For a story as simple in concept as running a relay, it seems hard to imagine how it could be so captivating, yet it manages to do exactly that in mere 23 episodes. The story starts off with a group of ten individuals who have been gathered together at the Chikuseisou dormitory, where it is revealed to them that they have actually joined the university's track club. Wanting to realise his dream of running in the Hakone Ekiden Haiji Kiyose, one of the main characters of the anime, uses his manipulative skills to persuade all the other residents to join him. There is resistance of course, at the beginning nobody takes him seriously, but throughout the story each member recognises their own reasons for running. Even when they are constantly being put down by others who do not believe in them, they do. It is easy to lose focus on your own, but they are united by the team.
The characters are what make the story for me. With a cast of characters as big as ten, developing each and every person as an individual is not an easy job, but KazeTsuyo carries it out almost effortlessly. All characters have character so to say, they are not there to support the main characters by just being there, they have their own goals and little quirks. Without even one of them the story would not have been the same. The characters are all memorable, their designs are easily distinguishable and the interactions between them are a pleasure to watch. Kakeru Kurahara seemed almost unlikable at first, but throughout the story little glimpses of his past are revealed. As the story unfolds, just as the characters themselves, I started seeing a glimmer of hope for these amateurs to succeed. Prince's growth in particular was fascinating and the one that made this all the more relatable.
It is an inspiring story to say the least. Like their little fanclub I found myself rooting for these guys, suffering through their lows and celebrating their highs. And as a proper sports anime should, it made me want to grab my running shoes and find out for myself what it means to run. The original soundtrack created a nice atmosphere, which did not dominate but remained in the background and only enhanced the scenes. Composed by none other than Yuuki Hayashi, who has made the soundtracks for anime such as Ballroom e Youkoso, Haikyuu!! and Boku no Hero Academia among others, the OST remains to be one of my all time favourites, which I find myself listening to for hours on end.
The art was very realistic and seemed fitting for the kind of serious story it was going for. Moreover, it was unique and refreshing. As mentioned previously, the character designs were extremely good. No two characters looked the same, well, if we exclude Jota and Joji obviously. While the animation was smooth, the backgrounds suffered a bit. In races the runners were often seen being animated in CGI. It was a minor inconvenience, however, as I only started noticing it during my second watch of the series. The intense races more than make up for the fact.
As a sports anime fan I found this series to be like a breath of fresh air, it stayed true to the sport and provided insight to those interested. It was humorous, intense and emotional all at the same time. It is a good starting point to those not familiar with the genre and personally, I can not recommend this enough as it is not just about running but perhaps there is something more to take away from it.