Volume 23

Not to be confused with the twenty-third volume of the omnibus release.

Volume 23 of the Initial D manga was released on the 26th of December 2001. It was later combined with volume 24 in the twelfth omnibus release.

Chapters

273. Elimination Heats (前哨戦, Zenshō Sen, "Skirmish")
274. Elimination Heats (Part Two) (前哨戦 (後編), Zenshō Sen (Kōhen), "Skirmish (Continued)")
275. One Turbine--or Two? (シングルターボVS. ツインターボ, Shinguru Tābo VS. Tsuin Tābo, "Single Turbo vs. Twin Turbo")
276. White-Hot Rendezvous (白熱のランデブー, Hakunetsu no Randebū, "Heated Rendezvous")
277. White-Hot Rendezvous (Part Two) (白熱のランデブー (後編), Hakunetsu no Randebū (Kōhen), "Heated Rendezvous (Continued)")
278. The Glittering Genius (きらめく才能, Kirameku Sainō, "Sparkling Talent")
279. The Glittering Genius (Part Two) (きらめく才能 (後編), Kirameku Sainō (Kōhen), "Sparkling Talent (Continued)")
280. A Painful Conclusion (せつない決着, Setsunai Ketchaku, "Painful Conclusion")
281. The Confessions of Kyoko (恭子の告白, Kyōko no Kokuhaku, "Kyoko's Confession")
282. The Confessions of Kyoko (Part Two) (恭子の告白 (後編), Kyōko no Kokuhaku (Kōhen), "Kyoko's Confession (Continued)")
283. Nobuhiko Learns A Secret (延彦の発見, Nobuhiko no Hakken, "Nobuhiko's Discovery")
284. Nobuhiko Learns A Secret (Part Two) (延彦の発見 (後編), Nobuhiko no Hakken (Kōhen), "Nobuhiko's Discovery (Continued)")
285. K.T. and Kyoko (啓介と恭子, Keisuke to Kyōko, "Keisuke and Kyoko")
286. Target: Eight Six (ハチロク包囲網, Hachi Roku Hōi Mō, "Eight-Six Under Siege")
287. Target: Eight Six (Part Two) (ハチロク包囲網 (後編), Hachi Roku Hōi Mō (Kōhen), "Eight-Six Under Siege (Continued)")
288. The Last Barrier's the Biggest (最大の難関, Saidai no Nankan, "The Biggest Barrier")

Official Descriptions

English

"As Tak and Nobuhiko battle atop the mountain, Kyoko makes her romantic aspirations known to K.T. However, even though there may be a romantic flame simmering between them, K.T. struggles with putting desire before drifting. Meanwhile, the Northwest Saitama Alliance plots their revenge against Project D, initiating a plan that could finally dethrone the kings of the road!"

―Tokyopop^[2]

"Proving that passing Daiki was no fluke, Tak wins his race. Now it’s up to K.T. to keep up the momentum as he takes on Toudou’s ”Smiley” Sakai. They call the guy ”Smiley,” because in the heat of battle his face scrunches up into what might be deceptively described as a grin. Sakai’s smile quickly fades, though, when K.T. beats him in their race. After this defeat a long absent member of the Toudou team comes back to defend the team’s sullied reputation... a member so tough that even Kyoichi calls Ryosuke to warn him."

―Kodansha USA^[3]

French

"Deux FD sont côte à côte sur la ligne de départ… Au volant du modèle jaune, Keisuke, pour la Team Project D. Face à lui, Kyôko, la jeune prodige de la team locale, est aux commandes du modèle noir. Devant l'habileté déployée par cette jeune pilote tenace qu'il a trop sous-estimée, Keisuke va devoir se surpasser pour espérer l'emporter… Car il va le réaliser que le monde du street-racing n'a pas de sexe !!"

―Crunchyroll^[4]

Localisation Differences

The Tokyopop version of this volume mislables Nobuhiko Akiyama's Toyota Altezza as an EK-9
- This is likely because the previous volume features Tomoyuki Tachi's Honda Civic in the same spot
- This issue is never fixed or addressed until the car pages were removed all together from Volume 32 onward.