Wind Breaker is often deemed the better, polished, and refined Tokyo Revengers. The fights are power-packed, exhilarating, and so are the characters. Satoru Nii doesn’t necessarily abandon his side characters.
However, the series has its fair share of flaws as well. It isn’t all too perfect, and this is especially the case with the plot armor. The mangaka may have given the characters an absurd amount of character shield, but there’s more.
They’re strong, resilient, and persevering, but this is one plot device the anime may have overused. Now there’s a reason why this works in some cases. You may wonder why that is, so let’s unpack this!
Wind Breaker’s incessant use of the plot shield
Wind Breaker is every action lover’s dream come true. The kicks, punches, and upper-cuts are so well-detailed in the manga. CloverWorks renders these immaculate details brilliantly through their animation. But that’s not it.
If there’s one thing that stands out the most, it has to be the plot armor. We all know, as anime fans, that power scaling is one rubric to understand any shonen anime. Here, it is intermingled with the character shield.
Most of the time, characters do not seem to lose a single fight. Either they’re saved by others in the nick of time, or they unleash their inner beasts. This is something we saw in Kaji’s fight against KEEL’s Natori.
Be it Suo or Sakura, most characters seem like they’re aura farming. The plot armor seems to project them as suave since they do not lose. But readers are of a different opinion, and this is what they had to say during a discussion on @r/WindBreakerManga/Reddit:
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In the context of anime, the plot armor does make sense as it protects and shields the character. Here, it ensures their consistent victories, but the characters have had their fair share of “losses”.
The “loss” isn’t in a traditional sense. Rather, it often involves the characters passing the baton for others to conclude the fight. There are several reasons why this works out for Satoru Nii’s manga, so spoiler alert!
Why “passing the baton” works with the characters
Indeed, Suo and Sakura didn’t lose a single fight in the anime, nor in the manga so far. But Satoru Nii strikes a balance between overpowered characters through the use of the baton, and here’s how he does that.
Now, Ren Kaji was brutally defeated in his fight against Banjo during the Noroshi War Arc. Hiragi literally had to end that maniac to avenge Kaji. The same happened to Tsubaki, who was beaten down by Endo, and Sakura took over.
This might seem nonsensical, but not all fights are meant to be won. The reliance and dependence are something the mangaka stresses upon. But it also shows the characters as ever-growing and more human. This is something only readers understand.
Even during his fight against Endo, Sakura nearly loses. It was only through his peers’ support and their encouragement, he was able to get back in form. Their belief in him was pivotal in defeating Yamato Endo.
Overall, plot armor is indeed absurd and overused with some characters. But it also aligns with the innate philosophy of the series. Some losses redefine strength and character, but all anime fans have to do is wait for the future arcs!
Wind Breaker is currently available for streaming on Crunchyroll. The manga is currently available for reading on Kodansha’s K Manga app.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
