· DVD Reviews

Initial D is a live-action film based on the popular Japanese Initial D anime and manga. Overall, the Initial D movie stays true to the original story line and does a good job bringing the characters to life. The cars drifting and beautiful visuals during the race scenes are my favorite parts of the movie.

Like the anime and manga, the Initial D movie focuses on the life of tofu delivery boy Takumi Fujiwara (Jay Chou) and his AE86 Toyota Corolla. Under the guidance of his father and ex-racer Bunta (Anthony Wong), Takumi has delivered tofu to the top of Mount Akina for sometime and as a result, has developed serious drifting skills.

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Best Motoring International The EVO Strikes Back is a great dvd for Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution fans, but I was eager to get to the My Car Challenge and Touge Showdown sections of this dvd.

EVO Strikes Back DVD Chapters:

• The EVO Strikes Back
• EVO vs STi – 4WD Shootout at Tsukuba Circuit
• My Car Challenge
• Touge Showdown 3

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Best Motoring Hot Version International: JDM Racers is a cool drifting DVD that starts off by covering Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya’s final race and retirement ceremony held at the Tsukuba Circuit in Japan. Next is Round 2 of the Touge Showdown Challenge where pro drifters Keiichi Tsuchiya, Nobuteru Taniguchi, and Manabu Orido test drive and analyze which drift car is best suited to touge racing. Then the Honda S2000 and Nissan Z33 face off in the Ultimate FR Challenge. Finally, Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya and pro driver Juichi Wakisaka coach the 2003 D1 Grand Prix Champion Yoichi Imamura in his pursuit to grip racing excellence - “Don’t think too much about grip or drift. Just think of a way to go through the corner faster,” says Wakisaka.

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JDM Option is the coolest drifting and motorsport DVD series from Japan with high quality drifting video and excellent subtitles. JDM Option International: Volume 26 has three main features:

- Jidousha (car) Soccer World Cup
- 2006 Tsukuba Superlap Time Attack
- Video coverage of 2006 D1 Grand Prix Malaysia Series

The car soccer segment is the most entertaining part of this JDM Option DVD and there is not much drifting, but the Tsukuba Superlap time attack was cool.

Jidousha Soccer World Cup is simply insane. What else would you expect when you combine demolition derby, soccer, and a 50 pound soccer ball?

Two teams, Akutoku Tuners vs. Boso Drifters face off in a dangerous game of car soccer. Daijiro Inada acts as referee but really Inada spends most of the match running for his life from these drifters since he has the smallest car!

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Best Motoring: Drift Bible is an in-depth instructional drifting video that looks into six different drift techniques that Keiichi “Drift King” Tsuchiya uses while racing. Throughout the Drift Bible, Tsuchiya uses the Kei Office Nissan S14 Silvia on Ebisu Circuit’s East Course 2nd Hairpin (21R) corner to demonstrate the six basic drifting techniques: Side or E-brake drifting, Shift Lock drifting, Power Over drifting, Braking drift, Feint drift, and Lift-off drifting a form of Dynamic drifting.

Here is a brief overview of the six basic drifting techniques that Keiichi Tsuchiya demonstrates during the Drift Bible.

Side or E-brake Drifting – (Does not require weight transition) Use the car’s e-brake to lock the rear tires.

Drift Sequence:

1. Brake
2. Turn wheel
3. Step on clutch
4. Pull E-brake
5. Release E-brake
6. Countersteer
7. Then wait until car is facing corner exit, then gently give the car gas – how hard you step on the gas depends how much you are countersteering and sliding.

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