I’ve been meaning to read Wind Breaker for quite some time, and now finally got around to it. Coming into it I had relatively high expectations considering the popularity of the work and how highly rated it is and so far, I am a bit conflicted on it (I’m currently on chapter 531 as of writing this). I might get into some spoilers—so beware if you’re reading this review. I’m mostly writing it to collect my thoughts.

You reading the review:

Pacing and Scope

Starting off with the obvious, this is a sports manhwa and while I didn’t really know much about cycling before reading this, I still tend to enjoy reading various sports manga. Even if it’s a sport I originally didn’t know much about. The cycling aspect of the story works well, the contests are exciting, and it has that shounen flare to it when it comes to presentation. While cycling is the initial hook to the manhwa, the story places significant emphasis on a coming-of-age narrative in a South Korean society and the trials and tribulations that come with it. We are presented with various characters from different socioeconomic backgrounds, though a lot of the main crew are on the well-off side. Using the diverse cast the author shows the societal pressures in Korea – performing well in school, going to the top universities, abiding seniority, conforming to societal norms and many other aspects that are part of Korean life.

Although the foundation is solid, the story suffers from pacing issues and expands its scope too quickly, leaving earlier plot points unresolved. Now you might think there are 500 chapters how is it going to quickly well for example, in later chapters, more ‘serious’ subplots appear before we fully wrap up the initial conflicts. I can see how we’d get there organically, since there were hints, but it feels like we’re focusing on that plot point at the wrong time in the story. To be more concrete I would have preferred it if we focused more on the characters’ growth and resolving their immediate issues and then leading that into graduation from high school. From there the cast can go out into the world and not be restricted to the high school. Rather we are setting up our main crew who are high schoolers keep in mind, tackling some of the most powerful gambling and pharmacy lobbies and companies while simultaneously leaving the other plot points unresolved. I guess the best way to describe it is that it has very uneven pacing which makes the coming-of-age narrative and everything that comes with it suffer.

Because this is the author’s first work, I consciously gave it more leeway than I would a seasoned writer. And I will give him credit for seeing massive improvement in terms of everything from storytelling art, I can’t disregard the previously mentioned parts that bothered me while reading the story. Minu investigating crimes that occur on a global scale seems like a big leap, can we at least graduate high school first before we take the story there. Also, another storytelling crutch that was used a lot was having misunderstandings between the cast of characters. Once or twice is fine but after the third time I started to get frustrated. Thankfully it was dropped as a story telling tool later on.

Character Development

The second part of the story mainly bothered me was the inconsistency in character development and how some characters were treated. I imagine that this was an issue that stemmed from inexperience because it got significantly better the more you read. It was also a side effect of dealing with the plot points like it did. Some characters had a hard time keeping up with the story because they never got proper time to develop and now, we are dealing with issues beyond their reach. Some characters simply get tossed to the side completely, which is also quite strange.

Maybe the author realized that he no longer needed them or that their story arc is finished but it leaves a lot to be desired. I recall being almost 200+ chapters in and Shelly, one of the main characters still being so one dimensional it was kind of ridiculous. She is finally getting proper character development now and we finally get to know more about what kind of person she is, unlike before when she was just used as a prop for Jay's personal growth. I just wish we didn’t have to wait 500+ chapters for one of the main crew members to get proper character development. On the other hand, a character like Vinny, Dom or even Monster is well written and it’s frankly shocking how big of a contrast it is compared to some other members of the crew. I imagine that people have various opinions on Vinny in terms of liking him or not, but he is undoubtedly a well written character that you can understand and feel isn’t just a prop to the story.

Like I have been getting at, the main issue for me regarding the characters was that many got very needed development so late into the manhwa. It was getting very frustrating watching Jay being completely unable to express himself for like 300 chapters before finally coming around to improve on that point. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect Jay to start acting extroverted like Minu suddenly. However, having him show improvements and speak his mind more, especially during crucial moments earlier in the manga would massively improve the reading experience. Finally, there are supporting characters like Mia and Yuna who initially seem to play a pivotal role in the crew’s dynamic but then just completely disappear relatively early on. They have a cameo every now and then, but it is kind of surreal to have them practically be out of the picture.

It’s a side effect of the story accelerating to a grander scale and as mentioned earlier or maybe the author felt that they had their arc in the story and were no longer needed. Having Mia and Yuna at least a little present in the story would help a lot with building out the crew’s dynamic and character growth. Yet we still for some reason 500 chapters in get the obese weeb guy showing up. Having said all that the manhwa is at its best when it focuses on the premises it set out early on like the bicycle races and interpersonal relationships of the cast. The comedic relief is also solid, I love Jay’s little brother, he has some of the funniest moments in the series. The author is also good at making you hate the characters that are meant to be hated like Jay’s parents for example. If the author in the future decides to write another IP many of the prior mentioned points would likely be better considering that he has improved a lot over the years, and many of the problems that I found now stem from early on story building when he was just starting off.

Jay's parents POV if I ever catch them outside

The biggest selling point of the manhwa is by far the character designs and art. The art improvement from chapter 1 to 500 is so unreal that it feels like a different series. The author has a sense for making attractive characters both men and women. Besides that, it’s really refreshing that he pays attention to clothing and frequently changes it up with various outfits which I feel is something that many other IP’s lack. Usually, characters just wear 1 or 2 sets of clothes and that’s it. This also helps alleviate previously mentioned issues that some characters have as the clothes tell you a lot about what kind of person they are and in what headspace they are at. Jay for example initially wears school-mandated clothing and glasses but over time as he finally grows as a person you can see that in the way he dresses, the glasses are swapped for lenses, and his style becomes more casual and pays more attention to aesthetics. Every panel in the later chapters looks amazing I got no words its really good.

Even though most characters look like models they are varied and interesting there isn’t much to complain about. It is kind of funny that almost every relevant character from the US or UK has blonde hair and blue eyes but that’s just typical for anime and manga. The portrayal of bicycle races is exciting, and I never feel like they are dull or boring. I like that everyone has some little quirk of their own and it is shown with various techniques and other animal symbolisms. If I had to pick a favorite in terms of character design, it would probably be Noah.

Overall, I think that it’s an enjoyable read, especially later chapters, it’s a shame that it takes some time for it to pick up steam. The author clearly puts in tremendous effort to improve his work and I appreciate and admire that. I look forward to reading more chapters in the future.