Understandably, people get nervous when delinquent boys team up into groups and start beating the hell out of people, but in WIND BREAKER, masculine strength isn’t used for aggression– instead, the boys of Furin High use their fighting skills and penchant for violence into protecting the town. Of course, with this premise, there’s fun fight sequences and all the youthful misdemeanors that kids probably should not do in their real lives, but at the heart of all the action is the question as to how boys can positively grow into the strength they are granted. It also never forgets to show the goofy, endearing side that’s often forgotten and rarely encouraged when talking about young men of today.

Shounen anime is no stranger to the idea of the power of friendship, but it’s nice to see how a good friendship can completely change the mindset of an entire school population, and what character traits we should be encouraging within the youth.