MF Ghost
| Company type | Manga series, Anime television series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment (Manga, Anime) |
| Founded | September 4, 2017 |
| Founder | Shuichi Shigeno |
| Headquarters | Japan |
| Products | Manga volumes, Anime episodes |
| Parent | Kodansha (manga publisher) |
| Website | youngmagazine |
is a Japanese manga created by Shuichi Shigeno that serves as a continuation of Initial D. The narrative further delves into Japan's street racing culture. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen publication Weekly Young Magazine from September 2017 through February 2025, culminating in a total of 23 volumes. The anime adaptation, produced by Felix Film, premiered its first season from October to December 2023, followed by a second season airing October to December 2024, with a third season planned for release in 2026.
Plot
Set in the early 2020s, the story takes place in a future where autonomous electric vehicles are prevalent. However, Japan's MFG organization, established by Ryosuke Takahashi (a character from Initial D), remains dedicated to street racing using traditional internal combustion engine cars. The protagonist, Kanata Rivington—a 19-year-old driver of Japanese-British descent who races under the name Kanata Katagiri—pilots a Toyota 86. He ascends through the ranks of MFG by outperforming high-end vehicles such as the Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4, Ferrari 488 GTB, Lotus Exige, Alfa Romeo 4C, and Porsche 911 Carrera (991). Kanata is trained by the legendary racer Takumi Fujiwara at the Royal Donington Racing School and is also a Formula 4 world champion. His ultimate objective is to locate his estranged father.
Manga
MF Ghost, both written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno, commenced serialization in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine on September 4, 2017. As a sequel to Shigeno's prior work Initial D, the manga concluded on February 17, 2025. Kodansha published a total of 23 collected volumes between January 5, 2018, and June 6, 2025.
On January 11, 2022, Kodansha USA along with Comixology launched digital distribution of the manga, which was subsequently added to Kodansha's K Manga platform in May 2023.
A follow-up series titled began serialization in Weekly Young Magazine on July 22, 2025.
Anime
The anime television adaptation was officially announced on January 4, 2022. Produced by Felix Film and directed by Tomohito Naka, the series features scripts overseen by Kenichi Yamashita with co-writing contributions from Akihiko Inari. Character designs were crafted by Naoyuki Onda, while Akio Dobashi composed the music score. The first season aired from October 2 to December 18, 2023, across Tokyo MX and other networks. Its opening theme song is "Jungle Fire" performed by Yū Serizawa and Motsu of Move, and the ending theme is "Stereo Sunset" sung by Himika Akaneya.
After the twelfth episode aired, a second season was confirmed and broadcast from October 7 to December 23, 2024. The opening track for this season is "Rock Me Kiss Me feat. Motsu" by Yū Serizawa, with "Side U (Prod. AmPm)" by Himika Akaneya serving as the ending theme.
Following the conclusion of season two, a third installment was announced with a scheduled premiere in 2026.
The series is streamed internationally via Crunchyroll, while licensing rights for Asia-Pacific are held by Medialink, which distributes it through its Ani-One Asia YouTube channel.
Season 1 (2023)
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Reception
As of January 2019, the manga had achieved circulation exceeding 1 million copies; this figure expanded to more than 3.2 million by January 2022 and surpassed 4 million by January 2023.
The initial episode of the anime received mixed evaluations from editors at Anime News Network (ANN). Rebecca Silverman pointed out the limited depiction of racing sequences and the presence of fan service. Richard Eisenbeis remarked on the lack of "thrilling drifting car races and iconic eurobeat tracks," though he acknowledged a solid opening with adequately developed character narratives. James Beckett proposed that viewers without a strong interest in cars might find the romantic elements appealing, but he questioned its effectiveness as a racing anime. Nicholas Dupree complimented the detailed CG vehicles and character artwork but criticized the environmental backgrounds, emphasizing that upcoming episodes need to better convey the excitement of racing.
Steve Jones, an ANN editor, designated MF Ghost as the Worst Anime of Fall 2023, highlighting "thinly developed characters, poor execution, and an almost absent storyline," and remarked that it failed to live up to its role as a successor to Initial D, despite featuring Eurobeat music once again. Monique Thomas named it the Worst Anime of 2023, criticizing the racing scenes for lacking tension and being overloaded with technical jargon, while describing the overall production quality as dull and uninspired.
Kennedy, writing for ANN, assigned a C grade to the entire first season, praising the racing sequences but faulting the unremarkable characters and fragmented plot, ultimately concluding that it did not capture Initial D's signature over-the-top entertainment despite sharing its Eurobeat soundtrack. In 2025, Kennedy rated the second season with a C–; he acknowledged its "adequate" production values and Eurobeat-accompanied races but found secondary plots stagnant and race scenes repetitive, concluding that the series appeared to be losing momentum as it neared its manga finale.
External links
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