Wind Breaker Episode 1 Review - Better Than Bucchigiri?!
As the finale of Bucchigiri approaches, I watch Wind Breaker and I realize that this is the delinquent anime I was expecting the former to be, but wasn’t met with it. Wind Breaker’s premise starts off strong with an impressionable main character with a goal to become the strongest. A bit typical, but at least it’s consistent with his story. Haruka Sakura (First name is Haruka and last name is Sakura) might have the girliest name ever, but he’s a lonely boy with a rather prickly side due to being shunned from others for a very long time due to his unusual hair and heterochromatic eyes. He fights because he believes that’s the only way he can fit in and be something other than a pariah. In the case of Arajin, he’s stuck with a fight-crazy genie, yet only fights like 3 times in the show so far (and four once the finale airs on Saturday). His schtick is that he wants to get laid and wishes to lose his virginity. Also, when pressured to fight, he starts getting toilet problems; the interesting fights in the show are all from characters not named Arajin. Look, I don’t mean to compare two shows, but it had to be done.
WInd Breaker is a story about Haruka Sakura moving into a new town and the first thing he does after moving in is to beat up scummy gangsters trying to hit on a lady named Kotoha. Sakura sees this and beats them up and as he does, he tells them to remember his name so that the weak can avoid him and the strong will come to him. After getting treated to omurice by Kotoha, she teaches him about what this town is like and why Sakura won’t be able to become the top of Furin High School. It’s because the school has started to reform into a place where “good” delinquents beat up gangsters and anyone who causes harm to the town. After another scuffle with the gangsters from earlier and getting help from his future schoolmates, Sakura realizes that what they’re doing—being Wind Breakers and protecting the school from evil gangsters—is exactly what he wants to do as well.
Just seeing a delinquent anime where the characters just use their fists for their fights is nice to see. The fact that Clover Works is the animation studio and the way they animated Sakura’s beating up the rival gang by himself was a real treat to see. Hot damn, they’re doing an amazing job from episode 1. The fight scene was the highlight of the premiere. If its already this good from the beginning, I can’t wait to see what future fights will be like. The music is nice too! I liked the soundtrack that the fight scene had and I also liked the opening song.
From the opening, there seems to be a large cast of characters, but for this episode, a few of them show up. Sakura seems like the textbook delinquent at first glance, but he’s a lonely boy who had been hurt from society shunning him for his hair and eyes. He’s used to misunderstanding, but it still took a large toll on his self esteem. He’s actually super adorable! Like when Kotoha thanks him, he gets all shy and his face turns red because he’s not used to gratitude. When she treats him to food, he starts acting super cute when the food is good and even asks if she does takeout. While he’s a great fighter, I do wonder if his past will be explored later on, I’d like to learn more about him.
About his hair, I remember watching a Korean talk show program called Hello Counselor where civilians talk about their concerns in public television. One concern I remember watching was about a mother who’s very young daughter had partially white hair and was worried about how society would treat her growing up. The daughter had a large streak of white hair in the front, so it made me learn that such thing does exist. It’s considered albinism. Despite this, Sakura’s design is mesmerizing. I love how unique his design is.
Kotoha seems to be the cool big sister type. I just hope she’s not his love interest because he’s a child and she’s an adult. It’d get weird given that Sakura might not even know what love is due to his loneliness. I do love how strong-willed she is. I just hope she isn’t the constant target of gang leaders because female characters tend to be that, especially in stories where it’s mainly male characters. Then there’s Hiragi and his posse. They seem like honorable people that the town loves, but I’d like to learn more about them.
The voice acting is amazing. Yuma Uchida really does show off his range. While he’s an expert at voicing tsunderes, I do love how gravely his voice is when Sakura shouts. It sort of reminds me of Yoshitsugu Matsuoka’s gravely voice, especially when he voices Inosuke. Kotoha is voiced by Ikumi Hasegawa. I normally hear her voice teen girls, so for her to voice an adult is a first for me, but I’d like to hear her voice adults more often. She has a strong tone. Hiragi is voiced by Ryota Suzuki, who’s another rising star in the voice acting industry. I’m familiar with his role as Kurosawa from Cherry Magic and the Wanima brothers from Blue Lock.
In my opinion, this was a strong start. I just hope it stays consistent and not stray off. I want to see the same type of action scenes presented in this episode. I want to see the main character be active and prominent to the story’s plot. I want to see growth and friendship too. Just give me things that Bucchigiri lacked. If you have watched the premiere of this anime, what are your honest thoughts?
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