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.

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.