Wind Breaker (manga)

Wind Breaker (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Satoru Nii that 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 volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks aired from April to June 2024. A second season is set to premiere in 2025.

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 he is 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.

Characters

 * Haruka Sakura (桜 遥)
 * A first-year 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, 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 first-year 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, 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.


 * Kyōtarō Sugishita (杉下 京太郎)
 * A first-year student who does not talk much. He is the representative of Furin High School and Umemiya's loyal lackey.
 * A first-year student who does not talk much. He is the representative of Furin High School and Umemiya's loyal lackey.


 * Hayato Suō (蘇枋 隼飛)
 * A first-year student who later becomes Sakura's right-hand man alongside Akihiko. He wears an eyepatch and has a calm fighting style.
 * A first-year student who later becomes Sakura's right-hand man alongside Akihiko. He wears an eyepatch and has a calm fighting style.


 * Hajime Umemiya (梅宮 一)
 * 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 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.


 * Tōma Hiragi (柊 登馬)
 * A third-year student and one of the Four Heavenly Generals.
 * A third-year student and one of the Four Heavenly Generals.


 * Akihiko Nirei (楡井 秋彦)
 * 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.
 * 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.


 * Taiga Tsugeura (柘浦 大河)
 * A first-year transfer student who is obsessed with muscle training and asking people about their "aesthetics".
 * A first-year transfer student who is obsessed with muscle training and asking people about their "aesthetics".


 * Mitsuki Kiryu (桐生 三輝)
 * A first-year student who likes playing video games.
 * A first-year student who likes playing video games.


 * Kotoha Tachibana (橘 ことは)
 * A café owner in the district who is like a big sister to the students, despite being younger than them. She is Hajime's adoptive sister.
 * A café owner in the district who is like a big sister to the students, despite being younger than them. She is Hajime's adoptive sister.


 * Chōji Tomiyama (兎耳山 丁子)


 * Jō Togame (十亀 条)


 * Kōta Sako (佐狐 浩太)


 * Yukinari Arima (有馬 雪成)


 * Minoru Kanuma (鹿沼 稔)

Production
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 manga Danshi 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). 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. Manga like Rave Master and Samurai Deeper Kyo, both of which he grew up reading and that contained such characters, served as influences.

Nii initially considered having Umemiya as the main character. However, he was unable to make progress with 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. The author has called Sakura his favorite character for embodying the "cool" factor he sought to accomplish and for the time he devoted to designing his appearance and personality. 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. He further likened him to a stray cat in his design, stating his light movements and lack of body thickness were unlike those of normal humans. Also feeling that he lacked the personality of a main character in an early draft, Nii gave Sakura the -like trait of being embarrassed when someone praised or thanked him.

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's (Shishitoren) color is red, representing a red lantern found in a tavern. 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.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Satoru Nii, the series began serialization on Kodansha's Magazine Pocket website on January 13, 2021. As of May 2024, the series' individual chapters have been collected in 17 volumes.

In March 2022, Kodansha USA announced that they had licensed the series for digital English publication. During their Anime NYC 2022 panel, Kodansha USA announced that they would begin releasing print copies in late 2023.

Anime
An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks was announced on March 30, 2023. It is directed by Toshifumi Akai, with scripts written by Hiroshi Seko, character designs by Taishi Kawakami, and music composed by Ryo Takahashi. The series aired from April 5 to June 28, 2024, on the brand new Super Animeism Turbo programming block on all JNN affiliates, including MBS and TBS. The opening theme song is "Zettai Reido" (絶対零度), performed by Natori, while the ending theme song is "Muteki" (無敵), performed by Young Kee. Aniplex of America licensed the series and is streaming it on Crunchyroll. Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.

After the airing of the final episode of the first season, a second season was announced and is set to premiere in 2025.

Reception
The series ranked 20th at the 2021 Next Manga Award in the web manga category. At AnimeJapan 2022, the series ranked ninth in a poll asking what manga people want to see animated.

By March 2022, the series had sold over 1.22 million copies between its digital and print versions.