For many, their first encounter with a Toyota 86 vehicle was through the eyes of Takumi Fujiwara taking on the mountain passes of Japan. Our audience grew up with this, so there was truly no better conduit to introduce the all-new 2022 GR86. Our creative team are fans of the original series, and the minute we knew we were working on a launch of the all-new 2022 GR86, we were excited to create a story that honored this heritage and legacy through the lens of its origins.

Our Director, Annis Naeem is also a huge fan of Initial D, and we knew immediately that he was the perfect person to help us respect and pay homage to the artistry established by its creator, while breathing new life into the all-new GR86. Shuichi Shigeno, series creator, gave us his blessing on this series with no changes. Extraordinary!

The GR86 X Initial D: Director’s Cut.
Get ready to experience a collaboration unlike any other. Witness two legendary titans, Takumi Fujiwara vs. Drift King, Keiichi Tsuchiya, as they go head-to-head with the Trueno AE86 and the all-new GR86.

"Mastering the Craft" | GR86 | ToyotaIn Mastering the Craft, we see Initial D protagonist, Takumi Fujiwara, as he embarks on his early morning driving ritual. As he pushes himself and the AE Trueno 86 to its limits, he sees another vehicle fast approaching. And he is surprised to discover it’s a “GR Hachi-Roku” (GR86).

"Pursuit" | GR86 | Toyota Episode two, The Pursuit, opens on our mystery challenger, who dons a jacket with the FasterClass emblem. He pushes Takumi to his limits in a blood pumping pursuit and series of drift moves that gets you out of your seat, ending on a cliff hanger… to be continued.

"The Challenge" | GR86 | ToyotaThe Challenge picks up where The Pursuit left off, in a dynamic, pedal to the floor series of moves, where Takumi and the mystery challenger go head-to-head. They finally come to a stop where we reveal the challenger is none other than the legendary Drift King himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya. Tsuchiya-san in turn welcomes Takumi to join FasterClass, as he leads the way.

Director & Executive Producer: Annis Naeem
Initial D Creator: Shuichi Shigeno

Intertrend credits:
Exec. Creative Director: Rosanne Kang Jovanovski
Creative Director: Eugene Kim
Associate Creative Director: Neal Persaud
Associate Creative Director: Harim Kim
Executive Producer: Jeanette Kung

Executive Producer: Frank Mele | Lawrence Fells Productions
Production Studio: Plumehead
Senior Producer: Ardees Rabang
Coordinator: Jacob Plough
Storyboarding: Wynton Redmond
Production Design & Art Direction: Annis Naeem
Character Designer: Jiuwell Sun Zhou
Environment Art: Yeonji Rhee, Jiuwell Zhou
VFX Supervisor: Arielle Estrella
VFX Lead: Jeremy Lightcap
Senior 3D Modeler & Texture Artist: Milen Ivanov
Previz & 3D Animation: Annis Naeem
Rigging: Marc Woodall
2D Animation Supervisor: Liane Cho Han
Key Artist: Sandrine Hanjin Kuang
Mid Anim: Louise Bergholts
Cleanup: Louise Bergholts, Eleonora, Heidi
2D FX: Sylvain Decaux
Motion Design: Neptali Cisneros
Compositing: Remedy Jeannie Hyunh
Sound Design: Zelig Sound
Edit: Nomad Edit (Brandon Porter), Plumehead (Annis Naeem)
Color: Company 3
Color Artist: David Hussy