The only way to win is to not care if you lose.
What They Say:
“SHARED FRONTLINES”
Sakura, Nirei, and Suo, having saved the girl chased by thugs whose name is Shizuka Narita, run into a suited team called Roppo Ichiza, led by someone named Kanji Nakamura. The Roppo Ichiza is a strong fighting team that had many clashes with Bofurin before the school was unified. However, there is no conflict between the two groups at present. The group goes to Burlesque Bar Ougi, where Kanji and Shizuka work, and see Tsubakino pole dance while his two lieutenants are sitting at a nearby table.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Wind Breaker has spent enough time on this little side-story that it’s gradually turning into the main story. Meeting Tsubakino was, apparently, the impetus to eventually come to Keisei Street, ally themselves with Roppo Ichiza, and start a war with GRAVEL. It felt somewhat roundabout to get here, but I suppose it can be considered an organic plot progression in some ways. It also ties into the teases earlier in the season of larger conspiracies at play, which don’t always feel entirely natural in a show about cute boys punching their way through problems while being so darn nice about it, but perhaps it does need to mix things up a bit.
Clearly, we’re back to there being a lot of fighting, and with it comes not the most stellar animation we’ve seen from the series but at least some more of its customary hype track insert songs. On that note, the early moments of peace in the episode offer a full musical performance that’s quite effective sonically, though it loses some of its impact with its own limited animation and an unbalanced mix of English proficiency. But yes, that’s a temporary relief before we get back to brawling, and learn about how Roppo Ichiza and especially Kanji operate.
A major theme throughout the series has been Sakura’s nebulous goal of reaching the “top” of this gang hierarchy, so naturally many of his experiences give him new perspectives on what that means. Bofurin was a gang unlike anything he ever expected, and (while it’s a little hard to imagine that this town’s delinquents would be so unanimously kindhearted) a majority of that ethos came straight from Umemiya, a leader unlike anything Sakura ever expected as well. Umemiya is unquestionably the top dog of this powerful community, widely respected, and incredibly powerful, but he eschews all the expectations Sakura has of someone in that position. Likewise, Kanji is an unstoppable force, but his philosophy couldn’t be any different from what Sakura has always assumed was the priority: he doesn’t care about losing as long as they achieve their goal, which – much like Bofurin – is generally to protect people and the town as a whole. It’s very much just Umemiya 2.0, which the show actively acknowledges by having the two of them overlap in Sakura’s mind as he becomes much less resistant to the concept that maybe this is actually what a real leader – someone truly “at the top” – is like.
Is GRAVEL interesting? No. Is it a little silly that high school freshmen are battling for the protection of a district centered around sex and booze? Absolutely. Wind Breaker hasn’t displayed the most promising sense of structure lately. But if it’s ready to have something progress forward, it might be a little overdue, and I’ll take what I can get.
In Summary:
Wind Breaker starts to show signs of pivoting what seemed like a side story into a progressing plotline, giving Bofurin – or at least Sakura’s little trio that has been the center of this season – new allies and new enemies. It makes a point of continuing to challenge Sakura’s ideas of leadership, which is feeling somewhat repetitive but at least conveys a consistent theme to explore. And hey, in addition to the action (whether or not it’s the strongest we’ve seen), we got a nice little musical interlude in the meantime.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
