So, Bunta Fujiwara is a key figure who shaped Takumi Fujiwara into a great drifter like his dad. He passed on that knowledge to another driver in MF Ghost. Special shoutout to Misslonliest a.k.a Succubae Dannie, who reminded me of this article in the first place. Now, this is something I talked about on my other website, KumaKreations, but that site is long gone. Time to revive this thought, because Bunta Fujiwara in one of the episodes of Initial D showed some Badassary when testing out the AE 86. Yes, his buddy was in the car at the time and doing a drift while lighting a cigarette was amazing. Which brought us to this point that we need a prequel of Bunta before he became a father.
What Inspired Initial D?
Introducing Keiichi Tsuchya, Japan’s “Drift King,” who is the prime inspiration to Initial D. He is not only mentioned in the anime, but some of his footage and voice acting is used as well.
“The story, featuring Takumi Fujiwara, mimics Tsuchiya’s own background of drifting on mountain passes (touge) and driving a Toyota AE86. The anime’s, creator Shuichi Shigeno, used his real-life 1984 car-boy feature on Tsuchiya for the foundation.”
Every car show has a true iconic car who is the main star, known as the Trueno AE86. The panda colored car was specifically used by Tsuchya, which was underpowered compared to his rivals but had great agility. His knowledge paved the way for more racing and drifting enthusiasts everywhere. Initial D was the first time I’ve heard of drifting because of the manga, and then the anime dropped, and it blew my mind. That’s the origin of both Manga and Anime.
Building a Prequel:
If we are going to build a prequel around Bunta Fujiwara, we need to know a few things. The first thing that came to mind now that didn’t before was, what car did he have before the AE86? It has been confirmed to be the Toyota Carina from the 70s. Young Bunta would have sported this beauty before discovering something more modern for its time. I also believe that a young Bunta would be more cocky and reckless, as his personality is shown in the anime. Of course, we only see the mature side later on.
Seeing Bunta in his prime or at the start would be a great addition to the series.
Closing Statement:
Even though we have the predecessor to Takumi in MF Ghost, personally, MF Ghost loses that essence of the Street Racing Scene. I know things evolve, and it doesn’t mean MF Ghost doesn’t cater to the professional scene of racing. As much as there is talk about the good old days of Bunta and his racing, it would be great fan service to see that play out. Especially why he gave it up to run a Tofu shop, meeting Takumi’s mom, and leading up to what Takumi becomes. Many fans of the series share the same passion for this idea as I do. I will end this with the anticipation of someone out there listening and looking forward to Forza Horizon 6 dropping and all that it is offering.
Not sponsored in anyway, but FH6 dropping soon had me think about Bunta again. Thanks for checking out the post, and special shoutout to Dannie for bringing the memory back. – Beast Out –