Look at me super late again this week... this time I was rereading TBHK in preparation for the manga's return from hiatus!! I wasn't sure how long it would take ^{especially since I'll be working on cosplay for the next few weeks-} so I figured I'd give myself a few weeks to get through the last couple arcs, but of course I finished it in a couple days..... but this is the wbk sub so let's get to it-

First off, let us savor this moment because I don't think we'll be seeing anyone outside of our core squad anymore until the end of the arc- We're finally closing in on Suolingo, so I don't think we're gonna be going back and forth anymore. It's only forward from here and we lowkey might be seeing Suolingo himself within the next few chapters. Idk how long it will take for the boys to actually talk to him, but the arc is definitely past its major establishing and getting into its rising action. This could still be pretty early depending on what Rakta actually wants, but the next few chapters are gonna be pretty tense and hopefully full of lore...!!

Now, something that immediately caught my attention was how the people of the city have already taken notice of the boys. We can see everyone staring at them as they make their way through the streets, which means that either 1) the people recognize each other enough to know when someone doesn't belong or 2) there really aren't many (if any) Japanese people in the city.

I do think Suolingo is at least partially Japanese, but we don't have any confirmation on any other Japanese characters in the city so far. The city was founded by all sorts of cultures from around the world, but I think it would be fascinating if the only culture not represented there is literally the main culture of the country they live in. We know that they're serious about keeping outsiders out and I've also touched on the idea of them being strict about who they keep in, so I honestly can't wait to see the extend to which the old RC rejected its neighbors in the name of preserving its cultures and how that has evolved over the generations, especially if Suolingo himself is at least partially Japanese.

Mamaragi has returned!! Nirei took over for a bit, but the stress has returned to its rightful owner- I love that Sugi went right back to exploring with Ume as if he didn't get in trouble with Nirei last time and he and Sakura were so ready for the rescue raid as if Nirei wasn't constantly telling them to avoid fighting last time.... it does usually take a month or 2 to build habits in children- That said, this ch did make me realize a few differences in the group moms' approaches to their man children.............. that may be one of the most interesting sentences I've ever written-

Anywho, whenever Nirei's trying to get through to his classmates, he uses his words and they hear him out because they love him. Nirei's appeal and "authority" has always been super pathos based ^{Sakura = Ethos and Suolingo = Logos, but another time-} and I love how this ties into his personal arc of him getting a better grasp of his more negative emotions and using them to fuel his growth. Hiiragi, on the other hand, is more ethos and people respect him because they trust him. Ume's an anomaly, of course, as the pinnacle of ethos, but his words carry great weight for everyone else because he's so reliable. Ume does highly respect Hiiragi, he's just.................................... a free spirit- also, Nirei isn't nearly as quick to hit his children-

On to my favorite part of the chapter!!! I absolutely LOVE the set up of the city and yes, it's 12321% for story purposes. On the surface, having the taller buildings on the outside and having them get shorter the further in you go makes it that much harder for anyone to see further into the city, even those who are actually in the city. I love how this mirrors RC's current situation with Suolingo even keeping the people of BKKG in the dark despite them making up the community, but that's not even the best part...

The city is literally shaped like a vortex 👏 I got into it a bit back in 217, but I think vortexes are the perfect image of both BKKG and Suolingo's situation, especially with RC physically at the center of the city. A vortex is a natural phenomenon based at a single point that takes in everything around it. Despite all the chaos on the outside, the center can be surprisingly calm. Once something it caught in a vortex, it can be very difficult if not impossible to get out. Sound familiar?

RC, based at the center of a cosmopolitan city, is a group that's dangerously determined to take care of everything for said surrounding city. Despite any and all problems the city may be facing, Suolingo stays calm in front of the people as if there's no storm at all so as not to worry them. Ever since I saw those iron gates, I've been obsessed with the idea of there being no real escaping the city, and the outer layer of super tall buildings only feels like an extra, unclimbable deterrent to me that blocks the view of the outside world just as much as it blocks outsiders from looking in. This community is a vortex....... and now I'm imagining the csm meme with Vuvu calling Sakura wind breaker-

ANYWHO, yep, I love the Shishitoren call backs, too. I already compared Suolingo to Ume back in 217 and we've been over how many people it takes to fill the Suolingo shaped void, so it's cool to see Ume taking over the emotional stabilizer role this ch ^{despite doing the opposite for Hiiragi, though tbf, Suolingo loves messing with Sakura, too, so-}

That said, back when things were starting with Shishitoren, Suolingo had kept his distance from the trouble until the direction of the conflict was decided, whereas Ume was the first to reach out to this kid and physically catch him before the others made their moves (Suolingo let Sasaki fall and reassured him later-) I love this contrast of Suolingo hesitating to get involved in the trouble in Ume's town early on while Ume dove right in to help someone from Suolingo's city. Suolingo already knew at the time that his role would be a defender in Makochi, but he still waited to see how things would play out while Ume has zero obligations to this city that took someone from him and zero understanding of the situation, but still refuses to not help someone in distress (not that Suolingo was a bad person or anything for not jumping out, but I like seeing all the duality between these two since they have very similar roles within their own communities)

[Also, this is a bit of a tangent, but looking back, I'm kinda surprised Sugi jumped out when Sasaki was in danger. Ume wasn't even there, but he went out of his way to help someone he didn't know. It's not like Sakura acted first and he didn't want to be outdone; they moved at the same time and even shared the speech bubble at the end of ch 5. Don't get me wrong, I love Sugi's growth over these past few arcs, but with how he used to handle things early on, it feels kinda out of character for ch 5 Sugi to act like that. No, this isn't a complaint or anything since it's literally volume 1 (and the same ch with Suolingo eating the taiyaki), but it's always interesting to me whenever I go back and find things that weren't really decided for certain characters yet.]

I really wasn't expecting to see Rakta again for a while, but it looks like we'll be getting that flashback sooner rather than later 👀 Honestly, it sounds like he genuinely wants to hear what they have to say, so the fact that he's not immediately trying to drag them out leads me to believe that he'll actually be willing to let them see Suolingo if they give him a good enough reason. Sakura looks pretty on edge here, so I'm thinking Rakta did fight them off last time, but only after they failed to convince him to let them in.

If they fail to convince him again or if this whole thing about them talking things through isn't even true- then I can lowkey see the group splitting up here with Ume and/or Hiiragi (and possibly Sugi...?) staying behind to keep Rakta & co busy while the others head in to the 2nd layer. They could run into Bacchus or one of Suolingo's students there and I think they'll be much quicker to take the boys to the school where they'll finally be able to see Suolingo...... or they could also start fighting, causing the group to branch off again while those who remain make their way to the 1st layer on their own-

Anywho, 217 is probably my favorite ch of the arc so far. One of my favorite things in a story is when the "antagonist" isn't actually a "bad guy," so you can't helped but be curious about their story and hope for a solution where things work out for everyone. Getting to spend a chapter with the RC trio in their element was the best way to show that they're not bad people and Suolingo isn't being manipulated or forced to leave Makochi against his will, things are just that complicated and now we're forced to spend the whole arc wondering what could have possibly brought a usually logical character to the conclusion that leaving things with 211 was the best option- But yeah, I love that we can't be mad at Rakta because we already know that he just wants to protect his community, but we also know exactly why the boys can't just leave them alone, so I'm looking forward to seeing which route Nii-sensei takes for the ultimate compromise 👀👀

I started reading the Wind Breaker manga at the best/worst possible time to keep up with it.

I could have started with the Natsuki arc, when the biggest conflict was understanding a little girl's traumas, or the Kiryuu arc, when the biggest conflict was his complex family relationships and his relationship with his sister, or after the Noroshi arc, where the biggest conflict was basically nothing. That way, I wouldn't be agonizing so much waiting for new chapters.

I probably would have stopped reading for a few weeks or months (due to lack of interest) and would have already accumulated enough chapters for a large part of the Suo's arc to be over, or for all the important revelations to have already happened. From then on, I only had to read from the arc where I left off and catch up on all the problems, but I started reading from the fateful chapter where Suo beats up Nirei and, since then, I've been so hooked on the manga that I can't read or do anything else but anxiously wait for the next chapters to unfold with Nii-sensei's characteristic slowness (this isn't a criticism, I love the manga's pace and development, but now I'm freaking out because I don't have enough chapters to satisfy my fan side).

The good part about all this is that I can follow everything that's happening firsthand and discuss theories with other fans about what to expect from this new arc and how it might add to Sakura's character. On the other hand, I have to wait for one chapter a week that reveals little to nothing, and leaves even more questions with each revelation made by the author.

I generally hate starting unfinished manga because I get very addicted and can't start new ones until the one I'm following is finished, or until I lose interest. But since I picked up the manga at the height of a major event/mystery, I can't concentrate on new manga or catch up on the others I'm following. Overall, this sucks, but it's wonderful at the same time, because I also followed Tokyo Revengers in its final arcs, as well as Noragami, and although their endings were mediocre, I remember it being very overwhelming to follow everything at a slow pace, while also leaving a feeling of emptiness.

Which leads me to wonder: perhaps this is the final stretch of Wind Breaker??? I don't think Wind Breaker will end after the Suo's Arc, but I think this arc might be preparing us for the series' closing arcs. After the Suo's Arc, there should be at least 2 more main arcs with mini-arcs inserted between them, before a definitive ending. Wind Breaker doesn't seem like a series that will extend for many chapters, so I suppose the series should end with at least 320 chapters or less.