Something something something MAKE… UP!
What They Say:
“SHALL WE DANCE?”
The name of the group pursuing Shizuka is GRAVEL, a group of delinquents from the Sunaba District, a notorious area known for its rough reputation. They begin to rampage through Keisei Street again, this time with more members, in an attempt to capture Shizuka. However, the members of Roppo Ichiza, Sakura, Nirei, and Suo are ready to confront them! Roppo Ichiza struggles in the fight due to the overwhelming number of GRAVEL forces despite them being beaten down one after another. Meanwhile, Tsubakino, Seiryu, and Uryu wait with Shizuka at the Burlesque Bar OUGI.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Now that GRAVEL and Roppo Ichiza (with special guests Sakura and pals) are formally facing off, Wind Breaker has transitioned this arc fully into its more familiar territory of standard gang brawling, and it settles in comfortably. Its action is fairly solid as per usual, with the music continuing to stand out as a highlight. The score itself isn’t all that exceptional, but the heavy use of needle drops for high-energy fight songs complements the tone well enough to make the end result more effective than it could’ve been otherwise.
The battle scenes of Wind Breaker can feel repetitive the more we get them, so the main draw is how established characters grow and how new characters creatively contribute to the dynamic. We’ve seen Kanji essentially go berserk, but surprisingly enough, the fairly unremarkable twins Seiryu and Uryu have an unusually interesting combat style derived from their unique connection as twins. Speaking of connections, Tsubakino was the one factor that links Bofurin to Roppo Ichiza, and consequently the reason this conflict has even entered the story of this series. No amount of femininity precludes the chiseled Tsubakino from duking it out with the guys; in fact she finds that makeup gives her power – psychologically anyway; this isn’t that kind of anime.
The reason for all this fighting is Shizuka, and consequently we learn quite a bit more about her background. She seemed like the perfect star of the stage who Kanji was smitten with, but while there’s some truth to that, the reverse is equally accurate. She was barely scraping by in the slums and thanks to her golden singing voice, Kanji saved her by giving her a place to belong and make money, perhaps a factor in the eventuality that she ended up falling for him. Like much of the series, there’s nothing tremendously original about the storytelling, but it’s earnest enough, relevant to the action at hand, and gives Nirei an opportunity to keep growing as the brave weakling of the group, ready to put himself in harm’s way to earn his place among a community of protectors.
In Summary:
Wind Breaker has been slipping overall, but episodes like this are slightly stronger by virtue of the show’s reliable execution of large-scale gang fights. That doesn’t mean the art, animation, or cinematography are at the level we might hope to see from CloverWorks, but the innovative choreography and sonic dynamism do enough to sell the action. Our investment in the story is dependent on how much we care about Shizuka, and her material here is effective enough to carry that aspect.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
