English Dub Review: Wind Breaker “SHARED FRONTLINES”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Sakura, Nirei, and Suo, having saved the girl chased by thugs whose name is Shizuka Narita, run into a suited team called Roppo Ichiza, led by someone named Kanji Nakamura.  The Roppo Ichiza is a strong fighting team that had many clashes with Bofurin before the school was unified.  However, there is no conflict between the two groups at present.  The group goes to Burlesque Bar Ougi, where Kanji and Shizuka work, and sees Tsubakino pole dance while his two lieutenants are sitting at a nearby table.

Our Take:
A new part of town usually means encountering new faces that pose a threat or lend a helping hand, depending on the situation.  Keisei Street is no exception, as a rescue attempt resulted in Sakura and the others meeting a new team running the streets: Roppo Ichiza.  Like Bofurin, this particular group of well-trained fighters, led by Kanji Nakamura, fights to protect the people and their entertainment arts. They also appear to have a long history with Bofurin before the school’s existence, but thankfully, there is no bad blood between them now.  However, there is one between them and the thugs targeting Shizuka Narita, which will likely be delved into deeper as the arc progresses.  Additionally, the episode reveals that Tsubakino also makes for an impressive pole dancer outside his role as one of the “Four Kings,” a shocking revelation shown at the end of last week’s episode.  But hey.  If he enjoys doing it, then I have no objection.
Unsurprisingly, “SHARED FRONTLINES” is another episode that serves as a laidback break in between the fighting.  It also offers a cliffhanging conclusion that won’t be resolved until next week, with the thugs returning to retrieve Narita, along with a new, ruthless gang known as GRAVEL entering the scene.  The perks of being an anime fan are always the most frustrating, especially the action-packed ones.  However, that doesn’t mean it didn’t have plenty of good moments to warrant this break, with one of them being Narita’s song she performed at the bar.  While it’s not a unique approach to this sequence presentation-wise, it does highlight the beauty and charm of Narita as a singer.  The episode also showcases Kanji as a force to be reckoned with, given his role as Roppo Ichiza’s captain and Narita’s bodyguard.  Outside his lovable persona, Kanji carries a ruthless edge like Sakura’s, but will it be enough to overcome the GRAVEL team from a worn-down district?  Along with its white-knuckled animation style for the battle scenes, the episode continues to hit hard with its subtle character moments and provides a new challenger looking to test Bofurin’s strength.