The hand-drawn smoke billowing off the tires looks better here than it ever has in Initial D, and that matters because the racing is all you've got left after the runtime cuts. Takumi versus Ryousuke is the match this series has been building toward since the beginning, and the film finally lets the cars do what they were designed to do. If you've been waiting for Initial D to look like it deserves to, this is it.

The final part of a three-film theatrical remake of Initial D First Stage finds Takumi Fujiwara coming off a summer of racing some of the best drivers in Gunma. Ryousuke Takahashi, leader of the Akagi Red Suns, issues him a formal challenge. Though Takumi was reluctant to take up racing at first, he is thrilled to face the former White Comet of Akagi. Ryousuke downgrades his own car for the battle, staking his pride and career. As the race approaches, Takumi tries to balance his passion for driving with his personal life. The title of Gunma's fastest racer rides on the outcome, pitting Takumi's panda-colored Toyota AE86 against Ryousuke's Mazda RX-7 FC.