Episode 3 of 'Initial D' picks up with the aftermath of the Takumi vs. Kei battle.
Takahashi also makes a bold declaration—he'll return to challenge Takumi again.
With that, the Red Suns racing team leaves Akina Mountain, visibly frustrated.
The story then shifts focus—
to Takumi's father, Takumi's background, and a conversation with the gas station owner.
Specifically, they discuss why Takumi is so good at driving, and just how good he really is.
In this scene, viewers are shown one of the most iconic moments—
Takumi's father is training him to drive downhill without spilling a cup of water in the car.
"Wait, for real? Is that even possible?"
"No idea! Seems totally exaggerated!"
"Yeah, this feels kinda unrealistic. No matter how skilled, this seems like a stretch."
"Agreed, but whatever. It's a drama, after all. Some suspension of disbelief is fine if the story's good."
Then—right as everyone's brushing it off as fiction—
The show delivers a full scene:
Takumi drifts through corners with a water cup inside the car, and not a single drop spills.
It's shot in one continuous take, with multiple camera angles.
Even viewers with zero film knowledge can tell—
This isn't editing. It's real.
For about 30 seconds, the fan chat group goes completely silent.
That's real?
That's actually possible?!
Li Yin stared at her screen, completely stunned.
"I swear… Jing Yu-sensei is a monster."
Her message finally broke the silence in the fan group.
"That was so badass!"
"Dude, seriously? Do you need this level of skill just to act in a racing show?"
"More like—do you need this level of skill just to write a racing show now?"
"He's a freak of nature. 'Initial D' isn't even a drama—it's a documentary."
"I feel worthless after watching this. My driving skills are trash compared to Jing Yu-sensei!"
Even though this episode didn't have a major race,
That one scene alone was enough to fire up the audience.
Once Takumi's character background was fully laid out,
The top driver of the Night Kids racing team—Nakazato—finally made his entrance.
Nakazato, a seasoned racer driving a GTR-32,
had once suffered a crushing defeat while driving a normal car against high-performance vehicles like the GTR.
Since then, he realized—no matter how good your driving is, there's a limit.
And some limits can't be crossed unless your car is good enough.
If you can't beat them… join them.
That's how Nakazato, now nicknamed the "King of BodyKits"(TN: I don't know how true this is.), earned his title.
When he spent all his savings to buy a GTR-32, fans watching at home burst out laughing.
"Bro, this move is OP!"
"I thought he'd go Rocky mode and train like crazy to beat the GTR in a regular car… but nope! Dude switched sides!"
"Y'all laugh, but think about it. If car performance isn't enough, you switch cars. But when it comes to people, you can't switch genetics, can you?"
"Geez, stop getting all philosophical. It's just a show!"
"Exactly, stop overanalyzing. Just enjoy it."
"Still… I kinda like Nakazato now. He's weirdly adorable."
The episode continued—
Takumi and Natsuki went on a beach outing,
while Nakazato officially issued his challenge to Takumi on behalf of the Night Kids.
But Takumi had zero interest in street racing and turned down the challenge immediately.
This frustrated Kei, who confronted him:
"Nakazato from the Night Kids called you out by name. What's the problem? Just accept the challenge!"
"You're a racer. When someone challenges you, don't run. Face it!"
Episode 3 of 'Initial D' had no racing scenes at all.
Yet the entire runtime was used to build tension—
setting up the inevitable battle between Takumi's AE86 and Nakazato's GTR.
By Saturday night, crowds had gathered on Akina Mountain—
racing enthusiasts and curious locals from all over.
Everyone was waiting to see the driver of Akina's legendary AE86—
The one who had defeated Kei.
And that same sense of anticipation bled from the screen to the viewers at home.
Li Yin felt her excitement rise with the background music.
But on-screen, Takumi was still hesitant about accepting the challenge.
He had no love for racing.
He was torn by Kei's words and frustrated that his dad had taken the AE86 out for the night,
meaning he couldn't race even if he wanted to.
"Damn it, old man! Give me back the 86!"
Initial D's ending theme began to play.
A giant question mark appeared over Li Yin's head.
That's it?
It's over?!
Fan Group Chat:
"What the hell?! That's the end? That hour flew by!"
"Felt like I watched 10 minutes, tops! Jing Yu-sensei, did you cut it short?!"
"Another cliffhanger. This is painful."
"Down with cliffhanger king Jing Yu! I can't take this anymore—someone protest at Yunteng TV!"
"Screw it, he always ends on cliffhangers. I've had enough. I'm sending Jing Yu-sensei a knife in the mail. Don't stop me."
"No one's stopping you. In fact, send one for me too—I'll pay for it."
"Count me in!"
"Add me to the list."
Li Yin let out a long sigh.
Another week of waiting. Torture.
She might be a girl, but she seriously loved this show.
And what made it even more exciting?
The guy pulling off all those slick racing moves was the even cooler Jing Yu.
"Whatever… early to bed tonight. Just hold on. Next week's almost here."
But just as she was thinking that, the ending theme faded out—
And suddenly—
Jing Yu's handsome face appeared on screen.
"Hello, everyone!" Jing Yu smiled directly into the camera.
"Initial D has aired up to Episode 3 now. I'm sure many of you already understand what kind of story this is."
Li Yin blinked in surprise.
A post-credits segment?
Her energy shot back up instantly.
A minute in, she finally realized what this segment was about.
A driving tutorial?!
"So today, I'll be showing everyone how to do a basic drift!"
After some rambling, Jing Yu finally got to the point.
Then he pulled a very reluctant Cheng Lie out from behind the camera.
"Everyone, take a look. This big musclehead is our producer—Cheng Lie!"
Fan Group Chat:
"Wait… Jing Yu-sensei is gonna teach us how to drift?!"
"Okay, I take it back. The cliffhanger's forgiven. I'm IN for this."
"I always wondered if those driving stunts in Initial D were real or just edited. Guess we're about to find out."
"Drifting… is it that hard?"
"Just a little trick, right? Can't be that bad."
"Hard for some, easy for others."
"Watching a show and learning drifting? That's a win-win."
"Once I learn, I'm gonna challenge the ghost-fire kids near my house tomorrow!"
The tutorial video had clearly been shot during the day—
unlike the dark, moody tones of the actual show,
This made every detail easy to see.
With the cameras set up, Jing Yu climbed into his AE86.
In the passenger seat, Cheng Lie was practically folded in half thanks to his massive build.
"A bit nervous," he muttered.
Jing Yu smiled and addressed the camera.
"Why are you nervous? I'm the one in the passenger seat!"
Despite being filmed, Cheng didn't seem flustered.
"No need to be nervous. Everything's under control," Jing Yu grinned calmly.
Li Yin's heart skipped a beat.
So handsome.
Compared to the silent, cool-headed Takumi from the show,
This easygoing, real-life Jing Yu was way more her style.
"Alright. This road should look familiar—Akina Mountain's downhill section, as seen in the show."
As Jing Yu spoke, he secured a cup of water inside the car—just like the earlier training scene.
The video was divided into five camera angles:
Full interior view
Jing Yu's hands
Jing Yu's feet
The secured water cup
Cheng lies in the passenger seat