One Great Character: Sugushita, from Wind Breaker
Face kicks and (not-so) friendly rivalries.
Not gonna lie, I didn’t have a post for today. And it was stressing me out. Been busy, and all that. So rather than just call it a loss, I sat down and thought about Wind Breaker, as I often do, and realized that I have spent so much time gushing over Sakura, the tormented protagonist, that I didn’t stop to take in the side characters.
The same thing happened with The Summer Hikaru Died. I didn’t realize how great of a character Maki was, nor the other supporting cast.
I thought, when I published the piece about Nirei being One Great Character from Wind Breaker, I had caught up with myself, but oh, how wrong I was.
Sugushita was actually an early favorite of mine. Dudes with long hair, unite. But it wasn’t until the latest arc, the massive battle against Endo, that I realized just how important of a part Sugushita played in the overall story.
For those who haven’t dipped into Wind Breaker yet, Sugushita is a first year, just like our protagonist Sakura. But Sugushita and Sakura don’t really get along. They’re both stubborn, they butt heads a lot, and Sugushita is constantly competing for the head of the school’s attention.
If nothing else, that alone makes Sugushita pretty important. One of the inspiring bits of Wind Breaker is that Furin, the school in focus, is incredibly united. They all support each other. They all have each other’s backs. Even Sugushita and Sakura have each other’s backs… right? That’s the thing. This butting of heads feels similar to My Hero Academia, with Roy (that’s Midoriya) and Bakugo. While essentially everyone in Class 1-A supports each other, the dynamics of Roy and Bakugo level up the dramatics.
It’s by no means a requirement to have in-fighting, but it opens itself up to some wonderful, emotional payoffs if it’s there. For Roy and Bakugo, those moments are when they have to band together. It happens quite often.
It doesn’t happen often with Sakura and Sugushita.
Actually, it doesn’t happen it all. It’s never downright cruel, but there are moments of physical altercation that fray the already taut tension between these two. Which, again, would have been fine to leave as is. While it’s a bit tame to be classified as “in-fighting,” in such a supportive environment, that’s what it feels like.
But, in the same way Wind Breaker doesn’t leave Nirei at “good enough,” Sakura and Sugushita don’t stop here. When it really comes down to it, and they are tasked with a difficult fight, they have no choice but to work together. And while it gets off to a rocky start, given their history, the forced growth they both have to undergo in the face of overwhelming opposition makes all the build-up that much more important. Because seeing them come together and unite in the name of Furin was a really special moment. One of the best in the series, and that’s saying something.
In fact, it was such a great moment, that it leaves me wondering how their relationship will be altered going forward. Which is such a great place to be.