風が強く吹いている (Run with the Wind) – Book Discussion

Hi there! I’ve been really enjoying watching the anime 風が強く吹いている (Run with the Wind), especially as it has one of my current favourite anime soundtrack composers and character designers working on it.

At the moment, I generally try to read books which have film/anime adaptations so I can focus on what’s happening on the page rather than the overall plot, and I decided that it’s an excellent idea at my level to attempt a 670-page book (ahem).

So I was wondering, in the spirit of the story, if anyone else is interested in reading 風が強く吹いている? This would be in the style of the 君の膵臓を食べたい (I Want to Eat Your Pancreas) and Sword Art Online book discussions, so everyone can read at their own pace and there would be no set deadlines.

(I should note that I still have 300 pages to go in a different book, so I won’t be starting it myself for a while yet. For now I’d just like to see if anyone else is interested!)

Plot Summary from Crunchyroll

One chilly March day, Kansei University fourth-year Kiyose Haiji (Haiji) encounters Kurahara Kakeru (Kakeru) running uncommonly fast through the streets at night and forces him into living at the Chikusei-so (AKA Aotake). Haiji has a dream and ambition. He became discouraged after suffering an injury in high school, but he wants to run again. He wants to participate in the [relay race] Hakone Ekiden and show off the running ability he’s been pursuing. He has only one year left to turn that dream and ambition into reality.

Sample Pages

The first few pages of the prologue are available to view on the publisher’s website.

Participation Poll

  • I have already read this book
  • I’m currently reading this book
  • I’m interested in reading this book
  • I’m not interested in reading this book
0 voters
4 Likes

I’m watching the Hakone Ekiden every year on TV. Might be fun to read a book on a related topic.
(Low priority, though)

2 Likes

Ooh, I’ll have to see if I can do that next year!

1 Like

I might be interested in this. My brother and I have been watching the anime and enjoying it (there’s something rather chill and grounded about it despite it still being a sports anime). Had no idea it was based on a book.

I’ve been listening to the OST a lot the past two months! I find it great music to work to.

The only thing is that it tends to be hard for me to stick to reading and finishing books, especially long ones (I can’t even finish anime series most of the time) and I’m pretty busy right now with school. But I can look into it for after finals maybe. I’ve got some very long flights ahead of me. Are there any sample pages to gauge the difficulty off of?

1 Like

The publisher has the first few pages of the prologue up: 三浦しをん 『風が強く吹いている』 | 新潮社. Hope that helps!

1 Like

Just realized the time and that I have a ton of stuff I need to be doing but I read the first page and I’ll try to finish the rest later! (If I don’t check in in a week or two, just remind me. I have a terrible memory with these things -.-)

So the original source material is a novel? (As opposed to a light novel)

Yes, and it’s finished in one volume, too. (Published 2006 by the way, so it’s been quite a while.) By Shion Miura who is quite a big name among contemporary writers in Japan, so it’s not by someone specifically associated with anime-style stories, either. And you definitely notice that. Almost all sports anime are adaption of shounen manga (a select few seinen sports manga adaption also exist), so in a way, 風が強く吹いている takes a more grounded approach.

I’m also watching the anime right now and am mildly interested in reading the source material, but 600+ pages are a lot and I have other books with higher priorities right now, plus I’d rather be interested in reading a work from Miura that hasn’t been adapted yet, so I think I’ll skip on this one.

1 Like

To be honest, novels(etc.) about sports don’t really peak my interest, but having read a bit about this one the social aspect seem like it could be appealing. Not entirely sure if I’d be down for reading this one or not. So you can put me down for a solid “maybe”.

1 Like

That’s completely understandable. For me the fact that an adaptation exists is a large part of the appeal, taking my current reading level into account, but if I enjoy the style (insofar as I’ll be able to judge!), I would consider picking up Miura’s other works.

(I’m actually doing the same with Tomihiko Morimi’s work – starting with adapted work and hopefully moving on to non-adapted books later.)

Is there a specific book of Miura’s that you’re interested in?

First off, sorry to bump this thread after 3 months. I recently came across this kind of out of nowhere and really enjoyed the anime. I don’t generally watch sports anime but this really spoke to me on a personal level and made me realize how much I miss running.

Needless to say, I picked up the book and am planning on focusing on it once I finish up something else that I’m in the middle of. I’m sure it will take months to finish since it’s so long and I’m currently splitting my attention between 3+ books. :dizzy_face: Is anyone else already reading this or planning on reading it?

I got incredibly sidetracked, but yes, I’ve recently (finally!) started reading it!

2 Likes

How was it?

This topic can be a point of discussion, so I guess it qualifies as a book club of some sort. (But not a read-along type.)

I got around 100 pages in (twice), but due to various reasons (including a WK reset) have put it on hold and am focussing on other material for the time being, though I certainly have the intention to come back to it in the future.

If others have read it, I’d be interested to hear opinions, though!