Shingo Shoji is a major antagonist from the Initial D manga and anime series. He is a member of the NightKids who drives a red Honda Civic SiR-II (EG6). Shingo races dangerously: he will nudge his rival's car in order to make the other driver lose control. He doesn't find plain downhill races any fun, preferring to race against a handicap. In this handicap match, Shingo tapes his right hand to the steering wheel for the duration of the race. By doing this, Shingo limits his own steering capabilities to pleasure himself. In terms of racing ability, Shingo is the second best driver on the Night Kids team. He is also a childhood friend of Impact Blue's navigator, Sayuki.
Shingo actually shares many beliefs with Takeshi, but whenever they watch other battles, they stay away from one another so that people won't mistake them as friends. There were also times that he supported his teammate for the Night Kids' sake, like the battle against Seiji Iwaki and his Evo IV. In New Initial D: Fifth Stage, Takumi remembered and mentioned that Shingo lost to him.
In Japanese, Shingo has been voiced by the late Keiji Fujiwara in the animated series and by Shuhei Sakaguchi in New Initial D: The Movie. In English, Shingo has been voiced by Quinton Flynn in the Tokyopop dub, and by Vic Mignogna in the Funimation dub.
Personality[]
Shingo Shoji drives a Honda Civic (EG6), which he often uses dangerously in order to win. He's a driver that finds regular Downhill races boring and one of the few villainous characters in the series, though he spends much of the latter half of the series as having a grudging respect for Takumi, the series' lead, and sticking around Takeshi Nakazato. He is also a childhood friend of Sayuki, the navigator of Impact Blue.
Biography[]
Wanting to prove himself to his fellow Night Kids member, Takeshi Nakazato who was defeated by Takumi Fujiwara, Shingo Shoji challenged Takumi to a race by Wrecking Takumi's friend Itsuki while he was on a date, and spinning Iketani out when he was testing his recently-repaired S13. Takumi accepted Shingo's challenge to a gumtape death match, where the right hand is taped to the wheel, severely limiting both drivers abilities. Though Shingo had the initial advantage, Takumi was soon able to come up with a strategy to overcome the weakness. When Takumi passed Shingo, Shingo attempted to wreck both himself and Takumi in a desperate attempt to tie the race, but underestimated Takumi's driving ability and crashed into a guard rail, ruining his car and forcing him to admit defeat by accepting the help of Iketani, who was following the trail of the race. Later on in the series, Shingo acted more as a background character, often talking with Nakazato and supporting him when he was racing against Keisuke at Myogi, and when Emperor's Seiji Iwaki challenged Nakazato to a race. Both Shingo and Nakazato prefer to watch the races at a distance, so people won't mistake them as friends.
Trivia[]
- In Initial D: Fifth Stage, Shingo appears to have a tan.
- It might be slightly hinted that he may be a fan of Mugen Motorsports, a Honda Car Tuning Specialist.
- When he made his first appearance intimidating Iketani's S13, it appears that the Mugen RNR wheel is painted in Metallic Silver. But later in the anime, especially when racing with Takumi in the Gum Tape Deathmatch in Episode 15 of First Stage, his Mugen RNR wheels suddenly became Black with a Red Trim. In the Initial D Arcade Stage video games, his Mugen RNR Rims are again only shown in Metallic Silver.
- Shingo's dirty tricks on the Akina Speedstars as well as Takumi might be similar to the late Pixar villain, Chick Hicks from Cars.