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**The Kamaboko Straight** (カマボコストレート, *Kamaboko Sutorēto*) is the third episode of the MF Ghost anime adaptation.

## Synopsis

Kanata Rivington's Toyota 86 vividly runs through the death area where visibility is not effective. Fumihiro, who is the manager of MFG, superimposes Kanata's driving technique on a certain man and the machine that he once fought with. After passing through the death area, Kanata approached the final straight, where his rivals are much more powerful than his 86 are closing in on him. Kanata challenges the race to the finish line in a tenth of a second. Will they be able to reach 15th place after qualifying?!

## Plot

As Kanata drifts past the death area while leaving everyone spectating dumbfounded, Ogata informs Kanata of just 9 more cars remaining to close the position to the 'godly fifteen' position. The rest of the world watches Kanata racing as Yoji Tanaka hypes the commentary. He then states to the audience that Kanata's record time on Sector 3 may break the current fastest time on the sector, set by Michael Beckenbauer. Meanwhile at Beckenbauer's residence, Agnes and Michael were watching Kanata race when the former asks the latter about his opinions on Kanata. Michael can instantly judge the 86GT of Kanata was underpowered and if he keeps on sliding like this, he will waste all his tyre potential before reaching the long straight just before the finish line. He then states he wasn't attached to his own record there anyway as he leaves a lot of margin when he races. He also states how he wasn't even used the fifth gear of his car during MFG as fourth gear was enough for him. Michael then tells his sister about him returning back to Germany once this season of MFG ends, which Agnes mocks on him for, as she prefers staying in Japan itself.

Now in the 18th position and still seemingly going all out, Ogata back at the terminal wonders if Aiba if Kanata has a 'split personality' as he was totally a different person before racing. Aiba tells that's the case with most MFG drivers as well. He tells Ogata that he's pretty sure Kanata isn't giving it his all. That is, he won't be surprised if Kanata can push his racing limits even further than this. As Kanata passes by some tight parts of the course, Ogata reminded him of just 1 more car remaining as he was shown in the 15th position. However just after he finished saying, Kanata's position was updated to 15th, much to his shock. Before Ogata can communicate with Kanata, Aiba stops him from doing so as he says its better for them to go radio silent as well, as its too early to celebrate. The long stretch before the finish line will be a hard challenge to tackle in an underpowered car like 86GT as all the previous opponents he had passed will soon pass him there. As the Tanaka commentates about how the Kamaboko straight will be a 1.9km long stretch, Kanata enters his 14th position as Aiba and Ogata can do nothing but anxiously hope for Kanata.

As soon as Kanata entered the straight, the drones following the him slows down as they only exceed at 180kmph, so the rest of the footage from the straight is taken by 5 fixed cameras around the route. As Kanata goes full throttle, Ogata is terrified to note that Kanata had reverted back to his 15th position as a car he passed earlier now passed his record. Ogata feels absolutely guilty for handing over Kanata an underpowered car. Tanaka commentates the 86GT tops at 230kmph while most of the MFG competitors were cruising by at 300kmph through the same section. Soon the straight was coming to an end with a tight 90 degree intersection, after which is the finish line further by. Through Kanata's effective footwork, he was able to brake and downshift effectively, cleanly making through the intersection at a formidable pace. Kanata now faces an S curve after which is the finish line. Aiba notes his 15th position is slowly being eaten up by the car behind him, as he wished Kanata had a higher powered car, as the time between the 15th position gets down to the last millisecond near the finish line. Soon Kanata passes the finish line in full throttle, leaving everyone watching the race in an anxious state. Ren Saionji watches Kanata finish the race, after which she looks away with a slightly gloomy face.

It was revealed that Kanata had finished in the 16th position by a mere hundredths of a second at very last moment. Mr. Saionji turns off the TV after the results, as he was already too stressed watching the entire race. Back at the terminals, Ogata lies on the desk in despair as Aiba wakes him up and tells him that it wasn't his fault Kanata couldn't make it to the 15th position. Kanata then drives his 86GT to the post-race inspection pit for checking, after which he drives towards the terminal. When he reaches there, he finds a saddened Ogata expressing his utter disappointment. However Kanata happily tells Ogata about how the car lived up to his expectations and praises Ogata as a mechanic. Ogata wanted to hug Kanata in sheer happiness but was declined by the latter because of his running nose from crying. Aiba then plans a party for them and tells Kanata that they will have some 'serious food'. However as Aiba was planning for the celebration he suddenly sees 'Number Seven' Angel approaching them. Imagining she wanted to confess her feelings for him after his previous confession to her, Aiba blindly readies for hug and kiss from her, only for her to walk past him and approach Kanata with a stern face. Kanata, not recognizing who the Angel was stares in confusion when to everyone's absolute shock, the Angel suddenly raises her hand and slaps Kanata hard on the cheeks while shouting "*Baka!*", rendering Aiba and Ogata totally bewildered at what they just witnessed. She then proceeds to run away towards a flyover, while the rest comes checking on Kanata. Aiba now approaches Kanata grimly while asking if he knew Angel Seven and why she slapped him. However Kanata was extremely concerned and had the exact same question to him. He states that he had only met a few people after arriving in Japan, that being the Saionji family, Ogata, Aiba and the grocery lady from the local store. Aiba suggests it could be an action he did like groping, which Kanata firmly refuses.

It was evening when Ren returned home. Still gloomy at the events, she asks her mother about Kanata, which she tells that he will be eating outside with his friends. At a restaurant in Odawara city, Aiba confesses about his feelings towards Angel number Seven, which Kanata finds very romantic. Aiba then asks Kanata if he can keep his promise of not dating or falling for Number Seven, which Kanata instantly agrees as he wouldn't be interested in a girl who'd just slap someone she just met. Aiba is glad to hear his words, and as he proceeds to explain his kinks towards her, Kanata finds Aiba to be perverted. Ogata in the meanwhile thinks about what Ren called him in the slap and wonders if it had any romantic intention, but he finds it hard to believe in anything. At MFG's headquarters, General Manager Fumihirio Joyu speaks with a staff on how one of the competitor was disqualified for using unsanctioned tyres. The staff tells that now the racer in the 16th position will be qualified to the 15th position. Fumihiro asks him to release the updated press immediately, after which he speaks to himself on how Kanata's luck may have been inherited from his mentor as well.

Back at restaurant at Odawara, Kanata tries out the new dish and he is immediately delighted by the taste, and much to his shock, Aiba and Ogata reveals that it is actually pig intestines. Aiba then gets a notification alert in his phone and to his surprised to see an updated result. And to Kanata's and Ogata's captivation, Kanata made it to the 15th position, meaning they will be participating in tomorrow's race. Aiba checks the rest of the list, with 1st position being Fujin Ishigami, and the rest being Michael Beckenbauer, Yudai Sakamoto, Yosuke Ohtani, Aiba himself, Daigo Oishi, Kaito Akabane and so on. Aiba then tells his group that the top prize is a 100 million yen, and an extra billion for being on the top of the year. Back at Saionji residence, Ren takes a bath while worrying about her actions earlier today. If she slapped him for not telling about him participating in MFG, then she's also in the same position for not telling Kanata about her role as an Angel there. She figures out it was her sudden panic decision and wonders if he hates her now. Back at the restaurant, Kanata, Aiba and Ogata are absolutely elated after getting the news and shares the happy time together that night.

## Official Screenshots

Screenshots come from the Official MF Ghost Anime website.

## Trivia

* The two 'ghost' cars seen passing Kanata at the straight are Nozomi Kitahara's Alfa Romeo 4C and unknown BMW M4 (which later gets disqualified, leading to Kanata's entry into the main event).

* The slap is seen as a reminiscent of the scene in Initial D when Kanata's mentor, Takumi Fujiwara got slapped by Mika Uehara after the latter mistakenly identified the former as a fraud. After the incident, they get close and go on dates in the show later on.

* A small error can be found in the English dub, where Ogata says that Kanata's "down to 16th", despite Kanata's position at that point was 15th.

## Quotes

**Ogata:** I'm sorry, Kanata.

**Kanata Katagiri:** No, don't be silly, Ogata-san. You're a fantastic mechanic. And you have my heartfelt gratitude. This car lived up to my expectations all the way to the very end. The 86 is a fine car.

**Ogata:** (Crying) Kanata... Can I hug you?

**Kanata Katagiri:** Not with that running nose, no.

**Kanata Katagiri:** Aiba-senpai's a bit of a "heitai", isn't he?

**Ogata:** If you mean a "freak", the word is "hentai".

**Kanata Katagiri:** (After trying out the food) Delicious, this is really good. It's sweet, juicy, and has a texture unlike anything I've had before. What is it?

**Shun Aiba and Ogata:** You really wanna know?

**Shun Aiba:** It's pig intestines.

**Kanata Katagiri:** (In English accent) *Oh my god! Unbelievable!*

**Fumihiro Joyu:** Well, well... Luck is definitely on Katagiri Kanata's side. Maybe he inherited that from his mentor too.

## Stats

### Cars (in order of appearance)

* Toyota 86 GT
* Alfa Romeo 4C (visualized in qualifying timings)
* BMW M4 F82 (visualized in qualifying timings)
* Honda S2000
* Porsche 718 Cayman S
* Porsche 991 GT3
* Audi R8 Coupé
* Mercedes-AMG GT-S (C190)
* Nissan GT-R Nismo (R35)
* Lamborghini Huracán
* Ferrari 488
* Nissan Juke (F15)

## Music

* Jungle Fire feat. MOTSU by Yu Serizawa
* Wilder Faster Louder by Dejo
* Stereo Sunset by Himika Akaneya (Prod. AmPm)

## References

1. ↑ https://mfg-anime.com/story/#/1001213