【Initial D Sacred Place Pilgrimage】 The final battle where the two Hachirokus spark! A dramatic drive down the "Tsubaki Line."

The stage for the final battle of Initial D, the showdown between the Hachiroku and Hachiroku of Shinji K dry, is the "Tsubaki Line." The confrontation with the genius driver Shinji K, who is like a living embodiment of the story's protagonist, Takumi Fujiwara, took place on a dramatically suitable course for the work's final battle.

A difficult course with many blind corners, the Tsubaki Line in Kanagawa Prefecture

Kanagawa Prefectural Road No. 75 Yugawara Hakone Sengokuhara Line, commonly known as the "Tsubaki Line," is a steep mountain road connecting the top of Daikan Mountain to Oku-Yugawara. The approximately 25 km long prefectural road has many corners with poor visibility and cannot generally be said to be an easy route. However, it is a major route for those heading to Hakone from Manazuru or Yugawara, and it is a road with a considerable amount of traffic.

With various types of corners such as S-bends and hairpin turns, there are many motorcycles and cars traveling at quite high speeds, making it somewhat dangerous for those who are not accustomed to it.

The opponent in the final battle, "Shinji Inui," is a driver who has observed and continued to drive this route since childhood, much like Takumi. His beloved car is an Eight-Six (late-model two-door Trueno), and there is a commonality in that his deceased father was also a rally driver.

Here is the shoulder where the members of Tohdo School are watching

Because it is the final battle, many characters from the past are watching, and the members of Tohdo School are observing from the shoulder of the road (as seen in the image above). The spherical building visible in the distance is an air route monitoring radar. It is an impressive spot that represents the elevation differences of the Tsubaki Line.

Mako, who boosts Shinji's motivation, watches from the Tsubaki Dai corner.

At the Tsubaki Dai corner, the person who sparked Shinji's motivation, Sato Mako, watches the race. Like Takumi, Shinji, who acquired high driving skills for the sake of his livelihood, had little interest in the battle, but emotions typical of youth toward Mako began to blossom, and he heads to the starting line with high motivation. After a head start, Shinji pulls a remarkable move by flashing his hazard lights at the Tsubaki Dai corner to let Takumi pass, then overtakes him again right in front of Mako to make an impression.

The corner where Takumi is overtaken again due to grip differences

Takumi continued to struggle with the "no-brake driving style" that he knows so well, but after being overtaken, he regained his original stance and successfully overtook without being left behind. An evolution unique to Takumi's character, "evolving after being overtaken," emerges in this development.

However, at this corner where his local friends Iketani and Itsuki are watching, he is overtaken by Shinji again due to the difference in tire grip. This is the result of the no-brake driving style working favorably through tire management. It seems similar to a situation involving the God Arm "Toshiya Jojima's" one-handed steering technique.

A blind attack, leading to a spectacular finale with engine blowout.

Ryousuke had configured the engine of the Hachiroku to limit RPMs to maintain durability, with a maximum of 11,000 RPMs, but this time he opened up the high-rev zone, teaching a strategy to close the timing gap by fractions of a second. Along with a blind attack with the lights off, he opened the high-rev zone and approached the final corner side by side.

Takumi spun out due to an over-rev that caused the engine to blow, but managed to recover while facing backwards, winning the race. The difference in driving skills, having experienced various dogfights compared to Shinji, who had no experience in battling for position, made a clear impact.

In the anime's ending, there is a scene where Takumi in the Impreza crosses paths with the Toyota 86, which had an impressive implication of suggesting MF Ghost.

The pilgrimage to the sacred places of Initial D that I have been following on my own comes to a pause here. The design of a work that likely seeks realism was very appreciated by me, who seeks a vicarious experience. While I am currently enjoying car camping in my Jimny, I feel that the day when I can hold the steering wheel of a sports car isn't too far off.

Reporting/Writing by Kazuma Tanaka

Search AE86 on Amazon