Initial D: First Stage

Throughout the series, the characters use chassis codes to refer to cars rather than actually saying the name of the car. This is a common Japanese auto industry term to easily refer to a car and its year without having to give a drawn out explanation. The S13 refers to the RPS13 SR20DET Nissan Silvia (Japan only) made from 1989-1994. The Silvia made between 1995 and 1998 was an S14, and 1999 to present is the S15. R32 refers to the BNR32 Nissan Skyline (Japan only) made from 1989-1994. FC refers to the FC3S Mazda RX-7 made from 1986-1992. FD refers to the FD3S Mazda RX-7 made from 1992-2002. EG6 refers to the EG6 Honda Civic 3-door hatchback made from 1992-1995. And most importantly, 86 (or 'Eight-Six') refers to the AE86 Toyota Sprinter Trueno, known in the U.S. as the Toyota Corolla GTS, made from 1983-1986 (the Trueno is also known as the hachi-roku, however 'hachi' and 'roku' are just the literal Japanese words for 'eight' and 'six').

During the duct tape death match against Shingo, Takumi binds his right hand to the steering wheel, however, as he takes a corner, about halfway through the race, a shot of the steering wheel shows both hands free.

In Tokyopop's American DVD release, there are two versions of the show. One is the original ('Import Version'). One is a new version ('Tricked-Out Version') which has an english dub and various other changes such as:

• Japanese character names dropped in exchange for more English sounding names (i.e. Natsuki becomes Natalie, Iketani is Cole, Itsuki is Iggy, Ryosuke is Ry, Keisuke is K.T., Nakazato is Zack, Kenta is Kyle, Mako and Sayuki become Maya and Simone, and Takumi goes by Tak).
• The 'Eurobeat' Japanese-techno soundtrack is replaced with a mix of rap and garage-indie-punk music.
• The opening and ending themes change, as well as the footage shown in the ending credits.
• Various video effects, such as inverse colors, mirrors and wipe transitions are added to the CGI race scenes.
• The original, authentic engine/exhaust noises are replaced with louder, more aggressive race noises.
• Scenes involving Natsuki's shady, sexual dealings with the character referred to as 'Papa' were either cut down, or re-written (even the translation in the subtitled version was altered on the Tokyopop release).

Followed by Initial D: Second Stage (1999)