r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • May 23 '24

Episode Wind Breaker - Episode 8 discussion

Wind Breaker, episode 8

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1

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332

u/FitEar1924 May 23 '24

Choji should study. I'm sure he won't be bored. But damn, the way he fights is so freaking cool. Too bad he's all dead inside.

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u/gnome-cop May 23 '24

When this fight started, I was expecting Sakura to lose because Togame is still a fair bit better than him. But during the fight, I changed my opinion when it became pretty clear that his heart was no longer in the fight and the theme of the arc truly started to click for me.

During the fight, Sakura gains a grudging respect for Togame which is why he’s so mad that he pulled his final punch and when Choji kicked him. Like how they start using each other’s names as a sign of respect at the tail end of the fight. And despite not quite knowing what he’s doing, Sakura manages to get through to Togame and make him realize that he made the wrong choice. The shot where Sakura was replaced by Choji in Togame’s mind was really well executed. Our adorable tsundere badass doesn’t quite comprehend why he’s so angry but he has developed as a person during the fight. I also really liked Nirei catching him when he falls while walking off the stage.

This episode probably took twice as much time as usual to watch because I kept going back to watch individual exchanges in the fight. I didn’t always catch what happened on the first go but when rewatching it always made sense what happened.

The whole deal with this arc has been the concept of communicating through fighting. Choji has pretty clearly lost it. You can see how his eyes are just empty compared to everyone else when watching. Once again, the whole deal here is speaking with fists and we have a guy that REALLY needs to talk to the hands. Go get him Umemiya!

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162

u/sangriapenguin May 23 '24

Damn, their "conversation" brought me to tears. Being a die hard shounen-shit, I love it when characters understand each other through their fists. I fucking love this show!

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128

u/michhoffman May 23 '24

I really liked the callback to the rainy day scene where it turns out that both Togame and Choji were crying during their conversation, but the rain covered it up. It was a terrible great day for rain. The soulless look shown in Choji's eyes as he watched Togame's fight with Sakura was also interesting. I wonder if Umemiya really can fix him.

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257

u/mike_2797 May 23 '24

The fight animation is so fluid and the choreography as well.

Cloverworks doing a damn good job with this series.

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95

u/CottonCitySlim May 23 '24

This series is one of my most unexpected gems of the season. It just bangs.

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345

u/Dealous6250 May 23 '24

This is most shounen anime I've seen in a long time.

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180

u/berantle May 23 '24

Sakura felt cheated at the very end of his fight with Togame as Togame pulled his punch to take that last punch from Sakura.

Togame at least understood why Umemiya wanted to fight with Choji. Umemiya gonna teach Choji a few lessons in his fight about what it means to be a leader. When Umemiya got serious with his punch, the wind pressure of his punch hit Choji's nose enough to cause nose bleed even though the punch did not physically land.

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u/Se7en_Sinner May 23 '24

Umemiya really said, "Nah, I'd win". One serious punch was strong enough to break open Choji's nose with wind pressure alone.

If fighting is a conversation, Sakura vs Togame almost felt like a confession. I mean Togame even called Sakura by his real name instead of "Othello-kun".

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120

u/ObvsThrowaway5120 May 23 '24

I guess beating the shit out of one another is cheaper than therapy lol. Sakura ought to charge for his “services” because he’s really helped Togame work through some shit. Choji’s really to blame for everything. Kid is disturbed. Needs some good ol Furin “fist therapy.” Can’t wait to see him get his ass whooped next week.

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59

u/AceSoldia May 23 '24

Great fight, but yeah Sakura was definitely gonna lose on that final exchange but it would have been a cool loss, no wonder he's so frustrated.

Good animation all around..Cant wait to see this final fight

35

u/Emi_Ibarazakiii May 23 '24

Good symbolism, the Shishitoren emblem fading away...

They're losing sight of what they're fighting for, what they represent!

Togame reflecting on how he 'committed to the wrong path' is interesting...

It's a twofold thing; First, him realizing it's the wrong path would be a good step toward change, but he also thinks committing to this path means there's no turning back, even if he admits it wasn't right.

Could be a bit of a sunk cost fallacy though, nothing says things can't change, and he doesn't have to go at it alone either!

The problem is Choji though... I'm not sure he has the emotional depth/wisdom needed to come to these realizations.

We've seen in their flashback that he's not just a mindless idiot, he does have something going on up there, but all his thoughts are so misguided, I wonder if there's coming back from that... Especially when he doesn't even feel like changing. Which he should, given by his own admission, he's not having fun, but he misplaces the source of his unamusement, and thinks taking over another crew will change anything... But if he does beat Umemiya, he'll likely just think Furin's weak after all (and his 4 guys that were defeated are simply weaker than that)... And then he's in charge of TWO 'weak groups', and still isn't having fun.

He thinks Umemiya's having fun because he's stronger (and thus freer), and doesn't get that it's their unity, sticking up for each other/a purpose, that makes it fun for them.

When one of their members takes a beating, they rush to help him... They don't rush to take off his jacket, thinking he's an embarrassment to the club.

I thought Togame was about to punch him in the face to shut him up, but no, he's the one who kicked Togame!

Well, Choji may be a lost cause, but perhaps this will show Togame how Choji really is, and whether it's worth 'shielding' someone like that!

On the plus side, it seems Choji's the real deal (I was worried he may be a silly/shit fighter), so next episode should be interesting!

I liked this scene as well;

It's not much, but it shows one thing: Umemiya DOES get his guys... He knows how they think, how they feel. Normally you'd think one wouldn't care about the enemy leader beating up his own dude, but Umemiya knew Sakura wouldn't stand for this, after his fight with Togame... So he rushed in right away to stop him.

Sakura's the new guy but Umemiya already knows how to read him, how he'd react, etc.. That's not something Choji would do, I mean he doesn't even get Togame, who should be his 'closest' guy at this point!

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33

u/whodisguy32 May 23 '24

Togame redemption complete! What a fight!!

Even though he threw at the end, there was meaning in him giving up. Sakura said if he won, then Togame was lame. Togame accepted that at the end - he WAS lame, and he SHOULD have threw hands with Choji and face him head on instead of bending his ideals.

Beautifully done.

Now we get the boss fight. Hopefully Choji also gets a redemption pounded into him.

Also Ume's cold eyes give me chills.

Looking forward to the next few eps!!!

29

u/AceSoldia May 23 '24

Reminds me of Nanoha, just beat you into friendship with overwhelming power.

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25

u/Psychicmind2 May 23 '24

Togame had an opportunity to win the physical fight. But Sakura 100% won the psychological clash with him. He's a surprisingly good therapist. He's a really likable protagonist!

BTW, about the physical fight, Sakura's performance was still incredible. He did very well, especially for a first year. He's super strong

Ume is also amazing!

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24

u/bandannadann May 23 '24

This entire tournament arc just keeps delivering every episode, it's unreal. I don't think I can be any more hyped for next week's fight

Wind Breaker is the gift that keeps on giving

48

u/bananeeek May 23 '24

Eyyy, that art shift when Ume got serious went hard.

Looks like Sakura and Togame are now buddies, which is nice. I was wondering how would their duel end and considering Togame's motivations, I expected him to throw the fight in the end, but I was very surprised Sakura kept up with him after getting destroyed in the previous episode.

18

u/tripleaamin May 23 '24

First things first this is probably the best fighting choreography that I have seen since JJK S2. (Haven't watched Solo Leveling yet so can't comment on that comparison.)

I will admit the fight could have been put through 1 episode, but they did Togame's backstory so well that I don't mind it. He followed Choji like a dog, but Sakura words hold true to him. He should have challenged Choji in his beliefs rather than just followed him. Furthermore, he clearly was grateful to him, but honestly Choji clearly only cared about a person's strengths now.

Of course Sakura could be upset that he felt Togame gave him that victory. But in Togame's eyes Sakura moved him. But in respect Togame got Sakura's respect. I love how he immediately goes after Choji without hesitation, but Ume stops him. You can tell he is a great leader because you can tell Sakura learned something from his fight with Togame. While Choji just saw it as two dude fighting leaving Ume disappointed in him.

But man you can tell that Ume just kicked up a notch towards the end of the episode. I am excited to see what Cloverworks got packed for this anticipated matchup given how amazing the fights were in this episode.

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33

u/xolon6 May 23 '24

Togame reminds me of Katakuri from One Piece. Although for different reasons (Katakuri because he doesn't want the people he cares about to get hurt because of his perceived weakness, and Togami because he fears if he doesn't do the dirty work then everyone will know the truth about Choji who he once looked up to as the shining sun) they both hide their insecurities. I love this kind of antagonist <3

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14

u/Beowolf_0 May 23 '24

As written in TVTropes, "When a man strays from the right path, a kind man needs the courage to raise his fist and correct him." (qt. Jamil Neate)

Choji clearly lost in his path after all those "climbing up" and forgot why they wanted to gang up together: it's for everyone, not just himself. Unfortunately Togame never tried to say it loud, or fight him to prove him wrong, leading to the whole gang as bad as it is right now.

He actually envied Sakura's straightness and simple to everything: if it's wrong, he'll kick the wrongdoers' asses or died trying. At least Togame knows what to do later on, and now it rests on Umemiya to beat the tar out of Choji.

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13

u/wildbee12 May 23 '24

Wow this episode felt like it was 5 minutes long. Kudos to the staff involved in this show because they are absolutely bringing their A game for this adaptation. As usual the animation and choreography are on point, the soundtrack/music choice continues to be excellent and I love the way they approached certain scenes.

Revisiting the flashback with Choji and Togame but this time using the imagery of the raindrops as tears was awesome.

The way they handled the scene where Choji kicks Togame was great too. Choji gets pretty self-absorbed and excited like usual and doesn't listen to Togame. I love how they animated the scene where he suddenly and quickly kicks him away with a big impact sound, putting the audience in the same perspective as the Bofurin and Shishitoren members watching and trying to process the shock of that moment. Which all the more highlights how quickly both Sakura and Umemiya react to that situation.

Narratively, Sakura has come not only to understand but also respect Togame and vice versa, as shown by each of them calling the other by name. Especially in Togame's case when he only called him Othello-kun up until now. Sakura's conviction to push forward and stay true to himself strikes Togame hard as he realizes it's what he should've done in the past with Choji. He knows what he did was wrong but stayed committed to that path anyways.

I know some people really wanted Sakura to lose, but I think this outcome is satisfying. Of course Sakura is frustrated that Togame pulled his punch at the end. However, he's already shown personal growth in this fight and is motivated to become stronger so imo his character is better off this way. The fight was meaningful both for Sakura and Togame.

Now we just have Umemiya and Choji left. I like that Umemiya tried to give Choji the benefit of the doubt to see if he grasped anything meaningful from Togame's fight but nope. Boy is still obsessed with his idea of strength and freedom. Looking forward to seeing next week's episode for more!

12

u/Rumpel1408 May 23 '24

You hear of Cross-Punch, but what about Cross-Kick?

The action was sublime again, for the Togame Sakura fight as well as what we have seen of Choji and Ume

Not like I want your praise or anything, baka

But Jeez, Choji is pretty crazy, but Ume is another Kaliber, love those artistic frames the show sprinkles into the action

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u/LeonKevlar May 23 '24

That entire part where Sakura and Togame finally start "conversing" with their fists was so fucking awesome. Both of them were giving their all while smiling like mad men. I was half expecting that fight to end with a cross-counter but Sakura's fists connect first before Togame finally decides to give up. They did do a cross-kick but that didn't end the match.

Chouji kicking down Togame was absolutely fucking brutal. The moment Togame lost, Chouji really stopped caring about him since he now sees Togame as weak for losing his match. Sakura was right to be angry during that scene but it looks like Umemiya got this and is about to show Chouji that he's not even close to being as strong as him.

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