Based on the spiritual successor of Initial D from the same creator, Shuichi Shigeno, Felix Film’s adaptation of MF Ghost has been surprisingly well-received by anime fans despite its niche fanbase. It’s been officially confirmed that the high-intensity racing series will be returning with a third season, unveiling a brand-new trailer and a gorgeous promotional poster. As of writing, there’s been no confirmation regarding when Season 3 will release.
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MF Ghost takes place sometime in the 2020s, in an era where self-driving electric cars have replaced the need for traditional automobiles. In Japan, there exists an organization called the MFG – founded by the one and only Ryosuke Takahashi from Initial D – that performs street races using internal combustion cars. A racing rookie named Kanata Rivington has recently exploded on the scene, driving a Toyota 86 and taking down top-tier opponents from around the world. Once the series kicks off, it’s revealed that Katana was trained by none other than Takumi Fujiwara, the lead protagonist from the original Initial D series, while living in England, moving to Japan to hunt down his long-lost father.
MF Ghost is just as high-octane as Initial D, filled with exciting races and the same level of character drama as the original series. What’s more, MF Ghost doesn’t require its audience to be overly familiar with its predecessor, making it easier for new fans to get invested in the franchise. While the series does feature iconic faces from Initial D, MF Ghost stands wholly on its own.
[RELATED: Initial D Releases First Trailer for Sequel Anime: Watch]
MF Ghost Effortlessly Lives Up To Initial D’s Legacy
Initial D is a hard act to follow, truly being in a league of its own in terms of quality and uniqueness amid the seinen demographic. The series originally began being serialized in Weekly Young Magazine in 1995, running until 2013. By the time the series came to an end, it had 48 million copies in circulation, and in 2021, the series had surpassed 55 million copies in circulation. While Shigeno’s work is memorable on its own, nothing really compares to Initial D‘s anime adaptation, which was originally released in 1998 and features an absolutely incredible soundtrack featuring the ever-iconic Eurobeat genre. With smash-hit songs like “Running In the 90s” and “Deja Vu” being insanely catchy accompaniments to Takumi and the rest of the cast’s races, it’s not surprising that the series would become a classic.
MF Ghost succeeds in living up to the original series legacy by still offering the same level of exciting races and even includes Eurobeat in its soundtrack. The original manga began serializing four years after Initial D concluded, and as of writing, is still going strong. While it does bring back legacy characters from the prior series, it doesn’t lean on them to tell its story, instead having a fully realized and intricate protagonist in Katana. MF Ghost currently has over 4 million copies in circulation, with its popularity only growing. The anime adaptation, which is being handled by Felix Film, uses 3DCG to its advantage, gorgeously blending the character models with cell shading that gives the series a timeless, almost 2D look.
H/T Crunchyroll