This is a list of characters appearing in the racing manga, MF Ghost. To get back to the main page, click here.
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Main Characters
Kanata Rivington (No. 86)
Voiced by: Yūma Uchida (Japanese), Kieran Fitton (English)
Japanese-English racer who arrives to Japan, looking for his father. Despite his young age, Kanata is an extremely skilled racer and has been involved in the sport since his early childhood. During the MFG, he races with the pre-facelift variant Toyota 86 (ZN6)
, The AE86's spiritual successor, which retains the older front grille.
- Adaptational Dye-Job: His hair is black in the manga, But in the anime, his hair is a light brown.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: His near encyclopedic knowledge of his car, his opponent's cars, and the layout of the courses allow his underpowered 86 to overtake the opposition at the moment they have their guard down:
- He has Ogata give him the time difference between himself and the car ahead of him during the foggy section of the track where visibility is poor, and then triangulates both his own position as well as the opponent's position purely through the time difference.
- He gets into an extended battle with the Yajikata Siblings and overtakes them, before easing up ahead of a long straightaway where he's at a disadvantage. This all turns out to be carefully calculated: by getting an understanding of the Siblings' performance, he's able to deduce the ideal point to fall back and ride their slipstream during the straightaway to minimize his time loss, before overtaking them again.
- Beyond the Impossible: Kanata's tire management is so good that even when he reaches a point where there is theoretically no chance his tires wouldn't have worn out, he manages to achieve grip.
- Chick Magnet: It doesn't take long for him to gather a large female following thanks to his handsome looks and success in MFG, something that deeply annoys Ren.
- Disqualification-Induced Victory: Kanata just barely missed a spot in the Godly Fifteen during the preliminaries by a mere two tenths of a second. However, one of the top 15 drivers was disqualified due to a breach of regulations, promoting Kanata into the finals.
- Fish out of Water: While he can speak Japanese quite well, he has a very hard time adjusting to the local culture otherwise and lapses back into English when shocked or surprised. One example has him having a hard time reading or writing kanji, as well as difficulty in using chopsticks.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: After the opening race at Odawara Pikes Peak, his 86 gets upgraded throughout the series. Beginning with some handling mods (such as brakes and suspension upgrades) for Round 2, a turbocharger installation (alongside a carbon fibre hood) for Round 3, and a TRD 14R kit for Round 4.
- Nice Guy: Amiable and laid-back, Kanata is one friendly guy who shows lots of respect and selflessness towards his peers, as long as you don't disrupt him while he's concentrating behind the wheel.
- Photographic Memory: Apparently all it took him to fully memorize the layout of Odawara Pikes Peaks was to look at it three times. As it turns out, it's a hereditary trait from his mother Katherine.
- Pretty Boy He's frequently compared to a model because of his looks.
- What a Piece of Junk: Kanata's 86 is heavily underpowered and antiquated compared to the competition explanation, but his unique driving technique and topography of Odawara Pikes Peaks allows him to fully exploit the car's lightweight and stable frame explanation to his advantage.
Shun Aiba "Kamikaze Yanke" (No. 9)
Voiced by: Daisuke Ono (Japanese), Cory Philips (English)
One of the few drivers who is able to compete in the MFG with a domestic car. He's quick to recognize Kanata's talent after witnessing his first race. His chosen racing car is the Nissan GT-R NISMO
- Bromantic Foil: Much less of a ladies man than Kanata to say the least.
- Composite Character: He combines characteristics from all members of the Akina Speed Stars, though unlike them, he's a genuinely skilled racer.
- Down to the Last Play: In a three-wide sudden death between him against Kaito's 488 and Yuudai's R8 during the battle for 3rd place, he overshoot his brakes in the final straight, causing him to runoff the track, and even losing to Yousuke in his AMG GT. As a result, he ended up finishing 6th in the Odawara Pikes Peak.
- Hopeless Suitor: To Ren.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: He switches over to the 2020 GT-R Nismo for Round 4 and 5
- Ironic Name: He's the only person driving a domestic car in MFG's Top 10, yet he's known as ''Kamikaze Yanke".
Ren Saionji "Angel 7"
Voiced by: Ayane Sakura (Japanese), Trisha Mellon (English)
A Cheerleader in the MFG races who lives under the same roof as Kanata
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Ren isn't happy at all towards all the attention Kanata is getting from other girls and is none too happy to hear that he has joined the MFG since this is only going to increase his popularity among girls.
- Hypocritical Humour: In Chapter 1 she informs Shun she doesen't want to date someone who only cares about her looks and doesen't know her personally. Four pages later, she instantly falls for Kanata after seeing him for the first time.
- Love Triangle: One seems to be already developing between her, Kanata and Shun. Shun is completely in love with Ren, but is unaware of her identity and that she's actually living with Kanata, Ren doesen't care about Shun at all and only cares about Kanata and Kanata doesn't seem to notice Ren's feelings at all and has promised to Shun alerady that she won't touch 'Angel 7' without knowing that she's actually Ren.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: She's only wearing a wig in her cheerleader outfit, yet Kanata couldn't recognize her at all.
- Pit Girls: She's a race queen for the MFG races and has collected a number of admirers by the time the series begins.
Ogata
Voiced by: Tasuku Hatanaka (Japanese), Larry Brantley (English)
Friend of Ren's father and owner of the 86 driven by Kanata.- Mission Control: He ends up with the microphone supporting Kanata during the race.
- Only One Name: His full name remains unknown.
MFG drivers
Fujin Ishigami (No. 1)
Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese), Chris Ryan (English)
The defending two-time champion of MFG, who drives the Porsche 911 GT3 (991)
- Boring, but Practical: He uses a very simple driving style that is both very safe to use and allows him to make the most of his car's horsepower. However, these techniques are not useful in races against highly technical drivers like Michael.
- Broken Ace: He is a two-time MFG champion, who sees himself being bested by new drivers, like Beckenbauer.
Michael Beckenbauer (No. 12)
Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya (Japanese), Bryson Baugus (English)
Driver hailing from Germany and trained in Porsche academy, Michael is a young and talented, if arrogant, driver who has quickly risen through the ranks of MFG and is already competing with Ishigami for first place. He considers MFG to be boring due to the lack of skill among its drivers. In the latest MFG, he uses a modified Porsche 718 Cayman S for Round 1, a Porsche 718 Cayman GTS for for Rounds 2 & 3, and finally, a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 for Rounds 4 & 5.
- Dub Pronunciation Change: Despite being German, the English Dub uses the English pronunciation of his name instead of the German one.
- Jerk Jock: A racing prodigy, complete with his Pride and arrogance. And belittles his rivals, too.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: He switches over to the 718 Cayman GTS for Rounds 2 & 3, and later, a 718 Cayman GT 4 for Rounds 4 & 5
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He considers Asians to be 'monkeys' who don't deserve to drive masterworks of German engineering.
- Red Baron: Due to his well-calculated skills and his car, the announcers would call him the "Stuttgart Slayer".
- Smug Super: He may be extremely arrogant, but he has plenty of talent to back up his trash talk.
- Spell My Name with an S: Earlier unofficial scans of the manga and merch has his name mistranslated as Mikhail due to the Japanese spelling of his name.
- Victory Is Boring: He's fully dissatisfied with the level of MFG, due to his rivals being "nothing but amateurs and has-beens". And his victories feel like he's playing a racing game set in easy mode, to the point he rarely attends awarding ceremonies.
- Weak, but Skilled: Like Kanata, he drives a relatively underpowered car with a four cylinder boxer engine explanation, but he is capable of dominating the MFG league due to his superior skills.
Kakeru Yashio & Nozomi Kitahara "Yajikata Siblings" (No. 16 & 18)
Kakeru Yashio (left) and Nozomi Kitahara (right)
Voiced by: Yuu Serizawa (Nozomi) & Kosuke Tanabe (Kakeru) (Japanese); Kelsey Maher and Jordan Dash Cruz (English)
Pair of blood related siblings who uniquely race as a team. Nozomi drives a Alfa Romeo 4C, while Kakeru drives a Lotus Exige S V6 for Rounds 1-4, and later a Lotus Emira for Round 5.- Brother–Sister Team: Siblings who race together as a single team.
- Didn't Think This Through: As both try to do a blocking formation to impede Kanata at the death area, but didn't notice how the latter in his 86 slipped past both of them.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: Kakeru switches over from a Lotus Exige, to a Lotus Emira for Rounds 5
- The Glomp: Nozomi gives one to Kanata at the end of the Odawara Pikes Peak, much to Ren's chagrin.
- Sibling Rivalry: On track when both are racing. One example has Kakeru berating Nozomi during the Ashinoko qualifying, much to the point he's only just to distract her concentration. Nozomi in the following episode retaliates back, resulting him making an error in his run.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: You have a Hot-Blooded Kakeru and a calm-and-collected Nozomi.
- The Smurfette Principle: Nozomi is the only female driver of the 15 MFG participants, later Averted, since Emma Greene and Mai Sakurano join the Godly 15 races for Rounds 4 and 5 respectively
Other MFG drivers
Kaito Akaba (No. 2)
Voiced by: Jun'ichi Suwabe (Japanese), Wyatt Baker (English)
A competitor who drives the Ferrari 488 GTB.
- Always Second Best: His previous finishes: finished second in the last MFG years. No wonder why he bears the #2.
- Red Ones Go Faster: Akaba's 488 has lots of raw power under the hood, and with his shining skills, Manages to beat Yuudai and Aiba for 3rd place in the Odawara Pikes Peak.
- The Rival: With Oishi over which is the better Italian Super Car manufacturer.
- Spell My Name with an S: Earlier unofficial translations of the manga had his last name be mistranslate as "Akabane".
Daigo Oishi (No. 3)
Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese), Matt Shipman (English)
A competitor who drives a modified Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4.- Awesome, but Impractical: His car is mostly built for straight-line acceleration and he can't fully utilize its capabilities in the mountainous Odawara Pikes Peaks course despite it being a 4WD.
- Hot-Blooded: His aggressive demeanor befits his all-attack style.
- The Rival: With Kaito over which is the better Italian Super Car manufacturer.
Kouki Sawatari (No. 4)
Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka
A competitor who drives a 2017 Alpine A110.- Mid-Season Upgrade: He upgrades to an A 110 S for Round 4, and a A 110 R for Round 5.
- Narcissist: ...who loves women, he claims that he has a "seventeen complex" because his first love was 17 years old, and that now he is only interested in seventeen-year-olds.
- It's Personal: His main goal is to defeat Kanata, while placing for the top spot didn't matter to him.
- The Rival: With Kanata.
Yudai Sakamoto (No. 5)
Voiced by: Toru Sakurai
A competitor who drives a third-generation Audi R8 V10 Plus.- In the Hood: He's always seen wearing a combination of hoodie and sunglasses. Shun refers to him as Sith Lord because of this.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: He switches to an Audi R8 V10 Performance Quattro for Round 5.
Takuya Yanagida (No. 6)
Voiced by: Shogo Sakata (Japanese), Kamen Casey (English)
A competitor who drives a BMW M6 Coupe (F13) and, later, a BMW M4 DTM Champion Edition (F82)- Mid-Season Upgrade: He switches over to an M4 DTM for Round 3, presumably due to how the M4 has a shorter wheelbase then the M6.
Yosuke Ohtani (No. 7)
Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese), Lee George (English)
A competitor who drives a facelifted Mercedes-Benz AMG GT S.- Mid-Season Upgrade: he switches over to a Mercedes AMG GT R from the 2nd race onwards.
Jackson Taylor (No. 8)
Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese), John Archer II (English)
A competitor who drives pre-facelifted Porsche 911 Carrera S 991- Adaptational Dye-Job: His hair is black in the manga, But in the anime, his hair is slightly blonde.
- Down to the Last Play: Between him and Kanata down in a duel during the final straight, where Jackson miscalculated his braking, conceding his position to Kanata.
- Graceful Loser: Shows mutual respect when Kanata beat him in Odawara Pikes Peak. He won't go easy in the next race, though.
- Gratuitous English: He lets out a big "WHOA!" the moment Kanata closes the gap with him.
- Pointless Band-Aid: Has a permanent one on his face.
Emile Hanninen (No. 10)
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (Japanese), Cody Savoie (English)
A competitor who drives a Lexus LC500.- Big "WHAT?!": In Gratuitous English too! As he's shocked that Kanata passed within the death zone.
- Given Name Reveal: Said the commentator during the Ashinoko qualifying where his first name is mentioned: Emile Hanninen.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Due to his Finnish name and his looks, he bares a striking resemblance to a young Kimi Räikkönen.
Shintarou Natsume (No. 11)
A competitor who drives a BMW M3 E92.
.- The Faceless: His appearance is never seen in either the manga, or anime.
- Put on a Bus: He's never seen again after the opening race at Odawara Pikes Peak.
- The Voiceless: His lines from the manga were his M3 gets damaged when he was trying to keep up with Kaito Akaba were cut from the anime
Kazuhiro Maezono (No. 13)
Voiced by: Takumu Miyazono (Japanese), Sean Letorneau (English)
A competitor who drives a Honda Civic Type R FK8 and, later, a Honda NSX Concept NC1- 13 Is Unlucky: Wearing the No. 13 and bringing a FWD car to a race with lots of complex corners shows how unlucky he is, thanks to all the understeer, front wear and being lagging behind the pack. This would however subvert it later on for round 2, as he swaps his Civic for an almighty NSX.
- Awesome, but Impractical: His Civic Type R carries 300 HP and would beat Kanata's 86 on the straightaways. However, due to his car's FWD layout, it suffers lots of understeer and front tire wear, leaving him dead far behind from the race.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: He brandishes a brand new second-generation Honda NSX for the second round in Lake Ashinoko. Despite the KERS and the electric motors removed in order to comply with MFG regulations, but nonetheless manages to help get a better spot.
Takamitsu Kyogoku (No. 23)
A competitor who drives an unknown BMW- The Ghost: Neither him or his car is seen during the race at Lake Ashinoko GT.
- Put on a Bus: He's never seen again after the 2nd Round at Lake Ashinoko GT.
Sota Tsukamoto (No. 395)
A competitor who drives an Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR GSR.- All There in the Manual: The exact trim level of Sota's Evo IX wasn't revealed in the manga or anime, The MF Ghost Guidebook however confirms the trim level as an MR GSR.
- The Ghost: He's only mentioned during his run on the last day of Odawara Pikes Peak's qualifying sessions.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He only appears during the 1st Round's qualification round, and is never seen again. Subverted in the anime, as his Evo IX does appear in the Parking Area before Kanata does his qualifying run for Lake Ashinoko GT.
Emma Greene (No.624)
A competitor who drives an Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
- Fish out of Water: she's even more of one than Kanata is, as she doesn't speak Japanese at all
- Punny Name her last name is "Greene" and her Aston Martin is painted in British Racing Green.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: She publicly stated that Kanata is her ex-lover just to spark controversy around him, despite that fact not being true.
Mai Sakurano (No.860)
A competitor who drives a Toyota GR86.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Subverted, Out of all of the drivers in MFG (as well as all of the drivers who have confirmed ages in the series), she's the youngest, being only 18.
Sena Moroboshi (No. 885)
Voiced by: Taku Yashiro
A competitor who drives Toyota GR Supra.- Goroawase Number: His car number "885" can also be read as "hayai". Doubles as Bilingual Bonus since "hayai" in Japanese means "fast".
- Generation Xerox Averted, the friendly rivalry between him and Kanata is similar to the rivalry between Takumi and Keisuke during the Project D half of Initial D.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: Downplayed, his Supra is fitted with an Blitz AERO SPEED R-Concept Wide Body kit for Round 4
Returning Characters
Takumi Fujiwara "Flying John"
Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki
Retired World Rally Championship driver who is currently a teacher in the Royal Donington Park Racing School and Kanata's mentor.- Career-Ending Injury: His WRC career was cut short because of serious injuries he suffered after an accident he had early on in his contract under Toyota.
- Clean Dub Name: His original nickname is the "Flying Jap", however, due to the word "Jap" being an offensive term for Japanese people, his nickname is either changed to "Flying John" or reworded to "The Flying Man from Japan".
- The Ghost: He has been mentioned several times, but hasn't actually made an appearance yet (other than one shot of his back in Chapter 25).
- Red Baron: He became known as Flying John in the British Rally Championship because of his unparalleled skill in tarmac.
- Retired Badass: He no longer races and is currently a teacher at RDRS.
Ryosuke Takahashi "Ryo Takahashi"
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), J. Michael Tatum (English)
Mysterious founder and organizer of MFG league. Almost every detail about him is a closely guarded secret.- Shrouded in Myth: People who aren't from his generation know literally nothing about him.
- The Cameo: He shortly appears in a phone conversation between him and Fumihiro.
Keisuke Takahashi
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Todd Haberkorn (English)
Brother of Ryosuke Takahashi and the CEO of TK Mach Corporation.- Older and Wiser: He has become much less Hot-Blooded with age and has settled down from racing to manage a highly succesful business.
- Silver Fox: He still looks very attractive decades later.
Kenta Nakamura
Voiced by: Kosuke Okano
Real estate department chief of TK Mach Corporation and an old associate of the Takahashi brothers- The Watson: He's still as clueless about racing as ever and keeps asking audience's questions from Keisuke. Keisuke lampshades this by pointing out that this is why he never advanced further in his racing career and why he's now much better fit for the real estate department of the company than the racing department.
Joyu Fumihiro
Voiced by: Osamu Hosoi
One of the leading figures in the MFG league. He instantly recognizes Kanakata as Takumi's pupil after witnessing his driving style. Kai Kogashiwa
Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna
A guest commentator, racing coach, and Takumi Fujiwara's rival during their street-racing days.- Combat Commentator: Is introduced as a guest commentator in Chapter 17.
- The Ghost: Only his voice can be heard on commentary (only applies to the manga, as he's seen with a new look in the anime).
- Retired Badass: Now works as a racing coach, according to MFG's main commentator Yoji Tanaka.
- Worthy Opponent: Treats Takumi as one and can be heard in tears (in the middle of commentary) after hearing about Takumi's Career-Ending Injury.
Koichiro Iketani
Voiced by: Kazuki Yao
Manager of an ENEOS gas station in Shibukawa. Itsuki Takeuchi
Voiced by: Mitsuo Iwata
A staff at an ENEOS gas station in Shibukawa. Kenji
Voiced by: Wataru Takagi
A regular customer at an ENEOS gas station in Shibukawa. Wataru Akiyama
Voiced by: Yasunori Matsumoto
A professional racing driver for the Japan Rally Championship, Japan Gymkhana Championship and touring car races. He is one of the organizers of the MFG. Hiroya Okuyama
Voiced by: Shuhei Sakaguchi
An auto mechanic who owns the "Spiral Zero" auto shop.