List of Initial D characters
This is a list of characters from the anime and manga series Initial D.
Main characters
Takumi Fujiwara
Car: Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86)
Takumi Fujiwara is the main character of the Initial D series and the son of legendary street racer Bunta Fujiwara. Throughout the series, Takumi develops his racing skills to be one of the fastest drivers in Kanto while driving an old Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86. This is due to Takumi's job delivering tofu to Lake Akina every morning for 5 years (since 7th grade). Although Takumi believes this to be just a job, he had actually been manipulated subtly by his father into developing driving skills, without being fully aware of Bunta's intent.
Bunta Fujiwara
Car: Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86)/Subaru Impreza WRX STi Type R Ver.V (GC8)
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 which 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, which is shown early in the series when he pushes the Trueno with Yuichi 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 buys a Subaru Impreza WRX. Bunta makes Takumi to switch between the Impreza and his Eight-Six during the deliveries, inducing a 4WD complex on Takumi.
Ryosuke Takahashi
Car: Mazda Savanna RX-7 ∞III (FC3S)
Ryosuke Takahashi is one of the most skilled drivers in the series as RedSuns/Project D's leader and older brother to Keisuke. Ryosuke drives a Mazda Savanna RX-7 FC3S]] and was previously undefeated until he met Takumi Fujiwara.
Ryosuke is very serious about racing; he pours 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. He is also referred to as in reference to his early racing days.
Currently, he is enrolled in college studying medicine, and planning to become a doctor to work at his father's clinic. Before retiring from street racing, and with only one year of racing left, he assembles a new team (named Project D) aimed at capturing all of the records in Japan. During the majority of the Project D storyline, he is the leader and primary coach for Project D and doesn't personally race, leaving the driving to Takumi and Keisuke.
Ryosuke is modeled after the "Drift King" Keiichi Tsuchiya's mentor, retired race car driver Kunimitsu Takahashi.
Keisuke Takahashi
Car: Ẽfini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
Keisuke Takahashi is the number two driver for the RedSuns and the hillclimb ace for Project D. Keisuke drives an Ẽfini RX-7 FD3S, and is a skilled driver, second only to his brother. Keisuke is a rather hot-headed and does not like losing. He isn't analytical like his older brother, but his ability to think less while he is driving, and to do only what he feels amazes Ryosuke. Because of his initial encounters with Takumi, he is Takumi's main rival.
Before Ryosuke got Keisuke involved in street racing he was the leader of a Bōsōzoku gang, which helped the team escape a dangerous situation after a gang was called up to bash Project D.
Throughout the Project D battles, Keisuke refines his skills to an extraordinary level. This catches an eye of one of his opponents who offers to introduce Keisuke to his professional racing contacts. Keisuke turns this down, claiming he has still alot to learn on the mountains.
Secondary Characters
Itsuki Takeuchi
Car: Toyota Corolla Levin SR (AE85)
Itsuki is Takumi's best friend and a member of the Akina SpeedStars. Itsuki provides the comic relief in the series, as he is the most enthusiastic of the whole street racing scene. Wanting to be more like Takumi, he accidentally buys an AE85 ("Eight-Five") Corolla Levin mistaken it for an Eight-Six. This upsets him until Takumi takes him for a drive (ultimately racing it downhill), demonstrating that the driver's skill can make a difference. With a car, he is a self-proclaimed member of the Akina SpeedStars. He eventually purchases a turbocharger for his Eight-Five.
Koichiro Iketani
Car: Nissan Silvia K's (S13)
One of Takumi's friends, works at a local gas station with both Takumi and Itsuki and is the leader of the Akina SpeedStars. At first, Iketani thinks that the SpeedStars are the best drivers in Akina but later his boss Yuichi tells Iketani of the mysterious driver of an Eight-Six 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 Speed Stars.
Kenji
Car: Nissan 180SX Type X (RPS13)
A member of the Akina Speed Stars and Iketani's best friend, Kenji 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 Yuichi. 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 mysterious "Tofu Shop Eight-Six" was thought to be a no-show.
Hiroshi Fumihiro
Car: Eunos Roadster (NA6C) (manga), Toyota MR2 GT-S (SW20) (anime)
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. He had the same role during his time with the Akagi RedSuns and, presumably, has known Ryosuke for some time.
Kenta Nakamura
Car: Nissan Silvia Q's Aero (S14)
Kenta is 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 practising in the rain since the wet roads wouldn't wear his tires down as much, meaning he wouldn't have to spend money on new tires as often. He arrogantly challenge Takumi to a wet race and lost, mistakenly believing that the weather would cripple the AE86. It was quickly understood that Takumi was used to all road conditions due to delivering tofu every night, regardless of the weather.
In Fourth Stage, he drives the #2 van for Project D and mostly does the reconnaissance recording of courses before the team actually travels to the locations.
Shuichi Matsumoto
Car: Nissan 180SX Type S (RPS13)
Shuichi Matsumoto is the personal mechanic for Takumi Fujiwara's EIght-Six and possibly Chief Mechanic for Project D. In Volume 35, Matsumoto was asked by Ryosuke to tune his FC for his anticipated encounter with Rin Hojo.
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.
Other Racing Characters
These are the teams from their respective cities or regions.
NightKids
The is 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 the team's number two driver, Shingo. Based in Gunma, their home course is Myogi.
Takeshi Nakazato
Car: Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (BNR32)
Takashi Nakazato is the leader of the Myogi NightKids. He is an intelligent and skilled driver, notably recognizing Takumi's the gutter hook technique while observing the Eight-Six's first battle with Keisuke's FD. He is also very good at acceleration and is known for his grip driving philosophy. 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.
His previous car was a Nissan S13 Silvia, with which he used drifting techniques. His philosophy changed once buying the GT-R, favouring grip driving techniques over "weak" and "showy" drifting techniques. In the anime, the reason for the switch was a humiliating defeat against another GT-R.
Shingo Shoji
Car: Honda Civic SiR II (EG6)
Shingo Shoji is a member of the NightKids who drives a red Honda Civic SiR-II (EG-6). Shingo particulary dislikes FR cars, and he will intentionally nudge his rival's FR car in order to make the other driver lose control. He detests the Takeshi Nakazato because he believes that he is unfit to be leader of the NightKids, particularly after Nakazato's defeat against Takumi.
To further prove his skills, He challenges Takumi to a mutual handicap race he calls the Duct (Gum) 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 over-steer on the exit becomes quite difficult. In terms of racing ability, Shingo is the second best driver on the Night Kids team.
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.
Impact Blue
is a partnership between its two members, Mako and Sayuki. Their home course is Usui Pass.
Mako Sato
Car: Nissan Sileighty
Mako Sato is the driver of the Impact Blue team. Mako seemed interested in Iketani, but she originally got close to him in order to race Takumi's Eight-Six at 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
Sayuki is the cheerful, outgoing half of the Impact Blue and then of Slier Knights team, acting as co-driver for Mako and then her boyfriend Mitsuru. She is always looking for good her boyfriend. As navigator, she gives out instructions to Mitsuru on Usui when they're racing (when to brake, what drifting technique to use etc.).
Emperor
is a highly skilled, all-Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution team led by Kyoichi Sudo. Based in Tochigi, their home course is the one-way road of Irohazaka.
Kyoichi Sudo
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III GSR (CE9A)
Kyoichi Sudo is the leader of Team Emperor and one of the best drivers in the series. 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.
Oringinally from Gunma, Kyoichi is an old acquaintance of Ryosuke Takahashi. Kyoichi is much like Ryosuke: he is a calm and composed driver, compared to his teammate Seiji. However, his belief in the ultimate superiority of his race circuit techniques conflicts with Ryosuke's view that street racing has its own special requirements. 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 NightKids. He eventually races against Ryosuke, but is defeated because of his inability to fully attack blind corners on two way roads (due to the nature of his home course), supporting Ryosuke's view.
He is also often considered the first driver to have beaten Takumi, when Takumi blew out his engine at Akagi, but lost during a rematch at Irohazaka. 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.
Seiji Iwaki
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV GSR (C9A)
Seiji Iwaki is the number two driver in the Lancer Evolution-only Emperor team, therefore he 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.
After defeating various teams in Gunma, the Emperor team then set their sights on the Akina Speed Stars, aiming to beat Akina's infamous Eight-Six. Seiji volunteered to race for the Emperor team in his Evo IV against Takumi's Eight-Six, but he was humiliated when his overconfidence and impatience led to his downfall, causing Kyoichi, the team leader, having to race the Eight-Six 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 the sideblade of his spoiler upside-down, emulating the "kill" markers that fighter pilots paint on their planes.
Seven Star Leaf
are the first team to face Project D. Based in Tochigi, their home course is the Momiji line. Like the Akina SpeedStars, they are named after the same Japanese wheel manufacturer SpeedStar Racing.
Toru Suetsugu
Car: Eunos Roadster NA Special Package(NA6C)
Toru is the downhill racer for the Seven Star Leaf team and known for his reckless, kamikaze downhill style. Toru 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. In the lead-up to the race against Project D, Toru asks Nao for maney to spend on higher grade tires.
Atsuro Kawai
Car: Nissan Skyline GT-T 2.5 Turbo Coupe (ER34)
Atsuro Kawai is the hillclimb racer and the leader of the Seven Star Leaf. 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 400bhp. Atsuro races against Keisuke during Project D's first expedition in Tochigi.
It's worth noting that Atsuro's car is not a GT-R, rather a rear-wheel drive 25GT-T Skyline.
Todo School
The is a racing school run by a performance shop owner/ex-rally driver named Todo. They are very highly skilled, with many of their graduates going semi-pro/professional. Based in Yaita, Tochigi, their home course is the Enna Skyline but they also race on the nearby Happogahara.
Daiki Ninomiya
Car: Honda Civic Type R (EK9)
A current student of the Todo School, Daiki Ninomiya is one of the better drivers of the series. Driving a EK9 Civic Type R, Daiki races against Takumi of Project D in the second Tochigi battle. He excels in braking, being able to release the brake pedal in the perfect spot during a corner, every time.
Smiley Sakai
Car:Honda Integra Type R (DC2)
Another current student of the Todo School, 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: one is to use 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
Car: Todo School Spoon Demo Honda Civic Type R (EK9)
Tomoyuki Tachi is a graduate of the Todo School who is now a professional racer. After the School's defeats by Project D, they call in Tomoyuki rematch against Project D. Initially against it, Todo believes that Tomoyuki can use this race to escape a slump he's been having lately. Tachi agrees to use the school's top car, the Todo demonstration EK9, at Happogahara. Tachi tuned the Civic the best he could to be able to compete with the FD on the straights, but surprisingly, Ryosuke decided to send out the Eight-Six.
Tomoyuki's professional racing outfit is based on the racing outfit that Keiichi Tsuchiya wears during his racing days and his appearances in Best Motoring.
He attended the Todo School with Kyoichi Sudo.
Northern Saitama Alliance
A racing group made of teams located in the Northern Saitama Prefecture, formed by Nobuhiko Akiyama.
Wataru Akiyama
Car: Toyota Corolla Levin GT APEX (AE86)
Wataru Akiyama was one of the first racers from Saitama to actually race against Takumi with his turbocharged Levin; he appeared later in the Project D arc, this time replacing the turbocharger with a supercharger for more linear acceleration. Wataru is a skilled driver who honed his skills on the treacherous Shomaru Pass. Wataru is Nobuhiko's cousin, as seen when he watches Takumi race against the Northern Saitama Alliance in the hopes of finding a weak spot.
Nobuhiko Akiyama
Car: Toyota Altezza RS200 (SXE10)
The leader the Northwest Saitama Alliance, Nobuhiko is very intelligent and analytic. 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 is Wataru Akiyama's cousin.
Kyoko Iwase
Car: Ẽfini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
A skilled uphill driving ace in the Northwest Saitama Alliance, Kyoko 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 FD to Keisuke after he damaged the left front suspension of his own FD in an accident during a trial run on Tsuchisaka. Keisuke went on to win the race with her car, instead of the loaned FD Ryosuke planned for him to use.
Kyoko's FD is a single turbo (compared to Keisuke's twin-turbo FD). Because of this, it has less torque and more turbo lag despite the power output being almost the same.
Sakamoto
Car: Suzuki Cappuccino (EA11R)
Sakamoto is a rally driver who trains 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 Wataru Akiyama, recruited by Nobuhiko in a desperate measure to defeat Takumi Fujiwara of Project D in a downhill race using a Suzuki Cappuccino, a Kei Car which lighter than the Eight-Six. His specialty is driving Front engine, rear drive layout cars.
Unnamed Lan-Evo Team
This team, composed of two Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions, challenge Project D on Tsuchisaka, Saitama. They race for money, and they win by all means necessary (including cheating and calling a bunch of bozozoku gangsters to beat them up).
Kuro Waru
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V GSR (CP9A)
Kuro is the uphill racer for the final team that Project D races in the Saitama Prefecture. Unlike previous opponents, both Kuro and his brother Shiro are more than willing to use cheap, unfair tactics, such as spilling oil on the road, to defeat Project D. 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.
Shiro Waru
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(CP9A)
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.
Purple Shadow
is a two-man team consisting of Toshiya "God Arm" Joshima and Kozo "God Foot" Hoshino, both of whom are legendary around those parts. Based in Ibaraki, they drive on a course on Mount Tsukuba called Fruitline.
Toshiya Joshima
Car: Honda S2000(AP1)
Dr. Toshiya Joshima is one of the two leaders of Purple Shadow, known as due to his one-handed steering and his ability to control the car's yaw rate with very delicate steering/throttle inputs. He battles in a refined intellectual style, intentionally pulling his punches for his own private satisfaction.
Joshima's techniques also includes 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 Joshima, Takumi felt as if he were being chased by Bunta in the Impreza. Initially Joshima toyed with Takumi, hiding his true ability, trying to instill confusion and self-doubt, confident he could dominate the battle. After Joshima finally sprang his tactical trap, Takumi recovered and retook the lead forcing Joshima to put his left hand back on the steering wheel, something that hadn't ever happened to him. The astonished Joshima 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 Joshima'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.
However, Takumi did not feel that his victory was justified. Afterwards, Takumi requests a favor from Joshima, asking him to ride in his S2000 as he drives down the mountain again so that Takumi could watch God Arm's technique firsthand and hopefully improve upon his own techniques.
Kozo Hoshino
Car: Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II Nür (BNR34)
Kozo Hoshino is one of the two leaders of Purple Shadow, known by the name of "God Foot" due to his extraordinary acceleration control and his ability to drift a GT-R 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, which would cause him to crash.
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. During the second, Hoshino demonstrates his full ability by drifting his R34 to use what is left of his tires' grip. Although he lost, his time attack record still remains unbeaten.
His last name is a nod to Kazuyoshi Hoshino, a professional race driver known for driving Skylines and other Nissans in several major Japanese circuits, and also the founder of Impul.
Team 246
, also known as The 246ers, are the first line in Kanagawa's "Four Lines of Defence". Their home course is Yabitsu Pass.
Satoshi Omiya
Car: Mazda Roadster RS (NB8C)
Satoshi Omiya is Team 246's leader and downhill representative who drives a 2nd generation Mazda Roadster. 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. His car's spoiler collided with a sign post near the end of the course, rendering it imbalanced.
Kobayakawa
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII GSR (CT9A)
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.
Racing Team Katagiri Street Version
are the Second Line in Kanagawa's "Four Lines of Defence". Their home course is Nagao, in Hakone. The team was named after the real professional racing team, Katagiri.
Kai Kogashiwa
Car: Toyota MR2 G-Limited (SW20)/Toyota MR-S S-Edition (ZZW30)
Kai Kogashiwa is a street racer from Tochigi prefecture, and a son to a legendary Downhill ace and Bunta's rival, Ken Kogashiwa. Ken taught Kai in the racing world from a young age, participating in karting competitions which made him specialised in mid-engined cars. Before his transition to street racing, Kai was the fastest motorcyclist on Irohazaka. It can be seen that Kai's speciality on Irohazaka is similar to Takumi on Akina as he lives at Lake Chuzenji (which is at the top of Irohazaka) and takes the road during his daily commute to the bottom.
Kai had defeated Seiji Iwaki of Emperor and wanted to defeat Kyoichi 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 on 33rd corner. However, he spins out on the final straightaway after his car loses traction from landing on leaves on the side of the road and was defeated.
Kai reappears as an opponent for Project D in Kanagawa prefecture. Kai had entered professional racing since his last encounter and had already made a name for himself.
He used to drive his father's SW20 MR2, but now drives an MR-S.
Hideo Minagawa
Car: Toyota Supra RZ (JZA80)
Hideo Minagawa is a professional racer who represents Racing Team Katagiri 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.
Team Spiral
is the third line in Kanagawa's "Four Lines of Defence". 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. Their home course is Nanamagari.
Ryuji Ikeda
Car: Nissan Fairlady Z Version ST (Z33)
Ryuji Ikeda is the leader of Team Spiral 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.
Shortly before Team Spiral'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.
Hiroya Okuyama
Car: Nissan Silvia Spec R Aero (S15)
Hiroya Okuyama is the number 1 driver of Team Spiral, also known as "Zero 1". Okuyama too believes in Ikeda's "Zero Theory" and is disappointed when he won't be able to use his car's full potential due to the fog. Okuyama, unlike Ikeda is very arrogant and confident in his abilities. He also refuses to greet Project D upon meeting them.
Sidewinder
is a highly skilled team that organized the "Four Lines of Defence". Their home course is the Tsubaki Line, but the nearby Toyo Turnpike maybe part of their home territory. They watch Project D's races and try to analyze Project D's weaknesses.
Go Hojo
Car:Honda NSX (NA1)
Go Hojo is the leader of Sidewinder. He's quite familiar with Ryosuke Takahashi through his brother, as well as the the feud between them. Hojo helps Chief Mechanic Eiji Kubo to evaluate Project D's weaknesses.
Shinji Inui
Car: Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX 2 Door (AE86)
Shinji Inui is the downhill driver for Sidewinder. Shinji has many parallels to Takumi, in that he has next to no interest in racing and that he had been driving years before he had his licence. Shinji's car is the notchback coupe variant of the AE86 Trueno (not to be confused with Takumi's Eight-Six), which belonged to his deceased father. His father was also the one who taught Shinji to drive the mountain pass without any brakes.
Rin Hojo
Car: Nissan Skyline GT-R NISMO (BNR32)
Rin Hojo, also known as "Shinigami", is Go Hojo's elder brother and a legendary driver of Kanagawa. Rin has had a long-standing feud with Ryosuke because of a girl named Kaori, who was Rin's arranged fiance at the time. Kaori would commit [...] after Rin verbally abuses her, claiming that she'll regret rejecting him when she and her family will be ruined. After this event, 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 Team Spiral's leader, Ikeda. Rin is an extremely skilled driver who utilizes a dangerous driving style.
Other characters
Natsuki Mogi
Natsuki is Takumi's initial love interest, and one of the few characters who does not get scared when riding in a car being driven by 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 (nicknamed "Papa"). After getting to know Takumi, she falls in love with him and ends her relationship with "Papa", not before Takumi finds out of the affair. Mogi decides to free herself from her stained past by working hard to enter a university in Tokyo.
Saori
Saori is a character who appeared only in the First Stage anime as Itsuki's first love interest. Later, she breaks up with him after being involved in a car accident caused by Shingo, who mistook Itsuki's Eight-Five for Takumi's Eight-Six. The reason for the breakup 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.
Yuichi Tachibana
Yuichi Tachibana is the boss of the gas station that Takumi worked in. An old friend of Bunta's and a racer in his youth, Yuichi acts like a father figure to the Akina Speed Stars.
Masashi Suzuki
Masashi is a mechanic with an incredible list of connections that enables Bunta to get even the most outrageous car parts from him, including the racing engine that he and Bunta installed in the Eight-Six. After handing down the Trueno to Takumi, Masashi was entrusted by Bunta to find him a "suitable" car for him, which results in the Impreza WRX.
Kazumi Akiyama
Kazumi is Wataru Akiyama's younger sister and Itsuki's love interest. She is an impatient girl that came to Gunma from Saitama to work in her aunt's inn, but left due to being framed by a senior worker. Kazumi reappeared 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 she patched up with him again (after he begged for her forgiveness), leaving Itsuki heartbroken.
Ken Kogashiwa
Car: Toyota MR2 G-Limited (SW20)
Ken Kogashiwa is Kai's father and Bunta's lifelong rival when Bunta was still racing. Ken was defeated multiple times by Bunta, and it still seems to be a sore spot for him. He tries to use Kai as a proxy to get back at the defeats given to him by Bunta.
Miki
Car: Celica GT-Four (ST205)
Miki was a senior student at the school where Takumi attended. In 11th Grade, Takumi punched Miki in the changing rooms after soccer practice for bragging about his [...] exploits with Natsuki, during the time when Takumi was ignorant of the truth. . He returns during the following winter and kidnaps Natsuki after he finds out of her relationship with Takumi. His plans are foiled by Takumi who gets Natsuki's call for help and chases down Miki, allowing Natsuki escapes his Celica.
Two Guys From Tokyo
Car: Nissan Silvia Spec R (S15)
A pair of unnamed racers originally from Tokyo. 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 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.
Imposter Project D
Car: Toyota Sprinter Trueno GTV (AE86) and Mazda RX-7 Bathrust R (FD3S)
The Imposter Project D are two guys that go around Saitama 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.
Mika Uehara
Mika Uehara is Takumi's love interest during the latter part of the Project D story arc. When the Fake 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)and slaps him hard in the face. With the help of Iketani, she comes to find out from her friend that the real Takumi had nothing to do with it. She apologizes for her previous actions. After exposing the imposters, the Fake 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.
Eiji Kubo
Eiji Kubo is the Chief Mechanic of Sidewinder. Kubo appears to have a high amount of knowledge about a car's 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.
Kaori
Kaori is who was Rin Hojo's arranged fiance at the time. Kaori would commit [...] after Rin verbally abuses her, claiming that she'll regret rejecting him when she and her family will be ruined.
References
ko:이니셜 D의 등장인물 목록 hu:Initial D szereplők és csapatok ja:頭文字Dの登場人物 zh:頭文字D角色列表