FurinFry

Food = Friendship/Community

This one’s pretty obvious, and Umemiya’s backstory spells it out almost explicitly. It’s notable that every time our protagonists make a new friend, especially one that’s been isolated one way or another, it always culminates in a meal. It’s an invitation to and assurance of community, plain and simple. But while we’re on the topic, I’ve got a prediction that one day we will see Sakura deliberately share food with someone and it will be monumental. For how hungry (pun intended) he is for community, for how much he’s grown in his ability to approach people on his own, and he has yet to actually offer to share his food with someone. A Sakura that offers someone food is a Sakura at ease in his belonging, aware that he has something to offer, and comfortable extending it to those in need. There’s so much more to unpack here but for now let’s just say I’m hopeful. 

[Sidenote: I’d argue you can wrap drinks up into this symbolism just the same as food, but, as an example of why symbolism is fun, think of what that means when Togame first appears. He’s holding a ramune bottle (he is a part of a community) and Sakura thinks he seems pretty neat. Then what does he do? He uses that bottle to brain Saruwatari (he uses his position in his community to hurt it). You don’t need the symbolism to get exactly why Sakura flips, but boy does it make the moment richer. ]

2. Wind = Pressure

Pressure comes in many forms and, sometimes, it can actually be for the best, a la pushing people in directions they wouldn’t otherwise go. But, too much in the wrong direction is destructive. There’s a lot that's been already said about the fact that a bofurin is literally a wind break, a barrier of trees which shelter younger, shallowly rooted plant varieties from soil erosion and environmental buffering, allowing them to dig in and grow stronger in the meantime. What a perfect metaphor for all this, right? What a perfect name for the trees of Furin. I’m going insane. 

3. Rain = Letting Go  

Okay, no, actually this is the one that drove me insane, so it's a bit more of a hear-me-out. I sat scratching my head over the rain symbolism for ages, because it’s definitely a symbol of something, it shows up very deliberately in both the Shishitoren arc and the Noroshi arc, but the vibes are sooo different (Note: spoilers for the Noroshi Arc).

Rain has a tragic connotation in the Shishitoren arc, mirroring the moment of Tomiyama’s descent into madness with his fight with Umemiya and marring both with the sense of real unease. But then, rain has a peaceful connotation in the Noroshi arc, marking the end of Takiishi’s fight with Umemiya and quelling Noroshi’s violence against the town. How do we reconcile the difference? I think the strongest throughline is this sense of letting go, especially of one’s own desires. Tomiyama lost sight of the value in his community and Togame willingly gave up the same thing, both in the rain. Then the rain comes back when Togame lets go of his desire to shield Tomiyama to do what’s right, culminating when Umemiya admonishes Tomiyama to let go of his fixation and reconcile with his team. Then we have the Noroshi arc and Takiishi. Takiishi’s desires are entirely selfish and deeply destructive; he just wants violence for the sake of his own satisfaction and personal fulfillment. Letting go of that to think about what someone else might want is a good thing, and it puts out Noroshi’s fire. 

4. Bridges = Connection

This one might be a bit on the nose but hey, a symbol is as a symbol does. Go ask Sky (@insearchofsomething) for her Bridge Imagery thoughts. Her Brimagery thoughts, if you will. She’ll know.

[Another Sidenote: Thinking about how Natori got his hooks in Nagato beneath a bridge. He was literally subverting his existing connections in order to reattach Nagato to himself. I get chills over how the anime had Natori’s shadow consume Nagato in that scene but a separate essay about the imagery in WBK would just be a lot of me jumping up and down and pointing… more than I already am.]

5. Rivers/Train Tracks = Change

This is the one that feels like most like horoscope logic (it could apply to most scenes if you squint) but I feel like throwing it out there anyway. There are plenty of notable river/train track/(road?) scenes throughout WBK and all of them mark a turning point. The conflict with Shishitoren starts underneath train tracks and marks the change from the status quo, both in Bofurin’s relationship with Shishitoren and Sakura’s reputation within both communities. The Keel arc begins and ends with Sakura and co. walking along a river (estuary? Idk. Idc.), marking the change in Sakura’s relationship with his class as its captain. Etc. Again though, this is the one I'm shakiest on, feel free to offer counterpoints.