REVIEW: ‘Wind Breaker’ Episode 3 — “The Man Who Stands At The Top”

After Wind Breaker Episode 3, there’s no doubt that the series, based on the manga by Satoru Nii, is one of the must-watches of the current anime season. The colorful ensemble continues growing, with Haruka Sakura (Yuma Uchida) leading the charge. With new key players, some terrific jokes, and the introduction to a possible antagonist, “The Man Who Stands At The Top” is another engaging and entertaining installment.

Wind Breaker Episode 3 succeeds due to how well-established our main character already is. There’s nothing about his gleeful brawl with Kyōtarō Sugishita (Koki Uchiyama) that is surprising. After two episodes of being met with kindness from his classmates, Sakura is ready and willing to jump headfirst into a fight again. Sugishita is the current strongest in his grade and another student who sought the school out for what it stands for. While Sakura lands a nasty kick, drawing blood, it’s not what quells Sugishita’s violence. Instead, it’s an announcement from the mysterious representative of Fuurin High School, Hajime Umemiya (Yuichi Nakamura).

This is where some of the broadest comedy comes into play. Sugishita quickly reaches out to make amends with Sakura despite the latter not understanding. Sugishita and Sakura aren’t getting along, but the former extends his hand to shake and make peace for now. It’s a little moment, yet it exposes so much about Sakura. We watch as he short circuits over a handshake, shaken by the idea of physical touch with no intent to harm. Despite his prickly behavior, it’s one first instance of him accustoming himself to the warmth and camaraderie of the Fuuri High School defense squad.

Perhaps one of the greatest additions to the series is Tōma Hiragi (Ryōta Suzuki), a third-year and one of the Four Heavenly Generals. His suffering is evident as he pops multiple antacids to combat the heartburn the stress of his position gives him. It’s a hilarious detail that works against the severity of his character design. His character, alongside Sakura, Sugishita, Nirei (Shōya Chiba), and Sou (Nobunaga Shimazaki), make up a wonderfully rag-tag group as they set off on their mission to patrol the streets of their town to keep things safe.

Hiragi leads the group, with each General taking point with their groups. This allows for the characters we’ve met to bounce off of one another, further developing their personalities. Nirei remains cowardly, which levels out against Sou’s calm and aloof demeanor. Sakura continues to poke at Sugishita for instigating their fight, but the two are clearly more alike than either would like to accept. It’s not all about fights, and we find the group at one point helping paint the exterior of a local shop. Defending their town means everything from stopping competing towns from encroaching on their territory to halting an older woman from trying to climb a set of unstable ladders.

It makes sense why Higari is gobbling down a handful of his stomach medicine by the end of their excursion. Their trip isn’t without incident as they watch a Fuurin Middle Schooler run from the territory of a competing gang, Shishitoren, its members behind him. Here is where Sakura and Sugishita show where they align as they quickly jump into action. The two waste little time dispatching the one attacker in a swift, brief action sequence. But Wind Breaker Episode 3 smartly goes against our expectations with the arrival of Jō Togame (Yūichirō Umehara), the group’s second in command.

Compared to the members of Fuurin, Togame is ruthless. He punishes the members of his group who lost to Sakura, making a spectacle of what he perceives as “weakness.” The animation brings out the moment’s brutality with discomforting sound effects. It’s a bruising, tense sequence, as the screen darkens so that we only see the blood splatters from each of Togame’s blows. As expected, this doesn’t sit well with Sakura, who tries to call Togame out. However, Togame promises their battle will happen later and on more official grounds before leaving.

Wind Breaker Episode 3 ends with yet another new character as we get our first look at the head of Fuurin, Umemiya. The Fuurin members tell Umemiya about the day and the faceoff with Shishitoren. The first years are clearly in shock over the first impression as Umemiya toils away in a rooftop garden, thrilled over what’s grown as he eagerly awaits a summer barbecue. It’s a sweet and wholesome introduction to a character who, likely, has much more going on beneath the surface.

Due to the many varying personalities, there are moments when Wind Breaker captures a spirit similar to Haikyu!. Or, perhaps just sports anime in general, with Sk8 the Infinity being another recent comparison. And it’s all the better because of it. This is a show about an ensemble, which means every character needs to be able to hold their own in a scene. That, along with the distinctive tone and aesthetic of the town, gives way to a series overflowing with abundant personality.

Wind Breaker Episode 3 delivers high-impact energy that makes viewers wish there were already a season’s worth of episodes to binge. An addicting watch that makes us want to watch more with instant gratification, the series is endlessly enjoyable and just keeps getting better.

Wind Breaker Episode 3 is out now on Crunchyroll.