It’s no secret I’m a fan of sports anime — my obsession with my favorite volleyball anime, Haikyuu, has been well documented and I just completed yet another rewatch since season 4 came back last week. You know when a film does some time of training sequence with cool music to move the story along? Sports anime is mainly just an extended training sequence. It takes you into it, slows you down, invites you to feel the pain and effort and growth of the characters alongside them.
I’ve wondered before though that there wasn’t a popular running anime (track or cross country) since every other sport seemed to be represented (I’ve watched ones about volleyball, swimming, basketball, ice skating, bicycling, tennis, men’s cheerleading, and soccer . . . and I’ve nowhere near exhausted the genre).
But I’m currently listening to a book about running culture in Japan and learning how huge it is there, especially Ekidens — long-distance relay races. So where was my anime for that?
Well, it turns out I just never looked hard enough because this week while searching a sports anime list (I may have been looking up “gay sports anime” — the genre is also notoriously queer, though it’s on the whole implicit, but if I’m going to watch a new anime I do factor this in) and Run with the Wind was listed. A one-season anime about an Ekiden team. And wow, it was just what I needed. I wish I felt well enough to go run right now. I wish I had a team or group to run with. Running is often thought of as a solo sport so watching a show brings out the team-as-family dynamic in a reluctant group of mostly amateur runners.
Here’s part of the write-up from the article recommending the show, Sports Anime Is Gay:
“The show focuses on two elite runners — Kakeru and Haiji — who are both seeking answers as to why they run, and most specifically the question of “do you love running?” There are three distinct love stories being told — the central implicit (and at times explicit!) romance between Kakeru and Haiji, the slow burn self-love of Kakeru, and the chosen familial bond between the ten members of the Kansei University running team. With a deep set of characters who each get time to breathe with their backstories, growth, and comfort with one another, there is something every queer person can find in Run with the Wind that they can relate to. I was also pleasantly surprised by how well the show handles race and xenophobia in the show — something I rarely see in most anime.”
I just finished the final episode and am still breathing with it. I’m always so thankful to discover new stories that move me and this was another one that felt a little bit made for me. And I would also rank it pretty high on my queer anime rating. Free! (the swimming anime) is still the gayest, even above the actually canonically gay ice-skating anime Yuri on Ice. But I’d rank Run with the Wind third, followed by Haikyuu (volleyball).
It terms of the best, Haikyuu is still on top of course. But interested parties should definitely check out Run with the Wind.
With Love,
Natalie