MF GHOST (MFゴースト)

Due to environmental concerns

and the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels,

the manufacture of vehicles

with internal combustion engines has ceased.

As a result, high-powered sports cars

have become an endangered species.

Almost as a requiem for their imminent passing,

a new motorsports series has been born here

in the country of Japan.

- -

With a global audience of thirty million subscribers

and growing...

the event has exploded in popularity.

There's only one regulation.

A uniform grip-to-weight ratio.

Which results in some no-holds-barred,

white-knuckle racing.

Its name...

MFG.

We're here at Odawara Pikes Peak,

for the second day of qualifying

at the MFG season opener!

Ten seconds.

Nine. Eight.

Seven. Six.

Five. Four.

Three. Two. One.

- -

Come on, Aiba.

You've got this!

He's really going for it!

MFG.

You know how bad I wish

I could see 'em race in person just once before I die?

Never gonna happen in this life.

They don't allow spectators near the route.

Not to mention the air's saturated

with volcanic gas from that recent eruption.

My friends back in England

were obsessed with it, too.

Makes sense why it's popular in Japan,

since it started here.

Why are the addresses so different from back home?

Talk about a bad start.

Hey, Wakana. What's up?

The English guy you were talking about

is showing up today, right?

If you want to get technical,

he's actually half-English, half-Japanese.

Anyway, you shouldn't get your hopes up.

I don't usually associate England with cool vibes.

I swear, you're no fun at all.

Listen, if he's hot, you better introduce me!

Get real, Wakana.

Maybe you always end up with lame guys

because you go for their looks above anything else.

I can't even imagine love at first sight.

Excuse me, I'm Shun Aiba.

I raced here and came in ninth last year.

And when I saw you,

I couldn't get you out of my mind.

Don't get the wrong idea.

I'm serious about--

-Not interested. -Wha...?

I don't know how else I was supposed to react

to what you just said.

You don't know me.

Wait up! Just one more thing!

So, I checked on the MFG Angels' profile page,

and you're the only one listed without any info.

At the very least,

could you tell me what your real name is?

Hm?

I'm MFGA Seven.

But you can call me Number Seven, if you want.

Physical appearance

is basically the same as clothes.

It doesn't reflect who you really are.

I wanna fall in love with a guy who I think is super-hot.

Even if 99 percent of girls

don't agree with me, I don't care.

Made it home!

You certainly took your time

getting back.

Come here and let me introduce you.

Pretty sure I said I was gonna be late today.

I mean, I told mom, at least.

Mister Kanata Rivington just arrived this afternoon,

and this will be his first time living overseas.

So I'm sure he'll have a lot of questions about Japan,

and I'd appreciate it if you'd help him

as much as you can, Ren.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

Miss Ren, right? Please,

-you can call me Kanata. -

I... Yeah, okay.

Right, uh, I have a ton of math homework to do!

She's at an awkward age,

and I suppose it can't be helped.

By the way, I have to admit I'm very impressed

with how fluently you speak Japanese.

Oh, well, my mum taught me when I was still young.

I see.

I heard about what happened to Katherine,

and it's a genuine shame.

You know, you remind me a lot of her.

Back when she was younger.

Holy crap.

I feel like I just got shocked with a million volts.

Why's my heart still pounding?

I swore never to judge people based on appearances.

So what is this?

This strange feeling?

Over here, Ren! Good morning!

Wakana.

Well, come on! How'd it go?

How'd what go?

Stop playing dumb!

Your houseguest from England, obviously.

Mm. Honestly, I'm not sure.

The heck? Don't be cryptic!

At least show me a picture of him!

Guess I haven't taken one yet.

But he's staying at our house for a while,

so just come by and see him for yourself.

That's so hot!

You're literally shacking up

with some half-English stranger.

Also, what's he doing here in Japan, anyway?

Vacationing and stuff?

I dunno.

Come to think of it, I didn't have a chance

to ask him about anything.

Is this the place?

Excuse me.

You made it! Right on time!

That is, assuming you are Kanata Rivington?

You must be Ogata?

Pleasure to meet you. I'm Kanata.

Hold up, you can actually speak Japanese? Perfect!

I hear you went to a famous English racing school?

When Saionji brought it up,

I thought he was trying to pull a fast one on me.

As I'm sure you're already aware,

MFG has a rather unusual regulation to it,

with the standardized grip-to-weight ratio.

Meaning, the strongest cars tend to be European models

with lots of horsepower and good balance

that haven't had a lot of modding.

As a result, people complain about it

and call it the rich man's rule.

What I'm getting at is this,

if we're talking about peak MFG performance,

I can't offer the best vehicle for competition.

Yes, so I've heard.

No matter. I'm happy just getting the chance

to experience MFG firsthand.

Yeah? Good!

Because I'm going to support you

in any way I can!

So, you wanna see the car?

Oh, wow.

Not bad.

Not bad at all!

Hey, no need to flatter me.

It's just an old-fashioned three-pedaler.

Can you work with it?

No problem!

Back at the academy, H-pattern shifters

with three pedals were the standard.

I've already taken care of your entry.

You're running on the seventh and final day of qualifying.

Oh, um...

That's weird.

Yeah, kinda strange.

Are you on your way home from school, Miss Ren?

You can drop the miss.

For starters, I'm younger than you.

Just Ren is fine.

So, where are you coming back from, Kanata?

Oh, I took the train over to Tokyo.

I checked out the British embassy in Yotsuya.

And I also had to go pick up a new cell phone.

Oh, you don't say?

In that case, we ought to swap contact info with each other.

Not in that way, of course.

I only meant like, if you ever needed help at all,

then you could get in touch with me right away.

That's a good idea.

Hang on just a minute.

You had to go into work yesterday, right?

What about today?

My job's a little, what you would describe as, irregular.