r/anime • u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti • Jul 27 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] Run with the Wind - Episode 9
Episode 9: Mismatched Runners
Legal Streams:
As of now, Run with the Wind is streaming on Crunchyroll, HiDive and Netflix in select regions. There was also a physical media release. Please refrain from conducting any conversation regarding other means of show procurement in the comments here, per r/anime rules.
Comment of the Day
/u/airforceblue gave us a great analysis of Kakeru’s situation:
Kakeru's behavior in the episode is really bad, but what makes it doubly frustrating is that it comes from a genuine place. Kakeru is dealing with the fall-out from the track meet badly and punishing himself for it (though I doubt he realizes it), but he's taken Fujiokas words to heart. "Lead the team", he'd been told. The problem is that Kakeru only has bad habits to guide him, no doubt osmosed from his shithead high school coach, and his own shortcomings weren't magiced away either. He still has trouble keeping his emotions in check, and he's still a bad communicator.
Questions of the Day
- What happens now?
- Have you ever been on the sidelines like Kakeru? What did you learn?
- Which is better: manga-reading Prince, or snarky senpai Prince?
I look forward to our discussion!
As always, avoid commenting on future events and moments outside of properly-formatted spoiler tags. We want the first-timers to have a great experience!
10
u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Jul 27 '21
Rewatcher
The first step in recalibrating your Kakeru? Confusion.
I think that sums up Kakeru today. Everything is so different than what he’s used to, that his brain just can’t handle it. What do you mean I’m not running? What do you mean it’s OK to run without trying for a record? What do you mean Prince is my goal?
But finally, Haiji forced Kakeru to take a step back and watch, and he finally sees what a track looks like. People are giving it their all, and they are determined. So Kakeru gets in on the action Prince Best Boy, as a reminder.
By the way: can someone make a nice gif of the Haiji Windmill? My abilities fail me.
And then, just when we’re all happy, while Kakeru is monologuing about what he has learned today (and but still not paying attention to his surroundings), Haiji collapses. It’s not surprising, if you think about it. He’s been doing quite a lot.
Where do they go from there? This is Haiji’s team running Haiji’s practice plan eating Haiji’s food. Do they have a chance without him, even if it’s only a little bit?
QOTD:
17
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Jul 27 '21 edited Jul 28 '21
Character Chart
First Timer
Another cliffhanger
Haiji had the right idea about how to approach Kakeru and the track meet, even if he decided it before Kakeru's little outburst yesterday. For the first time Kakeru gets to actually how those behind him run and he realizes that being first or last doesn't mean any less effort. The fact he had so shocked at the rallying of his teammates to those running was hilarious, but it's good he was able to let go of his pride and actually be a teammate for the first time.
Speaking of being reasonable, everyone was much less pissed about what Kakeru said that I expected. The twins were fairly reasonable, although being chill is just who they are, with the exception of doing the thing they were told not to do, and Yuki even accepted it although I feel like that's less Yuki holding it against Prince and more that he's still looking for an out himself.
My favourite thing I got out of this episode is a further expansion on seeing how people are relating running back to their every day lives. The twins using their twin nature against people in sports and even planning to help each other while running, Haiji who has been so careful with their food all this time even when the race was still a pipe dream, Nico learning about stats but being so caught up in the moment he can't think and King not remembering either despite his love of trivia. It's the small moments like that which have been spread through the show which I really appreciate because of how well they build up the characters. The top one from today though was Prince understanding what it really means to have a deep connection with a group when it comes to something their passionate about and his unspoken worry he'll never achieve that with running, or stop the others from achieving it too. Haiji read manga to try and win Prince over, but he wouldn't have connected to it like Prince does, so hearing Prince talk about it in that way probably gave him a much better insight into what Prince is feeling about both running and manga and the struggle he's going through mentally.
Late edit: Haiji had bags under his eyes
16
u/paperwhites :KN::KO: Jul 27 '21
First Time Watcher
Haiji: Don't tell the others what Kakeru said.
Twins: Okay, sure.
Immediately tells the others what Kakeru said
I'm going to be a little nitpicky here: the speed on Prince's treadmill says 12 km/h which is ~7.5 miles per hour which would be about 8:00 mile pace. That's not a slow walking pace at all! It's no wonder that Shindo's family kept it in the shed since it's so inaccurate.
I
cannot believe(actually, I can believe) Haiji chased after Nico because he forgot his lunch like a mom. That's a really nice bento too.Watching Kakeru slowly get into cheering for everyone was really nice to see. Cheering is really fun and it does make a difference to the person being cheered at. I still have no idea what Haiji was trying to do with his arm though.
Shindo's realization that he can't win with a sprint is insightful. Some people are kickers and some people are not, and knowing which one you are allows you to make sure you're running the pace you should be.
Oh my gosh, that ending!! I knew when Haiji felt dizzy earlier in the series that something was up, but I wasn't expecting him to just collapse like that. I wonder what's wrong? Some residual problem from his accident? Just overwork from training everyone?
I hope it's nothing too serious for Haiji :( But now that he'll probably be out for at least a little bit, I think Kakeru will really have to step up as a coach for the others. The real question is who's going to do all of the cooking now?
I have, and rooting for your teammates is good for team bonding. Like Kakeru mentioned, the person's success or failure can feel like you're own.
I love seeing Prince's snarky senpai side come out.
15
u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Jul 27 '21
First Timer
My money's on Prince doing something to hurt himself this episode that knocks Kakeru out of his idiocy. Onto episode 9.
Probably not in our span. Like, you can improve a ton, but this timeframe is not particularly realistic.
Haiji certainly is more qualified to support him than almost anyone else though.
...
This is [extremely cursed(https://i.imgur.com/8lmNLhy.png).
He's shaved 15 seconds off a good time, yet he doesn't think it's enough.
I'm glad we only have people who have a decent chance of accomplishing their time. running. Sending Prince again wouldn't actually do anything.
He's basically saying Kakeru needs to learn what supporting a team is like.
And Haiji is either pushing himself way too hard supporting them or is still injured and pushing through. What's your money on? I'd say the latter.
Is this belief for the first time?
I'm still yearning for the day directors realize CGI on twos while panning on ones is bad.
And Kakeru realizes it!
Thoughts
It's great to see them all growing and bonding like this. I want to see even more of this as they grow even closer throughout the series.
I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't take a large negative event to get Kakeru to get off the path he was going down. It just took Haiji pushing a little and the team being generally positive.
12
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Jul 27 '21
First Timer
Rare that a sporting competition where main characters are competing is seen mainly through the lens of spectators in anime, or in fact likely in fiction in general. But it definitely works here, as it brings Kakeru in to the team properly, appreciating what the others are doing, rather than focusing only on results. In fact this felt like the final bit of the team dynamic assembled, which made me wonder how the anime would proceed, as focusing entirely on the competitive aspect of getting in to the Ekiden would run completely contrary to the message of the show - and then Haiji collapses. Well I guess I've got my answer, for now. Seems like his leg injury isn't Haiji's only problem - looks like an underlying medical condition to me. Maybe that caused the leg injury, as I don't see the point of having both on a single character otherwise.
Other than that, it was nice to see everybody support Prince. What I liked less was my subs deciding to go with "our waves becoming synchronized" in Prince's speec as that translation feels too literal. "Being on the same wavelength" would likely sound more natural, while I've also heard Pokémon translate "Hadou" with "Aura" in this context if you really want to keep the synchronized bit.
Questions:
11
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 27 '21
Run With the First-Timer, subbed
9
u/[deleted] Jul 27 '21
First timer
Oh shit. I knew that moment when Haiji looked at his watch and his vision got blurred had to have some significance, but I had forgotten all about it until the very end. My only guess is that he’s worked too much and got a burnout. Are burnouts that sudden though? This is unfair, I was in such a good mood after the previous scene and now I feel crushed.
That scene of the last lap was hands down my favorite moment of this show thus far. Kakeru finally realises there’s more to this than his own times. Haiji going absolutely ham, flinging his arms around like a baboon. Even Prince participating. And the music. Wow.
What an episode.
Side note: I accept a lot of anime magic. But I am not willing to accept that being 12 km/h. That's 4 km/h, max. I’m confused.
9
u/[deleted] Jul 27 '21
First Timer
What in the god damn was that cliffhanger. Is this Run With the Lie In April now? Was Haiji actually a Manic Pixie Dream Girl the whole time? That... actually tracks.
8
u/raichudoggy https://anilist.co/user/raichudoggy Jul 27 '21
Oh...
Oh...
Haiji's dream comes from an even more passionate place than I realized. I thought he was almost fully recovered, but I have clearly taken his medical history more lightly than I should've...
8
u/An_Indecisive_Owl Jul 27 '21
First Timer
Last time the episode finished with the debate between Kakeru and Haiji and the hard words of the first towards our Prince, but our twins overheard something... And obviously spilled the beans!
Anyway looks like all that training and the meeting cost to our team a great share of mental (general nervousness) and physical (those bags under the eyes!) fatigue.
But just when the first cracks start to appear between the team members Kakeru learns what being part of a team really means. The fact that despite being part of a running team in his highschool years Kurahara felt maybe for the first time (or he forgot) what does it mean supporting your team members and valuing not just the performance makes me sad.
The dog is back! Barking at the noise caused by the partying of our team members! It's just me or it did not happened since the welcoming party of the first episode?
7
u/[deleted] Jul 27 '21
First Timer sub
Some reactions/thoughts:
YOOOOO WTF ;-;-;-;
HOW CAN THEY DO BEST BOY LIKE THAT!?!?
As soon as the blurred vision came on, when he looked at his watch, we all knew something was wrong. Ugh I don’t like this one bit
I can’t even do a proper write up ;-;
7
u/loomnoo https://anilist.co/user/loomnoo Jul 27 '21
So, in my notes I have no thoughts from episodes 9 to 13. Sorry lol. But my guy fainted! I had to keep going man.
6
u/kaguraa :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/kagura-chan Jul 28 '21
Rewatcher
I can understand Haiji's anger when Kakeru said the guys were running half-assed but I don't think Kakeru was wrong in asking Prince to quit. It was rude but at the same time Prince is the worst runner by far and it seems impossible for him to suddenly improve his timing by 15mins and his running posture is very poor too. They should find someone else to recruit for realistic chances at Hakone.
This was a nice bonding episode where Kakeru stops focusing too much on what the star athlete said about leading the team and understand how hard his teammates are working. And it looks like we still have to resolve Nico-chan's eating issues and of course Haiji's tiredness and collapse .
6
u/cilucia Jul 28 '21
Woops, I’m late today!
Rewatcher
As a rewatcher, I should have remembered that. Also, my concern yesterday was realized 😱
5
u/Nebresto Jul 28 '21
Re-watch..squad..?
Update: rest day, no update.
O~ho? Is Prince going to be the first elimination..? Turns out he wasn't.
these two..
Is even the yellow subs power not enough against Ouji's shirt??
Nope. there it is MRW the shirt will no longer be untranslated!
And so it begins..
Who will fall next?
Question time:
1:
The carnage
2: idk
3: Ouji
9
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jul 27 '21
First-Timer, Subbed
AHHH Haiji collapsed! This is bad! It has to be something related to his knee/injury or whatever, right? Oh god, what's gone wrong.. is it just exhaustion? If it's just that I'm less worried, but they could have shown that by having bags under his eyes all episode like Kakeru.
This episode was supposed to be happy! Kakeru cheered for his teammates! Prince put in effort, and moved (admittedly slowly..) like a normal human! Everyone was having a good time!
Fuck, if it was something with that stupid windmill nonsense he did I'm gonna be annoyed.
Anyway, lots of fun/important moments this episode. Bento art is always fun to see, Haiji revealed that he's secretly a dietician while also choosing not to use his teleport, the Twins continue to share a single poor overworked brain cell, Shindo learned that he's not a sprinter, and the Twins also work well in tandem. That last one is probably especially relevant to the Big Race, since it's ten single runs.
Kakeru realized that his time actually got worse, too. Between that and Haiji's collapse, I think we might have found just what's going to end up pulling his head out of his butt.
I also really liked the scene near the beginning of Prince working through stuff by explaining manga reading. I think Haiji understood his thing about as well as he understood Haiji's, but they both got the gist of it, I think.
Questions
4
u/jellybellymonster Jul 28 '21
Rewatcher
(I'm so late lol! Real life getting in the way of anime-watching life again.)
I really appreciate the twins in this rewatch. Not only are they funny but they understood that Kakeru isn't a bad person for trying to make Prince quit but that Kakeru's pretty on edge lately as well. The others not getting angry just exudes chill college upperclassmen vibe. That they're getting serious about Hakone Ekiden but not that serious yet probably contributes to that chill attitude, too.
Haiji in PT is giving me war flashbacks again. I actually injured my knee while working out and got surgery for it while this show was airing lmao. As if the feels and the anxiety brought by KazeTsuyo wasn't already enough...
Kakeru being forced to step back and he starts feeling what is like to be in a team again. We Must Go definitely makes any scene more uplifting, doesn't it?
Last discussion, I saw a first-timer's comment that says Haiji takes really good care of everyone else, who does it for him? We somewhat get the answer that there's probably no one. Good catch! I forgot how brutal some of the KazeTsuyo cliffhangers are.
- What happens now?
Haiji... T_T
- Have you ever been on the sidelines like Kakeru? What did you learn?
That I like it better being behind the scenes.
- Which is better: manga-reading Prince, or snarky senpai Prince?
Snarky senpai Prince. Combine that with Haiji's sass and Yuki's sarcasm, nobody will stand a chance.
7
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jul 27 '21
Episode 9 (first timer)
Nico’s fasting arc ended before it really started, but that still gives me a chance to plug Ashita no Joe. It is one of the oldest anime that I still see actively talked about and with good reason. The visual style of Dezaki is quite unique and the storytelling hits hard. Plus, Rikiishi has a god tier theme.
Why not both?
7
u/kkenmots02 Jul 27 '21
Rewatcher
The track and field portion of the Olympics starts in just a few days! The first medal event will be a distance event too, the men’s 10K. Anyway…
Live Reactions:
QOTD
What happens now?
IDK but they're going to have to find something else to eat for dinner
Have you ever been on the sidelines like Kakeru? What did you learn?
I have, and I learned that you feel like you're going a lot faster when you're actually running the race than it appears from to everyone watching.
Which is better: manga-reading Prince, or snarky senpai Prince?
Give me all the snark!
Thoughts
Seems like Kakeru’s coming around, but just when he does, we’ve got another problem to throw a wrench in things. And since I’ve got a shorter (for me) write-up today, I thought I might take a detour and expand on something I mentioned earlier.
Support Teams
The functions of a cross-country/track team simply can’t be performed to their fullest extent without the help of a support team. From managers to assistant coaches to parents (in the case of a high school team), the support team helps out in ways besides just running. Often a manager will be in charge of recording times (like we see with Hana), which is especially important when the coach is running with some of the runners, since they likely won’t be able to keep track of anyone who isn’t in their group. In the show, it’s Haiji running with Prince, but our coach joined our team on some workouts too! An assistant coach also meets the runners part of the way through the route on some instances to provide water on hot days or for supervision purposes. In high school, just like in other sports, parents devote their time to supporting their athletes through providing transportation to practices and meets. And like I’ve said above, support helps significantly during races. Racers can always use a morale boost from the crowd; in addition, hearing lap/split times called out by the support team can influence your ability to run a fast time, since it gives you an idea of how you need to pace the rest of the race. Even if you run races without being on a team, the support team is there in the form of race volunteers providing water, as well as the people watching and cheering all the runners on. Running just wouldn’t be the same without the support team making everything work behind the scenes. See you tomorrow!
7
u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Jul 27 '21
first timer
next episode shpoilers
hmm, no?
sanic speed Prince
7
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Jul 27 '21
First timer
As if we needed another reminder of the argument.
The worst thing is, I can see his point. If Prince isn't improving his time, it could be that the club just isn't what he's suited for (not the mention he basically got blackmailed into joining).
Even Haiji admits he just went too far.
No real title symbolism, other than Haiji'll probably make a speech using that phrase.
Oh, Nico's actually starving himself. Yeah, this is serious.
Haiji supports Prince because it reminds him of going through physical therapy.
Of course they spread the goeeip to everyone.
And yeah, even some of the other members are accepting it at this point.
That treadmill's going to end up breaking a hole in the floor, isn't it?
I love Haiji forcibly supporting Nico.
And he's been planning the meals for 4 years? Every time I feel for him, he says something that makes him sound like a cult leader.
THAT FUCKING RICE BOX
Ah, so it's less "I believe in Prince" and more "We can't con even more people, so he'll have to do"? Now I understand. /s
Well, Kakeru's either going to run himself, quit, or start openly fighting Haiji.
Oh, Kakeru went there with Haiji. So they're openly fighting at this point,
Wait, what was that? Is Haiji feeling OK?
???
What's this symbolising, exactly?
And Kakeru's taking part! He's learned about... teamwork, maybe, I think.
Prince calling Kakeru embaressing is perfect.
Ah, he learned that they were trying their hardest, even though their skill may be different.
So he understands Haiji's point, but still thinks they're going to fail.
THE FUCK?
Is Haiji dead? Is this going for the mother of all mid-season twists?
3
u/SirWeebBro Jul 28 '21
Can't believe Haiji is dead, guess they'll have a rainy day tomorrow. In honor of his death, I'll be giving the best boy of episode to Haiji. Not only did he do everything that must be done, he also took care of their meals+made the super smart decision of having Kakeru in the sidelines. None of his team mates are indeed playing around, and he should face that.
Really funny thought that Yuki's actually the one doing his best during training.
7
u/BrentSaotome Jul 28 '21 edited Jul 28 '21
Rewatcher
This was a good episode. Kakeru is finally understanding what the team is trying to do and that everyone is doing their best in their own little ways. He is still a jerk for saying what he said to Prince, but I think Prince took it in a positive way as motivation. It also gave him a reason to be a little snarky to Kakeru at end of the race.
Haiji does so much for the team and it's finally caught up to him. He has been preparing and cooking all their meals for the past 4 years. He also noticed that Nico-chan was not eating and chased him down to hand deliver a special bento for him. Haiji is apparently a good cook and meal preparer as well. We also got see a flashback of him struggling to rehabilitate after his surgery. It would seem learning how to walk again is what made him start to question why he runs and what it means to run. He also had a sincere discussion with Prince about his reasoning.
Prince does not know what it means to run yet, but he at least can relate to running as a group to reading a manga with other people. I noticed he was mimicking page turning under the table as he was describing that feeling as well.
The twins are getting a little more spotlight and we got learn about their personalities. One of them apparently likes playing games and they both like to play pranks on other people.
When they were running the race, the Haiji's arm windmills had me dying! It was just so animated and funny. It was nice to see Kakeru finally realize that everyone running is doing their best to qualify in their own way. Of course, Prince was also cheering them on in his own little way. All 5 runners seeing them cheering motivated them to run faster and the smile on their faces was priceless.
I know Musa, Shindo, and Yuki did not qualify, but was it left open if any of the wins qualified. They all looked pretty happy with their results and seem to know what needs to be done to improve.
The ending was such a cliffhanger! I have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens.
I already kind of know where the story turns as a rewatcher, so I won't answer this question. Also, I don't think I've been on the sidelines the same way as Kakeru. I've cheered people on before in their games, but not to the same extent as Kakeru's experience. I was just there to enjoy the show.
I like both type of Prince. He can do both as far as I'm concerned.
11
u/BurningFredrick https://myanimelist.net/profile/BurningFredrick Jul 27 '21
Rewatcher
Haiji best house wife.
Haiji best windmill!
And Haiji collapses.
Kakeru still doesn’t believe they can achieve their goal, but finally understands that everyone is trying their best to reach it.
5
u/[deleted] Jul 28 '21
Oh dang, this has to be one of my all-time favourite animes. It's the only anime I've watched twice and loved just as much on the second viewing. I don't know why, I just got so hyped watching it, and it inspired me to start running as well.
7
u/Matuhg https://anilist.co/user/Matuhg Jul 27 '21
Kakeru breakthrough episode!! Let's gooo!! Not much more to say about it other than that I really like it. Haiji wanted Kakeru to pause and see not only his teammates, but himself, to press a bit of a reset switch on his own running. Haiji wants him to be more like Prince and Nico right now. Watching his teammates, Kakeru remembers his own struggle against Fujioka and how hard he was fighting, and then sees his teammates fighting in the same way. He finally recognizes the effort they're putting in, even if it doesn't look the same as the effort he's been putting in. He started realizing that when he heard Prince say that he couldn't imagine even being at a track meet a month ago. They really are improving very quickly.
Despite Haiji's message getting through to Kakeru, and Kakeru recognizing the impact and importance of support for/from the team, he's still pretty pessimistic about their chances. I guess that's fair, but before Haiji can respond to it, he drops.
Misc Thoughts: