Wind Breaker – Episode 3 “The Man Who Stands At The Top” Recap & Review

The Man Who Stands At The Top

Episode 3 of Wind Breaker begins with Sakura and Sugishita entering into a scuffle. Here, Suo relays that Sugishita is a fanboy of the leader of Bofurin, and other members. He was so passionate even in middle school, that only he was allowed to be called a member of the Bofurin. So since Sakura said that he wanted to be at the top, it was a direct insult to “the man who stands at the top” and hence, Sugishita’s attack.

Quite unlike everybody’s expectations though, Sakura manages to kick Sugishita and their fight comes to a standstill with an announcement. It’s Bofurin’s representative, Hajime Umemiya. Everybody in the room stand still out of respect. Umemiya asks the newcomers to enjoy, not get into a fight on the first day and protect the town.

The entire sequence is hilarious as Sugishita nods like a worshipper and tries to wipe the blood off of his face, now that his favourite Umemiya asked everybody to not fight on the first day. 

Suo manages to make Sakura and Sugishita call a truce and they shake hands, albeit with a bit too much emotion. Sakura’s fellow classmate jump on his and praise him for his fighting skills. Sakura feels appreciated and part of a community, like he’s home, and smiles in acknowledgement. 

At this time, their seniors call the class out. They meet Hiragi, who is responsible for Sakura’s class, exclaiming about the group’s tardiness while counting till milliseconds. Sakura recognises him from when he saved him and Kotoha. Somebody takes Kotoha’s name and Hiragi frantically shuts them up.

It seems Kotoha and Umemiya  have some kind of a relationship since Hiragi mentions that if Umemiya gets to know about Kotoha being in danger, Hiragi would be “coughing blood”. Saying this, Hiragi pops a few pills for an upset stomach named gas-kun (!!!).

Meanwhile, Nirei comically jots down this added information about gas-kun in his Bofurin journal. The entire scene is top-tier comedy with a fantastic comic timing. 

Nirei then informs Sakura about the structure of Bofurin. Under Umemiya, who is the Bofurin representative, there are four kings, each of them are like captains for one class in each grade. Hiragi is one of the four and responsible for Sakura’s class. He further explains that Bofurin is based on four heavenly kings and Sakura’s class is in Tamon team.

Then the classes with the captain proceed to patrol the town, much to Sakura’s dismay who was expecting some sort of action and drama. He’s further comically disappointed that their job involves no fights as they paint over graffiti laden walls for shopkeepers and residents. 

The troop reach the end of one side of the town which is divided by a tunnel. Nirei frantically keeps Sakura from crossing across the tunnel and reveal that the tunnel works as a boundary between Bofurin and another team called Shishitoren. Unlike Bofurin, Shishitoren are ruthless, their name means “devotees of power”.

At this moment, the group sees a student from their side of the town with a swollen eye and being chased by members of Bofurin. Sakura and Sugishita immediately react and kick one of the members much to the horror of everybody watching.

Amidst this tussle, one of the most powerful fighters and second in-command of Shishitoren enter – Jo Togame. Unlike his aura, he also seems chill until he starts brutally beating the team mate who was kicked by the Bofurin duo for being weak. Sakura almost picks a fight with Togame but he leaves saying that he would beat Sakura at an appropriate place and leaves. 

After this episode, Hiragi is popping a handful of “gas-kun” pills. They take the beaten middle schooler to report to Umemiya. The group enter the rooftop where a cheerful Umemiya is tending to his vegetables quite opposite to what is expected from a gang leader. Suo comments that he looks like a kindergarten school kid and the episode ends while the rest of gape at Umemiya’s demeanour. 

The Episode Review

Wind Breaker is absolutely hilarious! This episode was not only engaging but exciting and I found myself laughing at the comedy most times. I mean look at Hiragi popping digestion pills every now and then, and Sakura and his friends calling the gastric pills “gas-kun” –  peak comedy.

Also, this episode has so many ironic laugh-out-loud moments. Like look at the “the man who stands at the top” behaving like a kindergarten child, all bubbly and cheerful, tending to his eggplants and green peppers!

On top of this Sakura’s reactions are priceless, considering he had quite the opposite image of the leader of Bofurin in his mind. The art is absolutely spectacular. The action sequences and the panels with different perspectives is a cherry on the top and enhances viewing experience.

Wind Breaker is an astonishing balance of  equal parts comedy and action. We are not even 5 episodes in, and we find ourselves drawn to the well-written plot and likeable characters.