News
HarperCollins to Release Shion Miura's Run With the Wind Novel in English
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The novel will also get an e-book and an audiobook release.
HarperVia describes the novel:
After shoplifting some bread one chilly March night, just before the start of a new academic year at Kansei University in western Tokyo, former high school track and field star Kakeru Kurahara runs through the city streets. Though disillusioned with the sport itself, as his shoes pummel the asphalt, he thinks to himself that he could keep running forever...but to where, and for what? While Kakeru has shaken off the storekeeper pursuing him, a mysterious boy on a bike finally catches up to him. His name is Haiji Kiyose, a fellow student at Kansei University, who also happens to be a runner.Impressed by Kakeru's agility, Kiyose persuades Kakeru to move into Chikusei-so, a run-down dormitory where he resides with eight other boys. Chikusei-so's colorful residents include identical twins Jota and Joji, honor student Shindo, detail-oriented Yuki, trivia junkie King, Tanzanian international student Musa, nicotine-loving Nico, and manga otaku Prince. However, unbeknownst to Kakeru or any of the other dorm residents, Chikusei-so is the historic home of the Kansei University Track and Field dorm, and Kakeru is just the person Kiyose has been looking for.
At Kakeru's welcoming party, Kiyose reveals his grand plan of assembling a 10-man team of runners to compete in the Hakone Ekiden, a legendary college marathon relay race, broadcast throughout Japan. The only problem is that, apart from Kakeru and Kiyose, the Chikusei-so gang aren't too athletic--or interested in participating. However, with only 10 months left to train, and some convincing from Kiyose, this ragtag team will put aside their differences to pursue an elusive dream, and gain so much more in the process.
Heartfelt and inspiring, Run with the Wind is a thrilling celebration of what it means to run--for yourself, for others, and with the wind.
Shinchosha published the novel in Japan in September 2006. The novel inspired a live-action film adaptation that premiered in October 2009. A 23-episode television anime series adaptation premiered in October 2018. Crunchyroll and HIDIVE streamed the anime as it aired and Sentai Filmworks released the series on home video.
The novel has also inspired a stage play adaptation and manga.
Miura's other works published in English include The Easy Life in Kamusari, Kamusari Tales Told at Night, and The Great Passage. The Great Passage inspired a live-action film in 2013, an anime series adaptation in 2016, and an upcoming live-action series in February.
HarperVia has previously published such novels as The Tatami Galaxy and The Tatami Time Machine Blues. The imprint will release Park Seolyeon's A Magical Girl Retires novel in English on April 30. Kim Sanho illustrates the novel, and Anton Hur is translating.
Source: Email correspondence
