English Title: MF Ghost
Japanese Title: MFゴースト
Director(s): Naka Tomohito
Screenwriter(s): Yamashita Kenichi
Studio: Felix Film
Released: 2023
Season 1 Runtime: 12 episodes, ~23m each.
Starring: Uchida Yuuma, Sakura Ayane, Hatanaka Tasuku, Ono Daisuke, Koube Tatsuki
My Verdict: Racing action can be better executed but plotting and pacing are not bad so far. Interesting and entertaining enough to keep one interested.
● Based on the ongoing manga of the same name by Shigeno Shuichi that began in 2017, MF Ghost is essentially Initial D: The Next Generation. I have not read the manga so the review is purely of the anime.
● Due to the increase of electric vehicles, Takahashi Ryosuke founded the popular street-racing series named MFG in which only vehicles with internal combustion engines are permitted.
● The lead male character is 19-year-old Kanata Rivington who arrives in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, to find his Japanese father as well as to participate in MFG. He races as Katagiri Kanata, using his father’s surname. His English mother passed away some time ago. Kanata lives with the Saionji family who seems to have been friends of his late mother. They have a 17-year-old daughter named Ren who happens to be an “Angel”, basically a grid girl for the MFG.
● Kanata drives local mechanic Ogata’s Toyota 86GT which is obviously underpowered compared to the supercars other racers use. But Kanata is just like Fujiwara Takumi who he studied under in England. Kanata follows the same template as Takumi—the kind, considerate and softly-spoken underdog—although Kanata is already an experienced racer whereas Takumi was skilled but uninterested at the start of Initial D.
● There is obviously some romantic undertones and tension between Kanata and Ren. Although merely two years apart, Kanata is more mature and not that interested whereas Ren is a high school girl who is, but both are genuinely kind to each other. Ren hesitates, of course, that is the typical arc. Kanata seemingly not recognizing Ren as an Angel is unrealistic.
● Many of the characters follow a character template from Initial D without being outright clone characters. Ren is obviously modelled on Mogi Natsuki, at least visually—whilst Natsuki comes across as shallow, Ren is more-or-less normal. Kanata’s mechanic Ogata is visually modelled on Takeuchi Itsuki although he is older than Itsuki.
● Characters from Initial D, both major and minor, do feature to varying degrees.
● The whole scantily dressed grid girl thing is expected for manga/anime but even in the context of a Japanese motor racing series, the narrative pushes it too much.
● As for relationships and conflicts, some guys (not Kanata) going for 17-year-old girls is tacky. One character perhaps means well and is clueless although his means are objectionable but the other is just a pervert.
● As for racing conflict or the setup thereof, it is amusing that Kanata is half-English whereas the obvious top rival is/will be a young German driver who is a machine.
● Similar to Initial D, much of it is racing action. Just as each race in Initial D spans more than one episode, MF Ghost follows suit. However, Initial D are street races between two drivers whereas MF Ghost involves Kanata qualifying on his own before racing with multiple cars, so the different battles between different drivers give relief to each other and the narrative is not always intensely focused on the same two drivers and cars.
● Initial D regularly touches on some point of racing theory. In my opinion, it is mildly technical for dramatic purposes, sometimes even trying to be technical and cool when it isn’t. As a matter of personal taste, it could be more technical—if one is going to glorify (illegal) racing, then at least talk about some real theory. MF Ghost so far is even less technical. Perhaps it is aiming for a wider audience…
● The other difference regarding racing action is that Initial D has a lot of drifting whereas MF Ghost is more conventional.
● Apart from internal combustion engines, the other major rule in MFG is the “grip-to-weight ratio”. Basically, the heavier the car, the wider the tyres. It is an amusing concept but the details are not elaborated on so far. Depending on how sensitive the weight–tyre width scaling is, it might not make that much difference but that is another discussion.
● Visually, the production is generally good and it looks slick. The characters are close enough to the manga designs. The environment is very well done. Just as Initial D sells the feel of being a fellow resident of Gunma Prefecture, MF Ghost does well enough with Kanagawa Prefecture. Initial D feels more natural, more local, probably because the street racing is illegal and the style and feel flow from that. With a formalized racing series in MF Ghost, the presentation comes across as “bigger” and more “touristy” (probably because Kamakura is a tourist destination).
● The camera work is diverse and dynamic as expected. Many shots emulate what one typically sees on a live broadcast. The use of drones to follow the cars also gives the excuse to have more aerial shots. As for the non-realistic shots, it is what one would expect given the genre, with a good mix of wider establishing shots and close-ups at dramatic moments.
● The cars are rendered well. There is the heavy use of speed lines or alarm lines on the car body to convey speed and movement. This is not a bad thing, it is a matter of taste. The other technique to convey movement is shaking/vibration which, in my opinion, is sometimes excessive. Although the cars are rendered nicely, the motion is awkward.
● The one main weakness of the racing action is that even though the audience is shown the lap graphics (and positions during the race), there is a lack of continuity between corners. It is almost as if every shot of the cars and drivers is a standalone moment. Hardly does it ever feel like one is viewing a continuous lap. The laps are long so showing an entire lap is out of the question, and it’s not that the shot compositions and cutting are bad, but they along with the sequence arrangement can nevertheless be better. Given that Kanata is on his own for qualifying, this is a lost opportunity to give the audience a better feel of the lap.
● The voice acting is good as expected, at least when Japanese is being spoken. However, Uchida Yuuma’s occasional utterance of English is not very convincing when Kanata is meant to be half-English. Whilst there is nothing wrong with the performance of Koube Tatsuki as MFG commentator Tanaka Youji, his character has too many lines so it is too much at times.
● Overall, it is not bad so far. It is similar enough but also just different enough from Initial D to be interesting and entertaining throughout. Racing action is not lacking even though it can be executed better. Character and relationships can develop more but this is the first season which covers a narrow timeframe. Eurobeats has a notable presence but thankfully not enough to be annoying if one happens to not like that kind of music. Sound effects and editing for the cars (such as engine and braking) are solid but can be more substantial.
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