AA: 77453

Wangan Midnight (湾岸ミッドナイト) is a Japanese manga comic series written and illustrated by Michiharu Kusunoki. It won the prestigious Kodansha Manga Award for general manga. The story has its roots in the street racing culture centered on the Bayshore Route of Tokyo's Shuto Expressway. “Wangan” (literally bayshore in Japanese) is the longest, straightest road in Japan. Because of the road traffic to contend with, including a fair number of heavy trucks, the racing action is inherently hazardous and wrecks are common. Blown engines are also a frequent hazard among the extremely high power engines.In the story, Akio Asakura (朝倉アキオ), a high school student in his last year of study, is driving his Nissan Fairlady Z (Z31) one day on the Shuto Expressway when he challenges Tatsuya Shima, a doctor, in his black Porsche 930 Turbo, dubbed the "BlackBird." Akio attempts to win, but is defeated. When Akio finds the derelict midnight blue Fairlady Z (S30) in the junkyard, he becomes intrigued and wonders why such a classic Japanese performance vehicle is about to be junked. Akio convinces the scrapyard owner to sell him the old Z, but the owner has been advised by the previous Z owner to scrap the car because it is cursed.