Wind Breaker (stylized in
all caps) is a Japanese
manga series written and illustrated by Satoru Nii, which began serialization on
Kodansha's Magazine Pocket manga website in January 2021. As of May 2024, the series' individual chapters have been collected in 17 tankōbon volumes. An
anime television series adaptation produced by
CloverWorks premiered in April 2024.
Plot
From an early age, Haruka Sakura was an outcast due to his unconventional appearance and lack of social skills. However, the harsh treatment he received made him a skilled fighter, which is now the only thing he prides himself on. After enrolling at Furin High School, where it is rumored that strength is valued over academics, Sakura has only one goal—to become the best.
After being involved in a street brawl the day before his enrollment, Sakura meets a group of his future classmates. Instead of rejecting him, however, they fight alongside him, showing that the school's real concern is protecting the town of Makochi from harm—hence why the students call themselves "Bofurin." Surprised by the support and appreciation of the townspeople, Sakura has a hard time accepting their goodwill. Though unfamiliar with others showing him kindness, he must learn to overcome his discomfort when Bofurin is pitted against formidable enemies. After experiencing the feeling of acceptance, he finds himself fighting for the sake of others for the first time.
A transfer student at Fuurin High School, who enrolled there in order to reach the top. He has
heterochromia in his hair and eyes, which, along with his lack of social skills, caused him to be ostracized. Despite his stubbornness, he is a tsundere and has a sense of justice, and is sensitive towards romance. It is implied that he refuses friendship because of his past, as his strength caused others to hate him.
A third-year student and the representative of Furin High School. Despite being a leader, he is cheerful and likes to garden, which makes Sakura question his status as a leader. He is Kotoha's adoptive brother and is protective of her.
A first-year student who later becomes Sakura's right-hand man alongside Hayato. Although he is not very strong, he is knowledgeable about delinquents from other schools.
Wind Breaker is written and illustrated by Satoru Nii. He was inspired to draw manga as he consistently read Weekly Shōnen Magazine during his childhood. While attending university he submitted a
dark fantasy work titled Uramare-ya for a newcomer award and then achieved a
Kodansha-published serialization with the
gender bender/
sports mangaDanshi Bado-Bu ni Joshi ga Magireteru Secret Badminton Club. When a second badminton series stalled in development and after he received some advice from an editor, Nii shifted his focus to creating stories about male characters he called "cool boys" (カッコいい男の子, kakkoī otokonoko).[13]Wind Breaker was born out of Nii's desire to create a series centered around this archetype, which he wished to accomplish by studying similar works while consulting with an editor.[14] Manga like Rave Master and Samurai Deeper Kyo, both of which he grew up reading and that be felt contained such characters, served as influences.[13]
Nii initially considered having Umemiya as the main character. However, he was unable to make progress having the team leader of Bofuurin as the protagonist, so he brought in Sakura to fill the role to lend an outsider's perspective on the story's circumstances.[13][14] The author has called Sakura his favorite character for embodying the "cool" factor he sought to accomplish and due to the time he devoted in designing his appearance and personality.[14] He chose to give him
heterochromatic eyes and hair to add visual complexity and to make him distinguishable as the main character at a glance.[13] He further likened him to a
stray cat in his design, stating his light movements and lack of body thickness were unlike normal humans.[14] Also feeling that he lacked the personality of a main character in an early draft, Nii gave Sakura the tsundere-like trait of being embarrassed when someone praised or thanked him.[13]
The main setting of the manga was modeled after a shopping district in
Tokyo. Bofurin's team color is green, representing plants, while the rival team Shishitoren's color is red, representing a red lantern found in a tavern.[13] Nii claimed to have little involvement with the anime adaptation. He admitted to being impressed by the voice actors' commitments to their parts and was consequently able to reinterpret his own characters.[14]
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Satoru Nii, the series began serialization in
Kodansha's Magazine Pocket website on January 13, 2021.[15] As of May 2024, the series' individual chapters have been collected in 17 tankōbon volumes.[16]
In March 2022,
Kodansha USA announced that they licensed the series for digital English publication.[17] During their
Anime NYC 2022 panel, Kodansha USA announced that they would begin releasing print copies in late 2023.[18]
An
anime television series adaptation produced by
CloverWorks was announced on March 30, 2023.[47][48] It is directed by Toshifumi Akai, with scripts written by
Hiroshi Seko, character designs by Taishi Kawakami, and music composed by
Ryo Takahashi.[49] The series premiered on April 5, 2024, on the brand new
Super Animeism Turbo programming block on all
JNN affiliates, including
MBS and
TBS.[50] The opening theme is "Zettai Reido" (絶対零度, "Absolute Zero"), performed by natori, while the ending theme is "Muteki" (無敵, "Unbeatable"), performed by Young Kee.[11]Aniplex of America licensed the series and is streaming it on
Crunchyroll.[51][52]Muse Communication has licensed the series in Southeast Asia.[53]
"Umemiya's Style" Transliteration: "Umemiya no Ryūgi" (
Japanese: 梅宮の流儀)
Taishi Kawakami
Hiroshi Seko, Shiori Tanaka
Katsuhiko Kitada
May 31, 2024 (2024-05-31)
Reception
The series ranked 20th at the 2021
Next Manga Award in the web manga category.[58] At
AnimeJapan 2022, the series ranked ninth in a poll asking what manga people want to see animated.[59]
By March 2022, the series has sold over 1.22 million copies between its digital and print versions.[2]
^
abcdeAnimate Times staff (February 19, 2024).
"『WIND BREAKER』TVアニメ4月放送開始記念! 原作者・にいさとる先生 独占インタビュー!!" [Wind Breaker: Commemorating the start of TV anime broadcasting in April! Exclusive interview with the original author Satoru Nii!!]. Animate Times (in Japanese). Archived from
the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024.