“Like you said, Bofurin is a team that protects the town. That means we protect the things, people, and feelings in the town. We protect everything.”

Oh, man. I didn’t realize how much I missed Wind Breaker. I’m not going to lie. I’d completely forgotten where the first season left off, but this episode doesn’t waste any time throwing (and kicking and punching) us back into the mix. There is literally no recap, but even if my memories had faded, I was back and strapped in before the new awesome opening had even kicked in. Wind Breaker has returned, and it’s as awesome as ever.

Most of this episode is combat, and yet, there is still time for clashes of ideals, character development, and compelling analysis of our lead, Haruka Sakura’s role within his class. If you weren’t tapped into the first season of Wind Breaker last year, then now is the time to get caught up, because it’s back and doesn’t have the time to get you up to speed.

The key element I’d forgotten about the first season was that it ended on what was essentially a cliffhanger. Birdy had alluded to this when I spoke to him last week, but it didn’t register in my mind until now. The last time we saw the Bofurin freshman class, they were heading out to take on a gang of delinquents called KEEL. This episode picks up exactly where the finale had left off, and in no time flat we’re in the middle of an all out brawl between the two groups. Each of our prominent freshman characters gets a chance to shine, though if you’re looking for a proper reintroduction, this isn’t it.

Wind Breaker just happens to be good at letting its protagonists show off their quirks. From Suo’s playful and calm taunting to Kiryu’s cheerful and nonchalant ass-kicking to Sakura’s earnest and direct intimidation, there is a wealth of personality to go around. If there is a downside to throwing viewers back into the deep end, it’s that we don’t get much of the comedy. It’s been nearly a year since we were treated to Sakura being the biggest tsundere in the galaxy, but it seems we’ll just have to wait a little longer. 

CloverWorks had returned to produce this season, and I can’t deny that this episode throws a curveball that they didn’t have to deal with in the first season. Most of the fights in the first season featured a limited scope. Hell, the entirety of the Shishitoren arc was effectively nothing but one-on-one fights. In order to pull off the crowded combat of this premiere, CloverWorks relies on CG to help fill in the crowds. It’s an understandable use of it, even if it does catch the eye a bit too often for my liking. Still, the studio takes care to use traditional animation in the foreground, and the pulled back shots of everyone fighting are kept brief to prevent the CGI models from lingering too long. It’s mostly effective, and probably the best balance we could hope for.

As I mentioned before, the new OP hits like a pipe to the face, and I love it. I’m not about to call it the best OP of the season or anything, but it seems fair to proclaim that it’s in the running. It probably won’t take that title, but I don’t think I’ll skip it regularly. The ED is fine, but it didn’t stick with me, so I’ll probably be jumping past that one.

Before I wrap up, a few Notes and Nitpicks:

• My First Impressions reviews may not extend to many shows this season. I’m going to unfortunately be very busy next week, and may not have the fortitude to keep up with anime for much of that period. I’ll see what I get done, but I may only finish a handful of First Impressions.
• On a related note, I’m aiming to only follow, at most, 6 shows this season. It might prove difficult to narrow down the field this season, but I was following too many shows last season.
• Cloverworks is oddly prolific this year. They produced 2 shows in the winter, they’re producing two shows this season (The other one is a Black Butler sequel, which I have no intention of sampling.), and they’re producing 3 shows in the summer. I hope they can maintain the staff necessary for this workload without relying on crunch or slipping production quality.
• I noticed that the cross-dressing member of the Four Kings, Tasuku Tsubakino, is featured several times in the OP, more so than most of the other third years. I’m assuming they’ll play a role in the coming season, so I’m curious to see that.

Wind Breaker was one of the standouts from a stacked spring season last year, and 365 days later it seems not much has changed. I guess it might be a little early to call the season stacked, but setting that aside, it’s great to have the show back. If you’re a fan of action and you’re not already watching it, then you should see about getting yourself caught up.

Score: 4/5