(Spoilers alert)
Eurobeat music, mountain roads, JDM cars, cornering techniques… If you enjoy the thrill and excitement that car-racing brings, then you must not miss out on this classic.
MF Ghost is a Japanese car-racing anime that features the main character, Kanata Rivington (カナタ・リヴィントン) who is half Japanese and half English. In Japan, he goes by Kanata Katagiri (片桐カナタ) as he arrives from Great Britain to seek his Japanese father.
Kanata’s mentor, Takumi Fujiwara (藤原拓海), was the legendary main character of the well-known anime—Initial D—that largely popularized the Eurobeat music. Both Initial D and MF Ghost are written by the same author, Shuichi Shigeno, and mainly revolve around cars and racing.
The first season of MF Ghost officially premiered in October 2023 and is narrated by Shin-ichiro Miki, the Japanese voice actor of Takumi Fujiwara. MFG is first introduced as an organization established aiming to provide assistance for families affected by the volcanic activities of Mount Fuji by raising funds. Because of the eruption, the public roads nearby are covered by volcanic ashes and the subsequent dense gasses, making them the ideal, unconventional, and challenging roads for street races due to their slipperiness and low visibility.
But in fact, MFG is a circuit racing series—drivers competing to be the first to reach the endpoint by racing cars.
Into The Lake Ashinoko Race
As of Nov. 12, MF Ghost Season 2 has only up to six episodes being aired. The first episode is a continuation of the unfinished race in season 1, where Kanata is in the qualification round of round 2, located in Lake Ashinoko. He will be competing with other 14 drivers, where all 15 competitors are known as the “Godly Fifteen”—those who qualified for the second round from over 300 contenders in the first round.
As a rookie to the competition, Kanata shocks everyone with his exceptional driving skills in his red Toyota GT-86 as he “slips through the roads like a fish swimming in the sea”, especially in areas blanketed with volcanic ash known as “Slipy Trap”. While other racers normally step on the brake and decelerate in this region, Kanata fully accelerates and takes the corners at exceptionally high speeds with the legendary “Takumi Fujiwara’s Zero Counter Four-Wheel Drift.”
It is later revealed that in Royal Donington Racing School (RDRS), Kanata’s mentor, Fujiwara, instructed him on how to drift with cars that have soft suspension during extra lessons. This explains Kanata’s superb handling and unconventional drifting techniques—the extra lessons gave the tools that allow him to maintain competitive speeds despite the hazardous road conditions. It is no doubt that his precise driving and strategic approach earned him praise and positioned him as a rising star in the MFG circuit, placing other competitors on high alert.
By episode 6, titled “The Devil of Ashinoko Skyline,” the tension reaches a climax as all drivers have to counter the “deadly combination” of slippery roads and dense fog. The contest easily became one of the most legendary races throughout the whole MFG history due to its hazardous conditions and demand for superb brake and gas pedal controls.
At least two of the “Godly Fifteen” drivers lost control of their car’s grip, and skid off course. Meanwhile, Kanata fully accelerates throughout the whole course and even drifts on the treacherous roads, overtaking several of his opponents without any fear. The “MFG Super Rookie” from RDRS perfectly demonstrates what it means to be the person who earned the highest overall scores (for graduation requirement) in the school’s history up to that point.
MF Ghost: The Spiritual Successor of Initial D
The animation produced by Felix Film, a Japanese animation company, is smooth and vivid: the cars’ movement look realistic, races are extremely high in resolution, character designs are detailed, and most importantly, the animation team brings back the Eurobeat tracks that are the “spirit of the races,” just like in Initial D.
However, MF Ghost’s plot is often criticized by fans, who argue that Shigeno’s storytelling is “nowhere close to the god-level plot of Initial D” and lacks the emotional depth and impact of the prequel.
Since I have not finished all Initial D episodes, I really do not know the gap between the two series. However, I can tell that Shigeno’s storytelling style has shifted to a more modern and mainstream appeal, as reflected in the newly added fanservice of MFG Angels for commercial reasons. MF Ghost often focuses on the MFG Angels, especially in scenes where they wear revealing clothing, clearly aiming to add more sex appeal to the show. This differs from Initial D’s main narrative on racing and character development.
As a female audience, while I do not prefer this change at all, I understand its attempt in attracting a wider audience. Nevertheless, I still recommend watching both MF Ghost and Initial D—both are thrilling and emotionally fulfilling classics that every car and racing fan should experience.
