I have just reached the Hakone Ekiden part of the novel in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru and I am not ready to continue. Even though I've watched the anime so many times, reading the novel feels different and I don't want to end it so soon😭
Some random thoughts from reading the novel:
Kakeru and Haiji's personalities in the novel kind of feel like a reverse of their anime counterparts. Kakeru seems more sociable; he butts heads but also jokes around with the twins it's kinda sweet to watch read. Haiji in contrast feels a lot more reserved and stern in the novel. Anime Haiji can be cheeky and playful but I don't get that vibe from novel Haiji at all, it's interesting. He reminds me a little of Kita Shinsuke from Haikyuu tbh.
I think the Aotake boys get along well with Haiji in the anime and only became a little wary of him for a while after the hakone announcement, but in the novel they seem to be genuinely scared of him😂 especially the twins. No one dares to cross him in matters of the household. Again with the Kita image.
One of the things that the anime does better is that they've fleshed out the other characters more and gave them more time to develop, allowing us to witness their growth as runners individualy and the different bonds that happened within the team throughout the episodes. I was honestly surprised by this. Rather, the novel spends a lot of time on the training aspects and the techinal explanations of the ekiden itself, which is also actually interesting to me. But I also feel there's more depth to kakeru and haiji's relationship here and it makes me giddy, I can't even complain☺️ Obviously, being the protagonist, we have more access to Kakeru's inner thoughts and again, I have to say novel Kakeru is a lot different than his anime alt.
What I absolutely hate about the novel that I am SO glad the anime took out entirely is the unrequited crush Kakeru has on Hanako, although he didn't realize it til towards the end of the story. But I do appreciate how he's really chill about it and gave his "blessings" to joji to ask her out. Whatever, he adores Haiji and probably doesn't even realize he's into him, it's okay, give him time. Hopefully he'd come to his senses when he joins Haiji's corporate team after he graduates (and asks him out).
(Idk how true this is but someone said that Miura-sensei was asked to add Hanako when she wasn't even in there originally. So I like to think that this "crush" Kakeru has on Hanako must have been an afterthought too.)
Now what i love about the novel is the way it made me realize how much haiji makes a really, really brilliant coach, and what he's done- taking a group of complete amateurs with no track experience to participate in Hakone Ekiden AND earn seeds for next year - is truly unthinkable. Even passing the prelim on total running time alone was so impressive it caught the eye of the whole nation. I'm not so sure if you can just become a professional coach of a corporate team without a relevant degree so my headcanon is that right after graduation, after some recovery time, he spent a year or so getting his certifications, and by the time Kakeru graduates and decides to join his team, he'd have been a coach for a couple of years.
There's more actually but I'm still only halfway through the novel and my thoughts are all jumbled up. But seriously, if you're a huge fan of the anime and you're able to, you have to get your hands on the novel
