Although the original 'Initial D' was a relatively realistic manga,
That doesn't mean the driving techniques shown in the drama are easy to pull off in real life.
In manga, if you want a cool scene, you just need to overwork yourself and maybe kill some brain cells.
But for a drama to look cool?
It means taking real risks.
Why do you think in Jing Yu's past life, there was only one Jackie Chan?
Regardless of the rumors surrounding him, his dedication and willingness to risk his life for acting—
It was nearly flawless.
Especially scenes like this one, where a car loses control and the one behind has to dodge it—
Even in the live-action movie version of 'Initial D' from his past life, which had a budget of over 100 million, they didn't dare to film this for real.
It was all done with VFX.
Because—it's dangerous.
And this kind of scene? You only get one shot.
If you fail, and the cars actually crash, someone's definitely getting hurt.
But since Jing Yu is the screenwriter—and holds major authority on the set—
When he decided to personally film this scene, no one could stop him.
In his past life, any lead actor attempting such risky stunts would've been immediately benched by the investors.
But of course, Jing Yu wasn't just blindly confident.
After all, the skill book he received had told him that even more dangerous stunts were within his reach.
The bigger danger was actually the stunt drivers—
If they couldn't keep up, they might get hurt.
Jing Yu himself? He was fine.
He'd already planned how to shoot the scene, when the GTR should hit the guardrail, how to respond in the FD—
Everything was mapped out.
Still, a lot of it came down to instinct and reaction.
And in the end—
It was worth it.
That Z-shaped drift in the FD to dodge the GTR?
It stunned the entire audience.
More importantly—
The strength of 'Initial D''s most captivating rival, Ryosuke, was fully established!
Why was Takahashi Ryosuke so popular in the original manga?
Was it just because he looked cool?
"My god, this scene almost made me cry!"
"Now this is what a drama should be! Out of the 100 million production cost, giving 50 million to the stunt drivers wouldn't even be too much!"
"Fun fact: my uncle works on the 'Initial D' set. He told me—the FD drift? Jing Yu did that himself! If we're handing out bonuses, give him another one! This guy—he earns like a superstar, but I don't even resent it!"
"For real?"
"Of course! They hired four top mountain racers from Great Zhou—and you know what? If Jing Yu hadn't turned them down, they'd have begged to become his disciples!"
"..."
"This mountain racing stuff is too epic. I can't even speak from excitement."
"Their cornering vs. my cornering—it's just two different worlds."
"Damn it… I'm crushing on Ryosuke. Maybe Jing Yu really did perform the stunt, but in the show, it's Ryosuke doing it."
"Poor Nakazato! His beloved GTR hit the guardrail twice!"
----
"It wasn't the car that lost to the AE86—it was me, Nakazato, who lost to Takumi…"
Nakazato got out of the car, staring at his damaged GTR with a forlorn expression.
Then, he said the now iconic line:
"Heartbreaking... the bodywork. Wonder how much it'll cost to fix this time."
From this moment on, the undefeated legend known as Nakazato retired.
And in his place?
The new title, "Unlucky Bodywork King" and "'Initial D''s Most Iconic Commentator," Nakazato, made his debut.
Of course—
Jing Yu made some slight changes to the end of Episode 4.
For example, Itsuki, after seeing just how strong Nakazato's GTR was—and how Takumi had to go all out just to beat him—
Immediately ran home to pressure his dad, the gas station owner, into buying him a GTR.
With Itsuki shouting "I want a GTR!!" in a hilarious ending,
Episode 4 of 'Initial D' concluded.
As the ending theme rolled, a quiet sense of satisfaction rose in the hearts of all the viewers.
"No cliffhanger this time!"
"For real!"
"Jing Yu-sensei, you're the best! No emotional torture this week!"
"But now I'm even more hyped for next week—I freaking love this show!"
"Best of the winter season—no, this year! Heck, best drama of the last few years!"
"At least from the first four episodes, yes. I may be biased since I'm a Jing Yu fan, but honestly, the only show that's ever shocked me as much in recent years is 'Steins; Gate'. That one had a rough start, though. Overall best production might still be 'Hikaru no Go', but if we're just talking opening four episodes? 'Initial D' is unmatched."
"Too bad this is airing on Yunteng TV. If it were one of the big three, it might've actually broken a 10% average rating."
"Who cares. A drama's quality isn't solely based on viewership. In my eyes, Jing Yu's works are way better than those flashy, empty high-rating shows on the big six."
"Totally agree."
Just as fans in the group chat were still discussing 'Initial D',
The ending song faded out—
And suddenly, on screen:
"Dun dun dun~! Hello everyone! Welcome to 'Initial D''s Racing Tutorial Mini-Class!"
Jing Yu's handsome face appeared on-screen, smiling brightly.
"So, for lesson two… what should we cover today?"
He spoke while opening the car door and getting into the driver's seat of the AE86.
In the front passenger seat was Cheng Lie.
In the backseat sat Zhong Xiang.
Cheng Lie, being a grown man, deeply regretted screaming like a terrified child last week—
especially since it was broadcast nationwide.
To avoid becoming the eternal joke of the 'Initial D' fanbase, he made a bold decision:
Make an even bigger fool of himself.
"Hello everyone, I'm the producer, Cheng Lie." He shot a glance at Zhong Xiang.
"Hello everyone, I'm Jing Yu-sensei's life and work assistant, Zhong Xiang," she said with a smile to the camera.
Zhong Xiang was a rare beauty in her own right.
Though perhaps not on par with A-list stars, she wasn't far behind.
Dressed casually, she was still quite telegenic.
Viewers at home were immediately drawn in—
Especially by Cheng Lie's return to the car.
In fan groups, the laughter erupted.
"Yo! Isn't this the producer who broke the Mt. Akina Scream Record last week?"
"Didn't someone say last week, 'If I get in Jing Yu's car again, I'm not human'?"
"Already eating his own words?"
"Honestly, I only started watching 'Initial D' this week because of that viral scream clip. Never cared about racing dramas before."
Truth is, how many viewers really cared about racing technique?
Even Jing Yu eventually realized—
What pulled people in wasn't cars; it was Cheng Lie's comedy gold.
This time's tutorial video started seriously enough.
Jing Yu drove down Mt. Akina again before speaking:
"After watching today's 'Initial D', many of you are probably wondering how Ryosuke pulled off that drift to dodge Nakazato's out-of-control GTR."
He glanced at Cheng Lie.
By now, Cheng Lie's hands were gripping the overhead handle tightly.
In the back, Zhong Xiang was tense but oddly calm—
She had this mysterious confidence in Jing Yu, believing he would never crash, so her stress wasn't overwhelming.
"Jing Yu… maybe slow down a bit?" Cheng Lie's voice trembled.
Still, he tried to act tough.
After all, this was his third ride in Jing Yu's car—
By now, he was a little used to it.
"I understand," Jing Yu said with a smile.
"Alright, we're coming up on the Five Hairpin Turns. I'll now show you how Takahashi pulled it off in the drama. Everyone, eyes wide open."
The AE86 accelerated again.
The engine roared—the car was at full load.
Even Zhong Xiang in the back started to panic.
"Jing Yu-sensei, slow down!"
"Yeah, Jing Yu! There's a lady on board—take it easy!" Cheng Lie's face turned pale.
"Producer Cheng, are you nervous?" Jing Yu asked suddenly.
"Ahem... Not at all," Cheng Lie replied, eyes shut tight.
If he couldn't see the road, maybe he wouldn't be scared.
If Jing Yu did crash, it wouldn't matter if his eyes were open or closed.
"Want a cigarette? You can light one if you'd like."
"Really?" Cheng Lie, eyes still closed, started reaching for his pocket.
"Come on, Producer Cheng, are you too scared to open your eyes just to find a cigarette?"
"Who's scared? It's just... the sun's too bright today, alright?"
"Here, let me help."
Next second—
Jing Yu placed a cigarette at Cheng Lie's lips.
"Thanks, Jing Yu-sensei." Cheng Lie responded politely with eyes still closed—
But something felt wrong.
Then—
Zhong Xiang's terrified voice rang out from the back:
"Jing Yu-sensei, what are you doing?!"
"Doing what?"
"Lighting his cigarette! You can't just hand over a smoke without lighting it!"
That sentence—
Snapped Cheng Lie's eyes open.
Finally, he realized—
If Jing Yu was lighting his cigarette...
Who's driving the car?!
Panic surged in his chest.
As his vision returned, all he saw was—
Jing Yu leaned over slightly, holding a lighter to his lips.
And beyond the windshield—
The scenery racing past.
They were approaching—
The Five Hairpin Turns.
The speedometer?
119 km/h.
The intense force of the drift hit.
Cheng Lie and Zhong Xiang's adrenaline spiked.
The guardrail grew closer—
But at the last second, the AE86 drifted along the rail without touching it.
The cigarette lit, Jing Yu pulled back, setting the lighter down.
Though his hands hadn't been on the wheel,
his feet manipulated the pedals—maintaining full drift control.
"Alright," he finally gripped the wheel again,
"Now I'll show you how Takahashi did that move in the show."
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
Cheng Lie and Zhong Xiang screamed louder than ever before—
even more intense than last week.
Back at home—
'Initial D' fans watching were completely stunned.
What kind of operation was this?!
How can Jing Yu-sensei drift into a hairpin at over 100 km/h while lighting someone's cigarette?!
He took his hands off the wheel—wasn't he afraid of crashing?
And how was he so calm??
And that drift—how was it so buttery smooth??
Insane.
"Bleh—"
"Urgh—"
At the end of the five hairpins, both Cheng Lie and Zhong Xiang were on the roadside, vomiting.
"You maniac! Do you have a death wish?!" Cheng Lie shouted between retches.
"Jing Yu-sensei, you…" Zhong Xiang was in total shock.
At first, she thought this would just be fun.
Watching Jing Yu drive was cool.
But only after sitting in his car did she understand true terror.
Jing Yu actually felt a bit guilty.
Even though he knew this was easy for him, and basically copied a scene originally meant for Takumi's dad,
on the set, the actor playing Takumi's dad clearly couldn't perform such techniques—
So Jing Yu just used it as a tutorial clip.
After all, it was entertaining.
His original plan was just to film it with Cheng Lie.
But Cheng Lie insisted on dragging Zhong Xiang into the backseat…
"I'm sorry, Assistant Zhong. Really sorry. Next time I do something like this, I'll give you a heads-up," Jing Yu apologized.
"Alright. So today's demonstration is actually a bad example of how to drift."
"My actions were extremely dangerous. Even if nothing went wrong, you should never try this. Always use your hands to control the wheel. Don't be like me and try to steer just with the pedals. Even if you pull it off, your friends might never trust you again."
Jing Yu said awkwardly to the camera.
"Everyone, please keep supporting 'Initial D' next week!"
And with that,
Tonight's episode of 'Initial D' truly ended.