What is Initial D and why is it significant?

Initial D is a Japanese manga and anime (1995-2013) by Shuichi Shigeno. It follows a teenage tofu delivery driver named Takumi Fujiwara who develops drift driving skills on Mount Akina in his 1983 Toyota AE86 Trueno. The series popularized JDM car culture worldwide, transformed the AE86 from an unremarkable Corolla into a collectible icon, and introduced a generation to Japanese touge racing.