Carlos Morales
Seminal Racing Manga Initial D comes to various Amazon platforms in English for the first time
A 90’s dream comes true with the partnership of Amazon’s digital comic service ComiXology and Kodansha comics to bring into circulation the now standard in racing manga Initial D. All in English, Initial D first 38 volumes are available now with the final 10 volumes pulling into the garage later on this year. This will mark the very first-time Initial D is available entirely in the English language and is part of ComiXology Originals line of digital content which is right now ready and waiting for purchase on Kindle and ComiXology platforms, or for free to subscribers of ComiXology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited or Amazon Prime.
Written and Drawn by Shuichi Shigeno Initial D is the story of Takumi Fujiwara, who as a teenage tofu delivery driver for his dad has unknowingly become a genius street racer. With his friends beside him, Takumi joins the local street racing team Akina Speed Stars against the Red Suns and begins his life as a street racer of legendary skill.
First serialized in Japanese anthology title Weekly Young Magazine beginning on June 26, 1995, and ending on July 29, 2013, the story focuses on the illegal street racing scene in Japan and would popularize driving technique like “Gutter run” and “Drifting.” So popular is Initial D driving moves that The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was inspired by Initial D, to the point of hiring Initial D’s editorial consultant Keiichi Tsuchiya as stunt coordinator.)
The manga was later published in English by Tokyopop from 2002 to 2009 and only releasing 33 of the 48 volumes in the series. But it seems 38 volumes was more than enough to spawn a crowd-pleasing anime, a live-action movie, and several video games. So with no further adieu here are what readers can look forward to.
