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"Gods and Demons."
This was the cryptic little spoiler Haruto tossed out to the masses. Within less than twenty-four hours of being posted, that single comment spread through the Puella Magi Madoka Magica fanbase like a digital wildfire. Gods and Demons? What did that even mean? If "God" referred to the transcended Madoka, then who, or what, was the "Demon"?
Was there a hidden layer to the setting that no one had noticed yet?
"Can we please tone down the hyperbole? If the movie actually manages to surpass the original anime ending, I'll officially start calling the Warrior of Love my own father!" one fan posted.
While many realized that the Warrior of Love was just being a cryptic riddle-master, the bait worked perfectly. Curiosity was reaching a fever pitch. Between the news of the record-breaking Blu-ray sales and these mysterious hints, Madoka Magica had once again seized the number one spot on every trending topic in the animation world.
Meanwhile, in the realm of manga, the third chapter of Initial D was officially hitting the stands.
In the world of anime, Madoka Magica was the undisputed king of the year. But in the world of manga, Initial D was making waves of its own. Despite having only two chapters under its belt, its debut at sixth place in Weekly Prime had caught the eye of the entire industry.
After all, there are only four major weekly manga magazines of that caliber in Japan.
Ranking in the top six of Weekly Prime meant the series had already cracked the top thirty popular manga currently in serialization nationwide. For a two-week-old series, that level of performance was nothing short of explosive.
Gouki flipped to the Initial D section in this week's issue.
The title of the third chapter was, The Downhill Specialist Appears.
"Oh! Finally! Is Takumi finally going to step up? Is the battle for the exchange meet starting?" Gouki's excitement spiked.
He had been waiting three weeks to see this kid show off his true colors and wipe the smug look off that bleached-blonde Keisuke's face.
However, true to form, the third chapter continued to masterfully build the atmosphere before the storm. Following the events of last week, where Iketani ended up in the hospital after crashing during practice, the Akina SpeedStars were in a desperate situation. Who would race for them on Saturday? Finding a replacement for Iketani had become an urgent priority.
Naturally, Iketani's thoughts turned to Bunta, the owner of the local tofu shop whom the gas station manager, Yuichi, had called the fastest man on Akina.
Still covered in bandages and limping on a crutch, Iketani dragged himself to the tofu shop to find Takumi's father. Even in a black-and-white manga format, the artwork was so evocative that Gouki could feel Iketani's youthful competitive spirit, his agonizing frustration, and the way he placed the pride of Akina's drivers above everything else.
"Is it really that big of a deal? It's just street racing," Gouki murmured, taking a deep breath. But in truth, he was moved. Maybe risking a car crash over a race was immature, but there was something admirable about someone fighting so hard for a goal. Bunta, however, had no interest in getting involved in a clash between kids' teams and flatly rejected the request.
But as the gas station owner, Yuichi, spoke with him later, he made a direct suggestion, "Then just let a kid handle the kids' business! Send Takumi."
Gouki felt his heart start to race. Everything in the series from the very first panel had been leading up to this moment. The looming race on Mount Akina, the arrogance of the RedSuns, Iketani's desperate struggle, and Takumi's detached, indifferent personality, all the logical threads were finally converging.
Since Takumi had no motivation to race, his father simply provided one. Because Takumi wanted to use the car for a date with Natsuki on Sunday, Bunta laid out the terms.
"Go race that brat from the RedSuns. Take that kid who thinks he's the fastest in Akagi down a peg. If you do, I'll let you take the car for the weekend, and I'll even fill the tank for free."
Gouki burst out laughing. 'A full tank of gas? What a generous father!'
So, while the RedSuns were insulting the honor of every driver on Mount Akina, Takumi didn't even blink. Local pride didn't mean a cent to him. But a free tank of gas and a car for a date? Now that was a motivation he could get behind.
As it turned out, boys really are simple creatures. For a date with Natsuki, he was willing to go up against the best in the region. On the day of the exchange meet, Iketani returned to the shop one last time, praying Bunta would change his mind.
Bunta told him that the chances of the Tofu Shop 86 appearing on the mountain were only 50/50. It all depended on whether the offer of a full tank was enough to move Takumi. Iketani, assuming Bunta was just being a difficult middle-aged man, begged him to show up before leaving.
At this point, Gouki's anticipation was at an all-time high. He was dying to see the rubber hit the road, but the plot took a brief, puzzling detour.
The scene shifted to Natsuki inside a car with a man she called Papa.
"I'm going to the beach with some friends tomorrow," Natsuki said with a pure, innocent smile, looking at the man behind the wheel of the Mercedes.
'Oh, the heroine is here. The art style is amazing…'
Gouki noted. He was glad to see Natsuki wasn't just a background character; she was the catalyst that drove Takumi to race for that tank of gas.
However, the dialogue that followed left Gouki completely bewildered.
"Friends? Is there a boy involved?" The man in the manga wasn't shown fully, only his jawline was visible.
"No way, it's just girls!" Natsuki replied cheerfully.
"I see. Then why don't we stop by the mall? I'll buy you a swimsuit," the man suggested.
"It's fine, I can get one myself."
"But Papa wants to see you in it... I want to see Natsuki in a swimsuit."
Gouki's thumb froze on the edge of the page. He flipped back and read the panel again, slowly. Papa wants to see you in a swimsuit? Is that something a father says to his high school daughter?
That's... weird.
But then he remembered the age of the creators, Haruto and Shizuru. Gouki sighed. 'Right, they're still just college kids.' He figured they probably thought this was normal father-daughter banter, while adults would find it incredibly inappropriate. He dismissed it as a flaw caused by a lack of life experience.
After all, no one in the Pure Romance faction could possibly imagine a plot where the heroine's Papa wasn't actually her biological father. While the NTR enthusiasts on the forums had their own wild theories after seeing that line, they were a vocal minority and didn't have much impact on the show's general reputation. For the fans of Initial D, it was just a minor blemish that would likely be fixed in the tankobon release.
The story moved on. Night fell. The chapter briefly introduced Takeshi Nakazato, the leader of the NightKids and the man known as the God of the GT-R. He made a cameo with his lackeys in a local diner.
Then, for the first time, the manga showed the crowds of ordinary people who gathered on the mountain at night to watch the street races. At the summit, Iketani was still assuring his team that a legendary Downhill Specialist in an AE86 would be arriving to represent them.
"Believe me, he'll be here."
"And if he doesn't show?" Kenji, the vice-captain, asked. Iketani turned to him with a grim, somber expression, looking like a man about to deliver his final will and testament. "Then, Kenji... you'll just have to take the team's reputation on your shoulders and drive like your life depends on it!"
Kenji's face instantly drained of color.
"Hahahaha!" Gouki laughed out loud in his room. 'Serves you right, Kenji! That's what you get for asking questions you don't want the answer to! A smart person would have slipped away to the bathroom long ago to let the third-in-command take the fall.'
The chapter reached its climax with the arrival of the RedSuns. A long line of high-performance sports cars snaked up the mountain in a perfectly straight formation. The sheer scale of it was intimidating. Before the race even started, the RedSuns members were tearing up the asphalt in a terrifying display of skill.
Through the tension of the artwork, the sense of speed and pressure was palpable. Gouki felt his blood rushing to his head. This is just too cool.
The scheduled time arrived.
At the summit, Iketani waited and waited, but the 86 was nowhere to be found. Ryosuke Takahashi looked on with a face full of disappointment, while Keisuke was so livid he punched his steering wheel, glaring at Kenji with utter contempt.
Just as the two were about to start a one-sided race to get it over with, a voice crackled over the RedSuns' walkie-talkies from the base of the mountain.
"Wait! Don't start yet! A black-and-white Panda 86 is heading up the mountain right now!"
Gouki's fingers trembled with excitement. Finally! The moment had arrived! He flipped the page, only to be greeted by four bold words.
Chapter 3: End.
His grin froze. His excitement turned to stone.
'This is... malicious. Again? Short AND a cliffhanger?'
He slammed the magazine onto his desk. He couldn't take it anymore! Were these two college creators mentally ill? Every single week for three weeks, they had cut the story right at the most critical juncture. Can't you just add a little fluff at the end so we don't feel like we're dying for seven days?
On the official Weekly Prime website, the outcry this week far surpassed the previous two.
"I am officially demanding that Initial D be moved to a monthly magazine so we can get four chapters at once! I can't take this!"
"Every week is the same. This is psychological torture."
"One race! It's been three weeks and we've only just gotten to the part where he drives UP the mountain! This is ridiculous! By episode three of Madoka, someone already lost their head. In chapter three of Initial D, he's still in the parking lot!"
"I'm so mad at myself. I knew Shiori Takahashi was a cliffhanger addict and yet I still read it. I should have just sealed the magazine in a box and waited for the volume release. My own curiosity is my worst enemy!"
"Shiori-sensei, Shizuru-sensei... do your consciences not hurt when you do this to us every week?"
"I'll endure it one more time. But if next week ends before the first corner, I am bringing a kitchen knife to the publisher headquarters!"
"It's hard, but I can't stay mad at them. One of the creators is a cute girl, after all. Fine, I'll give them one more chance. Third time's a charm, but there won't be a fourth!"
The rankings for the third chapter were released the following day.
Current position in Weekly Prime: 4th.
When Shizuru received the text from their editor, Katashi, after her classes, she stood paralyzed in the hallway.
First chapter: 8th. Second chapter: 6th. Third chapter... 4th.
Initial D wasn't slowly building an audience.
In just three chapters, it had conquered the notoriously picky readers of one of the premier manga magazines.
"No way..." Shizuru whispered, staring at the data report. "Is this manga actually going to challenge the top three?"
1. The Forbidden Gate: 1,556,123 votes.
2. Winter Miracle: 911,234 votes.
3. Kagura Park: 852,345 votes.
4. Initial D: 817,456 votes.
5. Gourmet Dragon: 531,251 votes.
...
22. Red Demon: 1,360 votes.
And it was highly probable.
In a single week, the series had jumped from 400,000 votes to over 800,000. Shizuru was stunned, but Katashi was even more dazed.
'Is the growth of this fanbase actually legal?' he wondered. In over twenty years in the industry, he had never seen a manga trajectory this absurd.