Nov 12, 2023
MF Ghost should have either been a separate series from the Initial D universe, or it should have been Takumi instead of the new protagonist driving in the MF Ghost races if the authors truly wanted an Initial D successor. There is no reason for Initial D to be linked to this series, as it takes place years later, involves much more professional racing with expensive supercars, and only mentions characters from Initial D to give nostalgia shots to the viewers who have seen Initial D. This is a stark contrast to the underground street races on the mountain roads, tight brotherhood of racing friends,
...
and of course, featuring classic Japanese tuner cars from the 90s (and 00s in later stages).
MF Ghost feels like an insult to the original Initial D series. It is revealed that our beloved Takumi (mc from Initial D for those that didn't watch) was injured in a rally racing accident, which would explain why he is no longer racing, but it feels like a slap in the face to all of us who have seen Initial D. The character we have seen develop over several seasons from a space-cadet highschool student who didn't care about cars transformed into a focused, formidable street racer that was the best in the entire region. Now we have to follow his student, a prodigy who somehow can keep up with seasoned racing veterans straight out of racing school, with an underpowered car compared to his competitors, who are driving European supercars with hundreds more horsepower than Kanata's borrowed GT86. Critics may mention Takumi also managed to beat opponents in more powerful cars, but he had experience on mountain runs for years from Tofu deliveries, so it made a little more sense that his experience made up for some of the power his AE86 lacked.
Other faults with the series include the vehicles in the race, the Angels cheerleading group, and lackluster character development. How is a GT86 supposed to beat any Porsche, Ferarri, or Lamborghini in any sort of race?? We have shots of under the hood, so we see the modified GT86 is still sporting a 2-liter 4-cylinder FA20. Even if every other part of the car has been modified, the engine still only makes around 200 hp without forced induction. How is that supposed to beat a Porsche 911 GT3 making upwards of 475 hp? What about a Lamborghini Huracan making 600 hp? The R35 Nissan GT-R with 500+ hp? And those are stock numbers for those cars, if they have any additional power modifications, it just adds evidence to my point that Kanata's car should have no chance against the top racers.
Why are the Angel cheerleaders constantly providing awkward fan service shots in the most random moments? I'm not against fan service if it is tasteful, but I can't help but cringe at the uncomfortable amount that is in MF Ghost. There's a time and a place for fanservice, and it just feels very out of place and far too frequent in this show.
The lack of character development would have been fine if the main character was from Initial D (especially if it was an older Takumi if the author hadn't dissolved his plot armor), but we are thrown right into an unfamiliar environment with characters we know nothing about and have no reason to give a shit about. Takumi was Kanata's teacher/coach, but he is not present in the show. None of the other main characters have any connection to Initial D, which makes me wonder why they even bothered making MF GFhost a sequel of Initial D. Additionally, there is not much room for growth, as Kanata is supposedly a racing demi-god, has good looks, is popular, and is already a chick magnet. Where can he improve from here? He's devastatingly bland because he already has everything anyone could want.
Apologies if this review came off as ranty, I just love the Initial D franchise to death and want to see it do well. I have additional gripes but, for the sake of brevity, these were my biggest complaints. Perhaps I would rate MF Ghost slightly better if it was not connected to the Initial D franchise. But because it is connected to a franchise I care for, I feel I have to give it some constructive criticism. I am not content at all with the direction the story is taking, and I hope the author takes feedback from the community's response and makes future seasons of MF Ghost the sequel Initial D deserves.
Thanks for reading :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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