YMMV / The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Did Morimoto throw a tantrum over losing his race against Sean because Takashi had to give up his car or was it mainly because he lost to a "gaijin"^note Phonetically, gaijin is Japanese for "foreigner"., thinking he'd easily beat him? Maybe both? Or is he simply just a Sore Loser regardless?
• Base-Breaking Character: Sean. While some find him to be a gutsy and likable protagonist, detractors point to his Narmy Alabama accent, sub-par acting ability, and the fact that his character just isn't interesting enough or have quite the right temperament to work as a protagonist in a Fast & Furious film. It certainly doesn't help that the franchise returned back to focusing on Dom and Brian after this installment and indeed, he wouldn't return to being a major character until F9, with Furious 7 only featuring him in what's basically an obligatory cameo to establish 7 as the first film chronologically set after Tokyo Drift.
• Cry for the Devil: Some fans see DK as this - his father died presumably when he was young, he is under great pressure to prove himself to his crime boss uncle, his girlfriend leaves him for a foreigner, his business partner is stealing from him, and to top it off his uncle indirectly tells him he's a disappointment (a major slap in the face in Asian cultures). On the other hand, he is shown to be violent with a Hair-Trigger Temper and is implied to be emotionally - if not physically - abusive to Neela.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Han proved to be such a popular character they basically rearranged the entire timeline of the franchise so he could appear in three more movies afterward and was even brought Back from the Dead to appear in the ninth film.
• Fan Nickname: The film was seen on actual theatre marquees as "3 Fast 3 Furious". Despite this phrase making negative amounts of sense, everyone knew what film it was referring to.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: It flopped Stateside, not even coming close to making back its budget and marketing costs. It would likely have been the Franchise Killer for the series had it not done a lot better outside the U.S. and had strong DVD sales, which were enough to convince the studio to take a gamble on a fourth film.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Han's desire for superficial relationships/keeping people at arm's length after watching Gisele die to save him in Fast & Furious 6. It would also seem to explain his devil may care attitude about everything and "Money isn't everything." comment.
  • Han's fate comes off as this considering that in Fast Five, a joke is made with his name when the passports the crew used to enter Brazil are briefly seen onscreen and Han's reads "Han Seoul-Oh", and years later in an unrelated movie, the character from whom said name is derived also died. This may become Hilarious in Hindsight when the ninth installments of both series have their respective characters reappear in some form or another.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The famous chase scene where they speeding though the crowded intersection and the peds gives way for them has become reality.
• Memetic Mutation: Playing the film's theme song when anything remotely resembling a drift is on screen.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Toku fans may recognize Sailor Mars, Lion Maru G and Kamen Rider Ketaros.
  • The film was co-produced by Cine Bazar, which would be more well known later on for helping produce Hideaki Anno's Shin Japan Heroes Universe.
• Sequelitis: While not nearly as hated as the previous film, it tends to be seen by some as the most forgettable entry in the series.
• Tear Jerker: The death of Han. Sean's reaction to it, too - Neela has to physically drag him away.
• Vindicated by History: Following the increasing Sequel Escalation of the subsequent installments, this film has seen some positive reevaluation among fans and critics for its more low-stakes story and the last entry to focus entirely on racing and car culture. It also stands out as the only entry in the franchise to have a protagonist that isn't an inhumanly skilled driver, and having an actual arc that involves improving as a racer. And with increased attention on Hollywood's issues of representation, and the franchise being noted for its diverse casting that occurred organically, this entry has seen renewed appreciation for its aversion of the usual "Westerner goes to Japan" clichés.

---