Anxiety.
Pain.
Monotony.
The realities of life can be.. crushing, and it is natural human phenomenon to want to
shrink and avoid these confrontations rather than face them head on.
Allegorically, people run - from responsibility, from self-improvement, from becoming the person
they aspire to be.. because of fear.
A meaning that is often attributed to running tends to be escape.
Comfort zones are important, but an over reliance on them can lead to stagnation, and ignorance
of the fact that life is a constant process can leave someone woefully short-sighted.
This is not healthy, nor is it productive, yet a lot of us do it.
But what if we can train ourselves to believe in something different, and to think of the
act of running not as an escape, but as a chase?
A tiny shift in perspective can make all the difference, and all it takes is a push.
Or in some cases, a series of pushes.
Run With The Wind is a character-driven slice-of-life and sports anime hybrid that examines the
pains, struggles, and eventually, the rewards that belief, connection, and lofty goals can
bring.
And it’s also a show that speaks to me extremely deeply, in an almost therapeutic manner due
to how it has a knack for understanding human psychology and applying it to an emotionally
charged, wholesome story.
Kiyose Haiji is a former runner recovering from a terrible injury who attends Kansai
University.
Rather than concern himself much with school, he is fixated on ensuring that all 10 available
spots in his dorm building are filled for some reason.
One night, he witnesses a young shoplifter named Kakeru running away from the person
he stole from, and becomes entranced by his movements and determined to have him become
the tenth roommate.
Soon it becomes clear why he’s been doing this: because in signing a lease, these boys
have unintentionally agreed to become part of the Kansai University track and field team.
And Haiji’s goal for them is to train more fiercely than ever and compete in the Hakone
Ekiden, the premiere team event in Japan taking place on a scenic mountaintop.
Obviously, this is met with unanimous shock and incredulity, but haiji’s persistence
slowly starts to show results, and the members of the team soon come to realize some incredible
things about themselves.
Other than Kakeru, none of these young men were really genuinely struggling in life,
but the majority of them were sort of going through the motions of a college student’s
life.
And without giving running a try, I’m sure that most if not all of them would have lived
decent lives.
But in the end, the ten decided that they would not settle for decent, and aimed for
something greater.
Because thanks to Haiji, they realized the ineffable value of the act of running and
what it can mean.
Run With The Wind absolutely champions perspective.
It encourages you to just take a step back and see what you’re doing.
Don’t rush to achieve goals and skip what makes these experiences valuable.
Don’t lose sight of why you do things.
Take a breather.
And when you’ve gathered yourself, go again.
Because we all know what it’s like to be impulsive and rash and to do what we perceive
as the right things for the wrong reasons.
But without the proper mindset, you’re only hurting yourself.
It’s a story incredibly in tune with the mentality of both the athlete and the everyman,
viewpoints, peace of mind, and how they all intertwine.
It explains how making a sacrifice like this can help you re-evaluate the things you value
in an extremely beneficial way.
Of course, when applied to running, this sort of thing doesn’t come easy.
At first, it can be painful.
Excruciating, even.
But once you clear that hump, something special occurs.
Running
can be difficult and exhausting.
But change your mindset and it can be liberating.
The pain can represent something more.
For Kakeru, running is simultaneously his passion and a reminder of past mistakes, but
the friendships he forms help turn it into a strictly positive outlet.
For Nico-chan, it’s simple self-improvement.
For Shindo, it represented a chance to change his life for the better, to be a part of something
huge.
And for Haiji, it was.. something he needed to do, something his heart pleaded for.
Running means a lot of different things for a lot of different people but it’s all linked
with a sentimental thread, and that is the crux of the bonds formed within this team.
Yet, even if it varies from person to person, can there be a way to define running, to extrapolate
its meaning at a fundamental level?
One of the primary themes that Run With The Wind associates with it is something akin
to a deep feeling of freedom.
Unrestricted, clean liberation, detached from the pains of life.
It is an intimate, organic act.. just you, moving, gliding, flying.
Nothing can catch you.
And along with this, Haiji’s dream also gives them something to commit to, some structure
in their lives, a chance to be a part of something magnificent and a chance to form a brotherhood.
They all started running because it gave them this sense of liberation and commitment.
But they continued because they had formed a bond around running.
It represented their relationships and connections, the hard work they put into it together and
what it meant for each of them personally.
Predictably, liberation transitions into sentiment, and running is solidified as THE primary aspect
of these young men’s lives.
The idea of running the Hakone Ekiden turned from a distant, hilarious fantasy into an
attainable dream that represented all of this to each of the members.
And from here, maybe Kakeru found himself able to answer the question that Haiji proposed
to him near the beginning.
So..
What is running?
As I said, it’s different for everyone and it means freedom.
But Run With The Wind argues that what it is is an act that can remind you of what it
means to live and why life is worth living.
It grounds you and gives you pause.
The feel of your heart pounding, the sweat on your brow, the soreness the next day, the
cheers of your teammates pushing you on..
It helps you take a minute to see what matters.
And everyone could use a minute to see what they want in life, to almost physically feel
a connection with others through such a natural act.
Running means freedom from pain and worries, but it doesn’t mean escape.
It is not a trip to a fantasy land.
It is a method of re-centering, forgetting for just a moment, balancing and seeing things
from a new perspective.
Running can be anything, but as a concept, it’s not about running away.
It’s about moving towards something - from minor incremental goals to grand endeavours,
and all of the value that this can bring.
Sacrifice really isn’t all that hard when the rewards are so palpable, and Haiji’s
leadership was instrumental in making everyone see this.
Run With The Wind isn’t really a show that does anything super unique, but the combination
of the extremely vibrant cast, the interactions that are both heartfelt and entertaining,
the profound journeys that some of them go through, and how the act of running works
as a sentimental thread of emotional context that links them all to the common theme of
freedom and comeradery.. it all adds up to something much more than the sum of its parts.
The character development is wonderful, Yuki Hayashi’s score is great, the background
art is spectacular and save for a couple of derpy looking character models, the visual
direction is pretty consistently inspired.
I really like this show and it’s a shoe-in as a new favourite of mine as long as the
quality doesn’t severely dip.
If you’ve watched this video without having seen the show for some reason, and if you
feel intrigued by anything I’ve said here, then give it a shot!
I can’t guarantee that you’ll like it, because as I said, this is a show that strikes
a deep chord that appeals to me personally - but I can guarantee an endearing story full
of heart.
Many thanks for watching.