Wind Breaker Episode 9 Review: A Well-Deserved Beating

Wind Breaker Episode 9 went almost just like we expected it to go. Head down to see how the episode was in detail.

Wind Breaker Episode 8 Recap

This episode concluded with an intense fight between Jo and Sakura. Previously, Jo had been passively accepting hits from Sakura, frustrating our protagonist. Initially ruthless, Jo now appears defeated and apologetic, realizing he had been blindly following his friend’s ideologies without understanding them. Admitting he no longer knows his purpose, Jo reveals he was just emulating his captain, Choji, which drained his will.

Sakura, refusing to let Jo wallow in self-pity, scolds him and challenges him to a real fight. Unmoved by Jo’s excuses, Sakura asserts that Jo is just as scummy as his teammates and decides to knock some sense into him through a fierce battle. The fight is one of the best yet, with both fighters fully engaged, providing a satisfying watch without any interruptions.

While this fight is a highlight, the real anticipation is for the upcoming clash between Choji and Ume. Ume, who hides his inner ferocity behind a gentle demeanor, promises an exciting showdown.

Wind Breaker Episode 9 Review

This episode starts with the part where the fight is getting serious between Ume and Choji. The confrontation was intense, and they both resorted to hand-to-hand combat without thinking about any consequences. It was not at all one-sided, as both parties took damage, but at the same time, it was apparent that Choji was more psychologically affected. While fighting, Choji uses an acrobat-influenced technique where he uses his full body to land a mix of blows and kicks. On the other hand, Ume is more of a traditional guy who relies on his very powerful punches and extraordinary speed.

You could feel that Choji could not believe that he was getting beaten by someone, as he has always been the one to beat people up. Whatever moves Choji tried, and however much he increased his speed, Ume was able to land his own heavy punches on Choji. Another interesting thing that we saw is how it was not as if Ume was protecting himself from the blows. On the contrary, he was facing all the beatings without protecting himself and was just focusing on letting Choji exhaust himself by constantly moving around.

Here, the main issue with Choji is definitely a mental and psychological one, as we see him acting almost like a kid when he feels he is being cornered. It is very clear how much of a thrashing he needed to set his mind straight and think like a human again. The fighting itself did not last very long, but the inner turmoil of Choji covered the latter half of the episode. In this section, we see how Choji tries to understand the wrong decisions he made in his life and realize how bad of a leader he has been for his subordinates.

The ending was obviously a very evident one. You could already see what was coming, and everything went along that very common shounen route. Let’s just say in the end, the famous talk no jutsu triumphed again, and we get an all’s well that ends well kind of moment.

Verdict

Today’s episode was a nice one. I would have preferred Choji to get a bit more beating than what was shown, but the last move by Ume was definitely a satisfactory one. It was pretty annoying how illogical Choji’s reason was for treating his friends like that. But again, he kind of redeemed himself towards the end. Now, it is a mystery how things will go from now on for both Bofurin and Shishitoren.

Watch this series on Crunchyroll.

Also Read: Wind Breaker Episode 8 Review: A Long But Brutal Conversation