Wind Breaker Season 2

Episode 24

Probably the most negative thing I have to say about this episode of Wind Breaker is that they reveal the real name of 'FRANK,' so I unfortunately can't keep referring to him as 'FRANK.' Yamato Endo is a perfectly cool name, and him properly debuting in the story represents a calculated, effective escalation. It's a strong upswing at the last stage for this stretch of the show that tripped over itself in its rush a couple times. But man, it was just really funny to be able to call this guy FRANK, and I'm going to miss that.

This section with Endo is a very clearly coded coda, though. The episode opens on Wind Breaker's customary post-fight make-up meal. See, everyone's fine! Even Suzuri's just hanging out, totally chill! It's funny the way cutting to things laid out this way raises further questions about what actually went down in the intermittent time that was skipped. It enhances just enough of the mystery about who FRANK was and what could have happened. This escalates the tension to this story that had somewhat been deflated by the multiple ill-timed dramatic deployments of the past couple episodes. Viewers know there's something climactic waiting behind a rewound story setup, and can be primed for it to arrive.

Wind Breaker has awareness of its structure and presentation in its strongest moments. That's apparent just as the episode does turn back the clock, presenting the soon name-checked Endo as a nihilistic badass who will nonchalantly hop down onto the street from a couple stories up…only to clutch his knees in pain immediately afterward and realize that those kinds of action movie maneuvers don't work in real life (as real as Wind Breaker occupies, anyway). He's intimidating, but he's still a person, as all these boys are in spite of their acrobatic attacks and galaxy-brain fashion sense. Endo was even one of these boys, at one point.

That's the key reveal here: that Endo is a former Furin fighter himself, and something of a living legend on top of that. The community service angle of the group apparently didn't stick with him until he graduated/dropped out/whatever it is feral fight-boys do in leaving a school like that. But even with his antagonist act, Endo hasn't truly struck out on his own—he's simply been absorbed into the denser, more compromised systems of the adult world. You know, the one that oppresses the GRAVEL guys in their home district and seeks to kidnap a girl like Shizuka for petty, self-serving reasons.

None of this is explicitly spelled out, of course. It's simply apparent to any adults in the audience that know what lies on the other side of graduation, from youth, school, and everything else. Much like Keisei Street and Roppo Ichiza at the start of this arc, Endo represents life and the broader world beyond Furin. He's not even on any "side," as shown by how he shrugs off an incited fight with all the heavy-hitter characters and resolves not to bother trying to retrieve Shizuka. He's above all this, the teams and schools and kids' stuff. Those are some nicely animated attacks being thrown by Kanji, Tsubaki, and the others before Endo just dips, though.

So Endo's more of a representation than a character in his own right at this point, but he's a cool representation who does so effectively for the more well-defined characters. For Sakura specifically, Endo stands as a reflection of his previous self: a would-be lone wolf who could get by on his own. It clearly gets to Sakura somehow, seeing that Endo is as far beyond him as he could potentially be beyond Bofurin. It allows Sakura to doubt his character development, feeling accepted among others and learning to rely on them, in a believable way that doesn't just come across as regressing him for drama's sake. And it helps that Sakura's shown fighting back against these bad vibes later, through something as quaint as game night with the guys.

Feelings get left in the air as the episode comes full-circle to the compulsory meal shared among made-up enemies. It does feel like Suzuri got cowed somewhat quickly, but I guess I can't complain too much about them not spending enough time on that when I was already unimpressed enough by his previous lead-up. It's fine enough as an aside to the more conceptually meaty stuff with Endo and Sakura. It leaves the main character feeling like he has somewhere new to go as he realizes how the world expands beyond him and his schoolboy shenanigans. And I also don't mind seeing these guys bond over rounds of Mario Kart. It's almost enough to make me not hate Suzuri's silly game fixation. For all my pacing-dissatisfied grumblings the past few weeks, it means I feel this section of Wind Breaker does go out on a pleasant note. I look forward to what looks, for all the world, to be Sakura's performance review next week.

Rating:

Wind Breaker is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Thursdays.

Chris has watched at least 100 anime, and really really really really really thought most of them were at least okay. You can peruse his thoughts on those and other subjects over on his blog, or see which cartoon girlfriends he's reposting art of over on his BlueSky.