After the brutal battles between the two factions, Sakura learns some valuable lessons on how to become the leader of the Bofurin one day. Read more in our Wind Breaker episode 10 review.
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The Wind Breaker episode 10 review
After the series of fights that took place in the last few episodes, Umemiya decides the Bofurin, along with Togame and Choji, should have some takeout to celebrate.
While eating, both Shishitoren members apologize for their actions, with Togame accepting whatever punishment they decide. Umemiya elects Sakura as the one to decide their punishment and the protagonist basically tells him to act like a good person and not like how he behaved in episode three. Choji soon questions Umemiya on how he has fun while at the top and the Bofurin boss responds by saying he enjoys having fun with other people and eating meals with them, something which Choji remembers he enjoyed doing (minus the food part) before he became a leader.
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Umemiya elaborates that he became the Bofurin leader because it would allow others to be happy and safe, thereby allowing him to continue having fun. He adds that people related to his motives and aided him in reaching the top spot, as well as that his wishes weren’t just his anymore, which is why he can’t lose. Soon, the Bofurin leave and Choji and Togame don’t know how to move forward after this besides apologizing, though they vow to find that answer together.
The main cast return to their turf and enter Kotoha’s café to celebrate Sakura’s first “conversation” (i.e. his fight with Togame). Umemiya explains that using your fists is a primitive way of communicating with other people and how you convey something to other people, like Sakura “saying” he considered Togame a friend during their fight. Sakura becomes angered and says he can’t accept other people like how Umemiya can, but Nirei points out that Sakura said he wasn’t lame in an earlier episode.
Umemiya explains that confronting someone and wanting to know them is needed to “talk” with and understand them. Because Sakura accepted Togame, Umemiya says he’ll be able to reach the top. Sugishita, enraged with all the talk of Sakura taking his leader’s place, grabs a chair and attempts to attack the main character, but Kotoha yells at them to take the brawl outside, concluding the episode.
Lessons for the new guy
It’s obvious that this episode is meant to give Sakura some lessons for further character development by contrasting the characters of Umemiya and Sakura. While one fights only for himself to become the strongest, the other fights for the people he cares about and depend on him to make things okay. Sakura also doesn’t accept people (initially, at least) and believes only he can get to the top spot alone, while the support from others allowed Umemiya to become the leader of the Bofurin and he accepts those around him.
It’s also pointed out to Sakura that he’s a good person since he didn’t dole out some brutal punishment to Togame and wanted to defend him from Choji when the latter attacked Togame in episode eight. Given that the “conversation” topic was introduced a while back, it’s good to see that it’s being used to help Sakura and us understand what it means to convey a message through fists. It’s also smart to use Umemiya to show what Sakura lacks and needs in order to take his spot one day.
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Choji and Togame don’t take up much screen time here, but seeing that they’re still remorseful over their prior actions is a good sign since they don’t just move on from it. It was also heartwarming to see Togame say that they’ll find an answer on what to do next together and soon after cry because Choji was acting like his usual self again. This scene, as well as the scenes involving the Bofurin, include violins and pianos that perfectly encapsulate the maturation these characters go through as they learn important lessons that will serve them well in the future.
The humor this time is decent. One of the funniest moments was when Sakura was drinking coffee when Umemiya mentioned that fists could be used to tell someone you like them. This results in Sakura spitting his coffee onto his leader’s face and Suo referring to it as a “poison mist.” The other was when Sugishita picked up a chair to attack Sakura and the latter got angry and willing to fight with him while Kotoha yelled at them to step outside. Besides that, most of the runtime is focused on character development for Choji, Togame, and Sakura and explaining how Umemiya became a leader.
Wind Breaker episode 10 gives us compelling answers as to how Umemiya got to where he is today and what Sakura needs to improve himself, alongside giving us a glimpse of Choji and Togame’s friendship returning to what it once was. With all the action in the previous episodes, this slower-paced episode is a welcome change.
Final score: 8/10
Wind Breaker can be streamed through Crunchyroll.
