Yoshiaki Ishida

"Hey Reina, Don't go so fast on the circular line."

―Ishida to Reina, During the Intro of Cameraman Chapter from Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3.

Yoshiaki Ishida is a photographer and character in Wangan Midnight.

Bio[]

Ishida is an unsatisfied photographer who is very attracted to Devil Z, the car he heard that brought bad luck to its previous owner. To track the devil, he sits inside Reina's GT-R. However, Reina discovered that Ishida is sick and suffering from Barrett's esophagus, often coughing blood out from his mouth.

Anime[]

In the anime, he is a photographer who races on the Wangan with his Ferrari Testarossa on his own spare time. He eventually discovers the Devil Z and becomes addicted to it. Mourning that he wants to be faster than that S30Z, he contacts the famous mechanic tuner from hell, Jun Kitami and requests him to make his car faster that Z. He pays him 100,000$ for the tuning. After a week of tuning the car, Ishida goes out to the Wangan to race the Z again but this time Kitami was in his passenger seat. Some minutes later of racing on the Wangan against the Z, Ishida eventually loses control of his Testarossa when he suddenly saw a truck in front of him after the Z switched lanes and spun out. Ishida and Kitami both survive safely without any serious injuries (But in the manga he hits the truck which causes both of them to bleed on their head). After the race, Ishida is sent to the hospital only to find out that he has a cancer, known as Barrett's esophagus (in reality, is a pre-cancerous disease of the esophagus). He gets a operation with Tatsuya Shima as the director of the surgery and rests in the hospital for a week later. He returns to the Wangan again after his recovery and raced against the Devil Z, Blackbird and Reina Akikawa. Unfortunately after the Z hits a truck in the race and "saves" them, Ishida is never seen again for the rest of the anime, but his car reappears again and gets tested by Koichi Hiramoto in the next episode.

Cars[]

Ferrari Testarossa (Anime/Manga)
Gemballa Avalanche/Subaru Alcyone SVX (WMMT3DX - 3DX+)
Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (WMMT4 - WMMT5DX+)
Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 (WMMT6 onwards)
Ferrari F355 Berlinetta (Live Action Movie)

Leitmotif[]

Loop of Fortune (WMMT3DX+)
Glory Days (WMMT4)
Drive Me Crazy (WMMT5DX+)
Move On (WMMT6/6R/6RR)

Behind the Scenes[]

In anime version, Ishida is voiced by Junichi Suwabe, who is knowing voice Lars Alexandersson in Tekken series, and would later voice Kaito Akabane in MF Ghost, another racing anime that serves as the sequel to Initial D, while in live-action adaptation is played by Yoshihiko Hakamada.

Trivia[]

In the anime, it is stated that Ishida's tuned Ferrari Testarossa has around 600hp.
Ishida is never seen again after the race between him, Blackbird and Devil Z in episode 7. He mysteriously disappears from the anime, and his fate is left unknown.
The bodykit of Ishida's Testarossa is from Koenig Special which is a tuning company in Germany. The only difference between the bodykit and Ishida's car is that front bumper is changed and are different.
Ishida's Testarossa does not appear in the Maximum Tune games, due to licensing issues.
- It may also be due to the fact that Ishida's Testarossa is heavily customized and Ferrari has a strict policy with the customization of their cars.
- As result, his Testarossa is often replaced by other vehicles such as the Gemballa Avalanche/Subaru SVX, Corvette ZR1, and Lamborghini Aventador.
- If the Testarossa were to appear in the series, it would be left stock or appear with minimal modifications like Blackbird in the form of the RUF RCT in 5DX and 5DX+.