The anime "Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru," which began airing in the fall of 2018, is set around the Hakone Ekiden marathon. It is based on the novel of the same name by Shion Miura. It has also been adapted into a manga by Sorata Umino, with a total of six volumes published. It has also become so popular that it has been adapted into a movie, a stage play, and a radio drama. In this article, we will introduce our own ranking of the characters that appear in "Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru," based primarily on the attractiveness of the anime and manga.
10th Place: Katsuta Hanako
Source: The Wind is Strong © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
The members of the Kansei University Track and Field Club, residents of the Aotake Apartments (commonly known as Aotake), are aiming to compete in the Hakone Ekiden. The person who has been appointed manager there is Katsuta Hanako. A former member of the tea ceremony club, she is the daughter of a greengrocer and usually helps out with work at home. This is Hanako's first time as a manager and she made many mistakes at first, but she seems to be working hard, reading books and so on. One day, when Kashiwazaki Akane (Oji) collapsed due to dehydration, her studies paid off and she was able to safely rescue the prince. She is friendly, approachable and has an honest personality, and when she first spoke to Kurahara Haseru (Kakeru), they didn't seem to have any particular connection, but she greeted him with a smile, saying, "You've been running a lot lately, haven't you?" and "I thought you were really fast. You still overtake me even though I'm on my bike."
9th Place: Yukihiko Iwakura (Yuki)
Source: The Wind is Blowing © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
9th place goes to Yuki, also known as Yukihiko Iwakura. He lives in Room 102 of Aotake and is a fourth-year student in the Department of Sociology. He was a former member of the Kendo Club. Yuki is such a brilliant student that he passed the bar exam in his third year of university. His hobby is clubbing. He seems to be on bad terms with Sakaguchi Yohei (King), and when the two argue, the Aotake members are often left exasperated, saying, "Here we go again..." Yuki is somewhat cold-hearted and not easily swayed by words like friendship or youth, so naturally he was opposed to aiming for the Hakone Ekiden. Even when the Aotake members one after another get motivated, Yuki is reluctant to give in, but he is actually one of the members' best runners. The first time they all ran together, they were able to run with ease, and he even slowed down his pace, thinking that arriving at the finish line too early would make them appear too motivated. Furthermore, he always placed within the top 10 in the school marathons in junior and senior high school. Yuki will be running the 6th section of the Hakone Ekiden.
8th Place: Yohei Sakaguchi (King)
Source: Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
8th place goes to Yohei Sakaguchi, also known as King. He lives in Room 202 of Aotake and is a fourth-year student in the Department of Sociology. He was a former member of the soccer club. He loves quiz shows and is very knowledgeable. He is a self-proclaimed quiz king, which is apparently why he got the nickname "King." In the manga, he is said to be from Kansai and is known for speaking in a Kansai dialect. King seems to be the type who gets angry easily and easily raises his voice. When the members of Aotake first decided to go running, Kakeru Kurahara said it was impossible for the Aotake members, who couldn't even live a normal life, to aim for the Hakone Ekiden, to which King retorted, "You know, we can't make a living from track and field like you can!" When Kakeru responded, "Then make a living from track and field," King replied with a burning fighting spirit, "Ugh, my low blood pressure has been cured because I got so excited this morning!" Furthermore, King is easily influenced by the atmosphere of the situation and doesn't think much about the future. He gives the impression of living in the moment. However, he also has a gentle side, as seen when he spoke to Kakeru in a friendly manner when he first arrived at Aotake, and when Kakeru was being picked on by his high school teammates, he protected him. King will be running the 8th section of the Hakone Ekiden.
7th Place: Takashi Sugiyama (Child Prodigy)
Source: The Wind is Strong © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
7th place goes to Takashi Sugiyama, also known as the Child Prodigy. He is a third-year student in the School of Commerce and lives in Room 205 of Aotake. Originally from the countryside, Takashi apparently walked 10km along mountain paths to school. Because he was always the best at whatever he did in the countryside, he earned the nickname "Shindou" (prodigy). Shindou was the first person to agree to Takashi's goal of competing in the Hakone Ekiden. The reason for this was that Kiyose Haiji (Heidi) was not the type to joke around and was the first person to ask him for a favor. He has a kind and compassionate personality, never forgetting a favor. Shindou's gentle appearance reflects his calm personality. The first time the members of Chikuseisou went out for an early morning run, the atmosphere was gloomy, but Shindou smiled and said, "But it kind of reminds me of club activities." Another time, when Kurahara Haseru (Kakeru) called Hirata Akihiro (Nicochan) an "old man," Shindou quietly remarked, "25 isn't old." Shindou will be running the fifth section of the Hakone Ekiden.
6th Place: Akihiro Hirata (Nikochan)
Source: The Wind is Strong © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
6th place goes to Akihiro Hirata, also known as Nikochan. He's a third-year student in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and lives in Room 104 of Aotake. He's one year younger than Kiyose Haiji (Heidi) and his friends, but repeated his second year. This makes him three years older than them. He's a heavy smoker and nicotine addict, earning him the nickname "Nicochan." He used to smoke so much that smoke spilled out of his room door and into the hallway, but he quit smoking after starting training for the Hakone Ekiden. Originally a track and field athlete, Nicochan was told in high school that his muscular build meant he wasn't suited to long-distance running. He was also worried about not being able to break 17 minutes for the 5000m at the time, and after failing to do so, he became negative about running. However, one day during practice, he heard the words "do your best," which he'd wanted most since high school, and afterward, he had a change of heart and began to take on new challenges. Nicochan will be running the 7th section of the Hakone Ekiden.
5th Place: Musa Kamara
Source: The Wind Rises © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
5th place goes to Musa Kamara. He lives in Room 203 of Aotake and is a second-year student in the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Originally from Tanzania, he's said to be intelligent enough to be a government-sponsored international student. Furthermore, Musa is apparently wealthy enough in Kenya to commute to school in a shuttle bus. He speaks Japanese fluently and politely. He's easily moved by passionate words, and when Shindou agrees to run the Hakone Ekiden after Heidi asks him for a favor for the first time, Musa agrees to run as well. While Musa may seem easily influenced, he seems to have a strong sense of self-confidence. During a track meet, Kakeru Kurahara encounters a former teammate who mentions an incident from Kakeru's past. Unaware of the details, the Aotake members are on the verge of distrusting Kakeru. Musa covers her ears, saying, "I'm not interested!" She then replies, "I don't know about his past, but after spending two weeks with him, I don't think he's a bad person!" Musa's kindness has helped keep the team together. Furthermore, she seems to love her teammates dearly. One day, Heidi challenged Kakeru to a 5000m race, saying, "If I win, let's aim for the Hakone Ekiden together." Kakeru won, and the Aotake members were starting to feel like giving up on Hakone. At that moment, Jota and George said that they wanted to run like Heidi and Kakeru, and asked, "Don't you all think the same?" In response, Musa said with a happy look on his face that he really enjoys running with everyone, and that this is the first time that everyone at Aotake has done something together. Musa will be in charge of the second section of the Hakone Ekiden.
4th Place: Akane Kashiwazaki (Prince)
Source: The Wind Rises © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
Fourth place goes to Akane Kashiwazaki, also known as Prince. He's a second-year student in the Faculty of Letters who lives in Room 204 of Aotake. He is a genuine manga nerd, and his room is filled with them. He is so obsessed with manga that he says, "It's no exaggeration to say I've learned everything important in life from manga." He is handsome, and his beauty is said to have earned him the nickname "Prince." Because he loves manga so much, Prince is always holed up in his room and seems to dislike exercise. When he runs, he always has Kiyose Haiji (Heidi) accompany him. Furthermore, when he ran his first 5,000 meters, he recorded a time of 33 minutes, 13.13 seconds. Prince seemed to dislike running, but as he practiced, he gradually began to change, his time improved, and he seemed to discover the joy of running. While Prince initially started running to protect his manga, he has stated that he understands the feelings of Heidi and Kurahara Kakeru, who love running as much as he loves manga, and at one point said he would run if it would crush Heidi and Kurahara's passion. Prince also has a caring side. This prince will be in charge of the first section of the Hakone Ekiden.
Third Place: Jotaro (Jota) and Jojiro (George)
Source: Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
Third place goes to the former soccer team members, twins Jotaro (Jota) and Jojiro (George). They are twin first-year students living in Room 201 at Aotake. Both love girls and are always looking for girlfriends. They decided to aim for Hakone Ekiden because it seemed like a fun race and they thought it might lead to a TV career. Jota and George are fun-loving, cheerful twins, but they also seem to have very honest personalities. Heidi challenged Kakeru to a 5000m race, promising that if she won, they would aim for the Hakone Ekiden together. Kakeru won, and the Aotake members were beginning to feel like giving up on Hakone. At that moment, Jota and George saw Heidi and Kakeru run and honestly commented that they wanted to run like them, and they even suggested they aim for Hakone. Jota and George's honest personalities make them indispensable members of Aotake. Jota will run the third leg of the Hakone Ekiden, and George will run the fourth leg.
Second Place: Kakeru Kurahara
Source: The Wind is Strong © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
Second place goes to Kakeru, also known as Kakeru Kurahara. He's a first-year student in the Department of Sociology who lives in Room 103 of Aotake. Kakeru once swore he'd never grown tired of running, but he seems to have little interest in anything else, so much so that Kiyose Haiji (Heidi) called him stupid for anything but running. During his high school years, he was skilled enough to win the 5000m at the Inter-High School Championships. However, despite being a "promising talent," he punched his then-coach, which led to his recommendation to a prestigious university being revoked and the team temporarily going on hiatus. Since then, he seems to have focused on running alone, and running for others is out of the question. Furthermore, Kakeru is not very open-minded, and even though he practices with the Aotake members and participates in track meets, he remains stubborn, insisting that he is not yet aiming to run in the Hakone Ekiden. However, after meeting Heidi and the other members of Takeseiso, he begins to change, discovering the meaning and joy of running as a "team," and eventually declaring that he is "seriously aiming to run in Hakone." Kakeru will be running the 9th section of the Hakone Ekiden.
1st Place: Kiyose Haiji (Heidi)
Source: The Wind Rises © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
1st place goes to Heidi, also known as Kiyose Haiji. He's a fourth-year student in the Faculty of Letters who lives in Room 101 at Aotake. In high school, Heidi was a runner at a strong school, but suffered a disarticulated fracture in her right knee, forcing her to stop running for the time being. However, after entering university, she gathered members and, after three years of waiting, finally gathered a group of people and aimed for the Hakone Ekiden. At Aotake, Heidi is in charge of everything, from cooking and cleaning to creating practice schedules, and it seems like she can do anything. Despite her dexterity, driving seems to be her weak spot. Despite this, Heidi is also known as the "Demon of Aotake." While gathering members for Aotake, Kakeru Kurahara, the 10th member, discovered Heidi and immediately told the Aotake members that they should aim for the Hakone Ekiden, but not a single person agreed. Determined to compete in the Hakone Ekiden at all costs, Heidi slowly cornered the members like a demon, using the fact that she had lent them money in the past and that she was responsible for everything at Aotake as an excuse. Furthermore, Aotake let them move in without telling them that it was a "training center for the track and field club." Once all 10 members were gathered, Heidi suddenly revealed the truth and declared her goal of competing in the Hakone Ekiden, demonstrating her fierce nature. While she has a fierce side, Heidi also keeps a close eye on the Aotake members and is kind and tolerant, always looking out for them when something happens. Heidi will be running the 10th section of the Hakone Ekiden.
Attractiveness Ranking Summary!
Source: "Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru" © Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track and Field Club Supporters Association
This article introduces a unique ranking of the characters in "Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru," based primarily on the anime and manga, based on their attractiveness. This work features characters with strong personalities. Please take the time to pay attention to each one of them. Thank you for reading to the end.
