For quite a lot of us, Initial D was our first taste not only of Japanese automotive culture, but also of cars in general.

The highly popular manga (Japanese comic) and anime spanned the 1990s and 2000s, following the life of tofu delivery driver turned street-racing sensation Takumi Fujiwara.

Initial D is based loosely on the life of legendary racing driver and “Drift King” Keiichi Tsuchiya, who served as editorial supervisor.

And now, the “GenZ” is about to get a taste of Initial D’s magic on the small screen with the debut of its successor, MF Ghost, on Oct. 1, 2023.

New 86, new adventures

MF Ghost has been published as a manga since September 2017, but a teaser of the anime was released on January 2022.

The new show follows the life of Kanata Livington, a half-Japanese, half-British kid who is Takumi’s protege. He competes in the MF Ghost racing series, a professional racing event organized by Takumi’s “Project D” manager Ryosuke Takahashi.

Kanata takes on stronger cars in his Toyota GT86, the successor of the original Toyota AE86 that Takumi used in Initial D. He is also one of the last true “wheelmen” in an era where self-driving electric vehicles dominate the roads (a look into the future, perhaps).

Avex, the group behind the Initial D anime, will also be bringing MF Ghost to motion. The company said the engine and exhaust notes were recorded from the actual cars for authenticity.

The new anime will be streamed on Medialink for South and Southeast Asia.

Are you excited to watch the adventures of Car #86?

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