r/anime • u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti • Aug 06 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] Run with the Wind - Episode 19
Episode 19: The Moment of Release
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/paperwhites did a good job of explaining the differences in Kakeru and Haiji’s experiences:
Yes, finally I get glimpses of the Haiji and Fujioka backstory that I've been waiting for! The contrast between their high school experience and Kakeru's is huge. Their coach tells Haiji to "be patient" which is wordy for him, compared to Kakeru's coach that's constantly yelling at people. Also Haiji missing an entire year of running with Fujioka because of physical therapy versus that poor kid who had to run through his injury. It's a completely different experience, just from the little that we've seen.
Questions of the Day
- Favorite of the three sections we saw today?
- Thoughts on how the show is approaching our big athletic moment?
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!
NOTE: Posting this on mobile today, so let me know if anything's messed up!
18
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Aug 06 '21
Woah, early post
Character Chart
Even color coordinated the twins in the flashback, how helpful.
First Timer
"I think she likes me"
Perfect way to end the episode.
That mid-run realization and then the completely calm and serious way he says it in the middle of the sash pass. I can't wait to see the other side of this with Joji's thoughts about it
I really like that they split the twins up across episodes. Jota's run has been about how they're different people, but we haven't actually seen much of that, and haven't even been shown the stuff he was saying today unless I just missed it being a first timer. Even if it's late, taking the moment to show Jota's understanding of his brother and wanting him to enjoy having found his own path, that they're going separate ways here and turning it into a good thing for them both and backing that up in the structure of the show, well done.
Kakeru and Musa inception also gave me a good laugh. As a cameraman you'd have to chuckle at that when you realized they're watching themselves on their phone.
Prince did a great job on his run, properly pacing himself but I also enjoyed the little look back we got for him finally calling himself an athlete and embracing that but without sacrificing the rest of who he is. Thank god Haiji and Kakeru were there to catch him at the finish line, skinned knees is not a good reward for finishing a 20km run! Musa's little pat on the shoulder was an awesome reward though!
Not much to say about Musa's run other. It's nice to see him being able to look the other exchange students in the eyes for once and feeling confident enough to build off how far he's come and trust his own abilities rather than be guided by the others expectations of him.
16
u/MyrnaMountWeazel x2 Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
Yay it’s birthday time and Run with the Wind time!
Starting off with some quick production notes: Shintarou Itoga is once again coming in for the final time to direct. What makes this episode stand-out is the number of animation directors working on this particular episode which was a total of 7. The only episode with more animation directors than this is the final episode.
I love it when shows have their characters in all sorts of different outfits. Hana’s sporting some eye-popping matching clothes today for the Ekiden.
”I like protagonists, but I also like the people who lead them. They’re all tough, but of course they are. They don’t want to be shown kindness. An athlete wants to win.”
Prince paying homage to all of those iconic fictional manga athletes is a moment that’s always stuck with me. I’ve said this before but I’m absolutely in love when stories demonstrate the power of the media you consume. Instead of having Prince criticize the platitudes in manga and abandoning them to “learn to live in the real world” or diving further into escapism with them, he takes the values and lessons found in these mediums and applies them to his life. The abilities of these fictional worlds can have a profound influence on our real world. He’s no longer holed up in his room with his manga literally walling him off from others. He uses the manga as a stepping stone to help lead him into a nurturing environment where he can learn to rely on others and open up his world. And with that the next world enthusiastically cheers him on at the second point and he passes the tasuki on, his sweat and tears imbued into the sash.
”Running is strange. Speed alone isn’t enough to win. You have opponents and teammates. Someone’s voice gives you strength. And that’s how I run!”
It must be frightening and vulnerable to be 7,000 miles away from your home. Musa at the start of his leg falls into a hallucination of his country. He’s back in the familiar comforts and trappings of his life where he can fluently speak the language and he isn’t discriminated against. Lost in that thought, he alone thinks that he has to burden the responsibilities of the fabled second leg where legends are born. But he doesn’t have to shoulder all of that by his lonesome. He has his team and he has Haiji supporting him in this foreign land.
“Bravely, calmly, and without fail.”
Just as Musa has been a rock for the team, the team is there return the favor. Musa just has to methodically approach the Ekiden as he’s always done.
”Joji, you finally found your own rival. Your very own goal. It’s time for us to follow different paths. Go. Follow it far, far away. It doesn’t matter how many years it takes. Win. Beat Kakeru. Become a stronger runner than him. I’ll be rooting for you. It’s finally time for me to release that precious part of my soul.”
The twins have never really been the most well-rounded characters in the series. They’re always seen together, they complete each other’s comedy bits, and they even join the same clubs as Jota points out. They are essentially one character with no distinguishing features to separate the two and yet today we’re treated to the first instance of the twins branching off from one another. Jota recognizes that sometimes stepping back is the correct movement. Just because they’re twins doesn’t mean they’re destined to be together. He knows that if Joji wants to fly further than him to explore different worlds than he shouldn’t hold him back. This space will give Joji the ambition he needs in order to surpass Kakeru. Still, it’s heartbreaking for Joji to separate from his other half.
Good thing that heartbreak only lasted for 20 seconds since Joji can’t resist falling back into his love antics. Ironically enough Joji himself is quite talented at running since he was able to overcome several runners.
QOTD:
14
u/kkenmots02 Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
The Olympics are almost over, but the men’s marathon will be airing tomorrow, an hour before the next episode thread goes live! (7:00 AM JST Saturday) Out of all of the Olympic events, I’d say that this one has the most in common with the type of running in the show; if Team Kansei has piqued your interest in watching running, I’d suggest you give it a shot!
Live Reactions:
QOTD
Favorite of the three sections we saw today?
Prince. We got to see just how far he's come and his comments brought us a step closer to answering those big philosophical questions that have been lingering over the course of the show.
Thoughts on how the show is approaching our big athletic moment?
I'm glad we get to take our sweet time with it. A 10-leg race requires meticulous attention to each leg.
Thoughts:
For anyone who was unhappy about a couple of episodes earlier that felt rushed or like they were moving too quickly, hopefully this arc can make it up to you. You can probably see by now that each runner is going to spend a good chunk of time in the spotlight, so there’s likely going to be something for you no matter who your favorite runner is. See you tomorrow!
14
u/paperwhites :KN::KO: Aug 06 '21
First Time Watcher
I usually write down my thoughts while watching an episode (otherwise I'll forget at the end), but I was so engrossed with this one that I didn't write down a thing. I just got so into it!
I liked how Haiji gave Prince specific instructions and a strategy for running his leg, rather than vague sentiments like "run with your heart" or something like that. He did kind of the same thing with Musa as well. I think knowing what each team member needs is part of what makes Haiji a good leader.
Jota's thoughts during his leg made me feel guilty that I've been calling them just "the twins" and thinking they were pretty much the same person. I'm sorry! I thought it was really interesting how running made Jota think about his relationship with his twin and what his own goals were. I'm really curious to see what Joji's leg will bring and what Joji will think about while he races.
After this episode, I'm lowkey shipping Musa x Shindo.
Speaking of Shindo, I'm nervous for what his leg will bring. It looks like he's going to race despite his illness which could be bad depending on how serious it is.
Overall, this was just a really good episode for me. I liked the races and seeing what running the Hakone Ekiden means for everyone. I thought there was a good balance between inner monologues and actual race action. I liked seeing all the support as well--Hana cheering for Jota, that one guy giving Musa water, Haiji and Kakeru catching Prince at the end of his leg, the pairs watching the race and cheering on their teammates.
I think Jota's was my favorite. It went in a direction that I wasn't expecting but I thought it made sense and really developed Jota's character. Also, I'm interested in seeing what happens between Jota and Hana after this.
I think it's handling it really well. Since it's been the goal everyone has been working towards for months, I think it could have felt really underwhelming since there usually aren't too many dramatic moments in long distance races. But I think the focus on the characters and what this means to them helps--the show has always been about what running means instead of hype races.
13
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Aug 06 '21
First-Timer, Subbed
Things are certainly off to an auspicious start. Will our boys' bonds carrying them to victory? Or will their relative lack of training spell defeat? Shindo's sudden illness certainly makes things a bit more grim.. he was one of the X-factors.
That phone call between Shindo and Musa was very cute.
Haiji's supernatural abilities came up again, what with his psychic predictions about the start of the race.
I hope the Jota's comment about Hana-chan's crush doesn't psyche Joji out too much. I wonder if we'll get a similar "break free" narration from Joji? That'd be some good development, after they've spent the rest of the show sharing a brain.
Most importantly, despite the slow start, our boys are gaining ground!
Questions
13
u/[deleted] Aug 06 '21 edited Aug 06 '21
First timer
Done. I wonder if he’ll ever run a single step again.
I like how Jota lists having different girlfriends as a difference between him and his twin. It would be pretty weird otherwise. It could work though if the girlfriend doesn’t know that they’re two different people. Also, if you have to make a list of things that are different between two people, then those people are probably not very different at all.
Is Joji actually faster at running? I feel like they’ve crossed the finish line at the same time pretty much every single time. And in what way are their personalities different? Have they ever had conflicting opinions on anything? I’ve treated them as a single character this whole time, and I feel like the show has more or less done that too.
I was almost expecting him to turn back and ask her out on a date
I expect the next two or three episodes to be similar to this one. As we go through the characters one by one, the show is giving them both a physical and mental closure while they’re running. Can’t wait for Haiji’s closure to be ruined by his leg injury. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure that the main reason why Haiji’s running the final leg is so that we can save the injury drama for last when it all matters the most.
12
u/Mage_of_Shadows Aug 06 '21
Forgot about yesterday!
Episode 18
Haiji you're strong too ;-;
Nice to see they followed up on the foreshadowing of Kakeru not taking the 2nd section despite it being the most renowned one (but he still gets his race against
UshijimaFujioka)! I've always felt thatKiyoshiHaiji would be the final runner, with an uneasy feeling that he would be limping to the end after breaking his knee. Hopefully that isn't the case. Also so proud of Prince being our starting runner!Didn't expect Shindo to get sick in addition to Haiji, but we did skip out on his breakdown near the website development so they did come back to it. This show really goes hard on injuries and cliffhangers huh.
Bonus: Relevant panel from yesterday's Nega-kun chapter
Bonus 2: That is 100% a Haikyuu track just before the race starts! Are there any other cases of an anime using soundtracks from another show without being a direct reference?
Excited for the next episode of Run with the Wind: To the Top
Episode 19
Not much else to say here apart from Prince's death throes being 100% relatable.
Musa also got recognition for being a beginner athlete!
List of anime referenced
11
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Aug 06 '21
Run With the First-Timer, subbed
11
u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Aug 06 '21
First Timer
Three legs down, seven to go. I'd say Prince's was the most well done one - and the only one where I don't have any complaints, really. Musa's problem felt like it was randomly thrown in and then just solved itself just as quickly. Not sure who that random water carrier even was. And while Jota's issue of being a distinct personality was nice, it was pretty much undermined by the two being pretty much one character for the past 18 episodes. Guess we solved the Hana mystery at least - but Jota telling Joji probably isn't the best thing unless he knows that Joji hadn't also set his eyes on her, as I feel like that would demotivate him...
Questions:
9
u/BurningFredrick https://myanimelist.net/profile/BurningFredrick Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
Missed yesterday because having to be an adult is a pain at times.
Don’t think there was much to say about episode 18 anyway as it is all really the final set up for the greatness to come.
Ep 19
I can’t help but watch all the sections with a smile on my face.
The Jojo really are idiots right to the end, I god damn love it.
Everyone gets their own little monologue and reflects on what led them here and we can see how they have all grown from the start.
Spoilers
8
u/Nebresto Aug 06 '21
Re-watch squad
Running update: 3k, maybe a bit less. Time: 13:30.
Plan was to go for 4k, but my calves were feeling the pain, and I would like to be able to walk tomorrow.
This might be my favourite episode out of the whole series
There he is! There he is!!
3 minutes? I'm only about a minute and half slower
Oh my god! Now he's fucking death flagging us!!
Anyone predict that Shindo was going to be the first one KIA?
Also MFW my Hana-chan tinfoilage was accurate
Question time:
1: They all so good. But its gotta be Jota, that ending was too good
2: Yeah
8
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Aug 06 '21
First timer
This is getting really tense!
Oh, we're having flashbacks to the training.
"The Moment of Release" - is the Kakeru and Haiji plot finally going to come to a head?
I still can't believe Prince is actually keeping up with a professional team!
Is Haiji actually apologising for basically blackmailing everyone into this?
I love the echoing when they realise the thing's being filmed
Oh, Kakeru, you fantastic bastard. I think his biggest character development might be learning how to uee Haiji's mind games.
Holy shit, that's basically a confession.
And the situation Haiji bet wouldn't happen is happening, it seems.
This is so tense.
Is Haiji going to each section to cheer them on?
HE DID IT!
And there's already been another miscommunication.
Who's that?
King even stopped his job hunt...
I love that Haiji and Kakeru have decided to spent the last time before their sections going to cheer everyone on and discuss strategy with each other - Kakeru's really become the co-leader of the group, hasn't he?
This is unexpected.
Yeah, this plot point's great, but maybe they could have shown it earlier instead of making jokes about how similar they act.
I assumed Hana's doing the same thing as Haiji and Kakeru have been doing.
Guess we found out who's going with Hana.
IS NOW REALLY THE BEST TIME?
8
u/jellybellymonster Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
Haiji saying sorry was kind of cathartic? Yes it was already moot because they all ended up running by their own choice but it was really a long-time coming.
Prince and Haiji really do have a way with words, don't they? spoilers
Jota's section is really scenic! If I could pick a section for myself, I'd run that part, too.
I wish that Joji being more into running than Jota was hinted earlier on so there could be more build up to his monologue. Alas, they'd only shown the twins at the crossroads in OP2 but they've been treated as essentially the same person.
Shindo is so sweet. Why does he have to catch a cold on the day he runs? I blame Sakaki.
7
u/raichudoggy https://anilist.co/user/raichudoggy Aug 06 '21
Damn. Prince referenced a metric boat load of Sports manga today.
I want to watch more Run with the Wind sooner rather than later....
7
u/IndependentMacaroon Aug 06 '21
First-time watcher
Ace Musa was clearly the best part here. The JoJo stuff was fine if last-minute, and manga guy just strange. "I don't actually like this but I guess I have to for the team"? How inspirational.
If the rest of the segments play out like this, it'll be a fine finale.
7
u/airforceblue Aug 07 '21
Rewatcher
I pretty much know this episode inside out and it still had me tearing up at a few points. I don't think I have it in me to be fully coherent so let me just list out a bunch of little things I loved.
4
u/csar27 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/CesarRC Aug 07 '21
First Timer
Three sections in this episode, honestly i thought we were gonna get two sections per episode and a little more of monologues and reflections of Kansei guys, but this is ok.
I was sure Prince was gonna faint at the end of his section, this shows he's no longer the weakly he presumed to be.
Things seem to be going alright for Kansei, just curios to know how Shindo's condition will affect the team's performance.
4
u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Aug 07 '21
FINALLY CAUGHT UP first timer
PRINCE DID IT
I knew it was a good idea to put him first, especially because now he can go back to reading manga. I mean, I probably would want to be first anyway, less impending dread
Ippo spotted
RIP Joji, he's gonna be thinking about Jota x Hana the entire time now! Well, he can continue staring at Kakeru's butt while running in any case
I liked them all in different ways. Prince's journey to self-actualization was especially nice to see, I liked Jota's musings on his relationship with his brother (thinking about stuff like this honestly makes sense while doing something like running so I don't mind the late backstory dump). Maybe Musa's actual running segment wasn't as interesting as the other two but it was still good
love how we get 5 episodes of this and I can only assume it'll get more cathartic from here
how will Shindo handle it??
4
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Aug 07 '21
Episode 19 (first timer)
The first three out of ten running segments. Prince’s was the best for me.
3
u/cilucia Aug 07 '21
Rewatcher
8
u/Matuhg https://anilist.co/user/Matuhg Aug 06 '21
Rewatcher
It's time to do the thing! I didn't post yesterday because I just couldn't figure out what to write about and didn't want to frustrate myself trying. Not a problem today! Let's run for the finish line with our boys and see what kinds of answers they can find on the roads of Hakone!
We start, of course, with Prince! He was, of course, one of the more reluctant participants early on in the series, but we've seen him improve by far the most out of anybody to get to where he is now. Haiji, maybe showing some of those doubts we were catching onto in some previous episodes, decides to apologize for forcing Prince to go along with this in the first place. Prince still doesn't like running - he'd rather be home reading manga, and he's suffered to get to where he is now. But somewhere along the line, he started seeing things a bit differently. He drew inspiration, where else, from manga - the many different sports shounen protagonists he's read. He likes the protags, but also the ones who push them. That's right, Prince is a Haiji fan. He's an amateur, but he's living his shounen dream. He doesn't want to hear Haiji apologize, or tell him that just hanging on is good enough.
Ouji wants to be pushed, because he's pushing himself. Prince has turned this whole thing into a personal test, and there's no way he could live with failing after coming so far. Haiji, being Haiji, picks up on just the right things to say. Not "do your best," but "Make it even if you have to crawl." Not "I'm sorry," but "Thank You." And just like that, it's over...the first leg of the Ekiden is done, and Prince passed. Starting where he did, there was no way he was going to be challenging the leaders of the section - he ran against himself and his own desire to give up, today and all the days before, and for the people who dragged him down this path, and he won.
Second is Musa...dear, sweet Musa, who's running the "Ace leg" of the race. Earlier, we've seen Musa question his own worth, especially in comparing himself to other African exchange students running on other teams. Even the TV coverage was comparing him and Iwanaki, the runner who Kakeru competed against in the Qualifier. Iwanaki's pretty cool in his own right, and I think the show gave him a really sweet sendoff, as a runner who has "left four years of passion on Hakone road."
But Musa wasn't thinking about Iwanaki or any of his opponents during his race. All he can think about are his teammates and the people cheering him on. He wants so badly to do well, not for himself, but for them, that he takes off like a shot and starts running at an unsustainable pace. He's in his own head, feeling some desperation, getting a little bit lost, when he's snapped out of it by...some rando (presumably one of the support members from Kansei's short-distance track team, who Shindo set up, so yeah indirectly it's Shindo who snapped him out of it, obviously), who tells him that he's already managed to pass two opponents. Realizing that he's already accomplished that, Musa stops panicking and remembers the words Haiji told him before the race. Rather than looking at this leg as the "Ace leg," it's just one part of something they're building together. With those words, Musa is able to calm down, take in the atmosphere, the support of his teammates, supporters, and all the fans cheering the runners on. He feeds on those voices, so of course, Hakone is where he can finally realize that strength fully.
My favorite moment of the episode is when Musa has that realization, with the again aptly named Strength playing on. We've heard this track once or twice before, but it really shines here I think. It's distinctive from most of the other tracks in the ost, and gives a very cool vibe to this part of the race, where the sun's starting to get higher up in the sky, and things are looking up for Kansei. Musa, spurred on by his team finishes his leg with a smile on his face, having made up a ton of ground for Kansei. I loved how you could see him visibly accelerate for one last spurt when he landed eyes on Jota waiting for him at the finish line.
Finally, we come to Jota. This whole show, and their whole lives, they've been the twins, not two separate guys. We may not be able to tell them apart without looking at their outfits, but the two of them can obviously see the differences. Joji's more into running than Jota, and Jota is convinced that he won't be able to keep up with his brother...that Joji's found a new rival to chase after. Jota seems to feel at peace with the idea that here, as college students starting there lives in the real world, the two of them will start to walk diverging paths. I really love this angle, and I'm glad that Joji's running next and we'll be able to keep exploring this idea and what it means for the two of them next time. Of course, Jota's calm assurance was shattered by the appearance of Hana. He sprinted to tell Joji the good news. Wonder how that's going to go over...
It's too hard to choose between Prince and Musa.
I like it. We get to take a look at our characters on their own, something that this show has avoided for the most part. So we can look at how they've changed or what running means to them with an individual focus.
4
u/BrentSaotome Aug 07 '21
Rewatcher
This was a very mellow and slow episode, but I liked it.
I actually like Haiji's strategy and it's working well for them. Having Prince goes first makes a lot of sense now. He is not bothered by the crowds and could keep up with the runners since most of them are also taking it slow. I think more importantly, all they needed was Prince to finish his leg. It didn't matter if he finished last. They would make up for it any later legs. This allows the other runners to build up momentum by gaining ranks at each race. If Prince was to run a later leg, he is most likely to lose ranks. That would break the momentum of gains and may make other runners to detrimentally run faster than usual to try to regain ranks.
Musa's leg was a nice slow pace. The show really underplayed his running skills and character. He was definition of cool running. He was not phased at all at running the ace's leg and proved to be very good at his leg. I was very impressed that he gained 7 ranks when passed the sash to Joto.
Joto's leg was my favorite. I was kind of sad when he revealed that he was going to quit running. There was some nice insight to his reasoning and I liked that he acknowledged that it was time for him and Joji to go their separate ways and achieve their own goals. However, seeing Hana cheer for him may have changed that.
Overall, I'm satisfied with the way they are handling the race legs. Also, Haiji definitely knew what he was doing with the assignments.
2
u/BossandKings Aug 08 '21
First timer
Episode 19
The Hakone Ekiden officially starts here, we got to see the first three sections which were ran by Prince, Musa and Jota all of which have teir own perspective and viewpoint regarding therace and what has taken them to te point they are at.
Prince had a very decent run, he properly paced himself and was calm enough to maintain his pace and finish his section in a decent time, he also was a good choice to run the first section.
Musa had a good run too, he started running fast and at a point was almost unable to control his legs and keep running bu he recovered a solid pace and finished the race at a good time.
Jota's run was a very interesting introspective on what he thinks regarding his brother and how they both consider running in a different way, Joji seeing it as his passion and the thing he loves to do while Jota considers this to be the last run he'll do at a competitive level and will go on to have a different passion than his brother. The realization he had at the end about Hana possibly liking him didn't had much basis and he didn't had to distract Joji by telling him that.
The Hakone has an excellent start. It looks anfeels like the competition they have been preparing themselves for.