Shuichi Shigeno’s iconic racing manga and anime Initial D is joining forces with Chen Mapo Tofu (陳麻婆豆腐), the celebrated Chinese restaurant widely regarded as the birthplace of mapo tofu. A special collaboration featuring limited-time menu items will be available from August 1 through October 31 at participating locations across Japan.
The Tofu Connection
The collaboration was inspired by a key detail from the series: protagonist Takumi Fujiwara‘s family runs a tofu shop, making “tofu” the natural link between the world of Initial D and Chen Mapo Tofu’s culinary heritage.
Three Limited-Time Dishes Inspired by Cars and Characters
Three special menu items have been created for the collaboration, each drawing inspiration from iconic cars and characters in the series:
- Takumi 86 Black Mapo (拓海86黒麻婆) — A black mapo tofu made rich with squid ink, served with white rice, representing the black-and-white color scheme of Takumi’s legendary AE86.
- Keisuke FD Yellow Mapo (啓介FD黄麻婆) — A cheese-infused yellow mapo tofu that captures the vivid yellow of Takahashi Keisuke‘s RX-7 FD.
- RedSuns Red Mapo (レッドサンズ赤麻婆) — A fiery red mapo tofu inspired by the Akagi RedSuns team founded by Takahashi Ryosuke. Despite its intense appearance, the restaurant notes it is milder than it looks, making it accessible even to those who don’t handle spice well.
Freebies, Merchandise, and a Giveaway
Customers who order a limited-time menu item will receive one randomly selected collaboration trading card (10 designs in total) plus a collaboration sticker. Exclusive merchandise will also be on sale, including a packaged mapo tofu sauce kit styled after an Initial D manga volume, a keychain, and a special mapo tofu plate.
A social media campaign is also running on X (Twitter) and Instagram: post a photo of the collab menu or merchandise with the hashtag #頭文字MD for a chance to win one of 86 limited-edition mapo tofu plates featuring Initial D manga panels — the number 86 being a clear nod to Takumi’s AE86.
Participating Locations
- Chen Mapo Tofu — Shinjuku Nomura Building
- Chen Mapo Tofu — Shinjuku Southern Terrace
- Chen Mapo Tofu — Ariake Garden
- Chen Mapo Tofu Xiaochi-guan — Plaritto Keio Fuchu
- Chen Mapo Tofu — Minato Mirai
- Chen Mapo Tofu — Yokohama City Hall Laxis Front
- Chen Mapo Tofu — Tama Plaza
- Chen Mapo Tofu — Nagoya Mitsukoshi Lachic
- Chen Mapo Tofu Xiaochi-guan — Dai Nagoya Building
- Chen Mapo Tofu — Lucua Ile Osaka
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