Music.

Hello and welcome to our week. There yet exploration and education in anime. I'm your anime idiot, patrick dugan.

I'm an anime expert, dana hollander.

And I'm brenda mccullough. Your anime. And perkins. Because running is the worst. I know it's good for your body, but at what cost?

I'm Chris traeger.

Sorry to hear about your spiral depression for four seasons.

That's okay. If I keep my body moving, I'll just forget about it. It's fine.

You'll end up with a game show on Fox.

Yeah. Mental samurai. I watch that.

And a failed sitcom on Fox because it has the same name as a gay dating app, the grinder.

No one knew it was a sitcom. I thought it was a cop drama.

It was a lawyer. It was a law drama. Anyway.

So why are we talking about running?

Why?

We got to go fast this week.

Oh, wow. We went fast last week. But this week we have to go faster. Faster, faster, faster, faster. This week we're watching an anime called Run with the Winds, which Paul watched as it was coming out. And he told me all about it and he really, really liked it, so I wanted to give it a go. It's actually based off of a novel and it aired from October of last year and it ended in March of this year. So it's a little long. I think it said 23 episodes.

Oh, damn.

So it's a little longer, but yeah.

So we got all the running last week with sonic and we get more running this week with anime boys.

I guess you guys fit.

That's a big challenge that I think you are not qualified for.

My running days are behind me.

I never ran.

I peaked at twelve. It's been downhill since then.

Yeah, I did cross country in 8th grade and then I was like, no thank you. I love video games and junk food.

My fastest mile was twelve minutes and 29 seconds. And I hear other people say that their fastest are under ten. Just like normal people, not even like runners. And I'm just like, oh yeah, that's.

The mile is always terrible for me. I did karate for like seven years and they're like, oh, for part of your black belt you have to run 3 miles. I was like, hey, fuck this.

Bye.

So I got to the level, I just didn't want to run. Oh God.

I don't understand people who like running. But maybe this anime will help.

Is it about stockholm Syndrome? Because that's what I assume runners runner's high is.

It is basically just lying to yourself until you get to the point where you're like so much adrenaline and all that stuff is running. I don't feel like I'm dying. So it just brings you back to net zero. But after all the pain, it feels good.

Like craft beer. Yeah, you'll lie to yourself until you like it. And this podcast. Anyway, great we're watching the first three episodes. Yeah.

This is relatable content. Yeah, I love Running show that establishes right off the bat that running sucks.

That everyone hates it and is forced into it.

I love all these boys.

Lot of boys.

I'm here to talk about these boys.

A lot of beautiful as in tradition. We're back on the beautiful boy train.

Back on the beautiful boy train. Boy it's a train that I've missed. So let's talk about it.

Hey, there were a bunch of beautiful boys last week.

Debatable that's what you're into. dugan I won't think, shane I won't.

Shame. But grandpa did look like sonic. Like, it just looked like an older sonic.

Oh.

Anyway, nasty.

So in episode one, we start off with some shots of the city. It's very pretty. I like it already. And we hear like footsteps falling. So someone's out for a run. I was like, oh, a midnight jog, maybe. No, this boy stole something.

I couldn't tell that right away because you just hear like, thief. And then you see the guy on the bike. I'm like, did he the guy on the bike, steal a bike? I was kind of confused by this. And in hindsight, I was like, oh, it's very obvious. And I'm very dumb.

No, I mean, I thought when he said thief, I thought maybe the person running was running after the thief.

Yeah, but no, he was the city guard of agriba chasing down aladdin.

Got to keep one jump ahead of the sideline.

It's a tie. And the movie is coming out soon for you.

Yesterday.

We need clickable content.

Get those tags in.

The title of this one is the aladdin episode.

This is the only reference to aladdin will make.

So they're running. He stole something. And then a guy on a bike pulls up next to him. And he's like, hey, you like running? And the thief is just like, what?

Sorry.

And then we get the opening, which I like very much. It's just a cool boy band. I would want to call it Pop. It's like, I don't know, poppy dancing Poppy. I like it a lot. It has all the boys that we don't yet know at this point.

All these strange boys.

These strange boys to a nice song. They're running. The seasons are changing. I really, really like it. And then they go to a house, and the boy on the bike introduces the thief boy to the dog's. Name is nera Cuba. enu.

Best character.

Best character. Heavily featured, which is nice.

It's the mascot.

It's what I signed up for.

Yes. So here we go.

This is my kind of fan service. Dogs.

Dogs. So there are ten boys living in this house. And I'm going to tell you all their names because I actually wrote them down. I paused it, and I was like, I'm going to remember their names because they all matter.

They're all valid.

There's matter. So we are first introduced to the two that I call the jojos. They are twins, jota and joji. I wrote down their nicknames mostly.

Yeah. Because joti is jotaro. So that's just straight up with jojo's character.

Yeah. So Jota and joji, they're little blonde twins. They're young. I think they're about to be first years or something in college. That's something too, that Paul really likes. About this is that it's not a high school sports anime. It's a college sports anime.

Yeah. I hit the point where, like, yeah, if anything is not if an anime is not centered around high schoolers, you already get bonus points from me. Like, it's already a plus.

And then we're introduced to shindo, who is a I wrote down business boy. He's a business major.

I don't know who this one is.

The one with brown hair who's like, shorter. He's pretty. And then king. He is the self proclaimed king of Trivia. That's why they call him King. He's a sociology major. And I was like me too.

Same boat.

Same boat. And then we're in a room with a lot of manga.

Yeah, this is my guy.

And Thief Boy is kind of looking at the stacks of manga, and he goes to reach for one. And then a pretty boy comes out and he's like, don't touch it. The balance. Please, just don't.

I just dug myself out from last week. Don't make me go back.

So this is Prince. His nickname is Prince. And he's very pretty. He has eyelashes. I feel like he looks really different from the boys.

Yeah, it seems like they definitely gave him more attention. And they want him to be like, the pretty boy trope. But I like that he's also, like, the nasty comic nerd, like, shut in.

Yeah, he's beautiful.

But he's also the weirdest hermit one.

Yeah. So this is the one where I didn't care what his name is because I knew of him. And I'm just going to call him Aaron hanson. He just looks like Aaron hanson.

He's the smoker one, right?

The smoker. I forget what his major is, but.

Yeah, I just yeah. They called him Nico san because he is addicted to nicotine.

And then there's an eda type that's per usual, he's a law student. His name is yuki.

His personality is having classes.

Yeah.

And he hey.

He also likes to party.

Hell yeah.

He likes to fuck.

Sorry, I was distracted. I just heard what you said. And he hates that nico smokes. He's always like, this is so nasty, disgusting. And I was immediately like, I want them to fuck.

I like them, but wash your mouth out first.

Nico, wash your mouth out, brush your teeth and then kiss yuki, please.

I mean, the shoe sets up. Like, all of them, like, living together and are friendly towards each other. No one seems to be, like, contexts with each other, but these two are definitely, like, more familiar with each other. They definitely seem to be better friends with each other than the rest of the house, so definitely get that vibe.

And then there's a part where yuki is just yelling at him and he's like, if I sue you, there's a 100% chance I'll win. I'm a law student. And then we're introduced to the landlord, who's just at this point, he's just an old man. There he is, old man landlord. And then there's the foreign student from Tanzania, musa. He's black, which is interesting because we don't usually see black people in anime, especially as main characters, especially as not a cartoonish stereotype. This is, like, exciting and different.

It's cool he doesn't have a nickname based on the fact that he's black, so that's already a leg up.

They treat him as a person musa.

Because musa isn't I mean, it's not very nicknameable, but he's naked. When he is introduced to the Thief Boy, he like, extends his hand and the Thief Boy is just like.

This.

Whole sequence is just Thief Boy being like, okay, why am I here?

Also, me, the audience member is like, Why am I here?

Why am I here? What's happening? Yeah, not much is explained in this first half of the episode. We're kind of just being introduced to everybody and being like, Great. So the guy on the bike tells the Thief Boy to take a bath and he opens the door and the Thief Boy is naked, and he's just like, hey, what's up? When you're finished, come talk to us. And then he closes the door again. And then he opens it again. He's like, oh, yeah, take your time.

He wanted to check him out. Get that sweet bard.

Wow, we got to confirm all those running muscles are there.

Also, maybe he should sexual harassment.

So while he's in the bath, he's like, what am I doing here? And then I'm just going to say their name so I can stop calling them. Bike Boy and Thief Boy.

Need to go to call that real quick. How great would be if he opens the door again? He's like, oh, yeah, take your time. And finger guns. Which is like, Wait, that would change the whole mood, sorry.

So the bike boy is named haiji and the thief boy is ku.

Kuahara?

Kuahara, yes, it's the only name I know, Kuahara, which I mistakenly so at this point, the hygie is he goes up to the landlord and he says, Coach. And I'm like, who he's? The coach seems secret, and he says, that's ten we have ten people.

Human traffic, coach.

This is all very suspicious. We don't know what's going on. And the coach is like, Where did you find this boy? And then he says his name, he says, Kuahara, whatever his first name was. And I thought that was like a neighborhood or something. I didn't realize that it was his name because he said, Where did you find him? And then he said that, so I.

Was like, yeah, that also threw me off and why? I didn't know his name until you just said it.

Yeah. So it's kuahara. But yeah, that makes ten. And since I know what this is about we all know what this is about. I was just like, oh, the team's complete. That's nice. How exciting. And so they're all eating dinner to welcome Kujara to the team, to the house. And because of this, I assumed that all of these boys knew they were part of the track team, because why would they be so excited to have all ten people? I guess just to have every room filled. But you know what I mean?

Yeah. We also find out their rent pretty cheap, and they get breakfast and dinner made for them. So if I lived in a place like that, I'm like, there's something's up.

Something's up.

Yeah, especially ink.

They're taking my blood at night.

I just know what I got too much of it. They can have it.

So, yeah, they're eating dinner to welcome Kuahara to the house. They're all being rowdy boys, having some drinks, having a nice time, guys being dudes brosbeing, pals, brosby and pals. musa. Says he's from Tanzania. And he's like, you know where that is? And then Kujara is like, Africa. And he's like, You've been there?

And he's like, no, just no geography.

So this is where we find out that he's from Tanzania and that he's a government sponsored student. He's very smart, so he's like an exchange student. And then they toast to the 10th resident with some party poppers. yay.

Yay. Friendship.

Nero is outside not having it. bork for pork.

Pork. Pork. Pork. No, thank you. None of this loud noises, please.

And then we take today's performance. The dog will be played by my dog, rocco.

Rocco is not having any of it, so we just get some, like, little conversations. princes recommending manga to the jojo's. And they're like, oh, cool. Can we borrow it? And he's like, Buy yourself. And then King is talking about how he doesn't have a suit, but he should have. I forget who he was talking to, but they were saying that he should have one because you got to look professional for job interviews.

Yeah, he's a fourth year.

Aaron hansen asks haiji, not haiji. He asked Kuahara where haiji found him, and he's like, we ran into each other on the street. Nice and vague answer there.

Hey, don't worry about it.

And this is where I was like, he's not really questioning what it means to be this long awaited 10th man. He's just kind of hanging out right now.

Oh, cool. I've joined the manson family. I can roll with this.

Cool. I can murder.

At least they give me breakfast.

That's a bonus.

And then the jojo's come up, and they're like, can you tell which one of us is which. And then King comes up, and he's like, I know which is which.

Trivia king me. I know the answer.

Gets too excited.

And then there's a hole on the floor. They find a hole on the floor, which was apparently the twin's fault. How? We don't know. I don't know if we'll ever find out. But I was like, oh, no. The safety deposit.

Oh, God. As someone who punched a hole in his college apartment, plaster. plaster is your wild.

They just cover it up with the magazines.

That works.

So haiji pops off another confetti thingy to get everybody's attention, and he's like, Lend me your ears. Why didn't I write down what he was talking about? He was just saying, like, yay, we have ten members now. And this was finally the point where Kuahara was like, I haven't decided to move in yet.

No, we already knew. You the party. You're a member.

Yeah, you got to stay here.

We cook your food, one of us.

So they kind of ignore that and just keep talking as if he is moving in. And they're like, oh, yeah, we have all ten members in the household now. We should go on a trip to celebrate. And haiji recommends hakone. He's like, let's go to hakone. And everyone's kind of like, okay. And yugi is like, should we take the train? Should we rent a car? And haiji says, no, we're going to run there. And everyone is like, pardon.

Excuse me. The fuck?

Excuse me.

Running you speak of never done it with our legs.

Ew.

What is that? And then we get, like, the commercial break, which was very nice because there's always a little shot of the dog doing something fun and silly. Rolls around and goes, a little pork. I love it.

Exactly what we're here for.

Yes, us specifically. They knew we were watching it. So we get a flashback of the same day. And haiji is at the bath house, and he gets in the bath and gets out because it's way too hot, and his body is all red. And I thought that was fun. Funny. And there's an older man there, and he's like, you never get in for more than a minute, dude.

You're weak.

It's at this point we see that haiji has a scar on his leg. And you're like, It's probably important, but they don't tell us about that yet.

Very distinguishing mark.

So he leaves the bathhouse to go back home, and the older man knows about this whole team thing. Like, he's like, oh, there's a new crop of students coming in soon. Like, maybe you'll find your 10th member then. So he's leaving, and he's getting on his bike, and he sees Kuahara run past, and he hears the guy yell Thief. And he sees him running. And he's like running boy.

Running so fast.

And he gets on his bike and bolts after him. And we get like, this weird thing of him just, like, having this transcendent moment of watching Kuahara run technique perform. It's so good. Technique.

What's the meme? This is what a peak performance, peak.

Male form looks like. So he rides up next to him, and we get the part from the beginning where he says, you like running? And they stop at a vending machine together. Kuahara is just very compliant. He's really defiant. But also, I'll just go along with this.

I guess I got to at least be moody.

Yeah. So they stop at some vending machines, and hyde, you buys him a tea, and he's like, Why did you steal food? And he's like and he's like, Are you broke? What about your allowance? And it's just like, jeez hygie. You can't just ask people why they're poor.

Why so poor? Poor kid. Just poor.

Poor little decorum would be great.

Yeah, but it's at this point that he finds out that they go to the same university. They both go to kansei University. And Kuahara is also a sociology major. And he says that he lost all his money at a mazong parlor, so he was gambling. And haiji is just like, you can come live in my building. And then he's like, I don't have any money. And he's like, It doesn't matter. You can pay for it when you can.

We'll figure something out.

We'll figure something out.

Wink.

And it seems like a pretty sweet deal. So he lets haiji take him to the building, and he, like, shows him the room that he'd be staying in. And it seems like a pretty nice deal. Pretty good room there.

Wait a minute. It's just the Orange High School Host Club again.

He didn't break a vase, but it's.

Just like, oh, he broke full of various boys that hit all the trucks. He even got the twins.

The boys don't I feel like the oron boys don't like each other as much as at least openly.

Yeah, I guess that's true.

These boys openly like each other.

They're nice boys.

Yeah. They're not really rivals in any capacity. So we're back to the present, and haiji tricked all of them into being in the Track and Field Club. He holds up the sign from the outside of the apartment building, and in very tiny text on the side, it says, like, the home of the Track and Field Club. Just tiny. itty bitty. They didn't read the fine print on the building.

And he says, I feel like a.

Law student should definitely have seen that.

Oh, yeah, you'd think he'd look into something like that. But so he says, when you applied to live here, you also applied for the club. And everyone is kind of like, what?

Nanny?

Nanny, though.

What?

So they're kind of like, well, who's the coach? And he says, the landlord and they're like, but he's old. And he's like, yeah, but back in the day, he was like a track star. And then Kuahara asks if they're part of some organization. So it's just like this legit he knows well, Kuahara knows about this stuff, so it's just kind of like, wonder why he knows so much.

What's in mysterious boys past.

And it's the next morning. Kuahara is out for a run, because he likes running, I guess, not just from stealing things. And he sees haiji out with nira, given the dog it's mornin walk, and he's, like, massaging his knee. So Kuahara sees his scar, and he says, very simply, he's like, I'm just going to tell you now so I don't have to explain later. I was injured in high school, and I'm almost back to where I was before. In, like, six months, I'll be able to match your pace. So it's pretty I mean, for now, it's a really simple answer. I'm sure we'll get more later. But he says he wants to run the hakone marathon, and he's going to convince everybody else to do it, too. Even Kuahara, who's, like, very against it. And he says, I'll convince you to kuwahara from this high school. And Kuahara is just like, my secret revealed.

I went to high school.

And that's episode one. The ending is also very good and chill, and I like it a lot.

Yeah, more of a chill, r and B sort of song less known. Both good, though.

All good.

Yeah. So then we get episode two, and it starts off exactly where it left off with kuhara. So a trope with our podcast is having shows with a lot of characters with a lot of different names. This just has a lot of characters, but I don't remember any of their names, so I'm going to give them names. So I'm going to be the one making it more confusing for everyone listening. So sorry in advance.

Great.

So kulhara it starts off right where kulhar is running into runner dad with the dog and kind of freaking him out about knowing his past. He's like, all right, let's go back for breakfast. And then we get a flashback, too. I noticed there's a lot of flashbacks in this show, but it's just like the day before or day after. It's not like the past. It's just like within the last 12 hours. But it's not very clear of, like, this is the past. It jumps around in the timeline a bit, and it gets kind of jarring at first. So we get a little flashback to the night before with the party in Kuwajara saying there's no way they're prepared for the relay race. It's a huge race. It's like, for the whole country. People practice for years and years just to get in and just to qualify. And you can't have just this band of misfits just jumping in with no prior experience. These Bad News Bears, these big green little giant I'm trying to think of all the misfit movies.

Bench warmers, bench warmers.

And runner dad points out that he's like, nah, we all have our own strength. The twins and the trivia boy used to play soccer. This guy. I don't remember this guy used to flanders used to walk through the mountains, like 10 miles every day or whatever. Flanders, he's like a very churchy, like, goody goody two shoes boy, I guess. And he's like, we even got our secret weapon, musa. And he's just like, wow, that's racist. He's like, no, I saw your muscle tone in the bath. He's like, is that why you're staring at me in the bath all the time? I saw your body definition. It's like, wow. I mean, I guess musa is pretty free with it because he met kuwara, and he was like, hey, I'm naked handshake. So I guess he's pretty open with it. But I like, telling me. He's like, whoa, that's prejudiced. Like, to assume I'm a fast runner. He's like, no, I know you're fast. So he's just pointing out that everyone has these specific strengths, that they are prepared to be runners, but they can utilize their own abilities to become better runners.

I've assembled a crack team with their own distinct skill set.

We're pulling off a heist. We're robbing a bank.

We're stealing the animal.

It's basically what this is, but in a race form. And if we get the opening too, where it shows, like, the last shot of Kuahara, like, running. And I guess they're passing off a ribbon for the relay race. But the guy passing off the ribbon is holding it tight, like taut between his two hands. And he's wearing gloves. So it looks like he's coming up to just strangle Kuahara like a hitman. That's how I saw it. That might be me projecting. But Kuwaara says they're not ready for this. And he just leaves the party. Basically like, I ain't doing this. I'm fucking shattered the hedgehog. I'm out. And the next morning, they're all eating.

Freaking get one in.

He's just so edgy and moody. It's hard not to see him like that. Or sasuke, if that's better.

Neither is good.

Or early knuckles.

Early knuckles.

So the next morning, they're all eating breakfast. And anyone who's late has to sit at the smaller table because there's not enough room for everyone. And everyone's kind of like looking at the chore town or just feeling like, oh, my turn to clean the bathroom.

I love it.

Yeah. They all have their rounds. And I noticed on the counter they all have their names written. But then for the smoker, it's just a cigarette drawn instead of his name. And so runner dad gets up and leaves. He's like, I'm going to go feed near outside. And as soon as he leaves, everyone starts talking about like, I'm not joining this club. Like, I don't want to run. Like, I'm not a runner. Like, screw this. Yeah, it's too much work. I got to focus on getting a job after graduating this and that. And they all have their reasons. But everyone agrees, like, we're not doing it. We all agree United States not joining this club. And they realize that the kind of reason, like they're getting this good food, they've been getting a lot of good meals lately is kind of like he's trying to butter them up in the joining. And they're also getting a lot of nutrition from the meals to tone their body. So he's already kind of like feeding them and prepping them to be runners instead of throwing them a pack of Pop tarts and be like, fucking go. And meanwhile, this whole time, dad was standing outside the doorway listening to all of this. He knows their secrets. And the next or I guess that day, kuhara and the twins go to the school, like club festival where clubs are trying to recruit new members at the beginning of the year. And they're just kind of looking around thinking like, oh, maybe I should join this. And the twins are very like, oh, if I join this, they get a lot of girls. They seem to be the girl crazy guys.

Join the Co Edge Soccer club.

So still very similar to or on Host High School host Club. And we see. We see. Manga. That's just what I'm going to call a comic book prince Boy, because he just reads a lot of manga goodness. Call it manga given everyone why, you know, it's prank. Everyone gets nicknames. He ain't special. He's not the main character.

Manga.

Manga prince manga. He's at his manga club trying to recruit people. And he's like, hey, come join the club. We got fucking books and shit. And dad shows up. He's like, hey, how's it going? He's like, oh, hey, what's up? He's like, well, you can stay at this house with everyone else as long as you're a runner in the track club. But if you ain't in that track club, I guess we're going to have to start moving people out. And you got all that manga. And it's real heavy and hard to pack. So you might want to get on that now so you can be ready.

For when you're to give you a head start. Because it's a lot of manga. It's going to take you a long.

Time because you ain't living here anymore unless you run it. And then manga is just kind of like, oh, shit. Just getting threatened now. And then dad shows up. And he just pops up behind quizboy, who's at the library, I guess, like looking for jobs or recruitment fairs or something after he graduates. And dad just kind of cleans it out of nowhere and scares the shit out of him. But he's saying, like, hey, you know this huge race that's like nationally televised. And it's really popular. Not a lot of people get to do it. And it's a really unique experience for say. Interviews or applications. It could look really good on your resume. And then he just kind of fades away into the ether. He just disappears. That's getting intense.

He runs so fast.

Yeah, they kind of pointed out he's, like, very quick and quiet, so he just seems to appear in places people don't realize he's Batman. And dad finds flanders the very country bumpkin, goody goody two shoes boy in the library. And he's just talking very loud, I guess, trying to embarrass him and kind of, like, put him in this uncomfortable position where he's already on edge. He's like, yeah, I know you're very far away and back in your hometown. You'd walk, like, 10 miles through those mountainous terrain to get to school every day or whatever and back, and you got strong lakes for, like, tough terrain and stuff, and your family hasn't seen you in a long time. He's like, Just stop. Yeah, just be quiet. We're in the library. He's like, it'd be great if your family could see how well you're doing by seeing you on TV. That way you don't have to go back home, but they could still see you. it'd be real great see you. He just kind of, like, embarrasses him in this library and just kind of really plays the whole far away family card on him, trying to guilt him into it. And then, as I guess, a lawyer, EDA is back home, he walks by smoker's room, and he's like, oh, it doesn't stink. Like, holy hell. And he looks inside. He's like, oh, he's not in there. And the ashtray is pretty empty. And then he bumps into him. He's like, oh, I wasn't sure where you were. I didn't smell the cigarettes, so I wasn't sure if you were out or anything. He's like, oh, yeah, I was out buying more cigarettes, because that's my character. That's all I do.

I'm making money at the cigarette factory so I can buy some cigarettes and come home and smoke those cigarettes, pretty much.

See, this was another part where I was just like, he cares about it.

Yeah, they're definitely, like, closer friends than some of the other people can, but same with flanders and musa. They definitely seem to have a stronger bond than everyone. They seem to have specific friends here, which is cool. It shows development. And he's like, okay, I just wasn't sure where you were. And he keeps walking, and we see Smoker go into his room and lie down, and he has a cigarette in his mouth, and then he doesn't light it. Like, he puts it away. And as lawyers walking out the door, he notices the shoes at the front door, and he notices smoker's shoe box has runner shoes on it, like, athletic shoes on it. It sees up to something.

And the boy's in.

He's too far in. And dad shows up to talk to Kulajara at the I guess, the club festival still like, the recruitment festival. And we get another flashback of him on some team, presumably in the high school. And there's a coach being very demeaning to someone on the ground who looks like begging for forgiveness or something and very public. And he's very clearly shaming him in front of everyone. And we don't get a lot of context, but it's just like, oh, he's got baggage. And then we cut back to the house and musa is saying he's like, yeah, I joined the team. I'm on the Trek team. And just like, why the house? We all agreed we work on it too. Why are you talking, pal? And we get another flashback. I'm telling you, it jumps around a lot. And it was musa. I work at, like, a butcher shop. I think he's kind of like a food vendor store in, like, a marketplace. And dad shows up and he's talking to moose's boss. He's like, oh, yeah, he's such a good worker. He's such a sweet lad. Thank you for hooking us up with them. And you're one of our regular customers, so we love having here and all this stuff. He's like, oh, yeah, moose is crete. He's such a dedicated worker, so loyal to anyone he helps out and just, like, really laying it on thick of like, yo, I got you this job. Don't fuck me. So.

Haiji is the devil.

He's manipulative as shit. He's terrible, but he he set them up. Like, hey, it seems like he recruited everyone. Like, he did kuhara, where he was like, hey, you need a place to stay? Come to this place, and I'll legally sign you into this deal that you aren't aware of. It's super shitty.

He orchestrated this, especially when most of them were laying and wait for, like, weeks at a time thinking everything was fine, but the plan was being put together right in front of their noses.

Yeah, it was established earlier that smoker actually you're older than dad, but there's a slack off. It screws around in class. So he's actually a year behind him now in school. So he's known him for all four years of college. So he's been prepping this for four years at least. So you had dad's at the store with, like, musa and kind of blackmailing them ha puns because musa's black.

I don't know about that.

This ain't it.

That ain't it. Chief just called.

He said, Brandon, I'm off the case. So back in the present day, where everyone still talks to the lawyer and we get quiz Boy and flanders revealed that they also got suckered in and they fell for the guilt trip of dad. And turns out dad told the twins that everyone else joined and they'll get a lot of girls if they join the track team. Girls love track runners. And they're like, hey, that's all we need. And Lawyer EDA is just, like, so busy. He's like, you dumb idiots. why'd you believe him. And he's, like, hitting them with, like, a rug beater, like as they're rolled up in, like, masks. He's like, Why don't you believe him? Just because he said everyone else showing. They're like, yeah, kind of.

And we want to get that put.

And at this point, we hear scream, and everyone runs upstairs, and it's a manga falling out of the bathtub. He's like it's freezing. And I'm like, oh, yeah, the landlord's there. And he's like, I guess the hot water is broken. Oh, well, guess you can't use the bathroom.

I believe this broke right now.

Shame. All right.

What an inconvenient time for everyone.

Yeah.

On bath night. Of all night.

Of all night. And then we get cut to Kuohara, like, walking around, and he ends up bumping into a smoker, like, out on the town. And then they ended up bumping into everyone else. Oh, Kuohra, where are you going? He's like, I'm out. I'm not joining us. I'm finding a new place. Like, I'm out. He's like, oh, well, before you go, let's try and find somewhere. Have a good night and have some fun before you head out. So they just go to the bathhouse, which I guess is fun. I understand everyone else like needing to bathe. I don't know why Smoker thought this was a fun place. And while they're at the bath house, dad shows up. And when he opens the door, he looks like a demon. He looks like an ogre. I think that's the episode titles, like, ogre From Hell or something. And it's just this really hyper, like detail. It's like, oh, everyone's here. As he steps in, it drops, and it's just him. But it's just kind of everyone sees him because he tricked everyone into this. And he acts so surprised, like, oh, no, the bath is broking at the house. Who could have seen this happening? Oh, no.

How inconvenient, being so bad.

They also call the bathhouse Hell because it is so much hotter than every other bathhouse that is in town.

I didn't catch that. Okay, that makes sense. And the old man is there from the first episode, and he's like, you got all your members here. And he's like, oh, cool. Heart stands out. He's like, no, I'm not a member. I'm here to bathe. But I'm not part of this team. And I wrote, why the fuck's lawyer wearing his glasses in the bathhouse? Dumb boy.

Still got to see.

Especially with how hot it is, though. It's all steep.

Like, you can't see also what's he looking at. Keep your eyes on your own stuff, perv. And dad's in the bathhouse, and he's.

Got to look at nico's dick.

I got to see it.

Got to see it.

And dad challenges Kuohara. He's like, hey, I got a challenge for you. We'll see who can stay in this bath longer. And whoever wins, the loser has to do what the winner wants. So basically, if dad wins, kulhara has to be a member of the team. If kulhara wins? He doesn't. And that's presumably what the and he.

Has to kiss me.

And they already established how dad doesn't stay in the bath for more than a few seconds. So it's kind of like, oh, shit. He's putting it on the line. And dad takes a shot trying to be cool hard anymore. He's like, how good you are, running away from all your problems. He's just like, oh, fuck you, bitch. How dare you hit him where he hurts? You've known me for a week when.

You ran away from stealing bread.

You've only known me for a week, and you're using my own trauma against me. How dare you?

2460. Why?

No, don't you don't if it's not trashy pop culture, I don't know.

It uncultured swine. I don't know.

It.

Lame is on TV Land. Then I don't know what it is.

Is it on tbs after the Jim gaffigan show.

There's a pbs series going on right now. It's not a musical. It's based on the book.

But anyway, pbs just stands for pure bullshit.

Back to the best challenge we cut to they're in there for three minutes already, and they're already, like, really beat red and really struggling to stay in there. They're holding it as best they can, and it takes over to four minutes that Smoker offers up his lawyer buddy lover a bet. And he's like, hey, I want to take bets on who's going to win. He's the same prize. Whoever loses has to do with the winner says, I don't know. He's like, come on. He's like, all right, fine. I'll take him on the challenge.

And Lawyer, the sexual tension here was incredible because what else do they have to do? Oh, you have to do what I say. What do you want each other?

We're both here naked. Why not?

So I bet you to get into a bath naked with me and stay in there as long as you can before it gets too hot and steamy.

Steamy.

I mean, I'll take that.

I win either way.

So lawyer betts on Kuahara. He's like, I'm going to bet on the new guy. You're not even trying to win, are you? And turns out that c it's all very flexible.

I'm indeed.

And it turns out Kuahara and dad both pass out at the same time. It's a tie. So they end up having to be dragged out by everyone else. And then when kuwahara wakes up, he's in the house. He's in his bedroom with a pack of ice on his head trying to recover. And smokers just sitting there, kind of like, talking to him, watching him. And he's just kind of saying, like, man, that dad guy. When he sets his mind on something, he he sticks to it. And he's like, you're really going to fight him on this? Like, every step of the way, you're going to try and make him give up on this whole team thing. Cool. Harsh is like, yeah, I didn't agree to this. This is fucked up. He's like, I don't know. I've known him for all four years, and he's committed. This has been his plan the whole time. koros just like, yeah, that's why it's fucked up. I know what he's doing. It doesn't make it better. Meanwhile, dad's upstairs, and he just kicks in manga's door and just with a bunch of moving boxes, he's like, all right, let's get to it. We got to pack this shit up if you're not living here anymore. And that's episode two.

So yeah, we pick up the next day with everyone manipulated into running. This is their first run together. It's early in the morning. Everyone hates their lives same. They're so mad that they have to do it. And they are running to a nearby river, which is 5 km away, which for you Americans out there is about 3 miles. So there and back is about 6 miles. Ten k total.

Oh, that's what a ten k race is. Okay.

Yeah. So kurahara takes off before everyone else does because he's a loner. He doesn't work well with teams.

He don't need no friends.

He actually fucking says, I don't play well with others later in this episode.

Yeah, it doesn't get more on the nose than that.

Yeah. Also, real quick, manga's shirt just says, Why? And I love it.

Me too.

It's a great shirt.

Yeah, he especially because he is like, the least athletic of the group, and he's just so afraid to just run.

Yeah, he's a nerd.

So everyone runs. They get to the river eventually. Everyone's dead, lying in the grass trying to catch their breath. And dad is there trying to get everyone motivated for the run back because the breakfast tastes much better after a run.

Cool.

I love that Prince is bringing up the back because he can't run. He's not running. He's walking. But haiji kind of he stays back with him. And I like that he's going the pace of the slowest, which I think is like a thing, like, for track.

Teams, you're only as fast as your slowest member.

Yeah. I don't know. That always makes me smile.

I always saw it as like dad was just kind of like, you don't want to do this the most, so you're going to bail out the second I take my eyes off you either way.

Yeah, we love negativity.

So everyone is lying in the grass, but Kuahara is still jogging around, staying warmed up for the run back. So you are all dead after running five k. And the race we're trying to enter is least we're not going to do this. You're all failures. And takes off again. So they're all back in the kitchen at the house. They're all talking about the pace they should be at. Like the average college track member goes for about five k and 14 and a half minutes. So about three minutes for every kilometer. And they're all just lamenting. What an impossible task it is to get to that rate. nico's in the kitchen, he's about to light up. And then dad's like, you're done with that idiot.

Those are my lungs now. Got to keep them clean.

They belong to me because I'm going.

To cut them out of you in your sleep one day.

Yikes.

So Kuahara, again being moody, is in the hallway not eating breakfast because he doesn't want to owe anyone any favors.

God, I like all these boys, except for kulhara.

Yeah, he's a brat.

He's especially negative.

So the next morning, only half the team shows up for the morning. jog.

Yeah. yuki and the twins, they all went out clubbing. And they're out from the night before.

No, the twins are still there. Only yuki west.

I thought they were also missing, because we do get a cut of them being like, clubbing sounds so fun. We got to meet girls.

They were saying they wish they went out with them.

Got you.

Yeah.

Okay, my mistake.

Yeah. So I think it's like the twins, musa and flanders, I think, are the only ones that showed up. I think everyone else isn't there.

Got you. So Kuahara is like, this is dumb. Your team's falling apart and goes and runs by himself again because he's the loner.

You don't understand me. Run her. Dad.

Get out of my river room. So he gets to the river and sees a girl there who is on a bike, runs down the hill like an elementary schooler and is like, hey, do you know dad? Dad here.

Do you know where my dad is? Dad. Dad.

So, yeah, the rest of the team catches up. They're all hanging out and they're all speculating who this girl is. And musa says, this is a daughter of one of the veggie vendors in the market. And they're all trying to figure out if she's dating dad. I don't like that phrase.

It's a weird.

Yeah, I was going to start getting into you just call him daddy now.

Yeah, you guys never know he's daddy. No.

Now he's daddy.

We can't do that. They say she's young and in high school. No, we're done.

You never play that board game. Who's dating daddy?

A combination of Dream Date and don't wait.

It's a deep cut. eid was guaranteed this was going to be manga's sister, because she looks just like him. He's pretty good.

Similar hair color.

Even the eyelashes.

I think they just wanted to make him look more feminine. And that's why he has eyelashes, I guess.

Yeah, that's kind of what I took it as. But yeah, the hair color really makes it seem like, oh, these two characters are related because that's how anime works.

Yeah. So we cut to yuki in a club late at night, trying to get them dijis talking flaunting of, oh, I'm a lawyer. I'm going to be a lawyer. But then all of a sudden, dad shows up and is like, hey, can I interrupt you?

Let me cock block you real quick, crampiness style.

Fine. Ladies, can I also get those numbers that you're giving my son here? That is basically what he says.

So they go outside the club and yuki is like, what are you doing? This is, like, my only year of freedom since I'm still in school, let me just go out and do all this stuff. And dad's like, well, we're a team now. We got to spend time together. So if you're not going to hang out with us running, I guess I have to tag along with you to the club every night and just really get in the way.

God so manipulative.

So he begrudgingly agrees so he can still have his bangability at the club. So the next morning, the gang's all there and they're setting up for a timed run so they can sort of get a feel for where they're at. And the girl is helping them. I believe her name was hana.

Veggie girl veggie.

Girl veggie.

Girl veggie.

Tails. Also, the first run, kuahara was the only one, though, stretching before the run. And this time we see everyone doing it, except for mango, of course. But, yeah, we see everyone, like, getting a little better.

They're all getting into it.

I believe they're all stretching because yesterday when they met the girl, haiji was like, she's going to be helping us. So this morning they were like, let's impress our new man.

Yeah, that could be why, too.

She's there to help keep time. And they go on their run. They ask Kuahara to also stay with the pack to make sure everyone is getting their pace right. So they're all trying to operate as a unit. Now they get to the river and the girl leaves. And dad is like, hey, I told you guys girls are interested in runners. We already have one girl who's going to be here. Imagine all the other girls that will be there at the race.

It's only been three days. The race isn't for ten months. Think of all the chicks, man. But she's not think of all the babes.

She's not there to bang. She's there to help.

I mean, if we're assuming lawyer and Smoker is going to hook up, let's not cast out any doubts.

But she's in high school.

I mean, so as every other character we watch a show about, I like, that when they finally get to the meeting spot, this time, you see the lawyer who says, quote, being forced to run is already a human rights violation. Just like.

Yeah. So with the promise that girls are definitely interested, the twins are now super duper on board, active members of the team. And off in the distance, we see a mysterious runner who recognizes Kuahara because they're wearing the same jacket. High school rival? We'll find out, maybe. So later on, they're at Veggie Girls shop. Dad goes in to talk to dad.

It's a confusing time.

He's there saying, hey, thank you. Those great. Picking up groceries for all the lavish meals. And the girl's dad comes over, and he's like, hey, I heard you finally assembled your team. That's awesome. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help you. And we're back at the bathhouse. They're all talking about the race, and they're talking about the qualifier, because that's the most important thing coming up, where there are going to be about 50 college teams, and they'll only accept ten, so they have to be in the top fifth of the staff.

But don't they also have to qualify for the qualifiers? Because it was like the top ten teams from last year's race automatically get into the qualifiers, so that's already ten positions gone. So they have to get into other 40 positions to qualify just to be in the race. So they have to beat everyone else.

Realistically, there's just, wow. People train for so long for marathons, and they don't even want to do it.

Hey, look, here's our other co host, Kuahara.

But, yeah, they're talking about how the qualifying time is five k and 16 minutes. So a little less than the average, but still a lofty goal for these idiots.

Is that wrong?

You could have said anything else.

I mean, I chose the word I felt suited them best, these idiots. So kuwahara is there doubting their efforts, saying, hey, basically the same thing of you don't even want to do it, and you think you're going to qualify. As if. But all of the all of the team now sort of motivated. They're like, hey, what's your problem? We're all on board.

What's up with you?

What's your damage?

I like that it was one of the twins, too, who are very happy go lucky, and they're just kind of like, what the fuck is a big deal? You can already run good, and we're doing all the work, so even if we don't get in, we are the ones paying the most for it. So it's like, if we're on board, why the fuck aren't you? It's like, oh, damn. Getting real, jojo's. Real adventure.

So the next day, kuhara goes out running by himself. Since he doesn't play well with others, he just confronted the whole team. And when he gets to the river, the mystery runner from the day before sees them and comes up. He's a red headed guy. He's like, oh, hey, fancy seeing you here. And that's where we end episode three.

Mysterious boy.

Mysterious redhead.

You are a big boy. You want a little boy? A little boy. Okay.

All right.

You can tell he's an important character because his hair is a different color than everyone else's in the background.

Yeah, he stands out, he's also in the opening.

It's kind of obvious. I wonder if kuwaita is going to stick with the team. It's like, well, there's 23 episodes and he's in the open, so I fucking hope so.

He is established as the main character even though he is the one that sucks the most.

He's not ned Stark. He's not going to get killed off early on. spoiler it's first season.

It's over. No one cares.

Everyone hates it. Now back to anime.

Yay. Yeah, that was the first three episodes. How are we feeling?

I was concerned when it was established as just a sports anime, but I sincerely feel like there is a big difference between like sports media and the underdog sports media.

Yeah.

Knowing it is sort of a ragtag team situation makes me like it even more because if it's just the story of a dedicated runner to win a race, that's fine. But having the sort of backdoor, everyone pushed into this situation where they have to run and sort of start to develop a love for it that I am into.

Yeah, I agree. I am not the biggest fan of sports in general. The idea of sports anime just doesn't appeal to me. But like, with erie on Ice, I feel like the sport aspect of it is less of the important thing. This is a little more focused on it than uri on Ice is. That's not even really true?

Yeah, they're about equal levels.

I think there's just more of it.

Yeah, but I haven't seen a lot of sports anime. But I like how focused those two, at least have been on the characters. I'm sure others are too, but there's something about it. I like these guys. They're just good guys. They're like a boy.

Yeah, it works because the dynamic of the characters is good, not because it's a unique plot we haven't seen 10 billion times.

Yeah, it's the difference between watching a movie about football and then just watching an actual football game. Like, the football game is about the sport. The movie about football is about the main character and the triumph over the struggles they have and stuff. So it's a story versus just the sports of it. So it's what sucks you in. And it's a pretty standard story. It's a lot of shone in anime stuff. Like, there's a reason sports anime is its own big category, like High Q and Prince of Tennis. And there's a ton of other ones that just have huge followings and stuff at kirk and obscene's basketball. And it's because of stories like these where it's like it's the traditional shonen sort of archetype, which is like anime directed towards like four teenage boys and stuff. But the standard archetype. The only difference is instead of like samurai shampoo, where they're fighting other samurai, now they're fighting other teams, but in a specific set of rules. So it still has that underdog motivational of like, oh, we got to get this. And like, oh, we might not. And this one character has the mysterious backstory with, like, baggage and stuff, and he's got the rival, so it works pretty well. And I don't know, it works better with anime than it does other stuff.

I think what's funny I just realized is that the two main ish characters are pretty unlikable. Kourhara is just negative and sad. And then haiji is the devil. I'm sure he has good intentions, but right now it's just like, you seem like a math that just wants to make, like, you just want to run. This is for you.

Yeah. Because some of the manipulations are fun. Of, like, I'll tag along and cock block you at the club every night. That's fun. But the one with Prince of like, hey, I'm going to strip you of your housing, like, two days before the semester starts. That's some sociopathic bullshit.

Or with musso, where it's like he didn't really say it directly, but it's kind of like, you owe me your job, and I can take it away, too. It's kind of like, oh, yeah, I need you. You need this. You're not from this country. You don't have if you fuck up, you're out of here. It's like oh, no.

Yeah.

But yeah, everyone else, good voice, good group of ads.

Good voice. Deep in that shift.

Oh, God, they got a bet. I mean, they just have to at some point.

That's the secret.

That's the anime law.

Yeah. That's the actual subplot of this whole show, is yuki and nico san getting together. Hi.

Yuri on pavement.

Yuki.

Yuki on pavement.

Pavement.

You know, they have some big training montage and everyone's exhausted, and they all pass out, and yuki passes out on top of smoker. Like, you know, I would love them.

We already have them all the time in a bathhouse together.

It's weird with Japan, where it's like, public bathhouses are very common, like public nudity. And then there's, like, weird intimate moments of like, oh, they accidentally touch hands. But you've already seen this dick. You smell that dick? how's that less intimate than holding hands?

Yeah, that also threw me off because anytime the bathroom door was open, everyone was like, oh, no, don't look at me. Except, oh, tonight we're going to go get naked in a tub together.

Yeah, it's weird.

Yeah.

Contextual news.

Don't be modest. If you're going to flaunt it later.

On, get a big old runner dick.

No. Are we there?

I'm hesitant because it is a longer one, but I am interested to see where it goes.

All right.

Yes.

Thanks, Paul.

We've shown some of these smaller shows to dig in that are like, twelve or even smaller, like, miniseries. So it's like, oh, 23 episodes is a long show. It's like, oh, boy, that's a season.

Of a regular show.

One piece is approaching 1000 episodes.

No, thank you.

Too.

Many.

So it's just like oh, man, it's just so weird. Like, that the scope of some series versus some other ones.

Yeah.

But, yeah, I think we all enjoyed this one, so there's definitely one to add to the list.

Yay. paul's good taste continues.

We trust Paul. And Paul we trust.

Yes.

So what show next week will we possibly like?

That one's debatable. It's a weird one, but I enjoy it. It's one called ergo proxy and it's also it was on my list, but it was also a fan recommendation from Robert Anderson, who figured we actually got a good chunk of listener recommendations, so we should probably start burning through those.

Yeah, I need to start putting those in the regular rotation. So if you suggested a show, keep listening, please. We promise we'll get to them soon. And if you have a show you would like us to watch, you can tweet at us Are we there yet? On Twitter and Instagram. Or reach out to our email. Are we there yet@gmail.com? You can find me on Twitter and Instagram at mrpatrickdugin.

You can find me on Instagram at queen. Period. Weebu and on Twitter at Queen underscore weebu Come look at my new pink.

Yeah, she got that new bite as hell. You can find me on Twitter at abt as Brendan. It's just a lot of shit posting. I don't change my hair a lot.

And thank you to camille ruley for our artwork. And thank you to Louis zong for the use of our theme song stories off the album Beats. You can find all of louie's music at Louisong bandcamp.com. Thank you, and we hope you'll join us next week as we learn to live with anime.

Don't do it.

It's a trick.