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Initial D: Final Stage
Initial D Final Stage Episodes 01-04 (DVD) - Central Anime
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It actually does piss me off that Takumi's losing to Shinji, since that guy really isn't into this at all. I suppose he's put in "work" in the form of driving carefully to not wake his mum up, but it didn't feel satisfying for that to be all it took to beat Takumi who had been racing for time for at least a year now.
As Ryousuke says, things are finally shaking up now. Ironically it'll be Shinji's desire to be a hero (speed?) that will be his downfall. It was obvious right from the overtake that Shinji plans to pass Takumi at the corner where Mako's at right now. Only after that will Takumi regain his winning mindset and regain his "wings".
Given that we've got another 2 episodes to go though, I guess Takumi will go for a 2nd or even 3rd run? Othewise he'd have to overtake Shinji for real in a very short space of time. That may be a reasonable choice if he could pull it off though. Overtaking's a hell of a way to finish the race and his tires would disadvantage him in a drawn out race too.
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Initial D Final Stage Episodes 01-04 (DVD) - Central Anime
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So that puts an end to things. I have to say that the entire "Shinji shifts his weight perfectly" idea wasn't really something Takumi was incapable of. That's mainly how he drove back on Akina as well, particularly when he beat Keisuke for the first time. Winning by going all out on the engine but blowing it due to his headlight trick was a nice touch. It added in suspense very nicely. Quite a fun series all in all. I wouldn't mind a new movie series to sum it all up nicely.
Project Dream was forecasted but hidden well enough. During the beginning of the Stages I thought it might have been anything from Drift to Drive to Dream, but that was confirmed after Ryousuke said driving's a dream to him to the God of Hands fellow.
Takumi being enticed right at the end by the Toyota GT86 got quite a few chuckles out of me. It's the perfect answer to his new car, and a way to bridge this series from the Trueno days to now. (edit: even if it's an anime-only thing)
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I think the end to the race was successfully as dramatic as it was funny. If the engine had blown up a couple of dozens of meters earlier, Shinji probably would have won. Now Takumi secured the victory with a broken car. But of course it wasn't all luck since he really intended to do it all as near the goal as possible.
I was a bit annoyed during this race when Takumi wasn't really into it. He wasn't enjoying the race at all. Especially after Shinji let him pass. Only after Shinji again took the lead, Takumi, as expected, remembered what this is all about and got serious in a positive manner. I guess he was still a bit of a kid as well, not only Shinji, who naturally was nothing but a kid, albeit a skillful one with reckless guts. The toughest race in all of the show, no doubt, with all the colliding and stuff.
