I can’t believe I only came across this show this year. I blame the pandemic and the craziness and mayhem of online schooling. Run with the Wind, known as “Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru” in Japanese is about a group of college boys who inadvertently sign up for their University’s Track and Field team then aim to run in the prestigious Hakone Ekiden relay. Available on Crunchyroll, it is produced by Production I.G and based on a novel by Shion Miura and. It first aired late 2018-2019 (source: wikipedia).
More than running, this show is about personal growth, how to face you shortcomings, get past them, and learn to accept yourself as well as others. It is very character centric so don’t watch this show expecting instant action or excitement. It’s part of the slice of life, perhaps even more so than it is a sports anime, so the pacing might feel slower than regular sports shows. But if you stick with, you’ll come to love the characters and be excited for their achievements, because you would have accompanied them on their journey to self-improvement. One common complaint amongst fans is a feeling of bereavement after the show ends. We miss the show because we watched them grow. It’s the kind of series that will stick with you, that you’ll rewatch over and over, because the first time around you were in such a hurry to see what will happen, that you might now be able to savor it.
The good thing is there are plenty of details to discover. This is why I’m reviewing the episodes one by one, dissecting them to ensure not one ingredient of this delicious multi course meal is left unexamined. Why bother? Because as a writer, I’m on the road to self discovery. Why is this show so special? Why did it resonate so strongly with me? Why did I get so attached to these characters? What made it work for me?
A few scenes have me wanting to write a full discourse analysis of the conversations while others leave me wanting to examine it from a screenwriter’s perspective. The teacher in me wants to show how seeds so unobtrusively planted in the very first episode end up bearing fruit much later.
Run With the Wind has been made with so much care and love. But I do not wonder that it is not nearly as well-known as it deserves to be. There is little pomp and circumstance about it. When people read the summaries posted online, they will think it’s a show about 10 college boys who are runners. I cannot stress this enough: this show is about many things, the least of which is running. I want to say it’s about anything but running, but I can’t do so in good faith since they do, in fact run quite a bit. So I’ll say this: running here is used as a metaphor.
My regular readers know the drill. I am addicted to subtext. Shows that give me food for thought rather than spoon-feed me information, shows with a quietly but strongly beating heart, entertainment that actually makes me reflect, these are what make me happy. There is also the fact that I have reached an age where I cannot appreciate crime and drama the way I used to (there’s too much of that in the real world for my liking). This series, about a group of young men put in a situation where they are forced to evolve and work together is my current obsession.
I hope to present it in a way in which both anime fans and those who study the craft of writing can enjoy. Unlike other anime shows I adore (March Comes in Like a Lion, A Silent Voice, Violet Evergarden, among others) there hasn’t yet been much written about Run with the Wind. I hope to rectify this. Such a gem deserves more, much more, love. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The music is so beautiful I purchased the entire track on itunes. The animation is of a consistent beautiful quality. The characters are so diverse, so likeable, and more importantly, relatable. The writing is tight, the direction and editing top-notch. Finally the opening themes are enjoyable, but the ending themes by Mukai Taichi are both fitting, touching, and addictive. I suggest looking up the translations of the lyrics because the they are just as relevant to the show as the actual dialogue.
Please note that each episode review contains spoilers for that particular episode. Do not read the review until you have seen that episode, or you like being spoiled.
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