Chapter 314- Don't worry, it's insured

"I heard that Mr. Takahashi is an official competitor in the D1 tournament?"

Perhaps because Lin Ming Yang had acted too "evil" before, the feeling of surprise had become numb for Takahashi Kuniaki.

"Mr. Felix knows a lot about D1?"

Lin Mingyang shook his head, and Takahashi Bangming finally found a little balance in his heart, at least there were things Lin Mingyang didn't know.

"But I really like the comic 'Head D'!"

Having found some self-reliance in his heart, Takahashi Bonmei hadn't had time to be happy, but Lin Mingyang's next words made him feel like he was on the verge of going crazy.

After his head was covered in black lines and cold sweat, Takahashi Bangming helplessly replied, "That... it's just a comic!"

"But that manga should have had a great impact on the drift trend in Japan, right?" Lin Mingyang shrugged, "Well, let's put the topic of the manga aside for now...I've never been able to figure out what the difference is between D1 and F1 racing...since Mr. Takahashi is a professional driver, has he ever considered moving towards F1 racing?"

"D1 is a specialized drift racing league. I usually like to watch F1 races and have been to Suzuka Circuit, but have never considered working in that direction because D1 and F1 are two completely different races."

Takahashi Kuniaki quickly introduced the D1 competition in Japanese, but looking at Lin Mingyang's blank look, he realized that the other party's Japanese was not as good as he thought, and immediately after that he explained it again in English.

"Generally speaking, F1 basically depends on the car, the vehicle itself becomes a key element in winning or losing, and the result is calculated entirely in terms of time.This is not the case with D1, no matter how good or bad the vehicle is, even if there is a big difference in horsepower, it's entirely up to the driver's skill as it's judged on the action. For us, 'drifting' is much more fun, and D1 is more fun than F1."

Rosie's attention had been drawn back from the window by this time, and hearing Kuniaki Takahashi's introduction, she too became interested.

"Is there a ranking list for D1?"

The beautiful woman asked, and Takahashi Bonmei immediately straightened his chest, "Yes, my ranking last year was 17th in the country."

"So you're not the best!" Roxie muttered, thinking that her voice was already small, but Takahashi Bonmei, who was sitting across from her, was so embarrassed that it was obvious that he heard it as well.

Being glared at by Lin Ming Yang, Roxie playfully spat out her tongue, lowered her head and began to concentrate on stirring the coffee with a small spoon, no longer interrupting.

"I believe in Mr. Takahashi's skills...even if you're not the best in the competition, you're certainly the best at stunts!"

Lin Mingyang's affirmation made Takahashi Bonmei ecstatic, and the little bit of loss he had just felt immediately dissipated. Tanabe Hideki, who had been unable to interject from the sidelines, also nodded along, "Mr. Felix is right, we did all the stunt sequences inside the movie version of Heads Up!"

"But what's in that movie alone isn't enough!" Before the two could even get their tails up, Lin Mingyang poured a pot of cold water down.

Takahashi Kuniaki and Tanabe Hidetoshi looked at me and I looked at you, Lin Mingyang had clearly shown a strong interest in Heads Up just now, but how could he suddenly react like this in the blink of an eye?

They didn't realize that in Lin Ming Yang's eyes, the Head D comic and the movie were two completely different things.

"Then let's talk about Head D, but I'm talking about the comic." Seeing how the two Japanese were confused, Lin Ming Yang didn't mind putting it more bluntly.

"As far as I know, the manga of 'Headwritten D' has been serialized in Japan for over ten years, and 31 volumes of the single-volume book have been released, and it's still hot to this day, making it one of the most popular youth manga of all time... What makes me wonder is that the one who finally brought this manga to the silver screen was actually a Hong Kong film company?"

In ten years, 39 million copies of the comic book one-shots of "Head D" have been released, four series of TV cartoons have been filmed, a number of theatrical cartoons have been released, and even SEGA's mega-game consoles have been released in their third generation. However, there is no movie version of "Head D", which is a bit unbelievable in Japan, which is a nation of anime.

Takahashi Kuniaki winked at Tanabe Hidetoshi, who gathered enough courage to take over Lin Mingyang's question, explaining: "Japanese directors have never even thought that 'Heads Up D' could be made into a real movie, because the manga depicts thrilling mountain road racing, which requires a lot of stunts and superior filming techniques...In addition, Japanese law has strict regulations on racing cars, so maybe it's a good idea to consider it as a movie. had strict regulations, perhaps because the idea of filming on real roads, combined with the general nagging of the traffic police, was abandoned by the Japanese studios. Heads Up D meant a lot of stunts and a high degree of risk, and probably only a Hong Kong director would dare to take on such a risky movie."

"It's probably because I have the same Chinese blood running through me...in fact I'm not too timid!"

Lin Ming Yang finished these words with a relaxed expression, but seeing that the two Japanese across from him looked a little unnatural, he followed up with an explanation, "Mr. Wiseman from the special effects team should have already explained my shooting concept in detail to you when he approached you, and even though we'll be replacing those most dangerous actions with computerized special effects, for the rest of the shots, the danger factor is still going to be higher than that of the the movie version of Head D. As a precaution, the crew has insured each of you for 5 million dollars."

Takahashi Kuniaki and Tanabe Hideki nodded with grave expressions, Lin Ming Yang's madness was famous in Hollywood, even in Japan, which was far away from the ocean, he was also famous, stuntmen like Takahashi Kuniaki and them were most afraid of encountering this kind of director who was full of crazy ideas.

Feeling that this topic made the atmosphere a little cold, Lin Ming Yang intended to ease it, so he changed the topic.

"Drifting seems to be very popular in Japan, roughly when did it become popular?"

Takahashi Kuniaki thought for a moment, then replied, "It became popular around 1985. At that time, there was a famous race car driver, Keiichi Tsuchiya, who used to use a trick in his races where he threw his tail around corners with such a wide range of motion that racing fans thought it was very beautiful, and that's when the 'drifting' took shape. Since then, many young people have imitated Tsuchiya and practiced drifting on general roads or mountain roads, and some private competitions have gradually formed. Later, the manga of 'Head D' came out, and drifting then formed a national trend."

Hidetoshi Tanabe followed his words by adding, "Due to their growing numbers, young people who enjoy drifting are regarded by the public as 'mobsters'. Keiichi Tsuchiya decided that this activity was too dangerous both in the mountains and in the city, so he organized the nation's best drifters to hold competitions on official tracks, thus forming the D1 competition league. As a result, Mr. Tsuchiya enjoys a high level of prestige among Japanese drivers and 'drifters', and he is currently the chief judge of the D1 league."

"You guys admire this Mr. Keiichi Tsuchiya?" Lin Mingyang deliberately asked.

"That's for sure, he's our senior!" The one who went and grabbed the answer this time was Tanabe Hideki, compared to him, Takahashi Kuniaki's behavior was a bit more reserved. "My greatest wish is to be able to receive guidance from Mr. Tsuchiya Keiichi."

"So you guys didn't come to the wrong place, all of your wishes were able to come true during the filming of the movie!" Lin Ming Yang smiled slightly, "I forgot to tell you that Mr. Keiichi Tsuchiya will be the filming consultant for this movie, at this time he is inspecting a filming road in New Mexico, U.S.A., so it won't be long before you guys can meet!"

"Really...that's fantastic!"

Takahashi Kuniaki and Tanabe Hidetoshi both began to have little stars in their eyes at the same time, Lin Mingyang's "surprise" had indeed caught them a little off guard, but of course it had also to a certain extent allayed some of their concerns about the safety of filming.

"The influence of 'Head D' on Drift is so great, have you guys read this comic?" Lin Mingyang brought the topic back around again.

This time, it was again Tanabe Hidetoshi who spoke first, "Because it depicts a racing theme, I've been reading it for about four or five years, and I've been catching up with the serials in the magazines. It feels quite fun, and there are similarities with the experiences of many drivers."

Kuniaki Takahashi's answer was a bit more conservative compared to some, he felt that Heads Up is not quite the same as the actual D1 race, in the manga it's about competing for speed, while D1 is all about the grace of the drifting maneuvers.

"Movies and comics are very different, comics are good at exaggeration whereas movies require stuntmen to actually pull it off. Like in comics, there are often two cars that always maintain a distance of 5 centimeters, even in the corners are also deadlocked, cartoonists can be completed with a pencil drawing. Whereas in a movie, it requires precise coordination between the two drivers, and if you're not careful, you'll have problems, either tailgating or the cars are too far apart."

Lin Mingyang followed up by asking, "I see that all the racing depicted in Head D is done on mountain roads, what's the biggest difference between a mountain road and a normal race track?"

Takahashi Kuniaki had more say in this question, so Tanabe Hideki, who had been very active, didn't speak up this time.

"It's impossible to do drifting on a mountain road during the day, it all has to go at night like in the manga. So the line of sight is affected and you don't dare to do too much movement. Another characteristic of mountain roads is that the roads are very narrow, with only one or two lanes, so if you make a slight mistake, it can cause a lot of damage. I practiced from normal roads and mountain roads, so I still prefer the feeling of drifting on mountain roads."

Takahashi Kuniaki's reference to nighttime biking was directed at Japan; the roads in the U.S. have comparatively much fewer vehicles, and the locations Lin Mingyang chose for filming were very targeted, so he didn't have to worry about too much impact on the local traffic even if he filmed during the daytime.

"This time we'll only be filming during the daytime, and the entire road will be blocked off while filming, so you guys can show off your skills on the curves!"