Wind Breaker

🟢2024---It's Tokyo Revengers without the time travel plot and, more importantly, a very irritating main character (I mean, he's still irritating but not that much xD), so yes, a general shounen involving school hooligans fighting, is it better than TR? At first I thought so, but there was no specific plot after episode 6, ehh, it could have been better.....

📢The anime is about MC joining a school gang of typical heroes (the one who is always angry, the cool one or the cowardly one) and together with them he will defend the city from other one-dimensionally evil gangs, repeating over and over tired ... clichés about what "true strength" is " xD and yes... it's a standard, simple story that will consist of well-animated fights and stereotypically written characters, if that's enough for you, you can have fun.

At the beginning we are introduced to the characters and the school, and from the fourth episode a standard 1v1 fighting tournament begins,in every episode the same pattern, the opponent dominates --> Flashback --> the opponent loses, literally xD
In TR we had the plot that the ultra hopeless MC had to save his girlfriend using time travel and that was what the anime was about, in WB it was just random fights against the background of this one exceptionally good gang defending the city, boring.

At the beginning, this anime had the potential for a typical, banal story with an interesting main character, the first scene of the first episode announced that we would delve into the main character's psyche, his traumas and so on, eventually we got a banal character who is an archetype of tsundere, we keep repeating the same scenes all the time , MC after he helps someone and that person thanks him, starts shouting "I didn't do it for you" xD I'm complaining but it's not that bad, at least we see MC struggling with something but it could have been done a million times better, It's a pity, it could make up for the lack of a specific plot.

I complain about the "plot" and the MC, but overall you can enjoy this anime.

The rest of the characters, as I have already mentioned, are also general, but the stereotypical characters of some of them can be liked, after all, who doesn't like this seemingly calm boy who turns out to be a sadist or a nice and strong leader who becomes serious when necessary.
The plot is predictable and boring, but it's always nice to watch our good guys beat up these evil, self-righteous idiots and show them what it's like to be a victim.

You can complain about the world building, why gangs have exclusive schools and why the police don't do anything about it, in TR, from what I remember, schools taught normally and gangs operated outside it, here the world is empty and it seems that they exist in only these gangs and the people they defend or terrorize require a great deal of suspension of disbelief to derive pleasure from it.

To sum up:
-The plot is weak
-The characters are average
-Worldbuilding is bad

There remains only something that is the pillar of such an ordinary shounen... fights and they are done really well in this series in terms of animation, choreography and soundtrack.
It's a pity that the enemies are boring and unremarkable, and the main boss of the season is supposed to be a disabled, annoying kid xD
But as I wrote, beating up bad guys in this series is fun.

Turn off your brain and watch.....

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐❌❌❌❌❌

TL;DR
Wind Breaker's only good merit is the action thanks to Cloverworks' production, unless you delve deeper into what the anime is about.

If you know me, most of you would be familiar with me pointing out flaws in character detail since they're mostly the bulk of what makes an anime good. Besides that, I'm just an avid fan of action anime, it's just blatantly obvious that I regularly watch them every year. It's one that I felt most comfortable with, one where many greats were born from it, ones that have made me laugh, ones that have made me cry, but it's also one where ... I have a high standard of, and it's also easy for others to fumble with the action genre, most commonly with animation issues, just being still drawings being dragged in and out of the screen that is supposed to be "action" for the audience. And having Wind Breaker on the radar, I had to personally check it out for myself.

I have a mixed view of Cloverworks in general. They have proven that they can produce good new anime series which are pretty popular mangas at that given time, especially since one of my favorite anime was My Dress-Up Darling from Cloverworks, but whenever they decided to make sequels, they would always discombobulate it to ashes just so they would never have to associate with it ever again. At least that's how I felt when they animated TPN S2 and WEP sequels (well to be clear, they were released a while ago, but ever since then I couldn't trust Cloverworks anymore when it came to hyped sequels.) So when Wind Breaker was announced to be animated by Cloverworks, I went on to assume the former, whereas they will be able to bring good production to this anime and likewise, the anime on the surface looks really good. The choreography looks sick, the visuals are bright and vibrant, along with a good 1st impression in general thanks to the OP being quite fitting with what the anime wanted to portray. But even so, Wind Breaker has a long way to go to reach the gold standard of what a good shonen anime should achieve.

First of all, what is Wind Breaker all about? Well, you could see a whole group of delinquents ganging up together to be acknowledged by everyone, foes and friends alike. Sakura Haruka is the MC who yearns for acknowledgment and it's prevalent to see that in him. I hate to use comparisons but you can deliberately see that his ideals are like Naruto's, only with a more juvenile personality. The only thing he knows is fistfighting, punching the living soul out of anyone who dares to stand in his path, a lone wolf who has been ostracized by his peers and community alike, and you guess it, he wants to attain the crown at the top for himself just so he can be acknowledged by everyone. From there, the MC's development begins from a juvenile lonely Go-haired boy to someone who starts to learn what it means to strive for the top seat.

On the other hand, let's not act like this is an uncommon thing. Teenagers being insecure with their own identity is just common to see in any anime whose majority of the cast are teenagers, but it's difficult to find anime that knows how to portray it without relying on too much melodrama or making up plot conveniences. For instance, show flashbacks for 3 minutes to supposedly bring context to characters' backstory or make the main characters say the right thing at the right time which somehow dealt damage to the adversary's psyche. Not to mention being an anime revolving around high school students, you can tell from a glimpse of it, it was going to be about gaining the respect of the community and beating the shit out of others for treating people ill-willed. The anime is another one of those "make your MC scream their own righteous goal in your face and have their adversary be bamboozled by their screaming" kind of schtick. I may sound like I'm criticizing it for an abundance of cliches, but that's not my point. It's not the idea that any anime should try to always be original or do things out of the ordinary in every aspect, some of my favorites have done these things that I am speaking of, but the anime does nothing but feel like it over-relied on the stereotypes for too long that any form of freshness the anime could produce is just non-existent compared to what the anime commonly shoves in your face.

Besides, it's filled with so many character archetypes and cliches that it further cements the point that the anime lacks its own identity and originality. Even Umemiya's character is basically a knock-off version of Gojo Satoru with the same VA. And it's not just him, it's the whole cast themselves for being so one-dimensional and archetypal. Typically, Sakura has the most depth out of all the different characters, given the fact that he's the main character, and I'm willing to say that even the new adversaries that showed up also have some depth to them. Albeit what he has managed to achieve is just a minuscule scale of what a good character should be. It felt like he had barely touched the surface of many possibilities his character could be. And the cast has done nothing to complement each other but rather more like cheap gimmicks just to arouse your attention.

Nirei is a comic relief that also serves as the show's exposition, but oh no, since the writing is so blatant, you'll see Nirei acting like a narrator who doesn't know how to shut up. Suo acts how "normal" Mahito would do without his psychopathic tendencies. Don't even get me started with the show's humor. When you have characters this bland, you'd have a better chance of laughing at a reflection of yourself than this one, it is cluttered with these archetypes playing random quips just to cue for a laugh, but to no avail. Their connections and dialogues are superficial, none of them has any meaning other than to drive the plot to where it needs to be. To add further, I'm not trying to say a show shouldn't put stereotypes, it can be used if done with care and some creativity behind it. The stereotypes that many found annoying need to receive growth or any form of subversion to serve as a breath of fresh air, but because the show rarely tries to do so for the main cast excluding Sakura, you won't be able to see any ideal growth from them either.

Despite the excessive criticism I'm giving to this anime, there is some merit to what Wind Breaker has managed to offer despite its many blunders. As much as it is an action anime, for the most part, it isn't really bad, in fact, I'd say it's pretty good. It follows all of the ideal ingredients that make a good action anime, and as a result, most of its fights are spectacularly good, well for a couple of exceptions, (of course, I'm looking at you, Umemiya). It's nice how Cloverworks still continues to bring lively visuals and slick animation for their new projects and it definitely shows here. Even when you have simplistic characters or some of the most embarrassing dialogues known to mankind, action isn't particularly affected by it that much, so the action shines like a glimmering light on all of its weaker aspects. The pacing is also nice and it didn't suffer from too much downtime, it's straight to the point, and boom, you get a good action anime. Just not that great on the others.

In the end, Wind Breaker, without a doubt, delivers the action sequences, much of what you should expect from an action show. However, it's difficult to recommend this when you have the weakest cast to support a somewhat decent main character. If you can tolerate archetypes or abysmal characters, you should be able to watch this with particular ease. Otherwise, it will be a painstaking gauntlet to get to the good part, since it spends a lot of time on the cast, and it's just a norm for shonen to have an ensemble cast to appear for most of the show, but when the cast is really bad, it can be quite a downer.

Thank you for reading.

There's really not much to say about this series.

Plot
MC has black/white hair color and different colored eyes. Its actually a cool design, but apparently everyone always bullied him for that and he escaped that stress by fighting people like a delinquent. Finally, for highschool, he decided to move into a new town famous for its delinquent school. But turns out that the highschool students are "defenders" of the town (lmao.. who needs police) who protect it from other bad people. Now, MC will learn about kindness as the rest of the town is very grateful to them for "protecting" the town and also learn ... to be friends with other students. He also plans to rise to the top and become the strongest guy or something (cringe.).

Review
This is simply a highschool battle manga. If you are a teenager, you might like it. Its just teens giving life lessons like they have experienced the deepest shit or something.

Being a shounen, this is full of stereotypes. The characters, their backstories and the resolutions of all the fights are cliches we have seen a hundred times before. The MC who "hates" weaklings, will also help/protect them, and when they say thank you, he starts blushing and saying "I didn't do it for you. I hate the weak". Tsundere all the way.

But, the anime really outdid itself in taking such mediocre material and turning it into a top tier show.
1. The fight choreography
2. The animation and art
3. The sound (especially the background music during fights)

All three of those aspects are 10/10. Even without a proper plot or characters, the anime is carried hard by its action/animation/sound. This is why I gave this series a 7/10 rating.

If you are bored, and are looking for some "hype" content to pass time, then this is it. There's no layers or "deeper meaning" in this show, but the fights are still hype and you know the anime will deliver. If I had to compare this show, then I think beyblade is very similar in spirit.

Wind Breaker is one of the big names in the 2024 spring season and is praised by many. However, It seems to be overhyped by the incredible animation and action sequences so much so that it distracts people from the bad writing. The show started off really fun, but once it gives the story some attention you start realizing that there isn't much besides those amazing action sequences.

Story/Writing: [4/10]
The synopsis on MAL explains the story enough that I feel I don't have to go over it. It's not exactly winning any awards, but there is nothing wrong with it. But as you may have ... seen I gave this category a low score, and that is all thanks to the god-awful writing. All the tension that was built up between the characters goes out the door after each fight. The antagonists were meant to be ruthless to their own school, beating them if they lose a fight. They even paint the main antagonist to be so mentally unwell it appears he's going insane. Things needed more time to develop but they solved all of the conflict within 3 episodes which was filled with flashbacks to force you to understand and like the characters, and even decided to make them friends right after like nothing had happened. The writing throughout the show wasn't as bad as this, but the arc I am talking about is the center of the entirety of this first season. The show rushed something so incredibly vital and that is bad writing in my book.

Premise/Plot: [6/10]
The premise makes no sense if you talk about it like it's real, but at the end of the day it's just fiction. Why are kids running gangs in schools? Where are there teachers and parents? Who really knows, but honestly I don't think it's all that important either.

Characters: [6/10]
Wind Breaker's characters are the one thing that is somewhat enjoyable about the show besides the action sequences. I love seeing the way the characters bounce off of each other, but I do have two big complaints. The first complaint is Sakura. I understand that he is scared of getting close to people and is very shy, but they keep making it a running joke, one of which gets extremely old very fast. They seriously need to tone that down, because after awhile it just upsets you. The second, I feel like they introduced a lot of characters and couldn't flesh them out properly by doing so. I hope in season 2, they don't introduce an absurd amount of characters and instead give more depth to the existing ones.

Art/Animation: [8/10]
Let's not kid ourselves, the animation is the only reason a lot of you are even reading this review. The fights were choreographed amazingly and the sakuga was great. The show kept the production steady throughout the entirety of this first season. It absolutely carries the show, and is one of it's only redeeming qualities.

Audio: [7/10]
The OST is fine, the opening and ending were both great. Not much else to say.

Conclusion:
If you go into this show wanting strictly action, I think you will come out from this show very satisfied. However, for those who need more substance in terms of writing, story, and deep characters in their anime, you will leave with a bad taste in your mouth. All in all a fine show to turn your brain off to. I personally hope season 2 comes back and swings harder, because as unsatisfied as I was I did catch myself enjoying this show.

Critical Rating: High-Medium 5/10
(If you're curious to see how I rate, check "My Rating Criteria" on my MAL.)

Enjoyment points: 1
(An enjoyment point means it doesn't fully deserve it's critical rating. To know more about enjoyment points, check my MAL.)

Very predictable plot here which is fine but the characters are just so basic and so cringey being delinquents or helpful delinquents! Please for the love of god if your going to do this formula make it more gritty and violent, anyone who knows and seen the delinquent kids in any fucking area of the world know they are usually terrible or have done terrible things and terrible things happen to those who fight like this. Please add death, broken bones, ligaments torn, eyesight loss, police even wrongdoings or rightdoings to the formula. They need to stop glamourizing this stupid shit please lol.

Fights, especially ... with usually bad people do not end well, and I am tired of anime like this dumbing it down to a child level. Animation and visual appeal though are amazing I do love how they are drawn but that doesn't give this anime a pass. Now if you do like the child's perspective of delinquents or it doesn't matter to you then the anime will be atleast a 7 for you probably. And that is okay, just my gripe with this genre especially when the tone is seeming like the characters actually take themselves seriously. I feel like if you want to do this delinquent genre and be pg/pg13 at least make it super fantasy like where they have powers and better comedy.

Once again this show is unbiased for those not caring about plot tone and character's personality tropes most likely a 7 or higher and 3 or 4 for those who do.

The first four episodes of "Wind Breaker" had me hooked. I loved the world and the premise, The MC was interesting, the animation was very good. It seemed like it was going to be a fun watch, but the whole 1v1 Bofurin vs Lion Head arc started and that entire thing was a chore to get through. This is something that can only be pulled off after establishing the characters and having a good story build up, not straight out the gate with 6 episodes into the start of the story. It felt like a lot of lazy info dump with the flashbacks, the emotional ... scenes were not hitting, the redemption of Lion Heads leaders created moments of some of the most forced character development scenes I've ever seen and the execution of it was honestly even cringe at times. Personally felt it was a thematically shallow, poorly written and just an overall forgettable arc that dragged on for quite a few episodes. The show did have a strong finish, Not strong enough to cover the shit show of the 1v1 arc but enough for me to be interested in a second season. I think there is something genuinely interesting here that can be developed into something more fun in the future.

Plot is mid, main character has always been a lone dog and transferred schools where he aimed to be the number one fighter, but then discovers power of friendship.
Especially the first 4 episodes are quite hard to watch, it really is a "trust the process thing".
When more fighting scenes started, the author basically forcefully give everyone a 10 minute character arc with a bunch of cut scenes of their own past. There are also many unnecessary blood splat scene which doesn't contribute to anything, but the animators really gave their all, everything is so smooth and realistic.
I have mixed feelings because the VAs and fighting ... animations are really good and the characters are lovable. But beyond that, the plot really isn't that good for those who want to watch this for the plot.
edit: music is really good too

Should you watch Wind Breaker? Yes… and no! Let me set some expectations for you. Do not expect a deep and unique story that you haven’t seen or read before because you will not find it in this anime. Wind Breaker is chock-full of cliches, stereotypes, and tropes.

The MC is one you’ve seen a dozen times. He is headstrong in his beliefs and always says the right things to impress and captivate those around him. His actions of always doing the right things but “because he wants to, not because he’s trying to help”, gets tiring pretty quick. Because the anime is in its ... first season we have yet to see any development and are only being shown the MC acts this way because that’s just how he is.

The side characters are just as vanilla as you would expect. There’s the quiet but ferocious one, the weak but compassionate, the leader who is a goofball but dead serious when it comes to his underlings, and any other trope you could think of. Don’t expect a cast of characters that are so well written they will stand out from other anime’s (even the art design is pretty standard).

The story is plain as well. Nothing groundbreaking. Good guys go to fight bad guys, bad guys get character development through flash backs, audience is supposed to “feel” for bad guys now.

With all this being said, if you enjoy well choreographed fights where the good guys win and justice prevails, you will get some enjoyment out of this anime. I would not recommend to someone who has only seen a hand-full of anime. But, if you are an avid anime fan and need something to fill the gap between shows you really enjoy, turn on Wind Breaker.

Overall I give it a 6.5/10 so far.

Im not going to write something that hasnt been mentioned in the other reviews. The show is an extremely generic battle shounen much like Kaiju No8. But on the contrary Kaiju No8 has at least some logic because the characters fight monsters with special suits and weapons and is based on the good old formula of monster hunting. Here we have a school that has no principal, no teachers and no explanation for how it exists or what purpose it serves in education. There is no good drama either and the teenagers have extraordinary powers and also no parents! The comedy feels extremely forced ... and the jokes are almost non-existent. The only reason im rating this show a 7 is because of the fighting scenes which are incredible and the only saving grace for this anime. If you enjoy good fight scenes that remind you of the old Hong Kong movies watch it if not just dont bother

The first episode of Wind Breaker is probably the best one, which isn't a good sign. The best part of the whole show is it's action and fight scenes, which are very good. Thy are very pretty and are genuinely impressive. This is shown off well in the first episode with the group fight, which is one of my fav fights in recent memory. However, everything else falls short. Despite what the first ep shows, samurais character isn't that deep and nither are any of the other characters in the whole show. The plot is very bland and the characters are the definition of their ... trope with nothing more. The only reason I'm planning on watching the next season is because the last episode is actually pretty good and got me interested in the next arc.

Tldr, great action and production value, mid everything else. The first episode is the best and the last one seems intriguing. Has potential to be better next season

As a huge fan of the Tokyo Revengers animanga, you could imagine how excited I was to hear there would be an anime adaptation to Windbreaker, a series I heard was similar plot-wise. I held off on watching it until now, and maybe it's because I came in with high expectations, but I was only mildly satisfied.

Plot: Tsundere MC, Sakura, was outcasted as a kid and feels the need to be the best, specifically with his fists, so he joins the gang-associated school, Furin. Sakura has a hard time letting people in but learns he can only reach the top by allowing himself ... to accept help from others. Through punches and kicks, every fight and person he meets pushes him away further from the rejected boy he came into the town as and closer to realizing it's okay to be a part of something bigger than himself.

Characters: As someone who gets attached to characters quite easily, it's surprising that none stood out, at least to me. The MC was annoyingly stubborn at some points in the story, but characters such as Suo, Ume, and Togame left a good impression. However, if you're going to use a whole episode explaining a character's back story, at least flesh them out enough for me to care about them first.

Animation: Now, as I was watching Windbreaker, the animation is a huge sleeper of 2024. The fight scenes were impeccable. Seriously, CloverWorks needs their credit because holy shit! Everything from the art style to the frames of animation during the fast-paced scenes was great. The fluidity and perspectives of the parkour shots as well as the one-on-one fights were riveting, to say the least. No complaints here!

Enjoyment: On to the nit-picking, I did complete this anime in less than 24 hours. It wasn't the most pleasant watch and I definitely took long breaks in episodes with a bunch of background plot, but I did it nonetheless. When it came down to it, the fight scenes were nothing short of amazing, but everything else? Meh. The plot brought it down; some episodes were so strong, and others easily lost my interest only because the characters weren't nearly engaging enough for me to care about their backstories. As I said, I came in with higher hopes than most people for this anime, but throughout the story, it felt as if I almost was forcing myself to enjoy the anime merely because of the similarities I found to TokRev. it left me wondering if I'll even chime in for season two.

Want to know what it'd be like if Tokyo Revengers was soulless goyslop? Want to feel nauseated? You've come to the right place.

Wind Breaker is a show centered around the character Haruka Sakura who is a 16 year old male who obsessively loves fighting and has the traits of a typical tsundere. He dreams to become the strongest delinquent and has moved to a town called Furin.

Story: 2/10
The only reason the story gets a 2 is because the beginning was quite compelling. The initial premise hooked me enough to watch until the end. Sakura, the protagonist, is disdained and ignored by society due to his ... peculiar appearance. He’s treated as a scum of society simply because he looks like a rebellious teen with dyed hair and contact lenses. The first episode introduced some really interesting characters and set a promising tone, with Akihiko Nirei making a flashy and memorable entrance, setting up a lighthearted mood. But, unfortunately, the story fails to follow through on the themes it initially sets up. The ostracism Sakura faces ends up being completely irrelevant to the plot and doesn't add anything significant to his character or struggles. The plot could have remained the same without this aspect of Sakura’s backstory.

Additionally, the setting of Bofurin being a calm, cheesy, overglorified friend circle detracts from any potential drama. There’s no excitement or tension in Sakura’s journey to becoming the "top guy" when there’s no real conflict or disagreement. Overall, the story is a disappointing and repetitive letdown after a strong start.

Characters: 3/10
The characters in this story are a mixed bag. Akihiko Nirei initially stands out with his goofy, lighthearted demeanor and a backstory that makes him memorable. He wore very fashionable and flashy clothes and even forgot to take stickers off since the clothes were new which made him stand apart.

However, after his introduction, he quickly loses all personality by the next episode. He becomes a one-note character who occasionally makes minor remarks and constantly whines about Sakura’s troubles. I saw potential in Akihiko and Sakura forming a dynamic duo, with Sakura as the brawn and Akihiko as the brains, reminiscent of Mitsuya and Takemichi from Tokyo Revengers. Unfortunately, that potential was never realized.

The supporting characters in Shishitoren, however, are a different story. They are given proper backstories and are fully fleshed out, making them far more memorable than the protagonist’s group. The only character in the main cast who is remotely interesting is Hayato Suo. Despite the wasted potential, I have to give credit where it’s due—the Shishitoren's antagonist character add some much-needed depth and intrigue to an otherwise lackluster cast.

Togame Jo is my favourite character in the entire show with some level of complexity and nuance to his characters. I'd have preferred if he was the protagonist instead. Everything from the personality, to design, Togame delivers. And although Choji was initially a Walmart Meliodas x Manjiro Sano bastard child but even trashier and his lack of any personality and uniqueness was laughably comical, after being beat by Umemiya, he showed a tiny glimpse of personality. What a wasted character.

Animation: 8/10

The animation was actually this show's strong suit and is the reason why I decided to continue to watch it. Contrary to the garbage and lackluster story, the animation doesn't fail to deliver in its robust and slick fighting scenes which are very well choreographed. I can't say that I didn't enjoy the fights. It wasn't just some radial blurred barrage which symbolised 6 gorillion punches per second but rather were very carefully animated to signify each and every individual move.

Everything from the cheesy moments to the fights were breathtaking.

Although I do wish that it wasn't this colorful and there was some sort of contrast and darkness to set a more serious theme, I can't really complain since the source material is pukeworthingly cheesy.

Soundtrack: 7/10

The sounds are better than most I've heard. Can't complain. Sometimes they were pretty good.

A fun show with good animation, though it isn't the strongest story-wise.
Fight scenes are beautifully animated and OP slaps.
Characters and dialogue are nothing revolutionary, but fun to watch. Most characters fill a stereotype and are pretty one-note but have entertaining interactions and dynamics with each other.
Pacing is ok - faster than most older shounen, but still takes multiple episodes to chronicle one day - and story is predictable. The character comedy and fight scenes definitely save this show. Season ends in a really strange place - wraps up nicely around ep 10, then spends the last three eps setting up the next arc before ... ending just as you expect there to be more. This season definitely could have benefited from either a shorter run (ending around the content of ep 10) or a longer one (moving into and completing the next arc). As it stands, the season's ending is unsatisfactory and confusing.
The most nuanced character is Umemiya and the least bearable is Nieri.
Overall, a good show for a laugh, but don't go in expecting anything you haven't seen before.

Wind Breaker is an anime similar to Tokyo Revengers but with better animation. It follows a boy who enrolls in a school that looks like it's full of delinquents, but in reality, it isn’t—the students actually help their community. The protagonist aims to reach the highest rank in the school.

Impressions:
The anime has good animation quality, a solid soundtrack, and well-drawn visuals. However, in terms of the plot, I feel it needs a lot of improvement. Many characters are clichés and lack development, which makes sense considering the anime still has a low episode count. At times, it becomes repetitive and even boring. I don’t really ... like the structure where they fight with different gangs, then become friends afterward. This is the same issue I have with Tokyo Revengers, though I find Tokyo Revengers to be darker, which I personally like a bit more. That doesn’t mean I think Tokyo Revengers is better—it has its own flaws—but I do find its storyline more engaging than Wind Breaker’s.

I’m not sure if comparing two anime is the right approach, but I think it’s necessary to properly evaluate various aspects.

In the end, Wind Breaker isn’t bad—it’s just fine.

Plot is very shallow and characters are just different to be different and each one comes with a trope. Everyone's very emotional, some are even bashful despite the fact that they're in a delinquent school.. Story is extremely predicatable. Characters behave in exceedingly cringy behaviour and rarely show any deviation from their two dimensional tropes.

Art and animation are decent, fight scenes also have nice moments, Overall it's nothing to write home about, but above average.

This anime is basically the essence of people asking their parents for Tokyo Revengers and have the parents respond with "We already have Tokyo Revengers at home"

I'm very disappointed in this show, everybody and their mother has told me this show crushes Tokyo Revengers (a show I quite enjoy) but really it's kinda boring.

It's all flare no substance, I wouldn't even compare the 2 series on anything other than being about delinquents and even that's a stretch. Cloverwork does excellent with the visuals and animation, being so fluid and the voice acting cast is great but the story is just, lacking.

I think the "hype" around this show from enjoyers was more from a visual standpoint; because I'm sorry but story wise Tokyo Revengers crushes this show in it's first epsiode.

If you ... can't nail down the story first thing then don't bother putting so much work into the production. 🫤

Well, well, well, it's another delinquent anime. Now it's time to see if it meets the criteria. The characters are teenagers, despite acting like 40yo Italian mafiosi? Check. Violence is never portrayed as something negative and it's rather a selling point? Check. No character is concerned that a bunch of kids punching each other and everyone takes it for granted? Another check. But let's not jump to the conclusion and see if Wind breaker still has something good in its story.

Our main protagonist named Haruka Sakura decides to turn over a new leaf and burns his bridges with everyone he has ever known. The society ... treated Sakuro unjust for his truculent behavior ( I wonder why ) and his weird natural hair coloring ( for some reason dying hair has never occurred to him ). Anyway, he moves to a new place and to prove everyone wrong he is working his ass to become a mobster boss - the dream of every rebellious teenager. The neighborhood he now lives in is regularly ravaged by school kids as well as it is protected by other school kids and not by the police. The latter group of kids are members of a gang, whose name is derived from the bofa disease and whose current boss is Gojo I suppose. Aside from beating kids, Bofuring members in their free time do another thrilling things like chasing cats or erasing graffiti, so only their hangout could maintain the appearance of a junkies spot. I just described what happens in the story by the way, so let's cut to the characters.

If the plot of Wind breaker had been at least decent, it would've focused around Sakura's development and self-establishing. Unfortunately, all his personal struggles have been put in a toilet and flushed after the first episode, and the quirk of him being a tsundere stuck to the sides. Every other character is as simple as him and never leaves the "first impression" stage - they are presented with a single quirk and that quirk is being exploited for the rest of the season. Just imagine if Tyrion Lannister hadn't changed since his introduction in a whorehouse and everyone would've remembered him as a perverted dwarf who happened to be in Game of Thrones. The characters' lack of depth is compensated by the sheer amount of them. Every other episode the show throws a new bunch of people and that number progresses logarithmically. Jou Togame is the only exception. He is the only interesting character out of like 70, even though he has nothing to do with the story. He is a side character in just one arc, and the events related to him happened in the past and are told through flashbacks. And just like in his case everyone's problem here is solved by fighting, after which the character enters the "realization" stage. But this is just yet another issue I have with the story in addition to the meaningless dialog and the lame conflicts.

I don't want this review to seem like I hate Wind breaker, I just got tired of the same delinquent/outlaws shows. And Wind breaker's story doesn't provide anything original comparing to other shows of the same genre neither it executes its themes perfectly. On the other hand, the animation and the fight chirography are good and the music is amazing. So an average viewer will still enjoy this show, and I'm just not a target audience.

6/10 might be generous rating seeing how my own enjoyment was probably liwer. Half asleep during the second half i was to be honest. But i feel i wasnt the target audience. I had my doubts already before watching if this really was for me. But i thought i mught aswell give it a chance. But again it didnt appeal to me in tve slightest and i wont continue the second season.

Really cant say anything left a positive impression. Story is about a bunch of alpha male delinquents screaming. Fighting. Crying. Acting tough. Found no character to leave a lasting impression. Not a ... positive atleast. Pretty much an all male cast. Not much of a story. The fights are boring. The backstories are no good and didnt get me to synphatise with anyone. Shounen? Feels more like something that should be a josei. All male cast. Pretty boys crying feeling sorry for themselfs acting all delinquent like.

Music didnt appeal either. A very meh show that made me feel sleepy. Round two? No thanks.

Whether or not you like Wind Breaker is entirely going to be a matter of taste.

If you're looking for a delinquent/battle shonen, this isn't exactly it. There are definitely some cool fight scenes that get pretty tense at times, but I'd argue this isn't the main focus of the anime.

You'll like this show if you like things that are emotionally earnest, silly, over-the-top, a little corny--AND if you like delinquent turf war type stuff. Lots of brotherhood / power of friendship, and the main character's whole arc is basically recovering from trauma (lower-case t) & learning what love / friendship / gratitude look like.

This anime ... definitely requires some serious suspension of disbelief. These kids seem to live in some part of Japan with zero government infrastructure that is entirely run by teenage boys / young men beating the sh*t out of each other. If you can't accept this premise and ignore the entire absence of teachers / cops / etc, it will be a nonstarter for you.

In all other aspects, I think the show does pretty great. Lovable characters that do experience dynamic change (though it's mainly the main character Sakura), solid humor, exciting action, cohesive plot, and some REALLY great animation. And while the cast is almost exclusively male-dominated, there's no gross sexism or sexualization of the (really just one) female character. These are respectful young men 😤

This anime weirdly charmed me. You'll probably know within the first three episodes whether you should bother sticking with it or not.

Also--the only commonality with Tokyo Revengers (from where I'm standing) is the delinquent stuff. These shows otherwise have nothing in common lol

Windbreakers, aside from having a very poor choice of name (to break wind, means to fart), is a rather generic story overall.
the protag is a typical delinquent that looks scary and is an edgy loner, but is actually bashful and nice on the inside, and the story has him learning to make friends n embrace the power of friendship n all that. 1st ep even has him save a girl that's being harassed, so like i said, pretty generic.

however, the fights are very nicely done
clear, quick action where you can follow what people are doing, even on 1.25x speed, even one piece fails at that ... quite a few times.

so, if you like well animated fights and don't care about generic story beats, you can check it out.