Ready to face it all: a "Run with the Wind" review
Cross country was a wild time for Adolescent Me. When I started running in seventh grade, cross country was merely a club, a way for my parents to have me and my brother get exercise. A year later, it got enough funding to be a sport, although some people didn't take it seriously despite the new and official classification it received.
Then high school hit. The sport transformed into something I wasn't expecting, something to take seriously, commit to. I just wanted to have fun and run, but in athleticism, commitment is also key. After two years of high school cross country, I realized I wasn't strong enough for it and got a part-time job instead, working as a server at a retirement home. However, part of me misses the feeling of the wind blowing past me, spikes sinking into grass and my breath keeping in time with my strides.
Part of my interest in Run with the Wind came from my time in cross country, despite this anime's focus on the revival of a university's track and field team. It also came during my first semester at college, the same for its protagonist. After previewing the first seven or so episodes of the show through Anime Club and loving the crap out of it, I had a feeling Run with the Wind would be a new favorite. I pre-ordered the Blu-Ray release, got it two weeks early, and proceeded to watch the dub, ready for amazement.
Run with the Wind became one of my new favorite anime over the course of its twenty-three episodes. With a compelling story, intriguing characters, crisp animation, and a beautiful soundtrack, this show pulled me in and didn't let go until the last teammate broke through that Hakone Ekiden finish line. The biggest thing this show has going for it is its compelling ensemble cast, an eclectic bunch that develop through conversation, contemplation, and the silences that follow these moments. To watch these ten young men become invested in running for their own purposes, even though it initially starts with coercion thanks to one, is inspiring. They all play a role on the team, and even if they don't like the idea of running towards some seemingly impossible goal together, they don't have any other choice. Running is the only solution, and maybe they can all find something they never would've considered on their own.
Kakeru Kurahara runs away after stealing a sandwich from a convenience store, just in time to be intercepted by a college senior named Haiji Kiyose. "Hey, do you enjoy running?" Haiji asks, and it's enough to stop Kakeru in his tracks. After some questions, Kakeru reveals he goes to the same school as Haiji and lost his apartment deposit in a mahjong parlor. Haiji offers a space in the run-down dorm he lives in, home to eight other college students. However, there's a catch: each recruit is a member of the Kansei University Track and Field team, the dorm serving as the official headquarters of the long-dead group. Haiji's goal is to build all ten of them up to reach the Hakone Ekiden, a relay race of top college athletes that takes place the second and third days of the new year. Everyone is rightfully appalled by the fact that they were so easily duped and say that Haiji can't be serious. Kakeru is the most adamant against it. However, bit by bit, each guy comes around to running for the Ekiden. But nobody can outrun their past forward, and soon, each runner will face more than they bargained for.
Run with the Wind has a momentous end goal, one that needs a great cast of characters to push the viewer to that climax. The show recognizes this and allows its ragtag team to blossom. Reaching the Hakone Ekiden wouldn't mean anything if we didn't understand where these young men came from, what they're like as people, and how they all become a team. But piece by piece, Run with the Wind gives its characters the opportunity to grow and understand why they do what they do, and it makes for compelling anime. Seeing the team at the start of the show and the end reveal different pictures, but shared experiences, bonding, and individual realizations on why running may be what they need to create tight and unbreakable connections.
Much of Run with the Wind's character work is anchored in the dynamic between Kakeru and Haiji. Kakeru is the most advanced runner of the group, light on his feet and a great runner. However, his high school training set him on a pedestal above everyone else, resulting in jealousy from his teammates and isolation. This anger contorts Kakeru into a rather self-centered person at first, someone who believes Haiji's goal is nothing but a pipe dream; the other guys aren't going to be able to keep up with the intense regulations and bettering themselves if their attitude is gung-ho, focused on bonding instead of improving. Haiji was a gifted athlete until an injury cut him off, right when he wanted to run. He lost all hope until he landed at Kansei four years prior and realized he could build the ultimate team for the biggest collegiate track and field event. Granted, his recruiting is underhanded, as he only reveals his true intentions when all ten are gathered together and convinces them to stay through catered bribes. However, Haiji recognizes this, and his passion for running, the potential he sees in everyone, and his ability to cut through Kakeru's selfish ambition to let him see he isn't alone on this journey, that everyone is going through their own struggles and is doing their best to improve, creates a mentor-student and then coach-coach relationship between the two young men. It provides an undeniable and supportive anchor to the spirit of the team.
The group itself is a colorful bunch, ranging from the mischievous Jo twins to the held-back senior known as Nico due to his smoking habit. Each runner is brought to life through distinct character animation from Production I.G. From running posture to looks, the young men stand out from each other, personalities and work ethic shining through. Although there are CG running moments that look a little awkward amidst the more traditional animation, the environment is well-executed. There are abundant nature shots with vivid colors that create great atmosphere, alongside moments inside the track and field dormitory (Chikuseiso or Aotake) where we see how lived-in the space is. A viewer feels the homeliness of the dorm, the colorful company of the men, and the exhilaration of the run with every step.
Even more vibrant is Yuki Hayashi's score. In my Haikyu review, his co-composition was stellar, but his work on this show is some of his best. His signature blend of orchestration and electronic textures adds a wonderful undercurrent to the show at every moment, from conversations around the dining room table to a tense standoff with an old enemy. It's incredibly effective music that adds even more atmosphere to this college sports drama and stands just as well on its own.
Sentai Filmworks' dub for Run with the Wind was also great. Endearingly awkward, reminiscent of Ocean Media's dub of Kiznaiver, and perfectly cast and written (the lines are made to fit the flaps, unlike in Angel Beats), it matches the emotional beats of the original Japanese track perfectly. There's so much to love, from Gabriel Regojo's emotional growth as Kakeru to Blake Jackson's effortless Haiji to Ty Mahany's spotless Nico to Mike Haimoto's glorious Prince to Nathan Wilson and Scott GIbbs's fantastic chemistry as the twins to Daniel Regojo's gentle Shindo to Benjamin McLaughlin's feisty Yuki to Andrew Love's stellar King to Alyssa Marek's perky and adorable Hanako, somewhat of a team manager to the men. But one of the performances that really stuck out to me was Jovan Jackson's Musa. In Japanese, Musa is played by a Japanese actor, although Musa himself is a Black Tanzanian exchange student. While Musa tells Haiji that his assumption of him being a great athlete is prejudiced in the Japanese track, the show paints him in a very stereotypical way, making him careless in his Japanese usage and presenting him as someone defined by his differences. The dub removes this mention of prejudice from Musa, and while the other scenes still exist, they're softened without statement that could be interpreted as hypocritical when compared with later scenes. As a Black actor, Jackson also provides, in my mind, greater depth to the character so Musa doesn't come across as a stereotype (we have seen enough of Japanese men portraying Black men that speak in stilted and halting tones and white people getting cast as people of color in dubs). Although the loss of the line confronting prejudice is unfortunate, the re-framing in the dub makes do and prevents Musa from appearing like a caricature.
Those looking for a sports anime drama with strong characters, an engaging story, and distinct animation and music should put Run with the Wind at the top of their lists. I had a lot of fun watching this show and rooting for all of the characters as they made their way to the Hakone Ekiden, and although this show is a slow ride to the top, it's a beautiful one all the same.
