second set of races. Nobuhiko recruits Sakamoto for the job of defeating Takumi and all of the Alliance members (except Kyoko) chip in to purchase a Suzuki Cappuccino for Sakamoto to use in the race.

Wataru Akiyama
Nickname in English adaptations: "Aki"

One of the first racers from Saitama to actually race against Takumi with his turbocharged Levin, he appeared later in Stage 4, this time replacing the turbocharger with a supercharger for more linear acceleration. Wataru (秋山 渉 Akiyama Wataru) is a skilled driver who honed his skills on the treacherous Shomaru Pass. He came to Gunma in hopes of facing new racers to challenge. As well as to watch over his sister Kazumi, who just got a job at a hotel with her aunt. Wataru reappeared in episode 9 of stage 4 as Nobuhiko's cousin, to watch Takumi race against the Northern Saitama Alliance in the hopes of finding a weak spot.

Wataru later raced against Keisuke Takahashi in a wet weather race, but when his tires lost grip upon touching a metal gutter while he adjusted his wipers, he was defeated.

Some time later, Wataru confronts the imposter Project D somewhere in Saitama and helps the real Project D expose them as the frauds they are.

Nobuhiko Akiyama
Nickname in English adaptations: "Nobu"

The leader the Northwest Saitama Alliance, Nobuhiko (秋山 延彦 Akiyama Nobuhiko) is very intelligent and analytical. His skills as a driver, however, are not very good. Because of this, he usually recruits other highly skilled drivers and uses his technical data to further tune their cars according to each course. Nobuhiko did race against Takumi once on the downhill, but was left behind after the first hairpin and only because Takumi was letting him keep up, upon Ryousuke's instruction. In Stage 4, Episode 9, it is revealed that Nobu is Wataru Akiyama's cousin (as they share the same surname and looks pretty similar).

Kyoko Iwase
Nickname in English adaptations: "Kylie"

A skilled uphill driving ace in the Northwest Saitama Alliance, Kyoko (岩瀬 恭子 Iwase Kyōko) was originally the fastest in the alliance, but after racing against Keisuke Takahashi, she falls in love with her opponent. This creates a conflict of interest between defeating Project D and supporting her love. Love prevailed. Attesting to this, Kyoko later lent her FD3S to Keisuke after he damaged the left front suspension of his own FD3S in an accident during a trial run on Tsuchizaka. Keisuke went on to win the race with her car, instead of the loaned FD Ryosuke planned for him to use. Unfortunately for her, Keisuke chooses to focus on Project D to the exclusion of all romantic relationships—although he admits liking her.

Kyoko's FD is a single turbo (compared to Keisuke's twin-turbo FD). Because of this, it has lesser torque and more turbo lag despite the power output being almost the same.

Sakamoto
Nickname in English adaptations: "Sid"

Recruited into the alliance by Nobuhiko, Sakamoto (坂本), a kei-jidosha racer, is trained almost exclusively on mountain passes. He has the uncanny ability to take any car and put it in a drift on a mountain pass, usually to figure a car's characteristics and limitations. He was outsourced by Nobuhiko Akiyama in a desperate measure to defeat Takumi Fujiwara of Project D in a downhill race using a car lighter than the AE86. His speciality is driving kei cars which use an FR layout.

Unnamed Team (Tsuchisaka)
This team, composed of two Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions, challenged Project D on Tsuchisaka. They race for money, and they win by all means necessary. When they were defeated by Project. D, they asked a bunch of bosozoku (see below on 'Minor characters') gangsters to beat them up. Little did they know that these gangsters they called were from the Gunma area (the base of Project D), and former subordinates of Keisuke Takahashi at that... For the humiliation, the gangsters turned on the losers.

Kuro Waru
Nickname in English Adaptations: Man in the Evo V Kuro Waru is the uphill racer for the final team that Project D races in the Saitama Prefecture. He faces Keisuke on the uphill run on the Tsuchizaka pass. Unlike previous opponents, both Kuro and his teammate Shiro are more than willing to use cheap, unfair tactics, such as spilling oil on the road, to defeat Project D (albeit they want to win only to promote a garage they are affiliated with). It is due to this team's slicking of the road with oil that leads to Keisuke spinning out on the road and damaging his FD to such a state that it cannot be used in the race.

As a person, Kuro Waru is depicted as being an "ugly", mid to late 20s, arrogant jerk, an example of which occurs when he confronts Project D after Keisuke crashes his FD, at which point he acts innocent in regards as to who was at fault for slicking the road. In his race versus Keisuke—who drove Kyoko's black FD, he displays little skill (Keisuke compares him to Atsurou Kawai, the ER34 Skyline driver of Seven Star Leaf) and considers the Lancer Evolution to be in a totally different class apart from the Mazda RX-7 FD. He loses when he was spooked as Keisuke takes the inside when the two cars drive along a long straightaway with a barricade on the left side of the road. He was humiliated when he was given a lecture by Keisuke when he complained of "reckless driving." in arcade stage 3 and in the psp version, the Evo V is a RS while the anime is a GSR.

Shiro Waru
Nickname in English Adaptations: Man in the Evo VI Shiro Waru is the downhill racer for this team. Unlike Kuro, Shiro is more cunning and tactful, in that he arranges for the oil spill on the road and bringing a group of gangsters (via another team member) to beat up Project D's members should Project D win. Although there is no mention of who the leader of this team is, it seems that Shiro shows more of a leadership role than his teammate. Prior to his race against Takumi he advises for Takumi to lose his match otherwise there will be dire repercussions.

As a racer he is depicted as having good braking skill, but in comparison to Bunta, his skill is not as good. In the race with Takumi he takes the runner position and leads for a fair share of the race until they hit the corner where oil had been spilled earlier. Shiro manages to slip on a bit of the oil and slides to the outside, allowing Takumi to easily pass him and take the lead. There was plenty of chance to outrun him, but he was spooked by Takumi's drifting of the Trueno on the final corner. There he finds out that Takumi is a different, terrifying animal once he is driving, unlike the timid guy he tried to scare before the race.

Purple Shadow
This team is kind of the same as SpeedStars and Thunderfire except for "God Foot" and "God Hand" who are legendary around those parts, based in Ibaraki, they drive on a course called F-Line. They challenged Project D on the Tsukuba Circuit.

Kōzō Hoshino
Nickname in English adaptations: "Kozo"

(星野 好造 Hoshino Kōzō) A member of a two-man team of middle-aged racers, he is known by the name of "God Foot" due to his extraordinary acceleration control and his ability to drift the BNR34 with the ATTESA-ETS 4WD system activated, which is considered almost impossible. He shouts exclamations during a race in order to keep himself from over concentrating. If he becomes silent and concentrates too hard, he will drive without braking. He races Keisuke Takahashi in a full lap (uphill and downhill) battle, demonstrating his sense of fairness, as the FD3S would have no chance against the GT-R Nür uphill. He has owned a total of 4 GT-Rs: an R32, an R33 in which he was disappointed with, another R32, and finally the R34 in which he uses in the race against Project D. He displays incredible control of his accelerator and brake pedals, but his heavier car is chased down by Keisuke's lighter FD3S in the first run although it barely wins the first run. The second run displays Hoshino's cunning as he overtakes Keisuke on the uphill/downhill pylon, though his heavier GT-R begins losing traction. Keisuke's doggedness inspires Hoshino to initiate a drift battle which make his tyres suffer even more. Near the goal line Hoshino drifts too far because of his tires, allowing Keisuke to attempt to pass him on the outside. Although Hoshino's weaker tyres made him bump Keisuke slightly, the FD pulled out in front and finished the second round in the lead. Hoshino conceded the match as his traction was now not enough to win another run.

After his race with Keisuke, he offers to introduce him to his professional racing contacts. Keisuke refuses the offer, as he has unfinished business he wishes to take care of first. Although he lost, his time attack record still remains unbeaten, even by Keisuke no matter how hard he tried.

His last name may be a nod to Kazuyoshi Hoshino, a professional race driver known for driving Skylines and other Nissans in several major Japanese circuits, and also Impul Corporation's founder.

Dr. Toshiya Joushima
Nickname in English adaptations: "Toshiya"

(城島 俊也 Jōshima Toshiya) Known as "God Hand" due to his ability to single-hand steer, controlling the car's yaw rate with very delicate steering/throttle inputs. He is the downhill half of the two man Purple Shadow team. He battles in a refined intellectual style, intentionally pulling his punches, for his own private satisfaction.

God Hand's techniques also include gutter jumps, and the ability to confuse his chaser by manipulating his race line. Some of his team consider his methods very cruel, especially given the irony that he is a doctor. During Takumi's battle with God Hand, Takumi felt as if he were being chased by Bunta in the Impreza. Initially Jōshima toyed with Takumi, hiding his true ability, trying to instill confusion and self doubt, confident he could dominate the battle. After Jōshima finally sprang his tactical trap, Takumi recovered and retook the lead. The astonished Jōshima eventually had to abandon his game, and used his ultimate time attack line to pull away. Takumi broke his suspension trying desperately to catch up, and was reduced to limping down the mountain. This would have been a loss for Takumi, except that Jōshima's fatigue from multiple rounds of downhill got to him and forced him to make a vomit stop. The crippled Trueno hobbled past to a technical victory. After the race, Joshima admits that Takumi's come back put him under so much pressure that he was forced to put his left hand back on the steering wheel, something that hadn't ever happened to him.

However Takumi did not feel that his victory was justified. Joshima admit Afterwards Ryosuke requests a favor from Jōshima, asking him to allow Takumi to ride alongside Jōshima in his S2000 as he drives down the mountain again, so that Takumi could watch the God-Hand technique first hand and hopefully improve upon his own techniques.

Team 246
A team located in Kanagawa Prefecture. Racing in Yabitsu, they are direct rivals to Team Sidewinder, another team located in the Shizuoka Prefecture. According to Bunta and Ryosuke, Shizuoka is the center of street (drift) racing, notable for its mountainous regions (Mount Fuji is located there) as well as the Fuji Speedway. Therefore, Shizuoka attracts many racers, amateur and professionals alike.

Team 246 has many members, where representatives for a race are voted by its 31 members. The representative who will race against Keisuke on the uphill : Kobayakawa received 26 out of 31 votes, and races with a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (which Fumihiro has made fun of, as he is an emerging FD Evo Killer). Takumi will race against 246's leader : Omiya, who unanimously received 31 votes to represent Team 246 on the downhill. He will be driving a heavily modified Mazda Roadster.

Kobayakawa
Kobayakawa is Team 246's uphill representative who drives a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII. Sure of his own skill and of 4WD's abilities on the uphill, he chooses to chase behind Keisuke with the plan of observing his opponent from behind; confident that he can overtake if Keisuke is underwhelming. Keisuke tunes his FD with as much power as possible with the plan of outrunning his opponent in the first round. This has a disadvantage, however, because the extra power causes the FD to become oversteery and would wear the rear tires very quickly (Kobayakawa notes during the race that the FD was looking clumsy). Kobayakawa becomes aware that Keisuke plans to lose him and attempts to anticipate when the FD driver plans to attack. The race progresses, however, without a sign of Keisuke's attack and Kobayakawa lowers his guard. Just when he did this, however, Keisuke initiated his attack and pulled away. Kobayakawa was unable to catch up and lost the race by a margin of 7 seconds.

(Trivia: There is a lot of confusion about Kobayakawa's Evo VII. If he uses manual transmission, it would be GSR version, but if he uses automatic transmission, he will drive the Evo VII's GT-A version instead of GSR version, but not RS version.)

Satoshi Omiya
Omiya is Team 246's leader and downhill representative who drives a Mazda Roadster (possibly newer than Toru's NA6C MX-5). After seeing Kobayakawa's defeat, he decides to lead in the downhill planning to take the same approach as Keisuke. During the race, he also holds back until he sees an opening to go all out against Takumi. When he finally did so, his superior braking technique began to show. While miraculously keeping up, Takumi is distraught to see that he loses in terms of braking technique.

The race becomes so intense that while a rear wing would normally be considered purely cosmetic in the touge, Kubo Eiji of team Sidewinder notes that at the speed that both cars is enough to let aerodynamics be a possible deciding factor in the race. Trying to find any method of speeding up, Takumi turns his headlights off to reduce the eight-six's coefficient of drag. Omiya, after deciding earlier on not to look back and turns his rear-view mirror away, does not notice the eight-six disappearing and so, would negate the usual effect of the blind attack. However, when approaching a corner, Takumi decides to turn on his headlights again. Seeing that the road ahead was suddenly lit up, Omiya is lead to believe that there is an oncoming car and brakes early while leaving the outside lane open. Takumi jumps in to go side-by-side, but Omiya refuses to budge and maintains the inside. However, because the line was so tight, the Roadster's wing collided with a road sign, leaving it hanging on the car, imbalancing its aerodynamics.

Ryosuke mentions how Mazda's FR layout cars are naturally oversteery because their rear ends are always uniquely higher than the front, making the rear very light. He notes that while the FD makes good use of these dynamics, the Roadster suffers from excessive oversteer and that an imbalance to the car would be Takumi's best opening. This manifests itself after Omiya retakes the lead but oversteers the last corner and spins out, losing the race.

Racing Team Katagiri Street Version
This team is the next opponent for Project. D after Team 246. They are also known as "The Second Line". Their home ground is Nagao. The team was named after the real Professional racing team, Katagiri. The drivers who will represent to race against Project. D are professional racers:

Kai Kogashiwa
Nickname in English adaptations and Video Game: "Kai"

(小柏 カイ Kogashiwa Kai) A street racer from Tochigi prefecture, and a son to a legendary Downhill ace and Bunta's rival Ken Kogashiwa. Kai appeared on the 3rd Stage challenging Takumi on the Emperor's home course of Irohazaka (In Manga No.163, it is revealed that Kai is a go-kart racer). Kai had defeated Seiji Iwaki of Emperor and wanted to defeat Kyoichi Sudo as well but set his sights on Takumi after Sudo's defeat. Kai uses a trick taught to him by his father to overtake Takumi by jumping a turn in a break in the guard rail. However, he spins out on the final straightaway after his car looses traction from landing on leaves on the side of the road and was defeated. Kai reappears in the recent manga volumes as an opponent for Project. D in Kanagawa prefecture. Kai represent as a Downhill ace for a team called "Racing Team Katagiri Street Version" which was named after the real professional racing team, Katagiri. In the latest volumes (36 and 37) Kai has already became a professional racer and now drives a third generation Toyota MR2 (ZZW30, labeled as an MR-S in Japan) while his father still drives their blue SW20 (second generation MR2). On Hakone/Nagao Pass downhill, Kai races against Takumi but he spins out at last section in the first round, costing him the race.

Hideo Minagawa
(皆川 英雄 Minagawa Hideo) is a professional racer who represents "Racing Team Katagiri Street Version" as their uphill ace. On Hakone, he races against Keisuke and decides to go all out in an attempt to pressure Keisuke into making a mistake and capitalize, causing their tires to wear. He gives up after tapping Keisuke's bumper.

Spiral Zero
Based at Hakone Nanamagari, Spiral Zero is the 3rd line in the "4 lines of defense" strategy formulated by team Sidewinder. Their philosophy is tuning a car to bring out its full potential to fit the characteristics and skills of the driver through heavy modification, which is often misconceived as simply buying the most expensive parts. Unlike Racing Team Katagiri, the members of Spiral Zero have no professional racing background and have acquired their near professional level skills from racing in the streets. The ranks of Spiral Zero are unusual in the fact that Ikeda, while being team leader, is not considered the number 1 driver.

Ryuji Ikeda is the team leader of Spiral Zero and referred to as Zero. Ikeda's father is a wealthy head priest of a temple and as a result had ample funds to finance his car racing. Ikeda believes in a theory he created known as "Zero Theory" in which car and driver come together to become a single entity. To do so, a great deal of tuning has to be done to a car in order to match the characteristics of the driver to attain a higher level of racing. Ikeda is an older racer and is very calm and level headed even in the heat of a race. He prepares for races by zoning out. When asked by Junichi Sakamoto, the number 2 driver of Spiral Zero, what he thinks about when zoning out, Ikeda replies with "I don't think about anything. It's how I empty my mind and focus." Shortly before Spiral Zero's race with Project D, Ikeda is challenged to an unofficial race by Shinigami. Ikeda is pushed to his limits and bows out of the race in an attempt to prevent any damage to his car before the race with Project D. He races the uphill in wet conditions against Keisuke Takahashi. Ikeda drives a heavily modified red Nissan 350Z.

Hiroya Okuyama is the number 1 driver or Zero 1. Okuyama too believes in Ikeda's "Zero Theory" and is disappointed when he wont be able to use his car's full potential due to the rain. Okuyama, unlike Ikeda is very arrogant and confident in his abilities. He also refuses to greet Project D upon meeting them. Okuyama drives a Nissan Silvia S15 and is set to race the downhill against Takumi.

Junichi Sakamoto is the number 2 driver of Spiral Zero. It is not known what car he drives and is only briefly seen talking to Ikeda before his race with Keisuke.

Sidewinder
Sidewinder is the team that organized the "4 lines of defense". There are many rumors that they might be the "fourth line" or the last team in Kanagawa that Project. D will compete with. In the storyline this team is trying to analyze Project D's weaknesses. They collect information by watching Project. D during their practices and races.

Tsuyoshi Hojo: He is the Chief Driver of this team. He seems to have known Takahashi Ryosuke well as he mentioned many times in the recent manga volumes. However, he does not have any past connections or quarrels with Ryosuke. Instead Hojo reveals that his elder brother known as "Shinigami" is the one who had a past quarrel (or connection) with Ryosuke alluding to a girl named Kaori. Hojo helps the Chief Mechanic of Sidewinder named Eiji Kubo to evaluate Project. D's weaknesses. In volume 35, it appears that Hojo drives a heavily modified Honda NSX-S Zero NA1.

Eiji Kubo: He is the Chief Mechanic of Sidewinder. Kubo appears to have a high amount of knowledge about cars' performance and capabilities as well as race theories. He can make very precise anticipations as he did during Project. D races against Team 246. As seen in the manga, Kubo has been entrusted to analyze and evaluate Project. D's weaknesses.

Shinn: He make his debut during Project D vs Spiral Zero battles. Shinn is a member of Sidewinder and therefore second driver of this team. Shinn appears to be a boy (possibly younger than Takumi) but seems very intelligent, there's no information yet about what car that Shinn will drive.

Rin 'Shinigami' Hojo: He is Hojo's elder brother and a legendary driver of Kanagawa. Apparently in Volume 39, Hojo stated that Ryosuke has a past connection or quarrel with Rin. It also becomes apparent that the long standing feud between Ryosuke and Rin (according to Tsuyoshi) is because of a girl named Kaori, who was Rin's fiance at the time. There is a possibility that she took her life because an altercation between Ryosuke and Rin. Rin left the racing scene and became a recluse, locking himself in his home for years, before making a surprising return and racing (unofficially) against Spiral Zero's leader, Ikeda. Rin is an extremely skilled driver who utilizes a dangerous driving style. He races against Ryosuke in an attempt to make him pay for a past incident involving Kaori. Rin drives a dark grey Nissan Skyline GT-R.

Natsuki Mogi
Natsuki Mogi (茂木 なつき Mogi Natsuki) / Natalie Mogi - Takumi's love interest. She is known to have been with at least three males in the series: Miki (Takumi's classmate), "Papa", and Takumi. Before she hooked up with Takumi, she engaged in enjo kosai to make some extra money with a middle aged man driving a white Mercedes (named "Papa"). It is also revealed in First Stage that Miki, Takumi's classmate, has had sexual relations with her before. After meeting Takumi, she realizes what love is and ends her relationship with them. Mogi decides to free herself from her stained past by working hard to enter a university in Tokyo.

Saori
Saori (沙織) - appeared only in first stage and was Itsuki's first love interest. Later. she breaks up with him after being involved in a car accident caused by Shingo, thinking that it was Takumi's 86. The reason for the break up was that if she stayed with Itsuki, her memories of the accident would come back to haunt her, so it would be better to break it off completely.

Yuuichi Tachibana
Yuuichi Tachibana (立花祐一 Tachibana Yūichi) / Boss - The boss of the gas station that Takumi worked in. An old friend of Bunta's, and a racer in his youth. Yuuichi acts like a father figure to the Akina Speed Stars.

It seems that he drives a black 4 door Toyota Corolla that is seen during some of Takumi's races that he watched, specifically the races against Nakazato's R32 and Ryosuke's FC3S

Masashi Suzuki
Masashi Suzuki (鈴木 政志 Suzuki Masashi) - He is a mechanic with an incredible list of connections that enables Bunta to get even the most outrageous car parts from him, including the engine that he and Bunta installed on AE86: a TRD tuned Group A Silvertop 20V 4A-GE from an AE101 (after Takumi blows the engine in a run against Kyoichi). He also was entrusted by Bunta to find him a "suitable" car for him (after he handed the Hachiroku to Takumi), and as a result he finds him the GC8V (Coupe) Subaru Impreza WRX STi Version V.

Tsukamoto
Tsukamoto (Tsukamoto) - Is just a minor character that appears in the manga around the time of Takumi's race against Kyoichi of Emperor. Tsukamoto was a high school senior when Takumi and Natsuki were freshmen, but now he is mildly involved with the street racing scene in Akagi. Although he believes that his skills are extreme, but are really far from it. He soon experiences real extreme driving when Takumi drove it down Akagi when he was requested by Natsuki to pass a cocky couple in a Silvia S13 which lead to Tsukamoto fainting.

Miyahara
Miyahara appeared in Extra Stage, who encountered Mako during a vacation at a ski resort. He had minor interest in racing and planned to replace his car with a more practical family mover. He developed an affection to Mako and asked her to quit racing and settle down, but she invited him to sit with her in the Sil80, where she drove hard, implying that she still wanted to race.

Voice on the Phone to Bunta in Stage 1, Ep23
Voice on the Phone to Bunta in Stage 1, Ep23 - This is actually Keiichi Tsuchiya, who is considered the father of Drift and who is on the Technical advisory crew for the Anime series. In Ep2, First Stage, the Speedstar drivers are shown watching and chatting over his video, The Drift Bible, a beginner's guide to drift. Takumi buys Tsuchiya's AE86 Street Tuning video in Third Stage. Here in the series, Keiichi and Bunta appear to be old friends.

Kazumi Akiyama
Kazumi Akiyama (Akiyama Kazumi) Nickname in English adaptations: Karie

Wataru's young sister. She was Itsuki's second love interest after Saori 'left' him. An impatient girl that came to Gunma from Saitama to work in her aunt's inn then left due to being framed by a senior worker (in 2nd Stage). Appeared in 4th Stage in Saitama with Wataru against the race with Project D, then after started spending some time with Itsuki and she reveals  she broke up with a working adult man then after patched up with him again (after he begged for her forgiveness) leaving Itsuki's heart broken.

Ken Kogashiwa
Ken Kogashiwa (小柏 ケン Kogashiwa Ken) - Kai's father. Bunta's life-long rival when Bunta was still racing with the AE86 Trueno.

Miki
Miki (御木) - A senior in the football(soccer) club of the school that Takumi attended. He drives a Celica GT-Four (ST205). He was punched in the changing rooms by Takumi (1st Stage) for bragging about his sexual exploits with Natsuki, during the time when Takumi was ignorant of the truth. During winter, he kidnaps Natsuki and forces her to come to Lake Akina with him. His plans are foiled by Takumi who gets Natsuki's call for help and chases Miki with his Trueno until he spins out on the snow and Natsuki escapes his Celica. It is also worth noting that Miki's seiyuu is named Takumi while Takumi is played by Shinichiro Miki.

Two Guys From Tokyo
These racers are originally from Tokyo, the capital of Japan. During a visit to the Gunma area they chance upon Itsuki and Iketani while they are driving up to the top of Mt. Akina. They appear out of nowhere with their Nissan Silvia S15 and quickly blow by both cars. When Itsuki and friends reach the top and check out the newly installed turbo in his AE85, these two guys reappear in their S15. They begin making insults about Itsuki's car and gloat about the experience they've obtained by racing on circuit tracks. Iketani tells them to get lost. The two boys get in and wait for Iketani to descend the mountain to force him into a race to defend his honor as a racer. The S15 passes Iketani relatively quickly but is subsequently passed themselves by Takumi driving Itsuki's AE85. Being passed by such a "lowly" car persuades them to stop picking any more battles with the local racers. Otaku's special technique is "SUPER LATE BRAKING TECHNIQUE!!"

The Bosozoku Gang Leader
Based on Gunma Prefecture (as same as Project D), the Bosozoku Gang is also Keisuke Takahashi's old friend as since Keisuke was a gang leader. This gang appears in Tsuchisaka as a bunch of gangsters defeated by Project D and call them to beat up, but they turn on the losers.

Imposter Project D
Two guys that pose as Takumi and Keisuke. These imposters go around living off Project D's success. Posing as Takumi and Keisuke, they talk down to people that ask them questions, gloat about their "skills" and try to pick up women. Their antics are quickly put to an end when they are confronted by the real members of Project D and were humiliated.

(Trivia: The Fake Takumi got a late model AE86 GT-Apex, didn't have any Tofu Shop sticker, a carbon bonnet, didn't have the RS Watanabe rims, and he doesn't use AE101 Group A 11,000 RPM engine, and the Fake Keisuke's RX-7 had half of the same bodykit as Kyoko, also, they didn't have Gunma text on their license plates.)

Mika Uehara
Takumi's love interest during the latter part of the Project D story arc. When the imposter Takumi blows off her best friend Tomoko, she gets angry and decides to confront Takumi about it (not knowing it wasn't the real Takumi that did it). She drives out to Yuuichi's gas station and asks to see Takumi, when he arrives, she slaps him in the face, hard. Bewildered to why she did this, Mika tells her story to Takumi and his friends. They in turn ask Mika to send a photo of Takumi via cell phone to her friend to confirm if the real Takumi was the guy that blew her off. She comes to find out from her friend that the real Takumi had nothing to do with it. Later, Takumi drives out to Saitama (where she lives) to see her. She apologizes for her previous actions and they talk for several hours. After exposing the imposters, the imposter Takumi apologizes to Mika's friend. Mika thanks Takumi and they continue to see each other as the story progresses.

Mika is a senior in high school and is exceptionally talented at playing golf. Her father has raised her to play golf early in life the same way that Bunta raised Takumi to drive early in his life.

Mr. Uehara
Mika's father. He supervises Mika as she practices golfing at the golfing range.

이니셜 D의 등장인물 목록 Initial D szereplők és csapatok 頭文字Dの登場人物 頭文字D角色列表