Run With the Wind Episode 16 Review: Dreams and Reality

Warning: this review contains spoilers up to the end of this episode.

Disclaimer: All images have been screen captured from Crunchyroll and belong to their respective owners. I am using them to promote this show and will delete them if/when I am asked to do so.

Note: This hasn’t been proofread yet. Please let me know in comments if you find any errors. I’ll also add links to relevant episodes later.

Prologue

We get a replay of the beginning of the previous episode. It includes the start of the race and Haiji giving his team instructions.

Act One

We start with a continuation of the replay up to when Haiji was about to run into a runner who had fallen in front of him after bumping into a table at the watering station. Haiji is in mid-air, looking in fright at the obstacle in his way.

Sorry but this was the best quality I could get.

He lands on his left foot, then immediately jumps to the right to avoid tripping. But he ends up putting all his weight on his bad right knee. We see him grunt and grimace in pain before he continues on his way without wasting a single second.

A volunteer asks the fallen runner if he’s okay, if he wants to drop out. He doesn’t answer, struggles to pick himself up and continues running. Meanwhile, Hanako’s father and Haiji’s bath house buddy catch up to her just in time to see the twins and Musa finishing their second lap around the airstrip and taxiway.

We then get the episode title, Dreams and Reality. The title and it’s timing after the accident builds a sense of suspense. We then hear what can only be a TV announcer (based on his tone) talk about the qualifier before we see him in a tent set up for their use.

“581 runners from 49 schools are participating in this year’s race. Placing is determined by the total time of a school’s top ten finishers. Of the 49 schools, the top ten will compete at the New Year’s Hakone Ekiden race.”

He and his fellow announcer comment that “as usual” the exchange students are the ones leading the race and that they hope their speed doesn’t throw off the other runners.

-This is basically the same advice that Haiji gave his team, to maintain their own pace.

Screen Writing tip: Once again this show handles exposition in a way that is never boring. As they speak, we are shown the race taking place. The commentary not only keeps exposition interesting; it also gives a sense of realism to the series.

We see the exchange students first, followed by Kakeru as the announcers say “the lead pack seems to have settled in,” letting us know his position, followed by the twins and Musa, then Shindo and Yuki, Nico and King, followed by Prince. They all seem to have gotten off to a good start.

The announcers comment that while they expect to see great individual performances, “in the qualifier it’s all about the depth of a team’s roster.”

-This is a restatement of what Hanako said the previous episode. It serves to remind viewers that Kansei is at a disadvantage because they only have ten runners. Other teams get to choose out of their 12 fastest members. Not only that, we now also have Haiji to fret about as well since he wasn’t shown in the above montage.

 A top view map shows us the course of the race and where the lead pack has reached now: the 7km mark.

The bath house regular tells Hanako “It’s no use. I can’t tell where Haiji is.” The fact that he has an ear pod on probably means he was listening in on the channel airing the race as well, seeing as how he, Hanako, and her dad are on the move, relocating back to their place in the field.

Just as he tells Hanako that Haiji’s probably also in the lead pack, they overhear some panicked supporting members of a participating team, talking about how one of their members dropped out. They’re wearing the same teal green as the runner who fell in front of Haiji.

Screenwriting tip: The teal team’s frenzy is meant to infect the viewers as well, considering Haiji’s whereabouts are unknown. It’s small things like this that serve to successfully build up tension in a script.

We see Kakeru running. He looks up to see the monorail above him and remembers Haij’s guiding words: “We’ll head out onto the road, pass the station, and cross under the monorail bridge. That’s about ten kilometres.”

Now that he’s almost reached the halfway point, Kakeru eyes the pack of exchange students in front of him.

Meanwhile Hanako, her dad, and bath buddy reach the Kansei fan club’s station. There, Hana asks Komori-san (proprietress of the butchery) if she saw the members, pass by, specifically Haiji. She hasn’t. Worried, she asks if something happened to “Haiji-kun”.

-Can I just say, it’s really heartwarming to see how emotionally invested the shopping center vendors are in Haiji’s well being. It’s continuity to how close he is to these adults. He’s obviously a very social person and gets along with everyone who knows him, but I wonder if he’s the type who finds it easier to converse to people older than himself than with those closer to his age. It’s pretty normal for mature types like Kiyose. Remember Hanako’s father and his bath house buddy knew about his Hakone dream before his roommates ever did.

Just then, Hanako’s father points to the large television screen set up in the park and says that he sees Haiji, in the lead pack behind Kakeru. A shot of the screen shows us his field of vision before we switch to Kiyose.

He’s there! In the back.

Just behind him is a runner wearing the TSU uniform. I assume he’s their captain as he’s the fastest of their runners. He, and another runner on Haiji’s other side, start increasing their speed. Haiji remarks to himself “they’re moving”.

A sign shows that the leading runners have reach the 10 km mark. Exchange students “Oka’s Kipsuge’s” (pink uniform) is in the lead, followed by Yakuo’s Muskus (green uniform), and Saikyo’s Jomo (white and blue uniform). Lagging behind are Kofu Academy’s Iwanki (blue uniform) and Gaien’s Ectoba.”

I love these TV view shots. They add a realistic touch and keep the race interesting.

Haiji once again moves to the right of the pack so that he’s visible to the Kansei members behind him. He instructs them using hand signals that after they reach ten kilometers, they should follow their own judgment. And gives them a thumbs up, meaning “good luck”.

The tall Musa relays the message to Yuki and Shindo behind him.

Yuki and Shindo look behind them to make sure King and Nico can see them. Yuki then passes the message along.

Nico does the same to Prince, whom at this point none of them can see. Yuki, Nico, and King, collectively think “Are you wataching? Prince!”

-My heart. I love how concerned they all are for Prince, the only member running by himself. Based on how he’s in their thoughts, he truly he isn’t alone. We then switch to Prince who’s just passing the runner who had tripped earlier.

He’s crying, off to the side, on the floor. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” confirming that he has dropped out. He utters a gut wrenching cry of frustration. Prince takes this in then continues on his way.

-This was important to stress to Prince (and viewers) how bad it would be if he somehow didn’t make it.

-I think this scene could also explain how Prince might have missed Nico’s signal.

The announcer tells us that “Tokyo Sport fourth-year Takasugi” (the one I guessed was their captain) and Kikui third year Gunazawa are sprinting ahead”. These are the runners that had been next to Haiji. We now see that they have passed him, and Kakeru as well. The announcers add that these athletes belong to the two schools who lost their seeds the previous year.

-Basically, they are the strongest two schools in this qualifier. No wonder Sakaki is so stuck up. He managed to get into a powerful running University despite not participating in any meets his third year (due to Kakeru’s incident). To be fair, it’s not a small achievement. Though you’d think it would be enough for him to at least let go of some of his resentment.

It’s still raining.

The announcers then says that another runner has reached the two as well. In shock repeats the name “Kansei University” adding that not only did Kurahara Kakeru catch up to them but is pulling ahead and takes the lead of their pack just before the turnaround point.

Writing tip: The announcers disbelief reminds us of the difference between first timer participant Kansei Universty and the more notable schools.

KK: “More. More!”

Just before the turnaround point, Kakeru psyches himself into going even faster.

He’s got the exchange students in his sights.

After he takes the turnaround he passes Haiji running in the opposite direction.

The moment recalls the night Haiji first met Kakeru, and how he’d looked the same to him then as he does now.

Unbeknownst to Kakeru, he looks like a meteor or a shooting star to Haiji. The stunning galaxy like animation helps to portray the image.

After recovering from this thrilling vision, Haiji smiles. The power of Kakeru’s form drives him to put in his own burst and he reaches the Kikui and TSU runners that Kakeru had just overtaken.

The surprise on their faces is clear at having a second runner (and one from the same unknown school) reach them.

Meanwhile, Kakeru zips past the other Kansei runners (Musa and twins) as well. Their exhausted faces break into grins at his otherworldly pace and it seems to lift their spirits as well.

Act Two

The announcer tells us that Kakeru passed Gaien’s Ectoba and that he’s in a dead heat race with Iwanki (blue uniform) the monster of Hakone’s section two.

We also learn that he might be able to catch the runners in second and third place, Muskus (green uniform) and Jomo (white and blue uniform). 42 minutes have passed since the beginning of the race, and Hana once again relocates, this time to the finish line.

Iwanki and Kakeru continue their burst of speed when Iwanki pulls ahead of him close to the finish line, surprising Kakeru.

This recalls KK’s first Uni meet when he lost to Manas’s and Fujioka’s final sprints.

Meanwhile the exchange students Kipsuge and Muskus and cross the finish line. With the former pink attired runner earning first place.

Hana mentions that she’s seen him in a previous track meet.

-I appreciated this reminder or I never would have realized it. I went back and checked. At the time he had raced against Kakeru and lost. But in this race, he’s the winner.

-I liked this development. It shows us that Kakeru isn’t the only one improving.

Kipsuge and second-place winner Muskus exchange hugs. I assume that, even though they aren’t in the same team, they are nonetheless friends. It was a lovely display of sportsmanship. Prince would have been pleased. They finished in 58 minutes.

Next Kakeru and Iwanki rush towards the finish line, to Hanako’s amazement.

It’s anyone’s guess who will win until both cross the finish line at the same time. The subsequent silence is deafening. It is only after the screen reads Kakeru’s time (58.16 minutes) that the audience roars in excitement at this outstanding achievement.

He has tied Iwanki for third place. Meanwhile we see Jomo cross the finish line for fourth. Kakeru turns to look up at the banner above him. No doubt he’s feeling all sorts of emotions that he finished the race, when someone puts a hand on his shoulder. It’s Iwanki, who is acknowledging him before he walks away.

Kakeru’s eyes and mouth are both open, floored at the gesture, when one of the organizers leads him off the race track, telling him “Runners are coming in. Don’t stop moving.” Here, Kakeru seems to come to his senses. He looks back at the track as if he’s desperately looking for something. The track is empty. What is it? Or rather, who is it that he’s looking for?

We don’t have to wait long to find out. At the sidelines Hanako cries out her excitement at Kakeru’s time, then looks towards the incoming runners. It’s Haiji and the top runners from TSU and Kikui.

They race towards the finish line, each wanting to take the lead. At the final turn, Haiji feels a stab of pain in his knee.

He gasps but nonetheless speeds ahead leaving plenty of seconds between himself and the other two, securing fifth place for his team.

Not that we see it. The scene was animated in such a way that Haiji is running right at us viewers. The closer he is gets, the less we see of him until the scene abruptly fades to black.

-This was done extremely well. Having Haiji come closer and closer, yet having us see less and less of him was brilliant.

– I felt it was an apt metaphor for the character as well: the closer we think we’ve come to know him, the more we realize we hardly know him at all.

– Three makes a pattern and this is the third time we were cheated out of seeing Haiji finish a race. At this point we realize this is an intentional (albeit annoying) decision made by the director/production team. We’ll discuss this more in future reviews to avoid mentioning spoilers here.

The scene then switches to a certain runner’s legs as he come to a stop. Is it another one of our Kansei boys? Nope. It’s Sakaki, who, like Kakeru, turns to look behind him as he crosses the finish line.

-I loved this surprising and interesting choice. Seeing as how Sakaki is the main antagonist of this show, it would be of interest to viewers to see how well he does. More than that, him looking behind him shows how similar he and Kakeru are: they’re both concerned to see how their team members did. In fact, almost the entire Kansei team does this in the following beautifully edited montage, with the aptly named “Reliance” track playing in the background.

Not only do we see how the team members rely on each other, but also how hard-working the organizers at the race are.

We see volunteers and medics helping the runners off the track, carrying them in some cases, giving them first aid, and the whole time this is interspersed with our brave, courageous boys.

The acknowledgement and respect given even to fringe characters sets this show apart and is admirable.

First, the twins then Musa cross the finish line. They hold onto each other for support as they gasp for air.

We then see Yuki running fiercely towards the finish as Shindo collapses into the arms of an older organizer, panting for breath, looking for his friends behind him.

– If we go by order, then Yuki arrived before Shindo.

Still in the race, Nico makes a frantic final spurt, eyes wild and unfocused in exhaustion as he heads towards the finish line. Finally, King, his mouth wide open desperately trying to breathe as he ugly runs towards the end, shows just how tenacious he is.

As the epic music slows down, and our hearts race in anticipation of the injured Haiji, the screen pans out to give us a shot of the field.

We see Komori-san, her husband and the bath time regular, all looking down with concerned expressions. The scene then cuts to Kakeru, looking down as well.

At Haiji, based on the tuft of brown hair at the bottom of the image. But before we see him, we get a shot of his leg, stretched out, with a bag of ice on his no-doubt sore knee. We get a brief shot of his face, but before we can make out his expression, and attempt to gauge his level of pain, we hear Musa off-screen saying that “King is finished”. The shot barely lasted a second before Haiji’s (whose primary concern is always the team) lifts his head in interest.

I did however manage to grab a screenshot of the frame before it changed. Rather than being in pain, he looks worried 😧

Musa’s on the phone, so he’s relaying information from someone, possibly Hana. The twins say that King’s position is probably around the 150’s. Haiji tells Nico, whom the twins are supporting on their shoulders, to drink some water.

I have to say these twins are real MVP’s.

Kakeru, who at this point is basically Haiji’s second in command asks about Prince. No one knows anything about him. Concern is etched on all of their faces.

Next we see Akane’s red shoes (somehow, they’ve started to seem like a symbol of his courage, to me) desperately running, though at a speed much slower than the other participants. Random people are encouraging him “You can do it!” “The finish line is just there!” “Your teammates are waiting!”

Always the smart mouth, even when no can hear him, Akane responds “You don’t know that…”

He looks anemic.

The poor boy is then hit with a sudden wave of nausea which he attempts to swallow down, only to have it burst against his will in a shiny shower of bile, to the horror of a female onlooker.

The pale faced otaku wipes his mouth and tells himself “Sports aren’t necessarily beautiful”, no doubt comparing “real life” with the comics he reads. He then continues running, although he’s almost staggering at this point.

-Seriously, can we love him anymore? I love how he talks to himself, giving himself encouragement.

Next we see him being carried by two medics into a tent. Hanako, bless her, has been waiting for him, and tells him, “Prince! You’re in the 100’s! you beat the 200’s!” We also see her father on his phone behind her. So he’s the one on the phone with Musa, undoubtedly telling the team that Prince has successfully completed the race.

What a hero.

That grin is everything.

Back at the field, Yuki is reeming into the boys for not recording their own times.

Even when Nico points out that they’re being filmed, he just glances at the camera man before he continues: “It’s all information warfare these days! The race is more or less decided before they announce the results!”

– Seriously, Yuki. Everyone was dead on their feet by the time they reached the finish line. Give them a break. Also, from a writer’s perspective, there’d be no suspense if they had.

King points out, “You couldn’t care less six months ago.”

-This was a nice reminder how Yuki had repeatedly said he didn’t think they can make it to Hakone. But after he started taking it seriously he’s unsurprisingly diligent. Fits his A type personality. What a difference time makes.

Haiji tells everyone that based on what they know of their’ times they’re probably in the mid-80’s, that is, where they stand. And that that’s borderline of making it. The other teams, who know that they have good times, start celebrating.

Our beloved team is the only one without banners and a cheer squad 🥺

Meanwhile, King reverts to his nervous habit of pulling up grass. Shindo seems to be praying while everyone else just looks gloomy and nervous. Their few but incredibly loyal fans are worried as well.

Bath buddy: “I don’t know what to tell them”

The twins show up, this time supporting Prince.

-Again, these two are wonderful. The fact that they just support the members with less stamina without a hint of annoyance or complaint is really admirable.

-I’m reminded of a particular scene in episode four, when Haiji was encouraging Prince to run the first week of practice: “Look, your friends are waiting for you! The heroes of Aotake! They’re waiting of the warrior named Prince to return!”

Now we know it had been foreshadowing. How great is that 🙂

Haiji, who had been sitting down icing his knee ever since he finished the race, stands up for the first time and walks over to greet Prince. He tells him simply, “You ran well.”

The faces of all the team members show that they think the same. Prince offers a weak smile, and says, “From far away, you’re the only ones who look like you’re having a picnic.”

Haiji chuckles, and Nico remarks, “You’ve always got something to say”.

I’m pretty sure Prince’s sarcasm is a coping mechanism.

The next scene is the nerve wracking announcement of the teams who made it into the Hakone race. In first place is the TSU team. They jump and yell with joy, with their fastest runner Takasugi holding Sakaki in an affectionate choke-hold, not unlike the one Haiji once gave Kakeru.

-We know that their fastest members are slower than both Kakeru and Haiji, but their placement shows that the overall level of the team is pretty high.

I think this is hi
s first genuine smile.

-Seeing their Captain be affectionate with Sakaki shows that he’s a significant member of their team, but more than that, it also served to showcase that, despite everything, the TSU team shares some similarities with the Kansei team. Some

The TSU team’s time is 10: 09:12. Haiji remarks that it was a fast race. Next is Kofu academy “Iwanki’s team.

King complains that the announcer is intentionally stopping between the place and the name of the school, to keep up the suspense. Prince similarly comments in his deadpan voice, “We already know the results. They should hurry it up.”

-My dear Prince, if you already knew the results, you wouldn’t be so anxious.

Nico comments, “Whining as soon as you’ve recovered? You’ve got a lot of energy.”

-Like I said, coping mechanism.

Fourth place is Kikui University. The Kansei boys are getting more nervous by the second. Shindo attempts to reassure them that until then all the announced teams are regulars at Hakone. When Fifth place is announced, and it isn’t Kansei, suspenseful music starts and the team members all start panicking. The twins pray, with their hands together, “please, please”. Hana does as well. Sixth place is announced, and it’s not Kansei either. Here, Yuki seems to lose hope, “We didn’t make it,” he mutters.

The twins who had been clinging to Nico, are now hugging him for dear life. He also has his arms tight around them now.

Yuki stares down the podium. Shindo hugs himself in distress while Musa has his hands clasped together, like he’s praying. King puts his fingers in his ears, afraid of listening anymore.

Prince stands with his hands at his sides, his face hidden in his hair, a drop of sweat running down his face.

-You just know that if the team doesn’t make it he’ll end up blaming himself, and for his sake, as much as the team, you want them to have gone through.

Meanwhile, Kakeru’s right hand is clenching tightly at jacket, where his heart is, as if attempting to calm it down. Haiji’s face….it’s set in a terrifyingly unreadable yet somehow grim expression.

Even the cameraman is caught up in the tense atmosphere, his face twitching nervously with sweat dripping down his face. The fan-club likewise is desperate to hear the name “Kansei University” uttered.

Finally, in tenth place, it is. The entire team gasps (except for King who didn’t hear the announcement).

Kakeru and Haiji’s eyes bug out as they instantly turn to look at each other.

The entire team shouts, except for Prince who finally raises his head in blank amazement. Best friends Musa and Shindo embrace each other in joy.

Nico and Yuki high five each other with wide, equally satisfied grins.

The twins slap Kakeru’s back, hard, in happiness, to his dismay.

And Haiji….

…he’a completely overcome. He raises both fists in the air. We see tears gather at the corners of his eyes, and hear them in the back of his throat.

We then see the world from his view, blurry from his tears , as Hanako and the twins suddenly invade his vision.

They attack him with bear hugs, causing him to fall backwards, flat on his back.

Then Musa, King (in a rare unreserved moment!) and Shindo, to Kakeru’s shock.

-I think KK here is a bit concerned about Haiji. I know I was, a bit. But the joy at seeing the team celebrate their achievement, celebrate Haiji by (literally) burying him in affection outweighs everything. It’s incredibly satisfying and heartwarming to see.

Yuki then pushes “slow at many things but running” (upgraded from “slow at everything”) Kakeru on top of the pile and jumps in after him. Nico finally completes the Kansei team hotcake stack and jumps in as well.

Prince looks at them, sitting a few meters away. His eyes are once again hidden in his hair, but we can see a smile.

– Had he joined them, he would have been the red strawberry on top, but seeing as how he’d been standing when the announcement was made, but is now sitting, I can only guess that his legs gave out in his relief.

The camera-man wipes away his own joyful tears.

– It’s nice to see that in a couple of weeks he became just as invested in these boys as we are.

The team gazes at the announcement board in disbelief.

“It’s not a mistake, is it?” Shindo asks in happiness. Musa concurs, “It says tenth right there.”

Yuki adds, “It’s like a TV show.”

-Hee! Breaking the fourth wall.

Nico then says his catchphrase, “This is reality.”

-Indeed. And it’s the first time he said in a positive tone.

Kakeru also gazes at it, pride clear on his face.

We then see through the camera man’s lens as he interviews Haiji who furrows his eyebrows a bit as he thinks of what to say…

…before his face settles in his usual confident expression, “Well, we proved that Hakone wasn’t just a dream.” Most of the team members giggle.

-No doubt they are abashed, remembering how they had never believed him that they would get here.

Haji continues, “All that’s left is to train and train until we reach the top. We’ll do nothing but practice again starting tomorrow.”

His teammates are horrified into silence. You can hear the sound of a breeze blowing past them.

I love Kakeru’s look here, as if he expected their reaction.

Haiji’s peers (and senpai) then grab his clothes and shake him in anger.

Nico: “Can’t we have tomorrow off?”

Yuki: “Let us rest!”

King: “What more can we do?”

Haiji chuckles, unconcerned at their protests.

Musa looks on with a smile at his senpai’s endearing shenanigans. Prince’s slight grin is more rueful while Kakeru has a bemused look on his face.

-I doubt any other team in Japan has teammates who get away with abusing their captain like this. Except maybe Seido’s team in Ace of Diamond. (Watch that next folks! It’s just as perfect as this show.)

The camera man must have though as much. He puts down his gadget, and with an awkward grin says “I can’t use this footage.”

-Well, maybe not for a politically correct TV program but it sure as heck would make for a great team video.

Only the cheerful twins are strangely absent. They’re looking at the board, but unlike the happy disbelief that was on their mates faces, they have trepidation etched on their visages.

Later, the team is walking back home with the shopping district fan club members. King wants to predict what sections they’ll run, in Hakone. Nico tells him he’s getting ahead of himself. Prince reads a manga as he walks. When Shindo comments his surprise that he can, Prince says he’s rewarding himself.

-As he should.

Haiji stops to turn around and tell the team that their supporters are treating them to meat as a celebration. Everyone is excited at the prospect of a barbecue expect the twins who are looking at what looks to be some sort of pamphlet or program in their hands. They call out to Kakeru, who doesn’t hear them until Hana calls out to him as well.

–Language note: Here, Hana calls KK “Kakeru-san”. This is an upgrade from the previous “Kurahara-san” she used to call him. While the -san honorific keeps their relationship formal, the use of his fist name hints that the relationship is nonetheless not as formal as it used to be. I credit KK’s softer demeanor for permitting this change.

Anyway, the twins recall to Kakeru that Haiji had told them they’d reach the top. Kakeru asks, “Just now?” meaning, in the interview. The two acknowledge this, but add that he said it when he first recruited them to run. And how he says it all the time. “Each time, I’ve thought, “yeah!” Jota adds.

“And?” Kakeru asks.

“When he says top, do you think he means winning the race?” Jouji asks, revealing what’s been worrying them. Kakeru’s eyes widen. No doubt, he’s remembering what the twins stated in their interview before the race, “this is our first stop towards winning Hakone.”

-Nice continuity. I’d thought KK’s reaction would be revisited when he heard them.

Jouta goes on to say that their time was , 10:16:43, and how TSU’s time was more than seven minutes faster. But they’re just the top team in the qualifier. “Just how fast are the teams that win the Ekiden? Can we reach that level through practice?”

Distance. The others have no clue a significant conversation is taking place.

It seems that the twins have just realized that they most likely can’t win. They ask Kakeru:

Twins: “Kakeru, what are we running for?”

It seems like, to them, not being able to win means that they have no reason to run, based on the question they posed immediately after.

A wide eyed Kakeru has no answer to give. And while the rain has stopped for for a while now, a wind blows, ruffling his hair.

Conclusion

This is both symbolism and foreshadowing that while the team made it to qualifiers, it’s not all going to be smooth sailing until Hakone. I loved this episode so much. The music was phenomenal. The editing, direction, the suspense at hearing the results, the slight humor at the end, the trepidation giving us a bit of unease to keep us worried. It was just so wonderful and I don’t think could have been better. Even the results, having Kakeru tie an exchange student for third place was very realistic. Him being a first year, he still has a lot of room for growth. Meanwhile, seeing Haiji beat out the top Japanese students, despite his bum leg and a mishap in the first half of the race, causing him pain, was inspiring. Similarly the fact that Prince came in the top 100’s out of over 500 runners, when less than a year ago he had never done anything athletic, is phenomenal. Finally the themes revisited here were: dream vs reality, the meaning of running, friendship, distance, sportsmanship.

Grade: 10/10

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Run With the Wind Episode 15 Review: Place of Destiny

Warning: this review contains spoilers up to the end of this episode.

Disclaimer: All images have been screen captured from Crunchyroll and belong to their respective owners. I am using them to promote this show and will delete them if/when I am asked to do so.

Prologue

It is a windy fall evening. Haiji is at Landowner/Coach Tazaki’s home.

With Haiji’s notebook in his hand, Tazaki observes that while only three of them are running 10km in under 30 minutes, it’s still impressive that Haiji was able to get a group of amateurs to the Hakone qualifier. Haiji states that they still have three weeks until the day and that while 20km is the base distance for cross country, “none of us will drop out”. He also tells the coach of his plan to go ahead with his build up training that he had been holding back on in the spring, so that his runners can put in burst of speed and finish the last thousand meters in 2.50 minutes.

The coach remarks that he’s impressed, and that Haiji has achieved is more than enough to hold his own coaching lecture. Unaffected, Haiji reminds him that their goal is beyond the qualifier, to Hakone.

The old man is silent for a bit then responds to Haiji’s earnestness by telling him that while his legs and hips are done for, he’ll help him with his experience. Just as he begins speaking, the sound of rushing water above sends him running towards what I assume is some sort of plumbing emergency caused by the strong autumn winds.

Haiji remarks to himself that his legs feel fine, before a gust of wind blows into his face.

-At first, I couldn’t pinpoint the main intention behind this scene. I mean, I understood the following:

-It was meant to establish a timeline. Based on Prince’s calendar (shown in the previous ep) we know this is the evening that Prince achieved his qualifier (the TSU meet was exactly three weeks before the qualifier).

-It shows what the coach thinks of Haiji’s work. Getting a professional trainer’s opinion assures us viewers that his tremendous efforts are not going unnoticed.

Also, that Nira prefers Haiji over his actual owner.

But the real reason for the scene is shown later in the episode: when at the qualifier, the coach is absent, we’re supposed to put two and two together and realize it is because he cannot stand/walk for extended periods of time, since he stated in this scene that his legs and hips don’t work like they used to. To be fair, we have already seen that his legs are bowled (from the first OP). Plus, he always walks carefully and gingerly and he is very old. But the fact is, I only understood this much later after rewatching it a few times. I’m either getting slow in my own (not so old yet) age or the implementation was not done well enough. It’s probably the former.

-Finally, the wind blowing into Haiji’s face, along with the dark stormy weather gives a dark premonition.

Act One

The episode starts at Kansei University. We hear a man’s voice talking of the history of the University, none of which I understood or think actually matters. A nameplate that reads “Chaiman’s Office” followed by a shot of a smiling Haiji, his face set into a mask of forced politeness.

This tells us that he’s probably in the same boat we’re in. It’s only when the chairman says, “We value both academics and athletics”, and we see a newspaper on his desk with a picture of our team that we start making sense of things.

At the Aotake, the twins, King and Shindo are joyously looking at the same newspaper. The article is titled: Aiming for the Top” 10 men take on the Hakone Ekiden. Shindo says he never imagined he’d ever be in the paper. Through the picture (as per usual for this show’s fantastic editing) we’re taken back in time to when it was first taken, the day Prince achieved his record (based on the fact that he’s the only one in a running suit).

The friendly reporter who took it tells them since they hadn’t made it through the qualifier, the article won’t make it in the sports section, but that their attempt is captivating enough for local news.

Is that a blush, Nico? Cute!

Most of the team members seem delighted. Kakeru’s probably used to the attention since he’s always been a top-ranked runner (not that he seemed to care in high-school, either). Similarly, Prince’s face is as expressionless as ever. It could be that he’s tired after his race, but like Kakeru, he just doesn’t seem to care. Haiji seems quietly pleased. As are Shindo and Musa. The twins and and King are overjoyed and aren’t even attempting to hide it. Even cool Yuki and careless Nico.

Meanwhile, creepy reporter Mochizuki-san seems annoyed that his own attempt at interviewing the Kansei team wasn’t successful. He stares at Kakeru who glances back at him unaffectedly.

We’re then shown shots of the article on the newspaper’s website, taped to pillar next to Yaokatsu vegetable store (no doubt the work of Hanako and her father), and at newspaper stands.

-So it seems like our boys have gotten quite a bit of recognition, hence Haiji’s presence in the Chairman’s office.

Haiji is about to step out of the office after what has presumably been a long meeting. At the door, the man tells him “We’re all hoping you’ll make it through the qualifier,” with an exited laugh.

After bowing respectfully, Haiji leaves. He lets out a long sigh and moves his stiff shoulders. “I wish I could run right now.”

-So even politically correct Haiji’s finds formal meetings to be tedious.

-We also found out that he runs to de-stress.

After the episode title Place of Destiny, we see the Aotake team, except for Haiji (who probably hadn’t returned from his meeting yet, stretching at the public track they always use.

-So, the university still isn’t letting them use their track? What was the point of that meeting then?

Nonetheless everyone seems to be in high spirits.

A grinning King says that his parents called him, after they saw the paper. The twins’ folks did as well and yelled at them for throwing peace signs.

-I think this is a cultural thing. They probably meant that they should have taken a more formal pose for the occasion.

Prince says his did too and that they told him to smile more. This sparks the interest of the others saying that they can’t imagine his parents. “They’re normal,” he replies. “With normal faces like mine.” The twins and King break out into laughter over this, to his bewilderment. “What do you think my parents are?”

-Lol. I said it before, though I can’t remember where, I never thought Prince gave much thought to his nickname or the looks that prompted his housemates to give it either (our speed).

Writing tip: We already know Shindo is close to his family, which explains why the writers didn’t add his input here.

Musa says with a smile “Everyone’s so devoted to their parents.” Yuki comments, “I guess so.”

-His reply is lackluster and his demeanor suggests that he might be the exception here. We see Nico observe him, a hint that he knows something about it.

Showing, not telling how much Nico knows Yuki.

Shindo then informs them that they also got an interview request from Nippon TV, sending the twins and King into a frenzy. He explains that the qualifier is televised and that they do interviews with “notable schools” but that he hasn’t replied yet. The excited trio are aghast, and demand to know why.

“If the cameras prevented us from focusing on the race, we’d be putting the cart before the horse.”

–

King: “Damn honor roll student!”

King says this without any malice, referring to Shindo’s good boy personality. He and the twins urge him to accept it. Always considerate, Shindo asks the rest of the team what they think. No one objects to the idea (Nico and Prince say they don’t care either way, Yuki and Kakeru are silent, while the others are all for it) so he agrees, seeing as how it would be great publicity for the team, Shindo says he will.

-So in addition to creating and managing the team website, Shindo is now helping Haiji with the more managerial aspects of the team. In this instance, public relations.

The twins are ecstatic, seeing as how they’ll finally become famous and therefore get all the girls they’ve been dreaming of. Likewise, King wonders if they will send a female reporter.

Only Yuki seems unenthusiastic. During practice, he asks Kakeru if he’s okay with “this”. At Kakeru’s “Huh?” Yuki clarifies, “Won’t appearing on TV cause trouble for you?”

-Here, Yuki means that the attention might stir up KK’s past. But it looks like Kakeru hadn’t thought that far ahead.

At his bemused expression, Yuki quickly apologizes and says he shouldn’t have said anything.

The moment he rethought his statement

-I love Yuki. Also, hmm. Had he been worried about KK the whole time (hence his unenthusiastic reactions earlier?). It fits his caring senpai persona. Or is he projecting his own misgivings onto him? We’ll see.

Yuki then gets a chance to change the subject when he sees the twins telling Hana the good news of their interview. “The’re so young,” he comments to KK with a rueful smile.

It’s funny, since KK is the same age. He follows Yuki’s gaze at the happy trio when Musa laughs from behind him and says, “My maybe just became definitely.”

He reminds Kakeru of their conversation in the bath, and explains the discovery he talked about was how Hana is in love with one of the twins. He came to this conclusion based on her proximity to them and her demeanor around them.

Haiji calls them to run. Musa takes off first leaving a flummoxed Kakeru, with his hand raised in an unconscious attempt to stay Musa.

It’s a gesture we’ve come to associate with him when he’s affected but isn’t sure what to say or do. (Hana, Prince) .

He then runs after Musa and asks him, which twin? “They’re practically the same person.”

-Oy! That’s rude Kakeru, apologize to twins everywhere.

Musa agrees…

-Oy! Again! Seriously these two just earned the wrath of every identical twin around the globe.

…and adds it’s either one or the other.

Kakeru grimaces at his answer.

Hanako’s alleged crush obviously doesn’t sit right with him. Why? Well…There have been a few interactions between him and Hanako, but not enough for me to say that he’s in love with her or anything like that. I do think that him having a serious personality might be the reason, it’s like he doesn’t like what he doesn’t understand, so it could just be that. But the writer in me also recognises that from the beginning, Hanako’s introduction seemed to set her up as a romantic interest for KK

1- He’s the first runner she met (and he blushed when he saw her).

2- During his oppositional phase, he tended to be better behaved in front of her (something Haiji’s seemed to know would happen.

3. Haiji obviously ships them together (as in wants them to be in a relationship).

Interesting piece of trivia: the music that played when Hanako was first introduced is “Tactics by Haiji”.

So, I’m not really sure what to make of Kakeru’s reaction. Are we supposed to think he’s uneasy because he might harbor feelings for her himself? It’s not likely, yet isn’t an impossible notion.

Act Two

Haiji and company are at a field trip exploring the course they will run at Hakone.

The Twins are shocked by the size of the park.

For the sake of those planning a geek tour in Japan, I wrote it down ^_^

“It starts at the Self-Defense Force base adjacent, to Showa Memorial Park. We’ll start by running two laps around the airstrip and taxiway. That’s about five kilometers. Then we’ll head out onto the road, pass the station and cross under the monorail bridge. That’s about ten kilometers. The turnaround point is at 11.2 km. When we return to the park we’ll have run fifteen kilometers. We’ll run a lap through the hilly park. The finish line is next to the Minna-no Harappa Field.”

King comments that finish line seems plain and that he expected it to be flashier. Haiji tells him, “You’ll see the day of the race. It won’t matter if it’s plain or flashy anymore.”

Shindo then asks if the results will be announced at the park. Haiji says yes, “This is where our destiny will be decided.”

-Besides being informative and enjoyable there’s not much to analyze here, except the end of the scene at the park a man sling-shoots a paper air plane, which grabs the entire team’s attention.

You can just hear the ending theme song “Ue-e-e-e-e-e-ay (higher) echoing in that moment. It feels like foreshadowing on the heights that this team can achieve.

On their way back, in the subway, the teammates are all sitting down and dozing for the duration of the ride except or KK and Haiji who stand leaning against the subway doors.

-It’s interesting that both also have their arms crossed. The similar body language indicates how close they have become, as opposed to Kakeru’s previous habit of clenching his fists and holding them to his sides.

Haiji breaks the silence by suddenly asks his younger teammate:

Haiji: “Do you think I’m being soft?”

–Language note: The word he uses is here is “amai”, the same one KK threw at him before their first meet, after Haiji told everyone to “have fun”. Kakeru had asked him “Aren’t you being naïve?” This isn’t a mis-translation. From my baby level Japanese I know that “amai” can mean sweet, naïve, or soft. Back then Haiji hadn’t replied, but seemed a bit affected. I’m sure the identical word choice was intentional here, even if the meaning is somewhat different. KK’s words might have stayed with him. He sounds contemplative.

Haiji goes on to ask: “Should I have made them run more? Before I sleep, when I’m eating, when I’m in the bathroom, my doubts are constantly following me. Should I have imposed more rules like a stronger school and forced them to run more?”

He then breaks off. His usual confident, at times pleasant, at times annoying sing song voice (depending on who the listener is and what is being said) is shockingly soft and vulnerable. The whole time he speaks, he’s looking outside the subway window. It’s like he’s ashamed of his doubtful thoughts, while at the same time he’s attempting to distance himself, obviously apprehensive of Kakeru’s answer.

Haij here is not only asking KK as someone who came from such a school, but also as the only professional runner, one whose talent Haiji admires immensely. He awaits KK answer morosely.

For his part, KK doesn’t seem to realize how much his opinion matters to his team captain. He studies Haiji’s profile as he tells him, “You can’t force people to run. The only thing that makes them run is their own will, right?”

“Yeah,” Haiji responds quietly.

-Well, Haiji basically strong armed the members in the beginning l, but I thinknthe running Kakeru is takking about here is the dedicated running that the Aotake members have shown.

The scene echoes the kitchen conversations, when everyone’s asleep. Also the aummer camp one.

Kakeru then continues, “I was constantly suffering when I ran during in high school. I don’t ever want to be restricted like that again.”

I found this statement strangely ironic since we know that Kakeru was the coach’s pet. But I think he meant that he was mentally restricted? Perhaps by the coach’s treatment of his mates.

Kakeru goes on to say, “This time I’ll run of my own free will. Freely, away, to the end of the world.”

-Aha. Maybe he was restricted by his coach’s selfish expectations of him. Either way, Kakeru seems to have taken Haiji’s question at face value and only gave a literal answer. He doesn’t seem to have grasped the intent behind it, the need for assurance. I say this because his answer till now doesn’t seem to be what Haiji’s was looking for. At Kakeru’s last statement, Haiji’s posture shrinks a bit, his head falling further down.

But when Kakeru tells him, “We still have time,” It seems enough to reassure him. Haiji raises his head back up.

He finally faces Kakeru and tells him, “Thanks,” before looking back out of the window and saying, “People always want to be strong”.

-Haiji here is indirectly admitting his moment of weakness.

Kakeru looks at him, his face expressionless, but serious.

I really don’t think he understands how significant this moment was. I mean, he answered Haiji’s question, but that is all. Or, maybe he did sense Haiji’s vulnerability but was doing him a favor by downplaying it, seeing how Haiji wouldn’t meet his gaze. That might make more sense. Especially since Kakeru has been maturing and gaining more social intelligence as of late.

In the next scene we get a shot of the usual confident Haiji we know and love, giving his team a pep talk. The scene alternates with images of all the team members, each preparing in his own way for the qualifier, applying Haiji’s advice as best as he can.

Haiji tells his boys that they have two weeks left to the qualifier, and that now they’re facing a battle of concentration. “We’ll need to focus and exercise self-control….”

The scene cuts to Nico eat slowly and carefully, obviously not wanting to gain any weight before the qualifier.

“…so we can go into the qualifier in top physical and mental shape.”

We see King pours over the map of the race course, image training, no doubt.

Haiji then confidently tells the team, “There’s nothing to be afraid of. We’ve trained more than enough. We just need to turn that pressure into a rasp and polish our minds and bodies. Imagine yourself running as a beautiful blade on the day of the qualifier….”

We see Prince reading manga in his room,

“…and diligently polish yourself yourselves to a fine point.”

followed by an image of Musa sitting soaking in the dark bath.

Back at the field, Yuki comments that Haiji’s words are quite poetic.

-Indeed. The fact that he’s a literature major came through in that speech.

Shindo, comments, “I understand, though. We should be tempered katanas.

-Katanas are Japanese swords.

Fellow literature major, Prince, points out, “We’ll be screwed if we polish too much and break before the race, though.”

Haiji agrees and tells them , “Listen to your minds and bodies and polish carefully”.

The scene cuts to Yuki with his headphones on, moving his head to the music with his eyes closed. Based on his gentle head banging it’s something loud. His phone, on silent, is ringing. We can tell because it’s moving across his desk, no doubt being set on “vibrate”. A close up to the screen tells us it’s his mom.

Yuki listening carefully, just not to his phone.

Haiji’s voice over tells the team that informs them competitions are strange. They’ve done the training, all that’s left is to run, but points out that some runners self-destruct on the day of the competition.

The scene switches to the twins hanging out with Hana, taking a walk in the shopping district in regular clothes. Haiji’s words overlap this scene as he says, “Most things we call mistakes are the results of pressure or the weakness of the mind. No matter how much you practice you can’t stop the anxiety from rising to the surface.”

-Foreshadowing?

Back at the field he goes on to say, “No matter how certain you are, you still can’t erase your fear of failure. The more you polish something, the more fragile it becomes, just as a little bit of dust can ruin a delicate machine…”

Here, we see Kakeru listening, riveted. Haiji continues saying, “So we must find strength. Unwavering strength.” The scene switches to Kakeru, who we see going out for a run.

“True strength, so we won’t be defeated by ourselves!”

We return back to Haiji’s pep talk to the boys. A cameraman has been recording Haiji’s entire speech (from Nippon tv, no doubt). As it ends, he brings his camera down, and we see his eyes glittering and face reddish in excitement at Haiji’s eloquence and inspiring words.

It then falls in disappointment after the scene cuts to the twins’ room, where the whole team is gathered for a pre-race party.

“Should you really be doing this two days before the qualifier?” he asks, seeming disappointed in the lax atmosphere, in contradiction to the perviousness seriousness. Nico tells him, “This is how we do things.” A red faced Shindo slurs jovially, “Today is the last day! Tomorrow we’ll sit and wait for the next day!”

-Methinks Shindo enjoys drinking a little too much. He’s the only person who’s already drunk. Well, him and the coach that is, whose face is almost as red as Shindo.

For once, the landlord Tazaki has joined the boy’s drinking party. Perhaps because the cameraman is there, he has to at least act the part of the coach. Haiji turns to him and respectfully says “It’s time for a message from our coach.”

The man seems caught off guard, but says “I’ll share my secret to success.”    The whole team listens in eager anticipation that the Tazaki will finally “lift the veil” on the secret of running.

The drunk coach tells them, while moving two fingers in the air to mimic legs, “Alternate using your left and right feet. Do that you and you’ll eventually arrive at the finish line.” He then resumes drinking. Haiji bows formally, telling him in gratitude, “Thank you.”

Everyone else is sorely disappointed. “That’s all!” they cry out in unison. King asks, “when are going to start acting like a coach?” Even the camera-man obviously feels let-down. He lowers his camera with a grimace on his face. You can just see him wondering if he can use this footage or not. Then, before their very eyes, the old man falls asleep while sitting, despite Musa repeatedly begging him to wait.

Haiji, however, defends him. “What do you think, though? You can’t say it didn’t feel like it would be no exaggeration to say he spoke the truth.”

“What the hell are you trying to say,” Nico asks, annoyed at Haiji’s incomprehensible words, and the devotion behind them.

-I think the coach’s words rang true to Haiji in particular, because of the physical therapy he went through. He previously described it in almost the exact same way.

-There also seems to be a mysterious bond between the coach and Haiji that we are not yet privy to. One that would explain Haiji’s innate respect for the older man, akin to the regard one would have for an invaluable mentor. Meanwhile, Tazaki seems to be fond of Haiji, even though he’s never really expressed that. The fact that he told Haiji in the very first episode to do what he wants, explains things but raises questions at the same time.

Yuki’s phone rings, immediately rousing everyone’s curiosity. King asks if it’s a woman, and comments, “Just how carefree are you?”

-Well, he’s probably not too off the mark. We know that Yuki enjoys female companionship, we also know he’s been getting calls from his mother.  

Yuki excuses himself to take the call. Kiyose “never misses anything” Haiji contemplates the place where the would-be lawyer was, then asks Kakeru if he can get some ice.

The newest Aotake member immediately obeys. In the kitchen, Kakeru can hear Yuki saying, “This has nothing to do with you. Why are you calling now?”

We see Yuki standing just outside the door of the Aotake, no doubt not wanting to be overheard. He goes on to say, “You’re bothering me. I want to focus. Bye.”

Kakeru leaves the kitchen the same time Yuki comes back inside the building and they meet in the foyer. Cool Yuki gets a “deer in the headlights” look, not unlike Kakeru (albeit less violent) when Haiji mentioned his school in the first episode.

But, being Yuk,i he recovers quickly with a laugh and, by way of explanation, tells Kakeru “My parents saw the paper. I haven’t seen them in a while,” rubbing his head, as he tends to do when he’s being nervous or furtive.

-So Yuki doesn’t get along well with his family. Haiji knows this, and so sent Kakeru, who also doesn’t get along with his parents (he’d rather steal than ask them for money) to give them a chance to talk about their relevant issues, should they need to. At this point Yuki seems reluctant.

-When KK opens the freezer, we see that there a bunch of pre-cut veggies (Haiji has excellent time-saving skills) placed in individual containers. I love details like this.

The next morning, Hana-chan’s father visits with new track suits for the boys. He tells them, “You can’t have different track suits forever.”

-Their happy expressions on the boys’ faces is so heartwarming. About damn time. Nice going, kind sir.

The veggie vendor tells them, “They’re a present from everyone at the shopping center. Don’t embarrass us!” The Kansei team members promise that they won’t.

-So the university knows they’re running at the qualifier but didn’t fork over any cash? That’s…wow. Well, I guess the school year has already begun and it would be hard to give any money that they hadn’t allocated beforehand.

Aaanyway, next scene takes us to the qualifier. Huge crowds have gathered, cheer teams from various schools, lots of cameras, organizers, etc. Amongst them is the camera man designated to cover the Kansei team. The twins wave high to his camera, and say, “Today, we’re taking our first step towards winning the Hakone Ekiden!”

Kakeru, tightening his shoe laces nearby, overhears them and wonders, “Win? Win?!” he asks himself, raising an eyebrow at their confidence.

-Kakeru’s reaction makes sense. When you think about it, the qualifier allows only the top ten teams to participate in the Hakone. This, in addition to the ten teams already seeded. That’s twenty. So, to win Kansei team would have to beat 19 other teams. That…well, as much as I love these boys, it seems very far fetched. But the twins don’t seem to have realized this.

It is raining. As the participants run to warm up Kakeru and Sakaki pass by each other, locking eyes they do so.

King runs up to Kakeru and asks if Sakaki managed to secure a regular position on the TSU team, despite being a first year. Kakeru replies, “That doesn’t matter today.”

King concedes this, then remarks on how you can’t help but stare at the cheerleaders from the other schools. Kakeru looks at his senpai, beating his hand nervously against his chest and understands that to mean he’s just talking to relieve his tension. “Yeah.” He murmurs in reply.

-Kakeru’s maturity here is a far cry from his annoyance with the teammates at their first meet. He’s becoming more socially aware and considerate.

The scene switches to Kansei’s small but dedicated cheer squad made up of Haiji’s public bath friend, Komori-san and her husband from the butcher shop, and Hanako and her father.

Hana relays what Haiji said, that if the team’s combined time is less then 10 hours and 12 seconds they’ll be amongst the top ten chosen to run in Hakone. Meaning, each of the runners should run the 20km distance in a total time of an hour and few seconds. The Kansei fans discuss how that’s just over three minutes per kilometers.

-Here’s the thing. My impressionable self picked up running after watching this show. After two months I was able to run for 60 minutes straight but in that time I can only cover about 5km. Granted I’m (only) 20 years older than these kids and at least 10 kilos overweight, BUT STILL! Seriously. I only understood how insanely fast these numbers are after I tried running myself.

The scene switches to Haiji and the team. The captain tells the boys that there are no landmarks so it’ll be tough to judge their distance. He also comments that the weather is bad and that they won’t know how the race will play out. But he warns the team members from getting dragged by runners who recklessly charge ahead. He then lays out his plan:

“Kakeru and I will run in the front. Stay together and maintain your own pace in the beginning. By the time we finish one lap around the airstrip, a lot of guys should start to fall behind. I’ll be sending signals during the race. Don’t lose sight of each other.”

He then sighs in happiness and says, “I’m glad. I’m glad it’s the ten of us. We wouldn’t be here if anyone had been missing.”

Yuki tells him, don’t make it sound like the final episode of something. A twin (I can’t tell their voices apart) then points out “This is the starting line.” Haiji smiles, “That’s right”.

-And if that isn’t a flag alerting us to danger, I don’t know what is.

The scene then switches back to the fan club, who notice that some of the teams have more than ten members. Hanako explains to them that teams can register 14 members, choose 12 to run the race on the day, then choose the top ten runners and average those times.

Her father comments that this really makes it a numbers game. It seems unfair to smaller teams, but that’s the way it is. Hanako then makes the most important point: “Teams with lots of runners have two runners as insurance. It also means Kansei is finished if a single one of their runners doesn’t make it to the finish line.” But she then says that it’s okay, she knows they’ll all make it.

-Depiste her assurance, that statement really raised the stakes. It must also put a lot of pressure on the individual boys.

As if to stress this point, we see Akane (Prince) tying his red shoes. He can’t. His hands are shaking badly and his beautiful face is full of despair. This is the first time we’ve ever seen him so rattled. Kakeru calls out to him and tells him that he’ll tie his shoes for him. A surprised Prince agrees.

Watching Kakeru tie his shoes, Princes face relaxes and falls into a more determined version of his usual expressionless face. He tells his kouhai (in age, but senpai in running), “I’ll do the best I can.” Kakeru response is an assured, “Okay.”

I absolutely loved the role reversal here. It could have been written any number of ways, but the focus on the red shoes is a reminder of how Prince helped bring Kakeru out of his own worries when he was experiencing PTSD flashbacks (twice in fact, wearing red both times). I loved how Kakeru returned the favor here. The fact that he even noticed Prince’s nerves illustrates the deep bond they now share.

The teams are then all called to the starting line, and line up according to their school. We see that the Kansei teams placement is quite in the back. King remarks that their position is a big handicap to which Haiji replies that the placement is based on performance (I’m guessing of their collective record scores) so that can’t complain. Shindo remarks that teams who ran Hakone the year before, even though they weren’t seed, have a different air about them. As he says this we get alternate shots of confident looking teams. Kakeru says firmly, “We’re just as good” earning a head pat from Nico.

-This is growth people. Remember how pissed off Kakeru was when Yuki was encouraging Musa, telling him he was just as good as his fellow exchange students at their first meet? This time Kakeru used the exact same words Yuki did. And he believes them too, because unlike then, they are backed by months of hellish training and achievement. More growth: in the past when Nico ruffled Kakeru’s hair, he got really angry. Here, his reaction was a slight annoyed grimace. Meaning, he still doesn’t like it, but sees it for what it is: Nico being the dad that he is.

Right before the start of the race, Haiji utters a surprised “oh,” and says he forgot something. The team is apprehensive at what it could be. He then looks back at his team, lined up behind him, and whispers behind his palm: “The mountains of Hakone…?”

The Kansei boys smile in realization, and race their fists in the air simultaneously, “The steepest in the world,” they whisper back in unison, earning glances from the neighboring teams.

-It’s interesting that the team seems to be lined up in order of speed (except for Haiji whose first, being the captain): Kakeru, Musa, twins, Yuki, Shinodo, Nico, Kin, and Prince. But then, why is Yuki ahead of Shindo (whom I recall is faster than he is?) the same goes for Musa (whom I think is a bit slower than the twins). Interesting.

The count down begins until the gun fires signalling the start of the race.

I swear viewers will feel just as nervous and excited as the runners. Then when the shot is fired the runners surge forward like a wave…the feeling is just indescribable.

The cheer squads, the bands, everyone goes crazy. The atmosphere is palpable and just so real. Hanako holds her ears against the ear bursting cheering, then herself starts shouting as hard as she can for Kansei University. The rest of the fan club members join her screaming for our boys,even though they must know they won’t be able to hear them. But the effort is for the sake of the supporters themselves just as much as it’s for the runners.

Kakeru immediately moves up from behind Haiji to take his place next to him. Meanwhile, Haiji moves to the right of the track so that his runners can see him, and signals to them with his hand “Finish the first five kilometers in 3:10 each. After that use your own judgement.”

-Now it makes sense. Like Haiji instructed, the team members are staying together according to their abilities. But the taller of the group is in front the better to be able to see Haiji’s signals.

Bath house buddy says that just two laps of this track makes him feel faint. Yaokatsue wonders where Hanako is.

She has left them and taken position to where the fastest runners, the exchange students, are about to finish the first lap. She times them, then relays that time to the Kansei boys.

First, to Haiji and Kakeru, in the second pack: “The lead pack’s page is 2:49!”

Then to the twins and Musa in the third pack, “Don’t let them drag you ahead!”

-This is why Haiji gave them a set time. If they get caught in the speed of the lead pack they wouldn’t be able to last till the end.

-This is also why Hana is wearing a red coat. The better to be seen by the team when she gives them signals.

The team is not only following Haiji’s instructions to keep together. They are looking out for each other too. Behind the twins and Musa, Shindo and Yuki are running together, followed by King and Nico. The two exchange a glance, King then looks behind him to make sure Prince, further behind is within eye-sight of them.

-Poor Prince is the only one alone 😦 Hmm. This is another similarity between him and Kakeru. Both usually run alone, one is always ahead, while the other always behind.

We are shown Haiji and Kakeru, who has now taken position in front of his captain. As they run, they see a path open between the runners in front of them. Just as Kakeru furrows his eyebrows, no doubt contemplating speeding ahead. Haiji smiles, no doubt reading his mind, and whispers to him from behind, “Go”. That’s all he needed to hear.

He takes off, and we see his unearthly gorgeous running form from a pleased Haiji’s point of view.

Hanako reaches the watering station where the second lap is ending. She sees that Kakeru has almost caught up with the tail end of the first pack. He manages to get a cup of water. Haiji, comes up next, at the center of the second pack. He’s almost at the water station, when a runner several feet in front of him bumps into one of the tables and falls down, bringing the table down with him. Hanako yells out Haiji’s name in alarm and we see he is about to collide with the fallen runner when the episode ends.

Conclusion

Whew, what a cliffhanger!

Writing tip: Hanako had a vital role to play in this episode, not just keeping tabs on how the race is playing out and relaying that information to the runners. From a writers perspective her existence is invaluable because, not only does she help exposit some of the rules and inside workings of the race (i.e. explaining the varying number of runners in the different teams). Also, her reactions serve to underscore the gravity of all that is happening in the race. Her horror at the accident will reflect that of the viewers.

The episode planted several important details that will surely be revisited later (i.e. Yuki’s call with his mother). But it mostly set the stage for the upcoming race via Haiji’s explanations. Be that as it may, it was never a boring episode. For one thing, seeing the boys in their regular clothes was refreshing. Having the team seen from other people’s perspectives (the coach, the university chairman, the parents, the interviewee, the Nippon camera man) was also new. But to me the most important scene in this episode was Haiji confiding his doubts to Kakeru.

It was the first time he has done so. Knowingly, that is. Haiji had once tried advising Kakeru on “not rushing”. At the time Kakeru had asked him why he was telling him this, and had figured out on some level that Haiji was feeling anxious. At the time KK had thought it was because not all their members had achieved records, when in reality Haiji had been worried about his own performance. But it seemed that he himself hadn’t realized that he had been projecting his concerns on Kakeru. It had been a rare moment where Haiji seemed to lack self-awareness.

In this episode, however, he’s completely conscious of his anxiety and asks Kakeru straight out for his opinion. It’s the most vulnerable we have ever seen him, though we’ve gotten tiny glimpses in the past. In addition to the reference of the word “amai” (discussed above), the scene somehow also reminded me of the argument they had. At the time Kakeru had seemed unsatisfied with Haiji’s coaching skills. And while Kiyose had stayed strong for the sake of keeping the team together, and managed to completely change Kakeru’s mind on what he felt was his teammates lacking performance, you kinda get the feeling here that KK’s words had stayed with Kiyose and now that the moment of truth came, were rearing their ugly heads.

Of course, Kakeru is completely unaware of this. I doubt he realizes the weight his opinions have with Haiji, despite Fujioka telling him “lead the team with him”. Even a stranger like Fujioka saw the potential in Kakeru, even if he hadn’t seen it himself.  

Because he is unaware, he is unable to give Haiji the full assurance I wanted him to. But, coming from Kakeru (who Haiji knows isn’t the most socially intelligent team member) it must have been enough. After all, Kakeru is still relatively new at playing the “supporter”. I mean, he’s helped out the other members, but I think at the moment he holds Haiji on too high a pedestal to even realize that he can be of emotional support to Haiji as well. With 8 episodes left, he’s bound to have more opportunities to do so in the future.

8.5/10: There was nothing wrong with the episode, though art wasn’t always great. But the upcoming episodes are just phenomenal.

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