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[Thereno]

The answer is at the top of every page





Yeah, they may be hong kong burns and buying the legit versions would support ID. They do have all stages in dual audio.

[DR.ZOIDBERG]

So I am guessing after the many moons that gave pasted, Initial D Stage 4 has not been released on legit dvd?

I have purchased the Tokyopop Initial D Box sets 1, 2 & 3 and wanted to add the forth stage to this but not if they are bootlegs.

Is my guess above correct?

[Tessou]

Fourth Stage will never be licensed for "legit" release outside of Japan since Tokyopop admittedly dropped the ball on the US release. The US releases didn't sell anywhere near as much as they were hoping for, so they didn't even answer when I contacted them about Third and Fourth Stage.

Now, the production rights are up for grabs, so anybody could start dubbing Third and Fourth stage if they really saw profit in it (which there isn't a lot). Distribution is still in the hands of Funimation.

The problem, as you can see, is profit. American companies love pimping series' that can be played on TV and pull in ratings, which boost sales. Initial D can't do that on US TV because it's a niche title that wouldn't be suited for many stations. Hell, SPEED wouldn't take it because it's not rally or NASCAR. [Adult Swim] won't take it because it's not some massive title (massive like current-runners Death Note and Code Geass) that'll pull in the ratings they need to even warrant running anime anymore.

I know, a lot of people like the series, but it isn't enough. It's sad to say this, but it's just too small to warrant the risk for another American release after seeing the absolute failure of the original attempt.

So, for the tl;dr, it's not getting picked up and you're gonna have to live with the bootlegs.

[DR.ZOIDBERG]

Thanks for the reply mate

So has it even been release in Japan as a legit DVD? (Not bootlegs?) if so, has it got english subs on the DVD.

I am guessing it hasnt been released even in japan as a Legit dvd but you did say in your post - "Fourth Stage will never be licensed for "legit" release outside of Japan" so I was just wondering

[Tessou]

Yes, Japan has had a legitimate release of R2 DVDs, but they do not have English subtitles. What I did to bypass this problem was to just download fansubbed episodes off of the internet, ones with good subtitles rather than the crappy bootleg ones.

FYI, bootleg subs are terrible because the audio was translated into Chinese for their subs, and then the Chinese subs were re-translated into English.

[DR.ZOIDBERG]

thanks for that. Its a pity they did not have english subs, I like to buy my DVDs and have it all original rather then download or copy them. Oh well

[Tessou]

Well, in some cases the fansubs online are just rips of the Japanese DVDs with subs added to them by more competent subbers.

[ZeetherKID77]

I'd like to have FUNimation license and redub Initial D, because seriously the Tokyopop version blows.

[DR.ZOIDBERG]

Has the Fourth stage been released on Legit DVD yet? And if so does it have English subs?

[Tessou]

No, it's not on any "legit" release unless you buy the Japanese R2 discs, which do not have english subs.