There are no endless battles and flat characters.
Want to watch a life-affirming, warm and pleasantly naive anime about gang showdowns? Do you miss shonen anime where the main characters don't have superpowers?
Wind Breaker is just the perfect option. The spring season title from CloverWorks has 13 episodes, which means you can watch it all in one weekend.
What Is Wind Breaker About?
Haruka Sakura is not used to being treated well: his multi-colored eyes and hair have always attracted unwanted attention. Since childhood, people have treated him with prejudice. Not surprisingly, the boy decided not to argue with public opinion, but to conform to it.
Haruka is a new student at Furin High School. It is known for having the strongest and most reckless teenagers. Sakura's dream is to defeat them all and rise to the top.
Little does he know that Furin is not a school for bullies. It is a place where heroes learn to protect the city from other gangs. Sakura will have to change his views, make friends and prove his strength to everyone.
Wind Breaker Is a Fast-Paced Title That Is Quick to Reveal Its Characters
Anime is full of bright, charismatic characters whose roles are not limited to just being cool guys. Some of them are revealed almost immediately: this is how Wind Breaker differs from other shonen titles, where you have to watch dozens of episodes to find out the motivation or backstory of the characters.
For example, in the third episode, Furin students are involved in a showdown with guys from a gang from another school. In the following episodes spectacular fights are diluted with flashbacks, from which we learn how the characters got to this point in their lives.
As usual, everyone has their own drama behind them: we are shown the human side of the characters. After the indecently drawn-out fights in Bleach or Naruto, this approach is more than pleasing.
Wind Breaker Focuses More on the Characters Than the Battles
An absolute advantage is that the characters' experiences and their search for their place in the world are given much more time than their attempts to become stronger.
The main character is already a good fighter at the beginning of the anime, so he immediately shows what he is capable of, having bypassed the "leveling up" phase. And the common shonen cliché that a person is known in battle and the battle is a kind of dialog is almost completely absent here.
Wind Breaker is perfect for those who love the enthusiasm and naivety of classic shonen, but are not ready to sign up for another lifelong series, and want the psychology of the characters to be given no less attention than the fighting.