2024 Show
Japan · Japanese
A promising street racing anime whose characters are running on empty
As the world tries to shift to more environmentally-friendly tech, it would be interesting to see how these shifts will play out. MF Ghost presents a near future world where street racing is the last arena standing for internal combustion cars, as the spiritual successor for the popular 90s manga Initial D. MF Ghost’s animation improves on Initial D’s art style, incorporating 3D models for more accurate racing, and cleaner character designs. Unfortunately, the introduction kills any intrigue in Kanata’s search for his father, as well as the dynamic between him and the family he’s staying with. Viewers already a fan of street racing might enjoy the stunning car racing, but when not focused on the sport, MF Ghost falters in making its characters compelling.
Japan adopts self-driving electric automobiles and renders most gas engines obsolete by 202X. The fastest cars find new life in the MFG, a racing circuit held on Japanese motorways. Drivers from around the world race for a shot at the title. Kanata Rivington returns from Britain to Japan for the MFG—and to find his father. Can he win the title and find answers? Buckle up and push it to the limit!
Late 2020s. Self-driving electric cars have replaced internal combustion ones. However, in Japan, these old cars are still being put to use in the street racing circuit called MFG. After growing up his whole life in London, Kanata Rivington returns to Japan for two reasons: one, to race in the MFG, and two, to find his long-lost father.
With the show’s abundance of interesting themes – tech disruption, globalization, abandonment – MF Ghost could have been great, especially as the spiritual successor to a fairly popular street racing series. The 90s nostalgia and the car races already make it exciting, but the attention to story could have made it more.
Unfortunately, the way each character gets introduced feels so uninteresting. Main character Kanata could have been introduced directly on track, but we first hear of him just by dialogue from the family he’s staying with, from their daughter’s friends gushing how mixed race Japanese are cute. And in his first race alone, we already know where his father is. These reveals completely kill any mystery or intrigue the show had going for these characters, and it makes it hard to continue the series after these introductions.
See, this would be more than car propaganda, but the introduction…
Isabella Endrinal is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. She's now free from the corporate night shift. Previous articles have been published in outlets such as NANG Magazine. She's currently catching up on some classic films… if she isn't coping with the fact that the Haikyu anime will end soon.
Comments