Background
Made during one of the most notorious eras of street racing, when the Mid Night Club ruled the scene and became one of the most infamous and feared or "respected" car clubs in Japan. Before they were banned from doing so, car magazines freely covered illegal races, but in the mid 1990s, Western media started to report about the Bōsōzoku and in the 2000s a popular American street racing video game series was named after them, as Midnight Club.
The first film, produced by Nikkatsu, was banned from release in Japan in cinema, due to its content. When racing driver and former street racer Keiichi Tsuchiya came on hand from the first sequel, it had adopted an anti street racing message, therefore avoiding a ban. The series became a semi biographical piece about him, partially about his experience as a hashiriya (native term for "street racer") and that when he quit to go professional racing.
The series following the first film, were released under the Toei Company's V-Cinema line, meaning that they were all released direct-to-video. These films are believed to have influenced popular franchises including local video games Zero4 Champ series and Shutokō Battle series (the name "shutokō battle" is a dialogue line in the fourth film) as well as comic books like Wangan Midnight and Initial D.
It was also a source of inspiration for Hong Kong cinema's Legend of Speed and western video games like the Midnight Club series as well Hollywood films such as The Fast and the Furious.
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