Japanese Title: Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru
Year: 2018
Episodes: 23
Studios: Production I.G
Adaptation: Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru
Genres: Comedy, Sports, Drama
Overall, I really enjoyed this anime. Run with the Wind is the quintessential anime to show a series can be founded on any premise so long as the characters are well established and engaging.
Review
Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru or Run with the Wind is an anime about long distance running. Haiji Kiyose has a dream to run the Hakone Ekiden Marathon before he graduates from his university but hasn’t been able to do so because of an injury on his knee. Now on his fourth and last year of university, his knee has finally healed enough for him to start running again. Through schemes and tactics, he gathers 9 other recruits for the ultimate race and begins their training.
This is an anime about running. Just how captivating can a story about running be right? Well let me tell you that this anime is just as much about running as it is about the characters and their goals and their aspirations. It’s as much about running as it is about people’s dream and learning to live in the present. It’s as much about running as about growing as an individual and them doing something that gives them hope and happiness. What’s made abundantly clear early on in the series is that this anime is not about competitive running and made even more clear that the characters have no desire to become the best in the sport. It’s simply about accomplishing what one sets out to do, not quitting for some half-hearted reasons.
The story has a slow pacing but for a very good reason. It meticulously fleshes out the characters and their internal struggles into completion. Every character is complete with their own unique predicaments and struggles. Whateve their reasons may be, they all chose to start running. What they didn’t choose is the responsibility that comes with being in a team where everyone is relying on each other for support. If one is to fall, all will inevitably fall. Whether it’s guilt or regret, this reliance and being relied upon is what forces each of the characters out of their comfort zone to strive to become better. There is no big bad the good guys have to defeat, just people with their bubbles learning about responsibility and to deal with their problems.
I rate this anime 9/10
