Wind breaker vol 1 by satoru nii

Sakura has come to the neighborhood of Makochi to attend Furin High School. It’s an all-boys school known as being full of delinquents where students constantly get in fights. Sakura intends on fighting his way to the top because he has no time for anyone weaker than him. But when he finally gets into the neighborhood, he discovers an entirely different environment. Students from Furin are called Bofurin - protectors of the neighborhood, and they don’t fight each other - they protect the citizenry and fight other gangs to deter other delinquency in their area. Sakura's not so sure this is all he signed up for, especially since it means he has to work together with others and get along with his fellow first-year students.

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At first, I was taken aback by this manga because I went into it thinking it was purely a sports manga. It definitely has some sports manga tropes - the characters work together on a team to master their sport (in this case, fighting), but this first volume has a lot more heart and depth to it as we learn who Sakura is. There are a lot of similarities to Tokyo Revengers but without the time travel elements and with a lot less cussing, so this title is a little more appealing for school audiences. I also personally appreciated Sakura as a main character more than Takemichi from TR, but other readers may connect with the grittiness of TR more than this title.

There is some physical violence and a bit of blood in this first volume, as well as some mild profanity. Kodansha may have rated this for Older Teen if it gets more violent later in the series.

​Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Publisher: Kodansha
Publication Date: August 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781646518357 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Action Adventure, School Life, ​Kodansha