| QUOTE (Cholo Jimenez @ Today, 9:48 AM) |
| I've been wondering for a long time if Initial D had the rights to use real car brands and names in the anime, often you see animes using parodies of logos and brand names but in initial they just flat out use the names and brands of the cars. Did they pay the companies? Were they sponsored ? |
As far as I know, they didn't get the permission from the car companies in the very beginning. They were getting by by using something like "TORENO", "NISNO" ... etc. to avoid lawsuits. As soon as the series pick up popularity, car company like Toyota has no problem letting Initial D use their brand. In fact, Toyota promoted their GT86 in 2012 using Initial D's fame.
In short, Initial D was in the clear for using real car brands. Toyota is probably their biggest sponsor. Not sure about other companies. Would you sponsor Initial D if you were Nissan?
