Don’t judge a book by its cover can be best said for Wind Breaker. When the anime first came out, people were hesitant. They feared it would become yet another Tokyo Revengers, but boy, we were wrong all along.
CloverWorks took Satori Nii’s manga quite seriously. They understood their assignment well and treated it like the passion project it truly is. The recent episode is a perfect example of that.
With superior animation, Season 2 might eventually outrival Demon Slayer. There’s an interesting connection behind it, and it all makes sense. How so? Well, let’s unpack this, now, shall we?
Wind Breaker’s stellar animation leaves fans stunned
Edgy outlaws fighting street thugs is becoming quite an overused Shonen trope, right? Well, not with Wind Breaker mainly because the series is a spin on the yanki genre. That’s especially the case with the splendid animation.
It’s nothing flamboyant per se, but CloverWorks delivers excellence one each episode. Right from the first season, they gave us iconic fights between Bofurin and Shishitoren. They didn’t hold back their finesse in season 2.
Togame and Sakura’s fight in the anime | Credit: CloverWorks
Season 2’s Episode 9 showcased one of the most iconic fights that we’ve all been waiting for: Tsubaki versus Suzuri, which has all the aura and impact. To say the least, CloverWorks slayed with this one!
Related: ‘Wind Breaker’ Gets Too Real to Let the Anime Become Your Latest Form of Escapism
They replicated each move, be it kicks or flips, seamlessly. It’s so slick, but what made it top tier was the music. It encapsulated the intensity of emotions between two strong individuals, and we got to thank Ryo Takahashi for that.
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Interestingly, Tsubaki’s VA Ryuta Osaka voiced Gyutaro while Suzuri’s VA Natsuki Hanae voiced Tanjiro in Demon Slayer. They swapped the roles, but hey, that makes it all the more enthralling, to say the least.
Also, Tsubaki vs Suzuri reminded some fans of Gyutaro vs Tsubaki, but Satoru Nii’s series has the upper hand. Both are commendable in terms of their fight scenes, but CloverWorks is setting a benchmark and here’s how.
CloverWorks is setting a benchmark in storytelling
Tsubaki with Ito and Yui in the anime | Credit: Studio CloverWorks
While Ufotable is the crème de la crème in animation, CloverWorks is setting new standards. Their risk-taking attitude was what propelled Satoru Nii’s manga to achieve popularity and massive viewership, but there’s more to that.
Related: ‘Wind Breaker’ Owes Tsubaki the Best Fight of Season 2 After How Good They Made His Pole DancingRelated: Sakura’s Tsundere Personality Might Turn Into the Most Cliché Part of ‘Wind Breaker’
It is the perfect mesh of good plot, animation, tight pacing, and music that renders the impact needed to reach out to the audience. A picture is indeed worth a thousand words, and CloverWorks lives up to that idea.
Unlike the haphazard approach, CloverWorks goes to extra lengths to visibilize the side characters. To make them stand out, be it Togame, Tsubaki, Hiragi, or even Suo.
Hayate Suo prepares to fight | Credit: Studio CloverWorks
And this episode was all about Tsubaki holding the reins. He exuded that aura of leadership and command while ordering the Sakaki twins to clear a path for them. The trio stole the show in this fight, and it was nicely done.
As readers, we’re worried about our favorite scenes being rendered shoddy or things missing out. But we’re not complaining one bit, the studio exceeded our expectations, and it is only a matter of time before CloverWorks outdoes itself with Suzuri’s backstory.
Wind Breaker is currently available for streaming on Crunchyroll. The manga is currently available for reading on Kodansha’s K Manga app.
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