English Dub Review: Wind Breaker “Vow to Follow”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Tomiyama and Togame, far from worrying about their teammate who lost the battle, expel him from their team. While this particular spectacle shakes Sakura and the rest, Suo becomes unexpectedly emotional and wins against Minoru Kanuma, earning another win for Bofurin. The next match pits Toma Hiragi against Kota Sako, who shares a personal connection to one of the Four Kings of Bofurin.

Our Take:

The tournament between Bofurin and Shishitoren has already started strong, thanks to Sugishita and Suo showing off their impressive skills. However, the leaders of the Shishitoren didn’t seem too phased at all by their losses, meaning we’re about to experience some difficult obstacles in Bofurin’s quest for victory. On the bright side, this also means that the rest of the fights might be much longer and more intense than the first two. This is proven in this week’s episode, which has a member of the Four Kings tackling his most personal challenge yet.

The latest match-up in the high-stakes tournament has Toma Hiragi going toe-to-toe against another Shishitoren member, Kota Sako, who volunteers to fight him. In the fourth episode, we saw a bit of tension between the two fighters when Shishitoren challenged Bofurin to the competition, making us assume they shared a history long ago. In “Vow to Follow”, it’s revealed that they were friends long before the two went their separate ways, with Sako being inspired by Hiragi when he saved him from a group of bullies. However, when Hiragi decided to ally with Umemiya at Furin High, Sako took it personally and joined Shishitoren to get stronger enough to defeat him. But, as it turns out, Hiragi wanted to ensure Sako followed his own goal without his help.

“Vow to Follow” provided a near-perfect blend of action and drama. The match between Hiragi and Sako was undoubtedly one of the series’s highlights due to their formidable skills, with Sako favoring speed and Hiragi providing the muscle. The animation also effectively showcased the swiftness and impact of the choreography. However, it’s the relationship between the two former friends that made this battle more personal and emotional than the previous ones we’ve seen in the show. Of course, this is also just a taste of what’s to come, even though Bofurin is now three to none in the tournament.