Wind Breaker, Episode 3 recap – Sakura fights Sugishita then clashes with rival gang Shishitoren
Michelle Topham 
A full recap of Wind Breaker, Episode 3 as
In Wind Breaker, Episode 3, titled “The Man Who Stands At The Top,” the episode opens with Sakura Haruka, the protagonist, facing off against Kyotaro Sugishita, a senior student and an obsessive fan of Bofurin’s leader.
The fight is intense, showcasing Sakura’s determination to rise to the top of Furin High School’s hierarchy and Sugishita’s determination to put him in his place.
Meanwhile, Suo, another student, explains to Sakura that Sugishita’s admiration for Bofurin’s leader runs deep, even from his middle school days.
The fight is then halted when a voice over the school’s announce system begins speaking, and every boy in the room stands to attention.
It turns out the voice is that of Bofurin’s leader, Hajime Umemiya. The strongest guy at Furin high, and the one the entire school idolizes.
Umemiya then reminds everyone to protect the town, and everyone and everything in it.
After he speaks, Suo suggests Sakura and Sugishita shake hands and make amends.
After Sakura complains that he was attacked first, Suo reminds him he should probably get over it if he wants to become the top man. He also tells Sugishita that Umemiya would be upset if he found out he had attacked a fellow classmate on the first day back to school.
This pushes both of them, even if they hate it, to shake hands with each other.
Sakura is then amazed when the entire class is told to head into town and patrol. The student who tells them to “get to it” is Toma Hiragi, a student Sakura recognizes from the fight he was in his first day in town.
Hiragi is one of the “Four Kings” of the school — with each of those “Kings” taking care of one class in each of the three grades, so they are almost like class captains.
Each King also heads up one of four teams — the Tamon Team, Jikoku Team, Zojo Team and Komoku Team. Sakura’s class is part of the Tamon Team overseen by Hiragi.
Hiragi splits the class up into smaller groups, and makes sure both Sakura and Sugishita are in his group. That way, he can keep an eye on them.
He also explains one of the reasons they “patrol” the town is that, seeing them in their uniforms out and about, it keeps smaller gangs away.
Hiragi’s group, including Sakura and Sugishita, then end up painting over graffiti on a shop wall after Hiragi notices an elderly woman trying to do it herself.
As the patrol continues, the group hits the territorial border of their patch, and it is there that they can see into the Shishitoren’s territory.
Suddenly, they see a middle-school boy from the Bofurin side of town running through an alley being chased by members of Shishitoren.
As the boy falls, and it is obvious Shishitoren will catch him and beat him, both Sakura and Sugishita jump into action and kick the lead Shishitoren guy in the face catapulting him backwards onto the ground and knocking him out.
Oddly, though, instead of helping him, the other two Shishitoren with him start making fun of their gang member, which shocks Sakura.
It is then an older Shishitoren member arrives asking what’s happening.
This is Jo Togame – the Shishitoren’s second-in-command.
But instead of helping the members of his gang, he proceeds to beat the guy who was unconscious to a pulp, calls him “weak” and then takes his Shishitoren jacket telling him he is no longer a member of the gang.
Sakura, who has had enough, then calls Togame “lame”, and explains beating up someone who is weak doesn’t make you powerful, it just makes you a letdown.
Togame responds by saying he will beat Sakura to a pulp another day, and then leaves with the two other gang members.
The Bofuri group take the middle-school boy, who is called Sasaki, with them, and head back to school to report the incident to Umemiya.
This is the first time Sakura meets Umemiya — an easy-going guy who is gardening on the school roof, and who seems more interested in the green peppers he is growing than in a gang fight.
Overall, Episode 3 of Wind Breaker is a solid addition to the series, as it effectively balances some solid character development with fast-paced action, and excellent plot progression.
We are also introduced to more of the anime’s main characters, as well as to the rival gang Shishitoren, which appears to be part of a major plot development going forward.
RELATED: You can read recaps of Wind Breaker, Episode 1 and Episode 2 on Baozi Buns as well
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