MF Ghost is the continuation of Shuichi Shigeno’s street racing manga series Initial D and it is getting an anime adaptation as confirmed by MF Ghost’s official website and Twitter account.
This is actually one of the very first anime to be confirmed for 2023 along with Dr. Stone Season 3, which was confirmed at Jump Festa 2022.
Kodansha also recently revealed that they are digitally publishing MF Ghost with English translation via ComiXology and Amazon Kindle. The first 10 volumes will be available to read on those two platforms starting on January 11, 2022.
That all said, here’s everything we know about the upcoming MF Ghost anime so far!
MF Ghost Background
MF Ghost is a street racing manga that was created by Shuichi Shigeno, the creator of Initial D. It first began serializing in Japan in 2017 and it is still continuing with the most recent volume to release being Volume 12. It is the continuation of the Initial D manga, which was released in 1993 and completed with a total of 48 volumes. Initial D was also printed with an English translation by Tokyopop, but the series has since gone out of print and they only released 33 volumes.
I have high hopes that with an MF Ghost anime coming out, it will shine the spotlight on Initial D as well, not only opening it up to new fans who have yet to experience the series but also to publishers. I am really hoping for a reprint of the original series, but also an English-translated release of the MF Ghost manga in the future as well!
Initial D has inspired a number of different anime adaptations and video game releases too. It is a major force in anime and manga and I can’t wait to see its continuation MF Ghost when it airs.
What is MF Ghost about?
MF Ghost by Shuichi Shigeno is a continuation of Initial D. Initial D is set in the 1990s, while MF Ghost is set sometime in 202X. That being said, it’s set quite a bit in the future in a time when self-driving cars have replaced cars with internal combustion engines. But there is an organization called MFG that still street races with internal combustion cars. MFG is run by Ryosuke Takahashi, who we first met in Initial D.
The story, however, follows the main character Kanata Livington, a 19-year-old rookie, who shows up in top-tier and high-performance European cars in his Toyota 86 and is in search of his father. Kanata is trained by none other than the legend himself and the main character of Initial D, Takumi Fujiwara.
For those of you who have yet to check out MF Ghost‘s predecessor, Initial D follows Takumi Fujiwara, an 18-year-old who helps out his father at his tofu shop by making deliveries. Every morning he heads out to Mt. Akina in his Dad’s AE86 to do so. Because of this daily routine, he has gained skills in mountain racing which were further honed day after day while driving to make a delivery at its summit. Takumi’s daily life begins to change though when Mt. Akagi’s Akagi RedSuns come into town to challenge the local team, the Akina SpeedStars.
Anime Collective rewrite
Who’s the team behind the MF Ghost anime?
Felix Film, the animation studio behind Aharen-san wa Hakarenai and Otherside Picnic, is animating the series. Directing the series is Tomohito Naka and the character designs are being done by Naoyuki Onda (Psycho-Pass, Ergo Proxy, Inuyashiki, Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway). The music is being composed by Akio Dobashi, who created the music for the Initial D films. Avex Pictures, who was also a part of the Initial D movies, is producing the anime.
MF Ghost Anime Release Date
The MF Ghost anime is releasing on October 1, 2023.
You can check out the first teaser visual and get a first look at the upcoming MF Ghost anime in the teaser video below! The character designs for Kanata Livington and Ren Saionji were revealed at a later date.
MF Ghost Anime Visual
MF Ghost Anime Teaser Video
In other anime news, check out all of the anime that are coming out in 2022 so far!
