Run With The Wind… Sort Of! | Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru First Impressions Review

Hey everyone and welcome to our place!

We continue with the battle of trying to give a first impressions review to all the Anime shows I said I was going to be watching… It’s not being easy… But, well, let’s see if we are able to push this forward and do it! 😀 Today I bring you:

– Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru | Run With The Wind –

– Synopsis –

Kakeru Kuhara is spotted running while fleeing after stealing some bread by Haiji Kiyose. Haiji immediately gets impressed, follows him and offers him a place to stay with the promise of some food. Kakeru decides to accept the offer and goes with Haiji.

However, what he did not know was that he just got tricked to join the running club where the objective is to enter the Hakone Ekiden Marathon, one of the most prominent university races in Japan. The problem, everyone else is a complete beginner.

A Sports Anime With a Deeper Setting?

I’m gonna be honest, after reading MyAnimeList synopsis and read that the main character was fleeing because he had to steal some bread to eat I thought this would be more of a deeper sports Anime. There is not really a problem with a sports Anime not having a deeper meaning and/or setting. Nevertheless, I thought Kakeru’s background would be darker and not as cliché.

Here’s what I thought. I thought Kakeru was a poor guy who, to be able to pay his college, he did not have a place to sleep and no food to eat. This kind of background made him run a lot of times from different situations making him this high-speed runner who was going to get a chance to come up on top with this opportunity. However, it seems I was wrong (?)

I mean, he already said to Haiji that he lost his apartment (and all his money) to a Mahjong game and there was no more conversation about it. I’m not sure if he was lying, or not, but the Anime did not really give any kind of hint that he was doing so. This way, at this moment I’m believing that he basically lost everything while gambling. To be honest, it just broke the hyper for the Anime I had in the beginning… I almost feel click baited from MyAnimeList synopsis, if that is a thing.

So, Just a Normal Sports Anime?

Well, I wouldn’t say “normal”. However, there are some aspects from it that we already have seen in many other sport Anime shows. We have already had a glimpse of Kakeru’s past and it seems that he quit running because of something regarding his former team in high school. In this case, that he was treated poorly. So, that’s really nothing new, there are many characters from the sports Anime which will have that kind of story. Heck, even Anima Yell! has one character with that kind of backstory.

However, the way this team was made is NOT what I normally see from an Anime. Here we have 9 guys who ended up living in the old apartment Chikuseisou. All of them were tricked to live there and no-one knew that this apartment, is, in fact, the dormitories of the running team which means that, if they want to live there, they will need to join.

Now, when they know this all of them say no. But, with some extortion, manipulation, and stalking done by Haiji they all agree to stay. In a funny kind of way, of course… Or at least that’s what the Anime tries to make you think.

However, It Ends Up Being an Enjoyable Ride

Strange… I know. But, the truth is, I have been enjoying the Anime so far. It’s funny to see 10 guys, completely different from each other living in the same house. Moreover, it’s also funny to see people who have never run in their lives seeing themselves obliged to do so. And, these are 10 funny characters. Contrary to what you would expect, even with only 3 episodes, I’m pretty sure I can pinpoint which character is what. This is only possible by having completely different designs for all of them as also different personalities, which for me was very well executed.

I also like the more mature design. Clearly, this is not an Anime like Free! where it aims to show you handsome men doing some kind of sports that make us all shipping them with each other. I mean, there is not a problem with that (AT ALL!), but it’s kind of refreshing to see a sports Anime following a different vibe.

When it comes with Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru it seems that will be following the real deal. Although I do not know how the hell they are going to be able to get to the same level with people that have been running all their lives. But, that’s another story.

Until this moment, I think the comedy is there. Gotta love Akane trying to run! But, not so much for the drama. Nevertheless, I’m sure it will come sooner or later and I’m actually curious if they are going to follow the cliché path like appearing a mysterious rival from the past or if they will actually try to do something different.

What About You?

In conclusion, it is going to be an Anime I’ll be watching and see what happens! I’m not as happy I thought I would be, but it still got me interested. Time will tell if I end up getting bored during the 23 episodes (yes, it will be 23 episodes) or not.

And you? Are you following Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru or you are still thinking on trying it out? Tell me what you think in the comments! ^.^