YIPEE! KAZE GA TSUYOKU IS BACK BABY~ and darn it! I wasn’t ready for the episode to be over! Man this was a great way to return to the series, especially with how much they were able to cover in this episode.
It starts off with picking up right where we left off. The objective today for for Yuki and Shindo to qualify. Yuki, Shindo and Kakeru came up with a plan to set the pace, where Yuki would lead Shindo in the beginning up to a certain time, and then swap positions where Shindo pulls Yuki during the final stretch. Kakeru served as a way to clear a path for them since they knew he would out-lap him. As result of their team-work, both Yuki and Shindo were able to qualify with a split second difference. Lets take a moment to celebrate, OUR BEST BOYS MADE THE CUT!
Now only King, Akane and Nico are left to qualify!
To escape the sweltering summer heat in the city, the team were fortunate enough to have one of the locals in town offer them to use their villa at Lake Shirabaka so they could host a training camp. I know they don’t really have any other choice, but to have to get in the car with Haiji in the mountains, poor guys. Even worse for the twins, oh my god, I died when Akane’s puke was flying in their faces. Their poor souls!!!! But the team was met with an unpleasant discovery: Tokyo Sport University is also training there, and their presence has not gone unnoticed. Sakaki and his group isn’t subtle when it comes to both provoking Kakeru and deliberately interfering with the team’s training by hogging the path and messing with their pace. When Haiji finally confronted them for their petty behaviour, they were challenged to a race.
And poor Kakeru, the past of whatever unfolded in high school just keeping coming back to haunt him. First with the reporter, who Haiji managed to shut down quickly (for the time being at least), and Sakaki continuously poking him where it hurts. I hope someone grabbed him before Kakeru punched him, because he was livid. I am going to trust that Nico or/and Haiji jumped on him before he could. It could spell serious trouble if someone gets hurt, or worse, have grave consequence of potentially banning them from entering the competition, even if they all do manage to qualify. But it seems the only way for Kakeru to overcome this past, is not just the support of his team, but he himself needs to either confront it, or let it go, (whichever helps resolve it better) instead of running away from it. In the matter of fact, this episode showed us a huge difference when Kakeru simply runs free, and when he is running away. The glowing road ahead of him, or taking in the beautiful sceneries around him, only then he is truly free.
In event of Sakaki’s challenge, I am curious to see whether or not they really will end up scrimmaging against each other. Neither Haiji or Kakeru wants the team to be demoralized when they are so close to achieving their goal, it’s best to avoid the childish confrontation and save the competition for when they make the cut. However I wouldn’t be surprised if Sakaki’s trash-talk will ignite the fire in the team even further, fanning the flames to make them want to shut them up, that’s where the pride’s at. But I agree with Haiji, accepting a challenge from someone who doesn’t respect them is not worth their time.
I am also interested of learning the full story of Kakeru’s past. Based on what we already know, there was favouritism at play and the team was constantly put down because of his success. So really it’s hard to say who are the ones really at fault. Sakaki seems to pin the blame of the team falling part entirely on Kakeru, but given his nature, I really wonder if that was the case. But we also know that Kakeru has punched Sakaki before, so given how he knows exactly which buttons to push, he is provoking him in a similar manner as he had done in the past. More than anything, it seems Sakaki can’t accept Kakeru making friends and having a ‘good time’, and refuses to let go of whatever form of bitterness he has against him. (Honestly, I’m wondering wonder if he’s just jealous that Kakeru being able to interact with his new team better than his old one).
Regardless of whatever happened in the past, I have faith the team will have Kakeru’s back, as he in turn has become incredibly protective of the team by not wanting to let his past drag them down. It is a beautiful thing to see how much Kakeru has come to understand and embrace the meaning of Team Spirit. It was so precious to see him hugging Yuki and Shindo, and be happy for their success. It’s obvious that Kakeru never got to experience this kind of relationship with his teammates in the past, and if we’re going to pin the blame on at least one person, we can start with that stupid coach who without a doubt, played a big part in creating a rift between Kakeru and his teammates in the first place.
As for the new OP and ED, they are okay, but I still like the first OP and ED more haha. They will always have a special place in my heart!
Looking forward to next week’s episode!
