Did Initial D ever actually catch on?

[nissanguy_24]

oh god not just that, but when they took the racing scenes and like added mirror effects and crap, like they would a crummy music video. its like normal version.. "Fd driving down the road"

tricked out version! "Fd driving down the road with hip hop thudding in the background oh wait, suddenly the screen splits in two! yeah there mirror images of each other! oh *Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* there mixing together now! hell yeah! oh crap now theres 4 of them! yeah, oh two of the scenes are black and white! bam, oh the gamma is way up on the other two.. man now there fadding back together!"

now isnt that so much better then the 'japanese' version?

[GoukiS14]

hahah yeah god Bunta's american voice.... I would rather listen to chalk board being scratched

[prodigy]

I agree with you nissanguy, the manga is doing very well but the anime isn't. It is because TOKYOPOP tried to make it "cool" but they just made it lame when they changed the sound tracks, exhaust tones, names, and other crap for the American audience. I also think that the anime did do very well like two years ago when it was first released on the internet. Everyone that loved it downloaded it along time ago; when TOKYOPOP released it, the hardcore fans didn't buy it because of the changes they made to it.

[nissanguy_24]

the english dub sucks major donkey balls.

But when it comes to the books i think they are selling well. i always buy them when they first come out.

[GoukiS14]

hahaha yeah actually I think the books are doing ok.... but the anime is just kinda aight.... cuz of the prices that's why the price has dropped down to like $20 or something like that

[spock]

This past week I spent alot of my free time at Fry's and I noticed they weren't ever in short supply of Initial d mangas or DVDs compared with other popular animes, like InuYasha or .hack//sign. It seems to me that TokyoPop's actions were in vain, considering they had everything from the "tricked-out" DVDs and card and yet I've never seen or heard anyone talk about Initial D. But then again, I don't get out much. Even the Initial D Zip Zaps seem to be a flop compared the Starky and Hutch's Gran Torino. My theory: the cars in Initial D aren't "tight" enough for the general American public. Most Americans preffer show over go. They could care less about a car that looks like a 3rd generation Accord hatchback with a set of little black Watanabes. They would much rather see something like a Supra with flashy graphics and dubs. That, and most people in America aren't very interested in relatively low-powered touge machines compared to the beasts on the highways. It lacks the glamour of things like "The Fast and the Furious."

I'm obviously really bored and decided to write this up.