Category: Finished Series: Sports

Welcome back to running made interesting, Kaze Fui! This week the team makes it to the qualifiers, Hana teases some twins and Haiji finds a cliffhanger! Let’s start runnin!

Starting off, I am surprised we made it to the qualifier so quickly. Sure, we just had a training arc, but I figured we would get another episode of buildup. It’s a good thing, really, because we have 8 episodes left and I expect the Ekiden to take up probably half of those. As for the team, it was nice seeing them come together, again. I really should stop enjoying it, it’s happened so much, but I just can’t stop. It’s nice seeing them all prepare in their own ways. King memorizing the route, Yuki relaxing with his music, Musa in the bath, Kurahara going for more runs. Its all these little personality quirks, the in between moments, that make each of these characters feel equally important. Each of them have, or will soon have, their own stories that all tie together, and I love it.

Continue reading “Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 15 [Place of Destiny]” →

Welcome all to another episode of Kaze Fui, Best Boy Simulator 2019. This week we have some more qualified times, lots of wholesome bonding and a hint mystery. Lets dive in!

Starting of light and happy, I loved Kaze Fui’s attention to detail this week. All of our boys, aside from Yuki and Prince, tanning from all their running in the sun. Makes it clear time has passed, to go along with the running montage they had. We also get to see how this has started to effect some of our boys, such as Kings short interview segment. He seemed to sit up straighter, with more confidence, and the Ekiden line is a real conversation starter for an interview. While I am sure Haiji didn’t intend for this to happen, not entirely, it is not to see King’s job search getting addressed. Seeing him move forward on that front. Lastly, I am pretty sure Kurahara was smiling throughout this entire episode, and I loved it. Our boy deserves a little happiness after all his emotional struggles.

Continue reading “Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 14 [You’re Not Alone]” →

Kaze Fui returns, contending with and maybe even beating Mob Psycho for best episode of the week! We have introspection, backstory, and the team coming together to protect their emotionally stunted friend! Lets charge in!

Everything about Kaze Fui this week was fantastic. From the narrative to the VA’s. But one I want to hit on before we get into spoilers that is often overlooked is the sound design. Yuki Hayashi did an amazing job this week. Some of the music played during this episode fit perfectly with what was happening on screen. Hiromi Kikuta also did a great job this week. The buzzing static noise during the flashbacks confused me at first. I thought maybe my audio was breaking down. But once we cut back to present time and it went away, once I realized it was a purposeful effect, I loved it. I loved how it got louder and louder the closer Kurahara got to his breaking point. The visuals getting more static filled as we went through. Kaze Fui really nailed the emotions this week. But now, onto details!

Continue reading “Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 13 [And Then Start Running]” →

Ah, the break is over, the New Year is here and Kaze Fui has returned once more! This week a few more of our boys get qualifying times, Kurahara loves his team and everyone goes camping! Lets dive in!

Starting off, I have to make it known how happy I am for our boys in black to be back. Kaze Fui is such an all around great production that it is no doubt my favorite of last season. This episode, its first one back, managed to touch on all the progress the group had made in the first cour. From Kurahara being a team player to everyone else leaning into their strengths with their running. The only real complaint I have about the episode are the terrible CGI models you see behind our runners. I am glad that none of the important characters got such treatment, but the difference between characters was very jarring. There was no way you couldn’t notice the CGI competitors in some of these shots, all with the same face and run cycle. Disappointing, but if that’s the worst Kaze Fui does, its pretty good.

Continue reading “Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 12 [Summer Prank]” →

Hello and welcome to the last week of Kaze Fui for 2018! This time Shindo gets dumped, the team rallies behind him and Kurahara catches an older mans eye. Lets jump in!

First off, lets get the elephant out of the room. That’s right folks, no Kaze Fui until January 8th. Looks like they are taking a break between seasons. It’s not unusual for the Holidays, but it does mean less pretentious blog posts from yours truly. That out of the way, onto the actual anime. This was the first week Kaze Fui failed to ‘WOW’ me. It’s not bad by any stretch, I still love it. But it feels like the series knows about the 3 week break and is choosing to calm down for a moment before the Holidays. We got some development of Shindo, and it was good. We also get to see our team come together, even Kurahara joining in, to comfort him. But there were no big revelations or big paradigm shifts like the last few episodes. Maybe that’s for the best though.

Continue reading “Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 11 [Overflowing Drops]” →

Welcome one and all, to the most wholesome episode of Kaze Fui yet. This week Prince and Kurahara finally connect, Hana cooks dinner and a track meet comes to a curious end. Lets jump in!

Kaze Fui continues strong this week, not content to sit back and simply milk Haiji’s condition. No, instead of spending an entire episode hemming and hawing about it, Kaze Fui focuses instead on its consequences. We see how Kurahara does truly step up to lead, and learns in the process. The rest of the dorm also got to see just how much Haiji did for them. From the twins and Hana cooking, to Shindo and Yuki with leading their exercises. I liked how Kaze Fui spread out the effect of Haiji’s sickness to hit each of them. Yes, Kurahara and Prince are the central figures of the episode, but Kaze Fui didn’t forget the rest of the cast. And its details like that which make me love each and every member of the cast.

Continue reading “Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteru – 10 [Our Speed]” →

Welcome one and all to another week of Kaze Fui! This week Haiji takes care of his team, the twin’s can’t keep a secret and Kurahara shows more growth sitting on the sidelines than some MC’s do in their pivotal moments. Lets jump in!

To start off, let this episode be proof of Kaze Fui’s Director’s skill. So much was conveyed purely through shot composition and framing. The entire track meet, with the angles, the focus on their expressions while running. Kurahara’s slow realization, showing us what he sees. I loved it. Definitely these details earn the Director a pat on the back. But to me, it also reflects well on Kaze Fui’s source material. To give the Director this much to work with. There is a clear difference in quality of writing it seems, between lite-novels and legitimate Novels. It helps that this is the same author who wrote Fune wo Amu, a personal favorite of mine the year it aired. She has a talent for writing realistic characters, who are more than just a bundle of personality traits slapped together. As proof, let’s look into some of those characters.

Continue reading “Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 9 [Mismatched Runners]” →

Welcome one and all to another week of Kaze Fui! This time Kurahara takes one step forward and two steps back, the gang supports each other, and Haiji gets angry. Lets jump in!

Startin off, I loved this week of Kaze Fui. This is the kind of grounded drama I love. No 4-way love polygons, no ridiculous coincidences of overhearing the last line of a conversation. Just ideals and well done miscommunication. Everyone is trying their hardest, everyone wants whats best for each other. They want to succeed together. But they all have their own ideas of how to do that, based on their own life experiences. From Kurahara and Haiji, to Nico and Prince, each have their own perspectives. And right now, none of them are really communicating those perspectives with each other. Haiji and Kurahara at least both expect the others to just get it. To understand where they are coming from when they do or ask what they do. I love it, and all of this will be resolved once they just open up and talk to each other.

Continue reading “Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 8 [Dangerous Character]” →

Welcome one and all! This week in Kaze Fui we meet the final boss, Kurahara gets a reality check and our team runs their first track meet! Lets jump in!

To start off, I have to say I loved the feel of Kaze Fui this week. Vague, I know, but hear me out. Kaze Fui did a great job with the atmosphere of the track meet. Everyone stretching, running, preparing. There was an air of tension as we jumped between some competitors. It also built on our character’s a bit with how they all reacted to it. Nico seeming to feel at home, Musa panicking, and Prince reading. All in all, well done there I feel. Kaze Fui also shined this week with the running animations, the 2D ones at least. Crunchy-Roll dimmed the scenes a bit sadly, but what we got still looked gorgeous. Their long limbs flowed and their hair tossing in the wind as they ran was fantastic. It’s only failure was the wide-shot CGI, which detracted from a number of scenes. At least the characters worked.

Continue reading “Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru – 7 [Bear Your Fangs at the Summit]” →