For examples involving the ''Initial D Arcade Stage'' games, go [[YMMV/InitialDArcadeStage here]].
----
!!Anime/Manga
* AssPull:
** The series is chock full of these with regards to race results, particularly Takumi Fujiwara's luck randomly bailing him out of {{Unwinnable}} situations. Take his race in ''Fourth Stage'' against Toshiya "God Arm" Joshima, for example: [[spoiler:the [=AE86=]'s suspension breaks after being strained to the limit following eight rounds of "cat-and-mouse", causing him to fall far behind Toshiya on the last rotation. However, Toshiya is forced to bail out of the race to vomit on the side of the road after exhausting his body in the absurdly long race, giving Takumi a VictoryByEndurance. The problem is there are no prior indications in the previous seven rounds of exhaustion seen in Toshiya]].
** Also in ''Fourth Stage'', it looks like Itsuki Takeuchi [[spoiler:is going to get a RelationshipUpgrade with Kazumi Akiyama. From out of nowhere, Kazumi's older brother Wataru arrives with Kazumi's ex, who begs her forgiveness and asks her to stay with him. To Itsuki's horror, she ''agrees and takes him back'', despite having every reason not to,[[note]]It's loosely suggested the ex abused Kazumi.[[/note]] leaving Itsuki heartbroken]]. This entire sub-plot is so contrived as it [[DiabolusExMachina specifically makes Itsuki feel miserable]] and ensures ThisLoserIsYou continues to be in effect for him.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The {{Manga}} has tons of beautiful spreads of car designs and races. It comes as no surprise Shuichi Shigeno [[ShownTheirWork put a ton of work into research and reference pictures]] to create the story.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Aside from the opening and ending songs by Japanese band "m.o.v.e.", it's the {{Eurobeat}} songs that [[{{Pun}} drive]] the soundtrack and AnimatedAdaptation into [[AwesomeMusic/InitialD what it is.]]
* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Fans of Takumi see him as a [[TheEveryman prodigal, down-to-earth]] street racer with various tricks up his sleeves and who is admired for his [[TheStoic levelheadedness]] in every situation he comes across, but detractors find him a bland, boring InvincibleHero who only loses twice with no strong personality - that his battles are rather formulaic and predictable compared to others is another factor. A third group brushes aside his personality traits and writing fumbles and [[JustHereForGodzilla are just here to see him perform his]] {{Signature Move}}s and fancy tricks.
** Itsuki is either a loyal {{Sidekick}} and friend in need for Takumi, who takes the poorest consequences like a champ, or an obnoxious lecher that doesn't fit with the show's tone and narrative (at least until ''Second Stage''), whose sole purpose is to be yanked-off from any chance of romance when it's given to him. In all fairness, most of the criticism from Itsuki's naysayers is directed not towards his characteristics, but rather how the story treats him.
** Of all the vehicles seen in the series, the signature Toyota Sprinter Trueno [=AE86=]: fans were disappointed its RealLife counterpart doesn't live up to its fictional example, claiming ''Initial D'' has overblown what's been there, yet ignore variables such as track conditions and the fact that most of the car's spoils comes from Takumi's own driving prowess than the car itself.[[labelnote:Note]]By ''Final Stage'', it's had a serious amount of overhaul retrofitted for Project D's specifications, including [[spoiler:a one-time engine swap in ''Second Stage''.]][[/labelnote]] Even with an extensive amount of skill, the [=AE86=] has dated specs and is relatively underpowered, such that most of the ones seen in actual competitions are heavily modified to meet modern standards.
* BrokenBase:
** The fandom is fractured between those who are completely alienated from the series' writing and [[JustHereForGodzilla only follow it for the races and Eurobeat]] and those who either don't mind the narrative or enjoy it regardless. Surprisingly, this friction between the bases does not cause many {{Flame War}}s, as the two generally [[{{Pun}} steer clear]] of each other.
** ''Fifth Stage'' and ''Final Stage'' were not received well by some viewers, who consider it an undignified ending, while others greatly admire the vastly-improved [=CGI=] and were just happy to see the series continue after the [[SequelHook ambiguous ending]] of ''Fourth Stage''.
** A minor example in late-''Fourth Stage'': some fans detest the MidSeasonUpgrade Keisuke Takahashi's [=FD=] receives post-Tsuchisaka Lan Evo Team, mostly because the iconic pop-up headlights of the Mazda RX-7 are replaced by after-market fixed headlights, while others don't mind the cosmetic change to the overall vehicle.
* CultSoundtrack: The Anime's high energy {{Eurobeat}} soundtrack became so famous that the whole genre has a SongAssociation with the Anime version of Initial D. Songs like Max Coveri's ''Running in the 90s'', Dave Rodgers' ''Deja Vu'' and Manuel's ''Gas Gas Gas'' [[SongAssociation became memes]] in their own right to the point most people know Initial D's soundtrack without even knowing what Initial D is.
* DiagnosedByTheAudience: There are implications Shinji has some form of autism spectrum disorder - for example, he seems to be lacking in social skills and understanding of societal norms, while taking an interest in memorizing every little detail of the Tsubaki Line in what is deemed unusual behavior or interest by most people.
* DieForOurShip: Predictably towards named female characters of the series, considering the vast male cast, and the greater focus on the races.
** {{Yaoi Fangirl}}s ''loathe'' Natsuki Mogi, doubly so for [[spoiler:being previously engaged in ''EnjoKosai'']], which makes her even ''more'' loathed due to {{Double Standard}}s.
** Surprisingly applied to Kyoko Iwase, seeing as her [[LoveAtFirstSight relationship]] [[BestHerToBedHer with Keisuke]] got a good amount of focus mid-way into ''Fourth Stage'', which meant she was interrupting the HoYay between him and Takumi. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} after Episode 18, as Keisuke explicitly [[ShipSinking sinks the ship to oblivion]]]].
** {{Subverted}} with Mika Uehara: [[spoiler:while many were quick to dismiss her as a ReplacementScrappy, considering she slapped Takumi by mistake in ''Fifth Stage'', upon discovering she is a similar [[TheAce Ace]], some fans double-backed and stated Mika is a better LoveInterest than the aforementioned Natsuki]].
* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: Some of the Stages include a warning at the beginning of each episode telling viewers to follow traffic laws, only to proceed with twenty minutes of dangerous ''touge'' racing sequences on the dark roads of Japan.
* DracoInLeatherPants: In spite of his [[{{Jerkass}} ruthless and disgusting behavior]], Shingo Shoji is among the most well-liked characters of the series even before his CharacterDevelopment seen in ''Extra Stage'', with many of his fans glossing over his numerous defects.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: The Myogi Night Kids duo, Takeshi Nakazato and Shingo Shoji, are popular among the fandom for all [[MemeticLoser the wrong reasons]], but especially Shingo thanks to the DracoInLeatherPants section above. They are also responsible for [[FountainOfMemes all the jokes and giggles related to them]].
* FanNickname: "Golf Takumi" for Takumi's girlfriend Mika Uehara from the later stages of the series due to being raised by her father to play golf in a similar manner to how Bunta raised Takumi to race.
* FanonDiscontinuity: Fans who disliked ''Fifth Stage'' and ''Final Stage'' outright refuse to acknowledge them as {{Canon}}, claiming the AnimatedAdaptation ended at ''Fourth Stage''.
* FirstInstallmentWins:
** While many of the Stages have [[BrokenBase wildly divided opinions]], often skewered towards the negative, there is one constant: (almost) everyone loves ''First Stage''. The only other Stage to have such a high amount of fans compared to detractors is ''Fourth Stage''.
** If there's ever going to be a ShoutOut to ''Initial D'', chances are it's going to be an AffectionateParody of the first race in the series between Takumi and Keisuke.
* GatewaySeries: To drift racing, ''[[UsefulNotes/SubculturesInJapan touge]]'', or even racing in general, for {{Anime}}. Also serves as a pretty good gateway to {{Eurobeat}}.
* HarsherInHindsight: Any scene where Bunta [[SmokingIsCool is seen smoking]] also falls into this as his voice actor, Unshō Ishizuka died from esophagus cancer. [[TruthInTelevision Smoking is also one of the causes of said illness]].
* HilariousInHindsight:
** TheReveal in ''Final Stage'' [[spoiler:of the meaning behind the "D" for both ''Initial D'' and Project D being the word "dream"]] was unintentionally unveiled almost '''eight years prior''' thanks to "Initialize", the TitleThemeTune of Tokyopop's English localization of the {{Anime}}, which featured backup hype vocals shouting out the phrases "Initial Drive, [[spoiler:Initial Dream]]!".
** In ''Second Stage'', when Team Emperor starts their Gunma Prefecture campaign, Keisuke expresses disgust about the incredibly large spoiler on one of the team's Lancer Evolutions. Fast forward to ''Fourth Stage'' where Keisuke's RX-7 FD gets a new aerodynamic upgrade, complete with a larger, after-market spoiler in comparison to the stock spoiler on a Lancer Evolution.[[note]]Keisuke's FD during ''First Stage'' sports quite the tall spoiler too, but it's reduced to normal size in ''Second Stage''; it may not be so much HypocriticalHumor as it is a justification for his comment regarding the Evolution's spoiler. Hell, the FD's spoiler in ''First Stage'' could even be chalked up as a case of OffModel, considering the RX-7 never had a stock spoiler with ridiculous proportions as it was portrayed back then.[[/note]]
** ''Second Stage'' has everyone from Gunma in a panic, as Team Emperor, a team from an outside prefecture, starts {{Curbstomp|Battle}}ing their opponents with little resistance, including the main characters from ''First Stage''. Cut to ''Fourth Stage'' where Takumi and some former [=RedSuns=] crew members - the only ones who managed to make a stand against Emperor - ''do the exact same thing with Project D''.
** After the animated film remakes decided to ditch the Eurobeat soundtrack, ''[[VideoGame/WanganMidnight Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune]]'', the primary competitor to ''VideoGame/InitialDArcadeStage'', introduced a Eurobeat track in ''Maximum Tune 6''.
* HypeBacklash:
** As mentioned in JustHereForGodzilla, some don't take kindly to the series [[TheRedStapler popularizing a car]] that they consider SoOkayItsAverage at best, especially by today's standards.
** There are fans of Eurobeat who don't like how this series and Eurobeat are so tightly intertwined in popular culture, which results in people not knowing that Eurobeat exists outside of a street racing context or that slower, more disco-styled forms of Eurobeat exists.
* JustHereForGodzilla:
** The series has caused this in the American automotive scene, with hundreds of American fans trying to buy [=AE86=]s from shady importers,[[note]]Usually a ''terrible'' idea, because if the paperwork isn't perfect, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will roll up to the purchaser's house with a mobile car crusher.[[/note]] specifically because the car is the "main character" of the series rather than on the merits of the car itself. WebVideo/RegularCarReviews [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNF5sic8WHo made a rant about this]] when he covered the [=AE86=] Trueno.
--->'''Mr. Regular''': "SHUT UP! You ''don't'' like this car! You like a cartoon! A ''boring'' cartoon!"
** A large amount of people are only into the series for the races and Eurobeat, either disliking or being uninterested in the side-plots.
* {{Macekre}}: The Creator/{{Tokyopop}} English dub of the anime, which in an attempt to appeal to a younger audience, Americanized the names, censored out the suggestive themes, and [[TotallyRadical attempted to be hip]] by inserting street slang in the dialogue and replacing the iconic Eurobeat soundtrack with rap and hip-hop. Some strange visual effects and cuts weren't there originally. It's telling that fans strongly prefer the more faithful Funimation redub over TokyoPop's, thanks to retaining the original Japanese soundtrack and script.
* MemeticBadass: This series propelled the [=AE86=] Trueno's reputation into "divinity in machine form" territory, with many fans making it out to be a badass at drift and mountain racing, even though it's long since been outdated and in real life would require heavy modifications to go toe-to-toe with the matchups seen in the series.
* MemeticMutation: Now has its own [[Memes/InitialD page]].
* MemeticLoser: Whenever Takeshi Nakazato is brought up, [[NeverLiveItDown someone will make a joke about him understeering and crashing his [=R32=]]] or explicitly call him a terrible driver. Made worse by the fact that [[{{Jerkass}} Shingo]] also feels this way about him - [[TheStarscream in the loosest sense of the term]] - a "colleague", and Shingo [[EnsembleDarkhorse is a fan-favourite]] [[DracoInLeatherPants of the series]].
* MemeticTroll: Due to his EnsembleDarkhorse status, Shingo has become this when involved in certain memes featuring car crashes including in online games. [[MemeticMutation Double crash]] jokes aside, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opOKozy0dxQ here's an example]].
* NarmCharm: Almost all vehicular scenes throughout all Stages are [[TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects animated in 3D]]. In ''First Stage'', it's made more apparent as each racing segment looks like a video game from the early 2000s (compared to ''Second Stage'' and beyond, where the 3D work is done much better). However, despite its egregious use for the {{Anime}}, many fans enjoy the racing scenes due to (or because) of its {{Narm}}y appearance. It does help races are very well choreographed with exciting and interesting angles.
* TheScrappy:
** With the exception of Mako Sato and Mika, pick any female LoveInterest: they are easily one of the most contested or downright despised character archetypes by the fandom for this series, and not just for the aforementioned DieForOurShip reasons, either.
*** Natsuki is ''detested'' by most fans for basically being a {{Hypocrite}}; Kyoko as well - not to the same hypocritical extent as Natsuki, but largely for being [[LoveAtFirstSight one-dimensional]].
*** Kazumi Akiyama was pretty much left under the radar by fans despite being a typical LoveInterest for [[ThisLoserIsYou Itsuki]] in ''Second Stage''. Although the romance is left on a bittersweet note at the end of ''Second Stage'', most fans wanted to give them a second chance, but once the AssPull in ''Fourth Stage'' happened, Kazumi was suddenly subjected to a lot of hate by the fandom for essentially writing off all the meaningful things she did with Itsuki.
** It's difficult to find anyone who's fond of [[spoiler:Shinji Inui, Takumi's last opponent]] from ''Final Stage'': this character is often accused of being a CreatorsPet due to their match-up being a tailor-made [=1:1=] race against Takumi, being disproportionately challenging, and [[spoiler:causing Takumi to use a dangerous technique in a bid to win that causes the [=AE86=]'s second engine to explode]].
* SoBadItsGood: "Initialize" is as bad and unrelated to the show's theme as it sounds, yet there are some who state they can't stop hearing it.
* SongAssociation: Thanks to MemeticMutation, every {{Eurobeat}} song sounds like a great ''Initial D'' soundtrack (at least for people outside Japan and Italy, where this music genre is hugely popular outside of this anime).
** "Deja Vu" especially seems to get this treatment, to the point where if you just knew the series based on the memes you'd be forgiven for thinking this was the only song in the show's entire soundtrack.
* SpecialEffectFailure: In ''Final Stage'', [[spoiler:Takumi blows out the [=AE86=]'s engine when he fails to see that he's accidentally revving it well past its limits because executing the "[[DangerousForbiddenTechnique blind attack]]", leaves the tachometer dark and therefore unreadable. However, a scene is shown from his perspective in the car while performing the blind attack, and the tachometer is visibly lit]].
* TearJerker:
** During the battle with Kyouichi Sudo in ''Second Stage'', [[spoiler:Takumi's [=AE86=] has an engine breakdown and he's forced to make an emergency stop, with Kyouichi declaring him the loser of the match. Takumi's father Bunta subsequently has the car towed while Takumi's in tears, thinking he's the one at fault. Yes, Bunta knew beforehand it was going to happen, and [[DramaticIrony so did the audience]]. Yes, Bunta was going to replace the engine and ''allowed'' the breakdown to happen, just so Takumi will have a better appreciation of the new engine; otherwise, Takumi would either protest to having the engine replaced or get angry for having the engine replaced under his nose. Yet, think of it from Takumi's point of view - the car in which he had made a name for himself in just a few short months has made its literal last revolutions. For all he knows, his racing career is effectively over. [[FromBadToWorse It gets worse]] as in ''Final Stage'', where [[HeroicRROD the car itself breaks down again (beyond repair)]] while performing a blind attack against Shinji Inui, putting a final nail in the coffin for the [=AE86=] Trueno]].
** The scene where Itsuki [[spoiler:gets dumped by Kazumi for an older man she used to love in ''Fourth Stage'', ending with him alone and sobbing. Even Koichiro Iketani and Kenji sympathize with him, with the former saying that he has also felt the same pain with Mako Sato back in ''First Stage''. However, MoodWhiplash ensues when Itsuki runs into Iketani's and Kenji's hiding place, prompting a hilarious OhCrap from the two of them, and Itsuki shares this reaction when he sees them]].
** [[spoiler:Kyoko]] in Episode 18 of ''Fourth Stage'': getting to spend a whole day with [[spoiler:Keisuke]] after helping him out with his latest race is all she could wish for. The catch is despite his understanding (and, in a way, reciprocating) her affections for him, he can't focus on anything else but racing - his passion. The last scene between them [[spoiler:as he goes into full attack mode on Mount Akagi (per Kyoko's request, with her riding shotgun)]] is enough to bring her to tears, realizing she will never love anyone else as fiercely as him ever again.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The ''Legends'' trilogy isn't nearly as positively received as the original ''First Stage'' that it rebooted due to the change of voice actors, lack of Eurobeat, and not getting Tsuchiya Keiichi back on board as the supervisor.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Bunta is repeatedly stated to be a racing legend, better than even his son Takumi, yet the most we ever see of his abilities are his "drift while lighting up a cigarette" technique and a brief impromptu race against Takumi's Trueno in his new Impreza; there are no full scenes or arcs that show him doing a full race. While you can race against him in ''Arcade Stage'', either as an extra boss in Legend of the Streets Mode or in a dedicated mode in ''Arcade Stage Ver. 2'' and ''3'', the way he races in the games is not necessarily indicative of his abilties due to the use of RubberBandAI and the limitations of the game engines and video game artificial intelligence.
* TheWoobie:
** [[spoiler:Depending on your prespective, it's very hard to not feel sorry for Itsuki, who gets dumped twice, both in ''First Stage'' (thanks to [[{{Troll}} Shingo]]'s shenanigans) and ''Fourth Stage'' (as Kazumi goes back to a relationship with her ex-boyfriend, with the courtesy of her brother Wataru). Hence why he and Iketani are both self-proclaimed as "Lonely Drivers"]].
** [[spoiler:Aside from her reputation as TheScrappy among the fanbase, Kyoko also count as this (see TearJerker).]]
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: More apparent from ''Fourth Stage'' and onward, thanks to advancements in CG technology, making the details of each car near-accurate to how they look in RealLife, as well as improvements to the races without them feeling static.

!!Live-Action Movie
* BrokenBase: People were divided over the fact that it was a Hong Kong production with [[FakeAmerican loads of Chinese actors used to fill in a Japanese cast]], heavy character {{Flanderization}} with numerous changes to their personalities, AdaptationDecay and notable absentees AdaptedOut. Others, however, don't seem to have a problem with it, pointing it towards PragmaticAdaptation.
----