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 September 2026, the series' individual chapters have been collected in 27 tankōbon 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.
Contents
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, Sakura Haruka)
Voiced by: Yuma Uchida (Japanese); Austin Tindle (English)
Portrayed by: Koshi Mizukami
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 tsundere, 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, Nirei Akihiko)
Voiced by: Shōya Chiba (Japanese); Bryson Baugus (English)
Portrayed by: Taisei Kido
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, Suō Hayato)
Voiced by: Nobunaga Shimazaki (Japanese); Dallas Reid (English)
Portrayed by: Keito Tsuna
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, Sugishita Kyōtarō)
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, kakkoī otokonoko). 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. Manga like Rave Master and Samurai Deeper Kyo, both of which he grew up reading and that contained such characters, served as influences.
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. 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. 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. 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. Also feeling that he lacked the personality of a main character in an early draft, Nii gave Sakura the tsundere-like trait of being embarrassed when someone praised or thanked him.
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. 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.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Satoru Nii, the series began serialization on Kodansha's Magazine Pocket website on January 13, 2021. As of September 2026, the series' individual chapters have been collected in 27 tankōbon volumes.
In March 2022, Kodansha USA announced that they had licensed the series for digital English publication. During their Anime NYC 2022 panel, Kodansha USA announced that they would begin releasing print copies in late 2023.
These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume.
219. "Knot" (結び目, Musubime)
220. "All His Thoughts" (思いの丈, Omoinotake)
221. "Encouragement" (激励, Gekirei)
222. "An Expedition" (遠征, Ensei)
223. "Infiltration" (潜入, Sen'nyū)
224. "The Recesses of the City" (街の内奥, Machi no Naiō)
225. "Chance Meeting" (邂逅, Kaigō)
226. "All Under Control" (収束, Shūsoku)
227. "Guide" (案内人, Annainin)
228. "Remnants of the Past" (過去の残影, Kako no Zan'ei)
Anime
An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks was announced on March 30, 2023. It is directed by Toshifumi Akai, with scripts written by Hiroshi Seko, character designs by Taishi Kawakami, and music composed by Ryo Takahashi. The first season aired from April 5 to June 28, 2024, on the brand new Super Animeism Turbo programming block on all JNN affiliates, including MBS and TBS. The opening theme song is "Zettai Reido" (絶対零度; Absolute Zero), performed by Natori, while the ending theme song is "Muteki" (無敵; Unbeatable), performed by Young Kee. Aniplex of America licensed the series and is streaming it on Crunchyroll. Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.
Following the airing of the first season's final episode, a second season was announced, and aired on the same programming block from April 4 to June 20, 2025. The opening theme song is "Boyz", performed by SixTones, while the ending theme song is "It's myself", performed by shytaupe.
Live-action film
A live-action film adaptation was announced on June 20, 2025. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film was directed by Kentarō Hagiwara, with screenplay by Yōsuke Masaike, and music by Yaffle and Rikimaru Sakuragi. The cast includes Koshi Mizukami, Taisei Kido, Rikako Yagi, Keito Tsuna, Junon of Be:First, Motoki Nakazawa, and Shuhei Uesugi. The film was released in Japan on December 5, 2025. The theme song for the film is "Stay Strong" performed by Be:First.
Stage play
A stage play adaptation of the manga, titled Stage: Wind Breaker (舞台WIND BREAKER, Butai Uindo Bureikā), was announced in September 2024. It ran from January 1–3, 2025 at the WW Hall of the Cool Japan Park Osaka, and from January 10–19, 2025 at Theater H in Tokyo. The play was directed by Go Ueki, and the scripts written by Kaori Miura. The cast features Ryoga Ishikawa as Haruka Sakura, Hiroki Sana as Hajime Umemiya, Shunichi Takahashi as Tōma Hiragi, Yūto Andō as Hayato Suō, Taiga Nakamoto as Kyōtarō Sugishita, and Kazan Yokoyama as Akihiko Nirei.
Video game
A free-to-play action role-playing game, subtitled Furyō-tachi no Eiyūtan (不良たちの英雄譚; lit. "Heroic Tales of Delinquents"), was announced during the "Tōfū Shōtengai Halloween Matsuri" event on October 13, 2024. The game was released on March 12, 2025 in Japan for iOS, Android and PC via Steam.
Reception
Wind Breaker ranked 20th at the 2021 Next Manga Award in the web manga category. At AnimeJapan 2022, the series ranked ninth in a poll asking what manga people want to see animated. It was nominated for the 49th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2025. The series was also nominated in the Harvey Awards for the Best Manga category in the same year.
By March 2022, the series had sold over 1.22 million copies between its digital and print versions. By September 2025, the series had over 10 million copies in circulation.
The anime was nominated for Best Action at the 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2025.