DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA DramaKaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

REVIEWS

• 

  Lenlo

  93/100
  If you have not watched Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru, and you have even the slightest interest in sports, watch this.

  

  Recently, sports anime have become a bit of a dying breed. Falling into the same hole as Mecha, aside from a passionate base audience, most are overlooked. There are the occasional hits like Haikyuu, Yuri on Ice, or Darling in the Franxx for Mecha, but those are few and far between, often taking years. Even then, rarely does a series come along that can reach the heights of the old classics such as Hajime no Ippo or One Outs. However, Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru, Kaze Fui or Run With the Wind, attempts to do just that. With a phenomenal cast, tight direction and a 5 episode finale that was executed neigh perfectly, Kaze Fui is one of my favorite sports anime in recent years.

  So that said, lets jump in!

  Quick Warning: This is my first review here, still learning the code/process. There are spoilers past this line. For a better formatted version, feel free to head to my blog here

  

  Animation/Art

  We have to, as always, start off with the art and animation. This is perhaps Kaze Fui’s rockiest area, which considering the ending is saying something. Right off the bat, I need to start with the harshest criticism, the CGI. In multiple scenes at the start/middle of the series, CGI runners are rampant. They stand out, their run cycles are all basically the same, just offset, and they are ugly to look at. Simply put, the CGI is something that has to go in the BD release. Luckily, this gets less prevalent as the series goes on and we barrel down to the Hakone Ekiden, the big event. Had the finale been as laden with CGI runners as most of the other races, I do not think it would have been near as successful. However, with my only major gripe out of the way, what does it do right?

  The answer is, a lot. Kaze Fui does a lot right. First off, when the animation is on, it is on. Multiple times in the finale I just thought “Wow, this is beautiful”. Its a combination of the direction and animation, sure, but it looks fantastic. Art wise the series also stands out. Production IG’s style here just resonates with me, as it is a similar style to their recent Welcome to the Ballroom. Tall, lean bodies with long legs and striking eyes. Bright colors to make every scene pop, and particular detail put into the characters musculature. When zoomed out for group shots, a good deal of this detail is lost. But when Kaze Fui focuses in on a single character, their experiences and their story, you can’t look away. So while the CGI is painful, it is surrounded by enough beauty to, if not forgive, to forget it.

  

  Direction

  Next up we have the direction, the cinematography, the art of the scene itself. At its worst, I would classify Kaze Fui as average. At a minimum, every shot serves as a place for the characters to interact. Never detracting from what is going on. Meanwhile at its best, the composition enhances the emotions on screen. The best examples of this take place, naturally, in the finale. Where each individual character has the spotlight and their stories are given time to shine. However there are plenty of examples of this prior to the finale. One stand out for me is during their training arc at the lake, with beautiful mountain vista’s. Often the shot places our cast in the corner, or zoomed out, making a point of just how small they are in the grand world.

  Kaze Fui also makes great use of perspective and its “camera” during a number of its running scenes. Tilting with Yuki as he makes his turns, or tracking Kurahara as he sprints by from another characters perspective. The sense of speed pretty much anytime Kurahara runs is especially worth mentioning. As his talent is made clear without any need for words, making his performance never feel unearned or out of nowhere. Suffice to say, Kaze Fui's direction does more of the heavy lifting than the animation does. Making scenes with minimal movement feel much more impactful. From just sitting in a bath at night to lounging in a field, the intent of the scenes are clear, and so I can’t help but call this category a success as well.

  

  Story/World

  Now though we can start getting to the meat of the series, the story and characters. Considering how intertwined the two are in this case, talking about one without the other is neigh impossible. So this section will be on the characters stories and journey, where as that section will be on their depth and personality. For those stories, once again, Kaze Fui did fantastically. The only complaint I can really make here is that some concepts/plot threads were shoved under the bed for convenience's sake. While most of the work was left for the finale to cleanup in one big chunk. Those chunks were fantastic and emotionally resonate. I teared up at least once an episode during the finale. However this does occasionally make them feel underdeveloped until the literal last seconds of their arc. The quality of those arcs more than makes up for it though.

  While the individual characters stories, excluding Kurahara, might feel sparse at times though the overall arc does not. Their transformation from ragtag band of dorm mates to full fledged team is beautiful. Step by step we see them coming together, taking roles and putting their individual skills to use. Kaze Fui does a fantastic job of having each individual grow, but most of all, our lead Kurahara Kakeru is nothing short of astounding. His growth from angry and closed off to happy, relaxed and emotional was fantastically done. Considering a good 80% of the show is dedicated to this arc, that is a very good thing. This boy provides emotional payoff after emotional payoff, each step of the way growing as a person. Suffice to say, when focusing on Kurahara, Kaze Fui's story is strong.

  

  Characters

  As far as the characters go, this is Kaze Fui's strongest point. Each member of our core 10 is well fleshed out and established. While their individual story arcs are done with varying degrees of success, all of them are easily distinguished from each other. Every single member of this core group, from Yuki and Musa to Prince and King, are distinct in their personalities and histories. Its astounding really, as there are shows with a cast half this size that can’t manage that beyond stereotypes. Yet not a single member of Kaze Fui is easily classified as one, not by the end. Piece by piece Kaze Fui pulls back their layers. The tact and skill with which _Kaze Fui_does this makes each one relatable. And that might be it’s greatest strength. Somehow making 10 different people, with different dreams and circumstances, relatable in each their own way.

  The biggest complaint I have seen, that I agree with about the characters, is their running ability. For lue of a better place to put this in the review, their progress simply isn’t realistic. For example, in the span of a year Prince goes from having never run a day in his life, to finishing a section of Japan’s largest college race. Sure, it’s a close thing. But as much as I love the kid, he had no business being in that race in the first place. Personally, I found this to be a minor gripe that stopped bothering me by the end. Kaze Fui had drawn me in to its narrative and it no longer mattered. If you can put aside the scientific quandaries of the original Steins;Gate time travel, or Hajime no Ippo’s bullet punches, then Kaze Fui's stretching the effects of training shouldn’t bother you much.

  

  Music

  Finally, let's talk music. Kaze Fui's OST is an interesting one, it’s very quiet and subtle. Its purpose being to enhance a scene, rather than dominate it. With only a few standout tracks, ones that stick in your memory, it just doesn’t fit the same mold as the recent Megalo Box or Devilman. It is an OST meant to be listened to with the accompanying visuals, not imbuing a scene with emotion inherently but focusing on enhancing what is already there. Personally I quite enjoy it, its the sort of tracks I could listen to while running and just zone out for 30 minutes. Never once hearing a spoken word or getting pulled out by heavy choruses. Basically, If I were to rate this OST as a standalone, it would be just a little above average most likely. Nothing to write home about. But in context, it fits perfectly.

  Conclusion

  So all in all, how was Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru? Phenomenal. One of my favorite series from last year and easily one of the best sports series I have had the pleasure to watch. I expected very little from it going in. After all, its a series about running, how exciting can that be? Yet still it managed to surprise me. Kaze Fui was never going to be some kind of mega blockbuster. It doesn’t have the bombastic nature of big Shounen like Mob Psycho, nor the brand recognition of Attack on Titan or One Punch Man. It’s a drama about sports, a genre most nerds tend to avoid because of preconceptions about sports. It was doomed to a niche audience from the start. But I firmly believe that, among that audience, it will and has become a classic. The sort you revisit time and time again.

  What I am saying it, if you are reading this and have not watched Kaze Fui, if you have even the slightest interest in sports, watch this. You will not regret it. I know I don’t.

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• 

  Necokeniii

  90/100
  Running isn't just about ability, it's also about endurance and progression

  I've always dreamed of a sports anime, I could relate to. I finally got one with Run with the wind, which is a very fitting name for the show. The MC started off aloof and distant because he thought results were the only thing that mattered. Over time, his talent shined so brightly, it blinded him to the most important thing ever. The journey, which is the reoccurring theme in run with the wind. If you only worry and care about results, what kind of life are you living?
  A strength of this anime is every character had their defining moment and you learned how running directly or indirectly helped them. I like some of the characters hated running, it was nothing more than some chore you were forced to do at certain points in your life. Over time, you realize you hate running as a whole because you focus on the physical aspect of being tired. But running, in general, is a handy skill and good for your health. It was a nice touch how each character had a certain outlook on running in addition to experience with it. Some use to do track, some just never liked it all. Watching these characters battle their inner demons and learn to get over their insecurities reminded me how everyone, no matter how energetic or powerful they look are human. Even the annoying "antagonists" seemed relatable, all it takes is one bad experience to make a decent person become a jerk or douchebag. Slowly but surely, you'll fall in love with this loveable and diverse cast.
  Now onto the portrayal of the marathon running, It reminded of how I felt when I did cross country. You are focused on getting the best time possible during the run while you hear your teammates, families, and friends cheer you on to push as hard as you can. You really get the sense of the environment and the thoughts of the athletes as you watch. It was truly eye catching., the sweat and breathing patterns came off authentic. Every event felt important like it was the last, you'll be screaming and cheering along with the main cast as you watch each competition. There was a good amount of twists in this series, sometimes, you thought one thing but you got something totally different.
  The show did a nice balance of sports and slice of life. We are always reminded outside of running, these college students have lives. They have to worry about assignments, their future careers, friends, relationships, etc. Nothing felt out of place or thrown in there to fill a quota. I literally looked forward to every episode because of the episode preview made you wish it was next week already.
  The best takeaway, I got from this show is it's never just about the end or beginning, it's about the experiences and everything leading up to it. Once you can spend that precious time with loved ones and find something meaningful in your life, everything will change dramatically. So instead of fighting and losing to the wind, why not run with it?

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• 

  Llwydy

  97/100
  A wonderful sports anime that showcases running really well - apart from a few minor things.

  NOTE: SPOILERS AHEAD - THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON THE RUNNING ONLY.

  I was incredibly happy to find out that there was a two-cour anime about running, and was ecstatic to find that it was also really good. I was out there running before I watched this anime, so this isn't really a critical review as it is comparing the running in the anime to running in real life, just in case you're one of those people that gets a bit too inspired by anime and actually tries out the sport (I may have gotten carried away and started playing volleyball for a year because of Haikyu).

  First, I like that the anime shows that you really can just put on a pair of running shoes and just... run. That is pretty much true. Although, wearing basketball shoes would likely give you blisters after racking up a few miles, and wearing jeans is definitely not recommended, unless you really like chaffing. If you do only have jeans, wear your loosest pair. There is actually a WR for fastest mile ran in jeans, so it's not impossible.

  One of my first hype moments when watching the anime was a short shot of Haiji's notebook which displayed everyone's first 5K times. Everyone's times bar Prince's were around 19-21 minutes, with Prince's being around 35. I can tell you that this is mostly accurate, but in a good way. Prince's time is pretty much dead on. I live with a bunch of weebs, and also forced both weebs to run a timed 5K, with the times being 34 and 36 minutes. And they had about as much training as Prince in that time (a few runs, but over a longer period of time). The other times though, were relatively insane. At the time of watching, I had been running for a year, and my PB was 22 minutes. It's worth emphasizing that they all have some sports in their background (Jota and Joji's times were probably the most realistic, as they both still play football), but times like that are quite difficult to get. Even now, my PB of 21:34 on a 5K barely scrapes those times.

  Then there's the Hakone qualifier. This is where the real anime stuff kicks in. A 16:30 5K is absolutely, balls-to-the-wall fast. Maybe not by professional standards, mind, but my God, that's blistering. I will tell you now, realistically you absolutely CANNOT go from 35 minutes to 16:30 in 10 months. With Haiji's training schedule, it does actually seem possible, but his training schedule also wouldn't have worked on Prince. Early on, they're running 5K to the lake, then 5K back, which is a 10K a day, every day, every week. That's roughly 42 miles a week. That's not a mileage you can start on. Even if your stamina can push through, your legs will not. It takes a fair bit of time to build the leg muscles needed for that kind of running, even with hot baths everyday and Haiji's magic protein rice. The least you could probably start on is 15, and then building up by 10% each week. Any more than that and you'll get shin splints as an amateur, for sure. Shin splints are not fun. After that, he also runs them ragged on a track, which is basically training for elites at this point. Your legs would pretty much be beyond dead. Also, it's very, very lucky that none of them were injured or caught a cold during training, as injuries would've put you out, and colds are aggravated by running (even though you can run with one, just as Shindo did).

  Other than that though, I'd say everything was fairly on point. It would have probably been completely spot on if they had another year to train and started off more slowly. If you want to take up running, definitely do it. I'd recommend listening to some anime OPs with a good BPM to set a nice running cadence. At first it'll be hell and you'll be exhausted, but it gets better and better until eventually you become addicted.

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