FAVOURITE UMESAKU MOMENTS: CHAPTER 1 (SAKURA & FŪRIN)
Heya, I've mentioned this before on Twitter but I'm thinking of writing out my favourite UmeSaku moments throughout the series (in both the manga and anime) right from the start. Gonna try to do it as a weekly thing so here's the first of it all:
As noted, we're introduced to Sakura first of all. Umemiya won't appear until much later but I like the indirect moments they have in this chapter. To be more specific, I like how Umemiya's actions in changing Fūrin to the point where it was given the name Bofūrin by the town had allowed Sakura the first steps to heal
I love how Umemiya unknowingly gave Sakura a home, a place to belong. Somewhere that he can find friends and even a family.
This is the 1st indirect mention of Umemiya; the powerful top of Fūrin and whether Kotoha admits it or not, her overprotective foster brother
Early on in the chapter, I noticed that while Umemiya is generally cheerful, he and Kotoha are quite similar in how blunt they are, getting straight to the point. No nonsense, like shooting an arrow straight to the heart of the matter
Its also the 1st instance when Sakura hears about the leader of Bofūrin from the people who knows him instead of rumours
But what I love is this moment right here:
When he witnessed how kind the people are and how the thugs and delinquents of Fūrin he once thought that'd be shunned or scorned were not only accepted but seen as heroes and protectors, Sakura screams out on how cool that is
He doesn't think its lame nor sees it as people putting on airs but as something admirable and very cool. Umemiya's vision and goal had allowed many people to be accepted, to be considerate and non-judgemental
And because of his actions, Umemiya gave Sakura a chance to finally heal, a safe place
Its subtle and indirect but I think throughout the series, there are all sort of instances where UmeSaku influenced each other. The most recent would be in ch. 158 where Sakura's unwavering faith in Umemiya had allowed Umemiya to fight back and win against Takiishi or how in ch. 162 where Umemiya thanked Sakura for bringing in back-up because it hadn't crossed Umemiya's mind to do the same
So yeah, I like this moment because its the 1st of many where UmeSaku slowly intertwined in each other's lives
Thank you so much for reading this far!
If you want, you can find more Wind Breaker and UmeSaku here on Hanafūrin (my Twitter side-account for all things Wind Breaker and UmeSaku)