The film arguably feels the most disconnected from the main continuity for the bulk of its runtime, but Vin Diesel’s cameo as Dom Toretto helped create a sense of connection to the main, overarching story that allowed Fast and Furious to “reboot” the series in 2009.
Although The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is often considered a weak movie in the legacy of the franchise, Neal Moritz’s recent appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast helped contextualize and rationalize its importance.