English Dub Review: Wind Breaker “STRENGTH FOR ANOTHER”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Sakura, Nirei, and Suo are called up to the roof of Furin High School.  Waiting for them are the Four Kings, their next-in-commands, and Sugishita, who’s helping Umemiya.  Having heard about the recent events from Tsubakino, Umemiya has called everyone here to tell the story of Endo, who was the mastermind behind the conflicts between KEEL and GRAVEL, and to explain the origins of the Bofurin unification.  As Umemiya, Hiragi, Tsubakino, Momose, and Mizuki join Furin High School and become a part of the Bofurin, what shadow is born as a result of this?

Our Take:

Undoubtedly, our encounter with Endo was truly an event to remember, even if the stakes weren’t as high as the confrontation with GRAVEL.  However, it also left us with more questions than answers, such as Endo’s history with Bofurin.  Thanks to the meeting with the Four Kings and the lieutenants, we managed to get some of the answers we’re dying to know about and more.  Following the team’s food break, Umemiya gathered the group together to discuss how Bofurin came to be, which started when Umemiya first arrived at the school.  But, as it turns out, there’s more to this origin than what we assumed, now that Endo has returned to the scene.

Umemiya established the unification as a way to form alliances with their defeated opponents. Initially, Furin was known for instigating chaos and violence through their challenges, but Umemiya aimed to change that tradition. However, Endo did not embrace this new approach, which ultimately led to him and his group leaving the school. This situation highlighted the differing ideologies of Umemiya and Endo regarding team dynamics, with Endo believing that the old ways were better suited for achieving dominance.  With Endo coming back to the scene to demolish the new tradition, Bofurin is in for the biggest fight of all time, assuming we get a third season on the way.

The season two finale of Wind Breaker utilized its exposition-filled structure to delve deep into Bofurin’s origins and give viewers a glimpse of what’s to come for the next season.  For the latter, we got a glimpse of the show’s next big villain, Takeshi, who’s seemingly more powerful than Endo, which would likely cause big trouble for the school if that’s the case.  The result is a conclusion worthy of the hype towards the next season and the heart that originated from Sakura’s journey and chemistry with his new allies.  Unfortunately, there’s no Season Three announcement as of yet, but we are getting a live-action adaptation of Wind Breaker in December, so that’s something to look forward to until then.  Given the excitement surrounding Takeshi’s reveal, it would be a grave mistake for the show’s creators not to proceed with a third season.  Until we know for sure about its future, I’m basking in the moment that we now have two successful seasons of one of the best anime series ever.