Kaze ga cujoku fuiteiru

Somewhat unnoticed by the otaku community, this anime is sometimes compared to Haikyu!!, imho rightfully so. Both anime do a very successful job of portraying character development and building relationships within a certain team against the backdrop of sporting events, plus a significant part of the same creative team are behind both anime. Unlike its aforementioned predecessor, however, Run with the Wind is not an adaptation of a still-being-released manga, but rather a complete, long-out-of-print book, resulting in a precisely measured narrative pace; the story does not drag, does not rush anywhere, does not overstay its welcome, and every scene is necessary. The psychological side of the characters is similarly deftly handled in this season - whereas in the case of the Karasuno boys' volleyball match in Haikyu!!, none of the players there were in any doubt from the outset that they wanted to play volleyball, here the residents of a suspiciously cheap-to-rent college dorm are faced with the dilemma of how to deal with an unwanted debt to their college landlord, who wants to realize his wet dream through the formation of a track team, then the group all have to somehow cope with a very fragile harmony that could easily be disturbed by the refusal of even a single member, and the associated clash of loyalties and self-ambition so typical in Japanese culture, will also trouble many a young adolescent’s mind here. These internal conflicts, along with other personal issues, throw each of the main characters into reevaluating their identities, sorting out their priorities are in life, and pondering what this mysterious concept called "running" actually means to them – a means of gaining recognition from those around them, a mere required duty, a simple pastime and form of recreation, a chance for some form of self-fulfillment, a chance to fit in... or perhaps as a means to gain power? It is this level that is handled excellently with an eye for detail and is clearly this anime’s greatest asset, and although it cannot be said for the potential of developing the characters’ psychological background is evenly spread through all ten members of the team, it is not a major weakness that would in any way spoil the overall impression – after all, in the space of 23 episodes this goal would be very difficult to realize, and less is sometimes more. The level of animation and artwork is, as expected, of a high standard (the Production I.G studio does a really great job with this type of sports anime), the original music too. The opening jingles didn't impress me much, but the closing ones did a little too much – my headphones are pretty tired out. Overall, this is an excellent but grossly underrated affair that works like a carefully oiled machine from start to finish, never letting up its pace for a moment due to well thought out planning, leaving the viewer with a very powerful catharsis at the end. And maybe being underrated ultimately doesn’t matter so much, because this is exactly the kind of anime where you feel that the potential wide popularity it could gain could be to its detriment, and where you do not actually want to watch the second season, as this one was so good in itself that a possible sequel would only spoil it. Plus, do not forget: The Mountains of Hakone Are the Steepest! (13.07.2019) (minder) (meer)