Initial D

[demisaturn2000]

i was just curious first how its known that there is no legit sorce of inital d with japanese audio and english subtitles. second wouldnt whoever is distributing it have to pay royalties otherwise they would be open to huge lawsuits and it wouldnt be hard to track them because the product has to be comming and the money has to be going somewere.

[SlideRiceFC]

It's just a fact that there are no countries that currently license ID other than Japan and the US. There are countries that do not have copyright laws in place to protect artists and such. For this reason pirates are free to do as they please. There are countries that do have copyright laws but piracy is so rampant that nobody in their right mind would pay to license something because it would be a losing venture and impossible to fight off all of the pirates. In the US a couple of groups did fansub ID a couple of years ago so you were able to purchase vhs tapes that were not pirated. But fansub code is that you must cease production the instant a company legally releases the title in that particular country. So when Tokyopop got their hands on it the fansubbers had to drop it. There are tons of comic book stores, online shops, car shops, etc in the US selling the Hong Kong/Taiwan pirated copies. How do they get away with it? Simple...there's nobody to track them all down and prosecute them except for Tokyopop. Online auction sites like Ebay and Yahoo Auctions no longer police their auctions for bootlegs. So sellers can do as they please. It is up to the buyer to be aware and make the choice whether they want to pay the pirates or not.

I do not know the nature of Tokyopop's deal with Kodansha. They may have paid a flat amount or they may have paid some sort of advance in addition to royalties.

There used to be a good writeup on an anime site that detailed many of the major pirates and explained how they hurt the industry. Pirates have professional quality packaging, corporate logos, etc. Many, many people are fooled into thinking they are buying a DVD that was simply legitimately released in another country when it fact it wasn't. If I can dig it up I'll post the url.

Originally posted by demisaturn2000
i was just curious first how its known that there is no legit sorce of inital d with japanese audio and english subtitles. second wouldnt whoever is distributing it have to pay royalties otherwise they would be open to huge lawsuits and it wouldnt be hard to track them because the product has to be comming and the money has to be going somewere.

[Feint]

HK didn't sign a certain convention,so they can legally copy and sell it as an Initial D product,or any other prodcut without being legit.That's why when your in chinatown,or any predominatly cantonese area there are a shitload of pirates,selling everything from games to Option DVD's.I know they sell option DVD's here around $6 USD,and everything else inbetween.

[Ghost of Duluth]

Actually Geisha used to be prostitutes but they changed to entertainers. Saw a documentary on Discovery. Think they were prostitutes to the Samurai or something like that. Can't remember.

I don't know bout you but if all it took was some latest fashions to have a schoolgirl slut, Tommy Hilfiger have my money in a second. But that's just me. Not 13 years old though, that's overboard.

[SlideRiceFC]

I think you might have it backwards. I've read a couple of books and seen some shows as well. The prostitutes would dress up like geisha (except their obi was tied in the front). Some geisha did sleep with men but it was not the norm. After all a girl will do what she wants to do. Generally speaking you could not purchase a night with a geisha. You could draw up a contract with the mama-san of the okiya to become a sort of mock-husband that did give you some rights as far as sleeping with her but this was very costly and not the sort of thing a commoner or even a samurai could afford. Geishas are a sort of national treasure for Japan. They don't really like it when people mix them up with common prostitutes.

Originally posted by Ghost of Duluth
Actually Geisha used to be prostitutes but they changed to entertainers. Saw a documentary on Discovery. Think they were prostitutes to the Samurai or something like that. Can't remember.

[demisaturn2000]

thanx for the exlanation i was just wondering. i got them partially because i wanted them on DVD and i dont have a burner. pluse i didnt know any different. it was before tokyopop released there version and i dont think you should insult it to much because it was the only way you could buy it on DVD.

[Ghost of Duluth]

Ahhh Slidericesan. I was wrong. Maybe that's how I remember it too. Either way i'll take 2 and one for my friend with the funny haircut. Money is no object unless it's more than 2 happy meals and an extra coke. Think mama-san would take that for them.......Nah me either.

I'll get to Japan one day and when I do, I am going to have an apartment the size of my bathroom and drive, drive,drive and meet Japanese women till my eyes pop right out of their sockets. If it takes a contract to the Mamasan or 2 pairs of Polo jeans, i'm on it.

[ExceL]

initial d is my fav anime, i love stage 1... but stage 2 looks pretty bad -_-

[prodigy]

I have a few corrections, I don't remember who all said them but oh well. The kid that Takumi decked in the locker room was the Benz guy's son and he let him mess with Mogi. The guy said that in the final battle in the ID movie or Stage 3 when he captured Mogi and wouldn't let her out of his GT-4. Also someone said that Stage 4 was going to be a live action movie and it isn't going to be. Yes, Tsui Hark did start directing a live action ID movie in October, but it isn't Stage 4. Stage 4 is going to be an anime like the other stages and starts airing in Japan in February of this year so downloaders look for it shortly after that on a torrent site near you. If you live in the states there is really no way to support the original creators of Initial D first hand. You can buy second hand merchandise but it is second hand and the middle man is making the money not the creators. Now, I don't know if you were messing around when that kid beat you at the Arcade Stage, but I can take my gf with one hand no headlights with a stock car against a full on decked out car. So, that kid might of had more skill then you if you were actually driving seriously. After all it is still just a game and that kid can't drive legally anyways. All though ID did open the world of drifting to me it isn't a drifting text book. In drifting you need seat time to be come good.

[demisaturn2000]

as far as the guy loosing to the kid in the arcade game they probably didnt turn boost off which would let the kid catch up no matter how much he hit the walls.

[prodigy]

Hmm. I don't think that really matters because if the kid sucked he would of lost.

[aphxero]

I bought the HK DVD stage 1,2,3, & extra stage like 2 years ago. Since it wasn't out here I don't feel bad. The only down side is the compression leaves some artifacts, the sound is in stereo only and has a slight reverb. I think it's compressed that way so they can fit 6 episodes on each disc.

Still it was a good buy for $40.00. I don't even wanna see the tokyopop version I've heard too much about it.

[DoriAltis]

Hey folks

Does anyone have any recent news about the live action Initial D movie mentioned in recent posts? I've been reading about production starting in October for a while, but the whole thing still feels like rumors, they don't even have a finalized cast it seems. It's rarely mentioned on HK entertainment sites. I'd still really like to see what a live action ID movie would be like and I hope they start filming if they haven't already. Someone fill me in if they can

[driftxtreem]

Originally posted by DoriAltis
Hey folks

Does anyone have any recent news about the live action Initial D movie mentioned in recent posts? I've been reading about production starting in October for a while, but the whole thing still feels like rumors, they don't even have a finalized cast it seems. It's rarely mentioned on HK entertainment sites. I'd still really like to see what a live action ID movie would be like and I hope they start filming if they haven't already. Someone fill me in if they can

F&F III downtown Tokyo

[nightracer]

Why downtown? Wtf they gona hold a zero-yon through Shibuya? lol! Why not hit the wangan? Let me guess they get a mission from the state dept. & FBI to investigate the Yakuza who is mysteriously using the street racing scene to move drugs or illegal products. I pretty much guessed right last time. lol! Am I right?