Kanata Katagiri is the main protagonist of MF Ghost, known for his unbelievable driving skills that resemble those of Initial D’s Takumi Fujiwara. He is only 19 years old, but his name has been carved into a lot of competitive racing events. His mother died, but does Kanata find his father in MF Ghost?
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Who Is Kanata’s Father in MF Ghost?
Kanata Rivington’s (Katagiri) missing father is Ken Katagiri. He left Kanata and his mother, Katherine, when he was young and wasn’t able to remember things about him.
It is uncertain why Ken decided to leave Katherine and abandon his family to this date.
What is certain is that Ken loved Katherine, but his love for her was not enough to hold their family together.
Katherine and Ken met when they were teenagers. They both studied at the same art school, where Katherine pursued fine arts while Ken pursued sculpture. They fell in love, married each other, and Kanata was born.
Not long after, Ken exits the picture and becomes a Buddhist priest in Japan. When Katherine died, Kanata was left in the care of his grandparents in England.
Ever since Katherine died, Kanata lost his motivation and became weak. He retreated into his own shell and even turned his back on racing, despite countless offers from different companies and agencies.
Kanata was also trapped in a negative spiral toward finding his identity. It almost seemed like he was lost and couldn’t find an exit. Even so, Kanata’s negative mental state that cornered him began to slowly peel off.
In the end, there were only two things left for Kanata: the skills of a racing driver, which he had learned at such a young age and that had stuck with him, and the aggressive burst of his pure fighting spirit.
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How Did Kanata Look for His Father?
At the age of 19, Kanata flew to Japan to find his missing father. The only clue he has is a photo of his father and mother captured somewhere in Kamakura 20 years ago.
Kanata decided to stay with Katherine’s close friend, Mayuko Saionji, and her family, who coincidentally live pretty close to Kamakura.
The Saionjis treated Kanata as their own, and their kindness and hospitality touched the young racer the most. Even Ren has a soft spot for Kanata and has long been attracted to the handsome racer.
Kanata joined the MFG with his father’s family name rather than his mother's to catch the attention of Ken.
After all, MFG has more than 30 million subscribers, so it’s inevitable that his father would have heard his name after he entered the race.
Does Kanata Find His Father?
Unfortunately, Kanata failed to find his father alive in MF Ghost, despite his strong effort to find him. It was too late for him to get a reunion with his father, who was actually suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
After the third round of MFG, Kaede Katagiri, the distant younger sister of Ken, got in touch with the Saionji family, including Kanata. She informed Kanata that his father died on the day of Kanata’s race on July 16.
According to Kaede, Kanata inherited many traits from his father, including his mannerisms and atmosphere. It seems like Kanata is the spitting image of his father.
Kaede revealed the truth to Kanata about Ken’s situation. Ken’s pancreatic cancer got so bad that no amount of surgery could save him.
She assumed that Ken pushed himself so hard while working that he wasn’t paying attention to the messages his body was sending to him.
Ken was a busshi, a sculptor specializing in Buddha statues. And he knew about Kanata’s arrival in Japan, but he didn’t listen to Kaede’s advice to contact Kanata.
Kaede thought that Ken didn’t know what to say to his son if they ever saw each other.
Despite this, Ken was eagerly supporting Kanata’s races from rounds 1–2 from the hospital bed. But by the time the qualifiers in round 3 began, Ken entered a coma, and on race day, he passed on.
Ken didn’t leave any letters or messages for Kanata. His mortuary tablet and photo are at his parent’s home, which Kanata can visit any time he likes.
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