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 March 2026, the series' individual chapters have been collected in 25 volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks aired from April to June 2024. A second season aired from April to June 2025. A live-action film adaptation was released in Japan in December 2025.

Plot

From an early age, Haruka Sakura was an outcast due to his unconventional appearance and lack of social skills. However, the harsh treatments 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, his classmates 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 Furin High School who enrolled there in order to reach the top. Sakura is a lonesome fighter who 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 Sakura refuses friendship because of his past, as his strength caused other people to hate him.
• Akihiko Nirei (楡井 秋彦)
• A first-year student at Furin High School who becomes Sakura's best friend and right-hand man alongside Suō. Nirei always carries a notebook and pen and is knowledgeable about delinquents from other schools. He is not very strong at fighting, but after Sakura saved his life, Nirei vows to help him reach the top.
• Hayato Suō (蘇枋 隼飛)
• A first-year student at Furin High School who becomes Sakura's best friend and right-hand man alongside Nirei. Suō is a mysterious teenager who wears an eyepatch, has a calm fighting style similar to Aikido, and a teasing sense of humor.
• Kyōtarō Sugishita (杉下 京太郎)
• A first-year student at Furin High School in Class 1 and Umemiya's loyal and devoted fanatic. Sugishita does not talk much but is considered one of the strongest fighters in Bofurin. He is also Sakura's rival.
• Hajime Umemiya (梅宮 一)
• A third-year student and the top representative of Furin High School. In spite of being the charismatic leader of Bofurin, Umemiya is cheerful and likes gardening, which makes Sakura question his status as the leader. He is also Kotoha's protective adoptive brother.
• Tōma Hiragi (柊 登馬)
• A third-year student at Furin High School and one of the Four Heavenly Generals, Hiragi is the head of Tamon team and Umemiya's closest friend and right-hand man. He tends to get stomachaches from stress and carries medicine to help with it.
• Kotoha Tachibana (橘 ことは)
• A café worker in the district who is like a big sister to the Furin High School students, despite being younger than them. Kotoha is Umemiya's adoptive sister.
• Chōji Tomiyama (兎耳山 丁子)
• The cheerful leader of Shishitoren.
• Jō Togame (十亀 条)
• The second-in-command of Shishitoren.
• Kōta Sako (佐狐 浩太)
• A member of Shishitoren who has a past with Hiragi.
• Yukinari Arima (有馬 雪成)
• A member of Shishitoren and Kanuma's friend.
• Minoru Kanuma (鹿沼 稔)
• A member of Shishitoren and Arima's friend.
• Mitsuki Kiryū (桐生 三輝)
• A first-year student at Furin High School in Class 1. Gentle and thoughtful, Kiryu loves playing video games and likes to add "chan" to his friends' names as a term of endearment.
• Taiga Tsugeura (柘浦 大河)
• A first-year student at Furin High School in Class 1. Loud and energetic, Tsugeura is obsessed with muscle training and asking people about their "virtues" or "aesthetics".
• Ren Kaji (梶 蓮)
• A second-year student at Furin High School and the grade captain of Class 1. Kaji usually carries lollipop and wears headphones while listening to loud music.
• Masaki Anzai (杏西 雅紀)
• A first-year student at Furin High School in Class 1 and one of Sakura's classmates. He is also Nagato and Tsuchiya's childhood friend.
• Atsushi Nagato (長門 淳史)
• Anzai's childhood friend who was a member and victim of KEEL.
• Shingo Natori (名取 慎吾)
• The sociopathic crime boss of KEEL, Natori is violent, manipulative, and sadistic.
• Takeru Kongō (金剛 尊)
• One of the five VIP members of KEEL.
• Renji Kaga (名取 慎吾)
• One of the five VIP members of KEEL.
• Taishi Mogami (最上 大志)
• One of the five VIP members of KEEL.
• Shiyū Kirishima (霧島 士佑)
• One of the five VIP members of KEEL.
• Hansuke Tone (利根 帆介)
• One of the five VIP members of KEEL.
• Tasuku Tsubakino (椿野佑)
• A third-year student at Furin High School and one of the Four Heavenly Generals, Tsubakino is the head of Jikoku team. Stylish and passionate, he wears a girl's uniform and dresses femininely in general. He is incredibly loyal to Umemiya and is very fond of Sakura and Nirei. Tsubakino also works as a dancer and waiter at Show Pub Ougi and a protective older sister figure to Shizuka.
• Seiryū Sakaki (榊 晴竜)
• The eldest of the Sakaki twins and a third-year student at Furin High School serving as Tsubakino's right-hand man.
• Uryū Sakaki (榊 雨竜)
• The youngest of the Sakaki twins and a third-year student at Furin High School serving as Tsubakino's right-hand man.
• Kanji Nakamura (中村 幹路)
• The 18-year-old handsome chairman of Roppo-Ichiza, Kanji is an incredibly tough and impulsive fighter who works to protect the Keisei Street alongside a group of strong fighters dressed in suits. Kanji cares deeply for Shizuka and also works as a waiter and bodyguard at Show Pub Ougi, where he first met Tsubakino.
• Shizuka Narita (成田 静香)
• A singer who works at Show Pub Ougi alongside Kanji and a younger sister figure to Tsubakino. Shizuka first met Sakura, Nirei and Suō when she was being chased by the members of GRAVEL.
• Akihito Miyoshi (美吉 彰人)
• A member of Roppo-Ichiza who serves as a host.
• Shōgo Hidaka (日高 将吾)
• A member of Roppo-Ichiza who works as a restaurant manager.
• Ritsu Otowa (音羽 律)
• A member of Roppo-Ichiza who is a piano player.
• Shūhei Suzuri (硯 秀平)
• The leader of GRAVEL, a large group of impoverished people from the Sunaba District.
• Yamato Endō (棪堂 哉真斗)
• A former student of Furin High School and the co-leader of Noroshi.
• Chika Takiishi (焚石 矢)
• A former student of Furin High School and the co-leader of Noroshi.
• Takumi Momose (桃瀬 匠)
• A third-year student at Furin High School and one of the Four Heavenly Generals, Momose is the head of Zojo team.
• Saku Mizuki (水木 聡久)
• A third-year student at Furin High School and one of the Four Heavenly Generals, Mizuki is the head of Komoku team.
• Yūgo Wanijima (鰐島 勇吾)
• A member of Shishitoren who is the third strongest member of the team.

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).[18] 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.[19] Manga like Rave Master and Samurai Deeper Kyo, both of which he grew up reading and that contained such characters, served as influences.[18]

Nii initially considered having Umemiya as the main character. However, he was unable to make progress with the team leader of Bofurin as the protagonist, so he brought in Sakura to fill the role to lend an outsider's perspective on the story's circumstances.[18][19] 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.[19] 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.[18] 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.[19] 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.[18]

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.[18] 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.[19]

Media

Reception

Wind Breaker ranked 20th at the 2021 Next Manga Award in the web manga category.[97] At AnimeJapan 2022, the series ranked ninth in a poll asking what manga people want to see animated.[98] It was nominated for the 49th Kodansha Manga Award in the category in 2025.[99] The series was also nominated in the Harvey Awards for the Best Manga category in the same year.[100]

By March 2022, the series had sold over 1.22 million copies between its digital and print versions.[101] By September 2025, the series had over 10 million copies in circulation.[102]

The anime was nominated for Best Action at the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2025.[103]

External links