Wind Breaker manga: Where to read, what to expect, and more

The Wind Breaker manga series by author and illustrator Satoru Nii is one of the most popular offerings from Kodansha’s Magazine Pocket digital publication. With an anime adaptation recently being announced, those interested in the manga are curious to know how they can read it and what the series is about.

While international fans can read the Japanese version of the Wind Breaker manga in a completely legal way that supports the official release, this isn’t the case for translated versions. This is somewhat unfortunate, with interest in the manga surging following the announcement of an anime adaptation from CloverWorks Studios.

Nevertheless, there are still ways for international readers to read the series in their language, even if they can’t catch up to it and stay current with weekly installments.

Follow along as this article fully breaks down where to read the Wind Breaker manga series, what to expect from it, and more.

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Wind Breaker manga series lacks international accessibility but is still worth a try

Where to read, release cadence, and next issue’s expected release date

The Wind Breaker manga is serialized on a weekly basis in Kodansha’s Magazine Pocket online manga publication. It has been serialized with this cadence in the digital magazine since January 2021. The series' 100th chapter was released on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 (Japanese Standard Time).

Unfortunately, Kodansha’s Magazine Pocket publication is the only place to read currently releasing chapters of the manga that are not already collected in volume format. Furthermore, the website only offers the original Japanese version of the series, with no translations in any other language available as of this article’s writing.

International fans can instead buy translated compilation volumes to catch up on the series. The manga most recently released its 9th volume in English, published on March 14, 2023, and collecting chapters 67 through 74.

Wind Breaker chapter 101 is expected to be released on the following local dates in the corresponding time zones:

• Pacific Standard Time: 7:00 am, Tuesday, April 4
• Eastern Standard Time: 10:00 am, Tuesday, April 4
• Greenwich Mean Time: 3:00 pm, Tuesday, April 4
• Central European Time: 4:00 pm, Tuesday, April 4
• Indian Standard Time: 8:30 pm, Tuesday, April 4
• Philippine Standard Time: 11:00 pm, Tuesday, April 4
• Japanese Standard Time: 12:00 am, Wednesday, April 5
• Australia Central Standard Time: 12:30 am, Wednesday, April 5

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Series synopsis

Wind Breaker follows Haruka Sakura, the central protagonist who wants nothing to do with weaklings and is only interested in the strongest of the strong. Sakura starts at Furin High School at the beginning of the series. It is a school of degenerates who are known only for their brawling strength. However, they actually use this strength to protect their town from anyone who wishes it ill.

In contrast, Sakura has no desire whatsoever to be a hero or a part of any sort of team. Instead, he simply wishes to fight his way to the top, eventually being known as the strongest in school, in town, and possibly even the world.

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What to expect (speculative)

As a battle shonen manga, fans can count on Wind Breaker to have plenty of amazing fights and action sequences in store. Furthermore, with no fantasy or other element of a similar nature being added to the series, fans can expect these fights to be predominantly based on hand-to-hand combat.

With the heavy emphasis placed on Haruka Sakura’s apathy towards protecting the town or being a hero, this aspect will likely be the key focus of his character growth throughout.

While purely speculative, tropes of a similar manner traditionally end with the aloof protagonist becoming attached to what he didn't initially want. Sakura’s arc will likely follow a similar trajectory.

The Wind Breaker manga series is also expected to feature tournament-style fights, given the emphasis on group fighting in the aforementioned synopsis for the series.

For lovers of traditional hand-to-hand combat style battle shonen manga such as Dragon Ball Z and Baki, Wind Breaker is a can’t-miss manga series.

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