Tokyopop is planning a major ad campaign to support the launch of its Initial D anime series, which debuts in September.  Tokyopop has already published five volumes of the Initial D manga series, and the title has made regular appearances on the Bookscan list of bestselling graphic novels in the book market.  Unlike many of Tokyopop's shoujo manga hits, which are aimed at female readers, Initial D is targeted at the male teenage demographic, since the story is set in the world of street racing -- the same milieu that has spawned the extremely popular Mitsubishi-sponsored Fast and Furious movies (the second film in the series 2 Fast 2 Furious was the top movie at the box office last weekend, see '2 Fast 2 Furious Critic Proof').  In addition to the manga and anime series Initial D has also inspired both a collectible card game (see 'Details On The Initial D CCG') and a Playstation 2 videogame (Initial D: Second Stage), both of which will debut in October.

Tokyopop plans to run a national cable TV campaign in support of the Initial D anime release in September, the first big TV ad campaign that the U.S. manga-publishing powerhouse has run.  Although Tokyopop has several other A-list anime series including GTO, Reign the Conqueror, and Brigadoon, none of them has the breakout potential of Initial D, which combines lightening-paced computer-generated racing sequences with traditional cel animation for dialogue and story scenes.  Auto expert and hotshot driver Keiichi Tsuchiya served as technical adviser for the 39-episode anime series, which pays loving attention to every detail of racing and engine performance.

In addition to its national TV campaign Tokyopop will have a trailer for the Initial D anime series on the CD-Rom that will be included in the September issue of Play Station magazine.  The property is obviously perfect videogame material and the Initial D: Second Stage Playstation game could become a huge hit that builds off the energy of the whole street racing phenomenon.  The concentration of marketing for the anime series, the PS2 game and the CCG should prove mutually beneficial and mark this coming fall with an Initial 'D' for 'dollars,' as this property takes off.