Hey guys what is up welcome back to my blog I’m so thankful that you guys took the time out of your day to read my blog post. Shoutout to the guy on twitter who reccomended this to me because I absolutely needed a break from all the heavy action manga that I had been reading this was a nice change of pace. MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD.
The story beinga in Sunny High with introverted student Jay riding his bike downhill at an amazing speed to get to the library. Seeing him, Minu Yoon decides to call Jay to a crew meeting to get him into cycling as a hobby. Jay budges after reciving pushes from his classmates Mia, who has a secret crush on Jay and Yuna who is Minu’s sister. Taking part in a race and winning, Jay tells Minu not to bother him anymore but after remembering the words of his uncle he too discovers that he wants to cycle. As different circumstances push different characters around, they all come together to form a new crew to take part in the League of Street competition. With Shelly, a transfer student who has clear affection for Jay, Dom who wants to join in on the cycling to impress Yuna, Vinny who has history with Minu and wants to take part in the competition and June who is a senior and Minu’s old friend, Jay and Minu form the Hummingbird Crew. As they take part in the League of Street we follow their lives going through challenges, deepening their friendships and teenage drama.
The characters in this manhwa are all very distinct and unique. What makes them different from most other characters is that they aren’t one dimensional. Each character has a distinct past and backstory which makes us understand that they are much more than what they are shown to be at the beginning. An easy example is Dom who at first seems to be joining the Hummingbird crew only to impress Yuna, he is first shown to be a total goofball and an overall annoying character but soon we get to know about his past and see that he is much more than the stereotypical lovestruck goofball, rather he is like the others a complex character. the character development is also significant across the Webtoon as we see these characters face their challenges, grow and break their limits to grow and all this while we feel connected to them and feel as a part of their development. Even the antagonists get their own backstory making us see them more as people with opposing views than actual villans.
The manhwa has amazing races with intense action right from the start. There are tricks to learn, different styles of racing to see and most of all seeing the beautiful way in which the author depicts each of the players while they race, it is a thing of beauty meant to be appreciated. The action will keep you right on the edge of your seats but for me the manhws shines really in the moments when the characters aren’t racing and rather are living their lives as teenagers. Seeing them fight, make up, fall in love, get heartbroken and grow is all a way of making you connect to the characters even more and keeping the story well paced. There are many emotional moments both in and out of races but to keep the pace there are also comedic moments which will leave you rolling on the floor. The manhwa doesn’t shy away from showing some of the very real struggles that the characters face and makes each scene count by making it emotionally charged and making you feel as if you were a part of each celebration or tragedy.
The lesson to pick is to break the bonds and have no regrets. Jay as the main character shows both of these things throughout the 3 seasons of the manhwa, while at first he is shown to be more interested in his studies as he finds his passion is cycling he decides that he wants to do that and in a way that sits right with him. Most people would have picked one of the two and went all in on it but Jay doesn’t he manages to maintain his good academic record and also be a great cyclist thus breaking the bonds of being labelled that held him back before from performing at his best. Jay also takes a lot of risks throughout the manhwa and those risks are very real, all of them cumulate to him not having any regrets and moving forward. This growth is what the manhwa is all about and what the readers should take from the webtoon.
The webtoon has finished its 3rd season at 378 chapters at the time of writing and the story so far has been amazing and I look forward to more of it. With it’s anime references and cute romance for our characters, Windbreaker manages to perfectly be a drama about teens who use cycling as their form of escape and expression while also keeping a larger plot running which is the ultimate goal of the story and where the story will end. The author has expressed that the webtoon will be coming to an end soon but I believe that there is still a lot of story left to cover so now is the right time to jump in to see these characters mature and grow and experience their story, the story of WindBreaker.
Rap section:
Korean High School with an introverted kid,
Jay likes riding his bike and he ain’t mid,
Invite to a race crew and even amid,
Those seasoned racers on their insults he’s putting a lid.
Teaming with Minu creation of a new crew,
At first Jay’s averse the members are too few,
But a pretty blonde foreigner appears out of the blue,
Combined with the old friend and they’re ready for the debut.
Introverted at first glance but Jay has a past,
So deep that others fail in contrast,
It’s not just hark work it’s the bike that’s been passed,
Down to him by his uncle that makes him so fast.
The love starved gangster joins and he ain’t a faker,
All it takes is training and he becomes a quaker,
Aim for the prize that’s the goal of the maker,
Name’s hummingbird and their technique windbreaker.
So that is it for this post guys hope you got some value from this. Thank you guys for reading to the end hit me up on Instagram and Twitter with your thoughts and if you have any ideas on what I should write about. Stay safe from the COVID-19. Thank you again and I’ll see you all next week.
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