Turn04

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**Tire Management** (タイヤマネジメント, *Taiya Manejimento*) is the fourth episode of the MF Ghost anime adaptation.

## Synopsis

Kanata barely qualifies for the opening race. On the other hand, Ren Saionji regrets slapping Kanata impulsively after the qualifiers. However, when they meet, Kanata doesn’t realize that Ren is an Angel. While exploring Kamakura with Ren, Kanata searches for the place where his father and late mother’s photo was taken. Ren’s feelings for Kanata grow as she observes him. The day of the race arrives, along with rivals known as the Godly Fifteen, Kanata and his Toyota 86 are finally set to race.

## Plot

The next morning after the qualification round, Kanata visits Ogata in his garage, where the latter barely got any sleep thanks to the las night's party upon knowing Kanata's last minute entry into the competition. Kanata however had a full 8 hour sleep. Ogata tells Kanata that servicing the 86GT after the race would cost close to nothing thanks to how plentiful the aftermarket parts are available for this car. Kanata then requests Ogata to remove the traction control, since he can control the car better without it. Before leaving, Kanata mentions that he will be off with Ren, whose name Ogata almost immediately recognizes. He remembered her as a small girl when her father Mr. Saionji used to bring with and was more boy-ish. He asks Kanata to bring her along the next time he visits him.

At a commuter train, Kanata is in awe at the public transportation, while Ren next to him is flustered to realize that Kanata had not recognized that she was the angel who slapped him just yesterday after the MFG qualification round. She then calms down thinking it is probably for the best. Once they arrive from a station, Kanata forwards a picture of his parents to Ren for convenience in searching the location. When Ren felt conflicted about getting a picture which Kanata held such a special value with, Kanata tells that it was only because of her he isn't in a helpless situation and refers to her as an 'angel', catching the latter off guard. They later arrive at a temple with a large Buddha statue, where they take turns taking pictures near the statue. While Kanata initially felt uninterested in posing for a picture so, Ren's actions made him oblige to, which he then found the activity fun. Later on they take a scenic break where Kanata tells how this journey has such a strong feeling to him, as he feels he is retracing the path where his parents met. For such reasons, Kanata tells Ren he finds Kamakura very attractive, after which Ren tells the same.

They later on stop by a café where Kanata tells Ren about getting a part time job similar to hers so that he can later move from Ren's parent's house to an apartment. Ren strongly insists that he can stay with them as long as he wants to and tells how her mother always wanted a son, and Kanata has something going for him there. All this makes Kanata blush and deny so. Some time later they walk past the shores of Kamakura when an old lady asks if she wants to take a picture of them a s couple. Before Kanata could even start to comment on denying they were a couple, Ren instantly hits him in the guts, leading to Ren accepting the old lady's request while Kanata groans from the hit. The lady then takes a picture of them together and comments on how lovely a couple they are. While Ren is recollecting the comment jubilantly, Kanata says she must have gotten the wrong idea about them. An irritated Ren them resorts to throwing some sand grains on Kanata, which then leads to the latter doing the same, and ultimately both have fun playing around the shore, while Ren realizes the situation; she had fallen in love with Kanata.

The next day before the main event, Kanata and Ogata meets up at a restaurant to speak about the terms of the contract of the race. Ogata insists Kanata to keep an  80-20 share on the prize money of the race for Kanata and Ogata themselves respectively. However Kanata remained stern on keeping the 50-50 share order due to the car belonging to Ogata and refuses to rewrite the contract, despite Ogata warning him about the risk Kanata is putting on racing such an old car. Meanwhile Kanata notices Kakeru Yashio and Nozomi Kitahara ordering their food (unbeknownst to him that they were MFG racers at the time). He then goes to serve his own coffee from a machine when he meets Nozomi, where Nozomi secretly finds him cute. Afterwards when Kakeru and Nazaomi leaves for their cars, they notices the red 86GT nearby, instantly recognizing it. When Kanata and Ogata steps out of the restaurant, Nozomi goes to him and confirms his identity, much to her delight. She then tells him that she's see him later, leaving Ogata confused for a moment. They then roll past them in their Alfa Romeo 4C and Lotus Exige respectively, where Ogata recognizes them as "Yashi-Kita Gang", the two siblings despite their different last names. despite MFG being a solo competition for each drivers. Despite MFG being a solo competition for each drivers they were very coordinated when racing together, especially in using slipstreams. Kanata ponders about that particular term.

At the MFG start off ceremony near the Kanagawa toll booth, as Ren and the other MFG Angels are starred in the ceremony, MFG commentator Tanaka Yoji introduces a guest commentator along with him, Kai Kogashiwa who was a former racing driver and now a racing coach. Tanaka asks him about the rumors of his connections to top heads of MFG, like Ryo Takahashi. While Kai confirms the rumors, he tells his information about Ryo Takahashi are to be remained confidential under the latter's orders. They briefly discuss about Kanata's sudden appearance in MFG and stealing the spotlight, but leaves it for later on as the race was about to start in 10 minutes. The 15 MFG participants then arrives from a bus one by one. When Kanata arrives from the bus, Tanaka mentions about the female fans wavering for Kanata's handsome looks, which irks Ren. While Kanata thanks Aiba about the delicious meal he got the last time from him, they overhear Daigo Oishi complaining to his managers about getting a Lamborghini Aventador instead of a Huracan Performante, which Aiba finds him very spoilt asking for such expensive car and the problem is in his skills and not the car. After Kanata leaves for his car for the race, Aiba notices how Kanata doesn't show any sign of worry as the race nears, like he's battle hardened already, yet still a likeable guy.

As the 15 cars drives slowly towards the starting position, Aiba motivates himself to get to the top 3 position so he can choose his preferred Angel to kiss him on his cheek, which is Angel 7. Tanaka comments on how the drones flying in front of each cars will indicate when to start off the rafce if they show a blue light. Any jumpstart will be penalized with an extra 15 seconds, guaranteeing a near last position. Soon all cars passes the gate and the drones shows off blue lights, starting off the race. The race is viewed world-wide everywhere with people cheering for this show. Aiba starts off almost immediately and passes Yosuke Ohtani in his Mercedes AMG GTS. Kai mentions about Ohtani's AMG GTS being rear wheel drive, resulting in him warming up the rear tyres before he can make a move.

    They then shift their attention to the first 2 positions, especially on Michael Beckenbauer who despite having a slightly lower powered car is keeping the pace steadily. Kai mentions Michael's excellent tyre management skills making him balance and warm up all 4 of his tyres evenly. Back at the last position, Kanata decides to warm up his rear tyres even more, so he slides across a corner. Ogata noticing this asks him why did he pull such a move all off the sudden, to which Kanata responds he was just adjusting the car. He then says while an Alfa Romeo 4C and the Honda Civic Type R battling in front, he can take his ideal racing lines to catch up with them.

## Official Screenshots

Screenshots come from the Official MF Ghost Anime website.

## Trivia

* While the MFG Angels are dancing, it can be heard for 5 seconds the song Pull The Trigger by Bon. This would be the shortest song played in the anime, similar like was Tokyo Lights by Ace on Initial D Fourth Stage.

## Quotes

**Ren Saionji:** (To herself) *Hey Kanata. What can I do for you? Is it okay if I stay with you forever?*

**Ogata:** It really was them. Yashio Kakeru in the White Lotus and Kitahara Nozomi in the red Alfa Romeo. People call them the "Yashi-Kita Gang". They've got different last names, but they're biological siblings. MFG is fundamentally a solo competition, but the two of them are remarkably corrdinated when they race. Especially with how they use slipstreams.

**Kanata Katagiri:** (To himself) Slipstreams...

**Yoji Tanaka:** (Commenting about Kanata) And behind him is the rookie, Katagiri Kanata. He's a hybrid himself, with a Japanese father and English mother. And handsome to boot! I can only imagine the female fans he'll attract.

**Ren Saoinji:** (To herself) *You didn't have to say all that. Tanaka-san you stupid idiot.*

**Aiba Shun:** I'd better go, stay on your toes, Kanata.

**Kanata Katagiri:** Good luck to you, too, Aiba-senpai.

**Aiba Shun:** *The race is about to start and he's not showing any signs of nerves. That Kanata's one strange guy. He's got the unshakable vibe of a battle-hardened veteran racer. But despite that, he's still likeable.*

## Stats

### Characters (in order of appearance)

* Kanata Katagiri (Kanata Rivington)
* Shun Aiba
* Ogata
* Ren Saijonji
* Nozomi Kitahara
* Kakeru Yashio
* Yoji Tanaka
* Kai Kogashiwa
* Ishigami Fuujin
* Sakamoto Yudai
* Michael Beckenbauer
* Yosuke Ohtani
* Yanagida Takuya
* Jackson Taylor
* Daigo Oishi

### Cars (in order of appearance)

* Toyota 86 GT
* Nissan Silvia S14
* Honda S2000
* Nissan Leaf (ZE1)
* Toyota Mirai (JPD20)
* Lotus Exige
* Alfa Romeo 4C
* Porsche 991 GT3
* Porsche 718 Cayman S
* Audi R8 Coupé
* Mercedes-AMG GT-S (C190)
* Nissan GT-R Nismo (R35)
* Porsche 911 Carrera GTS
* Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4
* BMW M3 Coupé
* Honda Civic Type R (FK8)
* Ferrari 488 GTB
* Lexus LC 500

## Music

* Jungle Fire feat. MOTSU by Yu Serizawa
* Pull The Trigger by Bon
* Hi Love by Jay Lehr
* Stereo Sunset by Himika Akaneya (Prod. AmPm)

## References

1. ↑ https://mfg-anime.com/story/#/1001214