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What is Wind Breaker like? Community score: 4.4

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© にいさとる・講談社／WIND BREAKER Project

It's fair to say that the new Delinquent Anime Renaissance has encountered difficulties. While the Tokyo Revengers anime was a huge success in terms of its source material, as a standalone product it had a lot of problems—mainly due to the production and slow pacing that made Namek Saga have Seems faster in comparison. Bucchigiri last season?! had all the parts to have a good time but assembled those pieces with all the grace and consideration of a severely concussed 10th grader. So here's hoping that the third time will be the charm when it comes to anime guys beating each other up.

Wind Breaker is certainly off to a strong start. The first episode is a blast from start to finish, delivering all the gorgeously animated beat-em-ups you could hope for while endearing us to our protagonist. Haruka is a set of age-old defense mechanisms, trained from childhood to expect hostility when interacting with anyone. It's funny – and charming – how the good people of Furin treat him like the kind young man beneath him. The armor he has built throughout his life is constantly overlooked by kind old people who give him candy, and the local store continually welcomes him as a little superhero. There's something inherently adorable about a guarded kid having to adjust to life as the Friendly Neighborhood Delinquent, and that captivated me as much as the action-packed cartoon. excellent movement.

Though a bit blustering at first, Bofurin's transformation into being loved and famous by the townspeople seems counterintuitive to your typical crime anime. While our bad boy protagonists always harbor secret hearts of gold, part of the archetype's appeal is how they resist the patronizing conformity of society at large. Whether it's principles, teachers, police, or parents, they usually have some kind of power to fight, while also proving they are genuinely good people and giving the illusion of performance. True personal justice in a hypocritical world. Having your bad boys help old ladies cross the street and paint over graffiti is funny, but doesn't it also betray its core anti-hero subtext?

The surprising answer is “maybe,” but I think the show has done enough work to justify more nuanced implementation. The other half of the appeal of crime anime is how heroes remain heroes. They use their strength and fighting capacity to confront wrongs that corrupt or derelict systems of power cannot, be it protecting people from other criminals or providing a haven for others rejected by society. In that respect, what Bofurin represents is simply a more organized, more collective realization of that idea. By giving this collection of punks a sense of unity and purpose, Umemiya became a community organized for wayward youth, by wayward youth. It might sound cheesy to put it that way, but it's a pretty clear direction to take in this genre, which might have something to say about what it means to “fit in” into a community and how we even defines crime as a society. Hell, with the seeming lack of police—or teachers, for that matter—we might even be able to discuss community-centered anarchism. I didn't expect to see Bofurin tending community gardens or building group housing, but, you know, they could do it!

While it's yet to be determined how well it can keep the anime's anti-hero half from breaking the law, Wind Breaker has its violence locked down. These opening episodes feature some good fights, conveying not only the physical strength of Haruka and his new crew but also the visceral brutality with which they wield it. While there's a certain amount of exaggeration about the impact—Sugishita turns the desk into a metal and wood pancake with a single blow—it's still relatively sturdy, making each impact feel powerful. than. Even in scenes with more conservative animation, you can feel the weight and heft behind punches or see the gentle agility in a dodge, helping you get a feel for the power of each martial art. Doctor through absolute physicality. It's a pristine level of polish, so hopefully it can maintain at least some of that energy throughout the season.

The guys throwing those punches were pretty fun too. Haruka and Akihiko make an adorable dynamic duo, our protagonists are always ready for a fight. At the same time, Ahikiho timidly stands on the sidelines and makes interesting comments or tries to say something meaningful to his funny new friend. The rest of Bofurin hasn't been fleshed out with their basic gimmicks yet, but they function as a fun collective, sporting various quirks while still feeling like worthy teenagers. trust. My favorite non-fighting moment probably came when Haruka found it odd to shake hands and have normal physical contact with people after years of only touching others with clenched fists. It speaks to the level of isolation he endured while also highlighting how natural it feels to have someone to literally lean on. It's a great foundation, so while it remains to be seen how it handles its bigger ideas, Wind Breaker has a solid foundation to start from.

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Wind Breaker is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.