Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Ep 16

WOOOOO! THEY MADE IT! Of course they did right?! The entire team was shook, Kakeru’s and Haiji’s reactions were amazing, King had plugged his ears so he was the last to know, ahaha, Yuki was convinced they didn’t make it, was so glad to be proved wrong. I loved how everyone jumped all over him. WATCH THE KNEE THOUGH!

SPEAKING OF WHICH, AHHHH HAIJI, THANK GOD YOU DIDN’T FALL!!!! Just as I suspected, when he jumps, it would be hard on his knee anyways because of the hard landing. The runner who did fall, ended up dropping out along the way. Luckily, Haiji was able to finish the race in not to long after Kakeru, his knee seemed to almost give out on him the pain he was suddenly struck and endured until he reached the finish line. I am very nervous for his next appointment with the doctor, fearing it may lead to graver consequences if it’s not handled with care.

ALSO: SERIOUSLY, DID ANYONE ELSE THINK THE EPISODE WAS ABOUT TO END ALL THE SUDDEN WHEN IT WENT BLACK AND THE MUSIC STARTED?! I LITTERALLY HAD THE CHECK THE TIME BECAUSE I WAS LIKE SHIT NO, IT’S NOT OVER YET RIGHT?! I was shocked to see it was only halfway through!

And I suppose that’s what made the conclusion of the race to be rather underwhelming. Besides Haiji, Kakeru and Akane, we really didn’t see anyone else’s’ experience, so I guess in a way it almost felt like the marathon ended prematurely. I do hope we will be able to see more of the others’ experiences when they actually do run the main event.

Kansei University just barely makes the cut with 10:16:43 as their team’s combined time. However Tokyo Sports University who is first place on the leader board is almost seven minutes faster than them. The discrepancy in the time has not gone unnoticed to the twins. They are now wondering what Haiji meant when he told them they will aim for the top. In their eyes, winning the whole thing doesn’t seem like a feasible dream, not with a team who has been training longer than they had, and are more than seven minutes faster than them.

So if they aren’t in it to win it, then what are they running for?

To be perfectly honest with you, even I am not entirely sure if Haiji’s goal is to really win the whole thing. A big part of that has to do with how he has yet to properly explain to the team why it was so important to him in the first place. Yes, we know he is searching for the answer of what it means to run, but I think there’s still a lot more to it. Since the beginning, Haiji seems to be approaching this with the mentality of manifesting his vision to make it into a reality. He doesn’t just say they are going to make it because he’s confidence, it’s a source of conviction filled with his intention. To those who aren’t familiar with that approach, or simply don’t believe in it, it’s understandable why they would have their doubts. And I feel that’s where the twin’s uneasiness is coming from. In their eyes, winning the whole thing doesn’t seem like a feasible dream, not with a team who has been training longer than they had, and are seven minutes faster than them.

Additionally, I think another problem the twins have also might have to do with their reasons for their participation. In fact I find the timing of this conflict to be quite interesting given how it has been more or less established that most of the members aren’t doing this with the intention of winning, but are choosing to ultimately run for themselves. However it seems the twins don’t share that mentality. If I recall correctly, their biggest source of motivation was to win and reap the fame that comes with it. That’s why they were training hard to reach the top. But now that they see how fearsome their opponents are, it’s hitting their morale.

Needless to say, once this becomes a subject for the team, I wonder how everyone is going to respond to this. It’s one thing to run for yourselves, but I can understand the fear and doubts that will flood into everyone’s mind if Haiji insists they can actually close the gap.

Thankfully, this is something that will be addressed in next week’s episode. I am hoping we will be able to hear more about Haiji’s intentions and why this event is so important to him.

Also before we wrap things up, can we appreciate how far Akane has come?! He swallowed his puke and then threw it up again as he was running, AND HE WAS AMONG THE FIRST HUNDREDS!