“It has a lot of boys”: Wind Breaker Literally Gave CloverWorks the Change of Pace that Helped it Become the Next Ufotable

Coming off the hit manga by Satoru Nii, Wind Breaker has stormed the anime world, surpassing all the expectations surrounding it. CloverWorks proved itself a masterful team, as they weaved action, drama, and suspense to unparalleled heights in this adaptation. With this adaptation, CloverWorks cemented itself as a top-tier studio, challenging Ufotable’s dominance over the anime industry.

Haruka Sakura from the Wind Breaker anime | Credits: Studio CloverWorks

Arguably one of the top contenders for anime of the year, Wind Breaker gathered much industry fame for the studio itself. In a recent interview with the masterminds behind Wind Breaker, we got to know how the series went from a popular manga to a sensational anime force, changing the general perception of CloverWorks studio.

Wind Breaker Defied Conventional CloverWorks Adaptation Norms

A still from the Wind Breaker anime | Credits: Studio CloverWorks

Usually known for their gentle romantic and slice-of-life anime productions, studio CloverWorks broke out from their cutesy style of characters and storytelling to tell the gritty and full-on action-packed story of Wind Breaker. With intense action sequences and a compelling storyline, the studio made it a resounding success on audiences’ hearts.

At Anime Expo 2024, Anime Trending talked to the creative minds behind Wind Breaker and spoke with Yuichi Fukushima, Taishi Kawakami, and Toshikazu Tsuji. Toshikazu Tsuji usually directs fantasy romances and is keen on female protagonists in their stories. For this adaptation though, he questioned himself on how to create an anime where all the characters are male and all they do is just run through mature storylines and plots. Also, the intense hand-to-hand combat sequences, similar to some of Demon Slayer’s epic battles, showcased CloverWorks’ exceptional animation choreography skills.

And of course, WIND BREAKER has a lot of boys and a lot of fighting! So for me, it was a big question of, “How will I make this anime work?“

CloverWorks’ capable team with Fukushima at the helm took on the challenge and produced something unique, an anime show presented through their combined skills. This leap from the signature style of CloverWorks resulted in a perfect adaptation of the series. Wind Breaker broke the general mold of the studio, and redefined its reputation as the series captured the interests of a wider audience than ever before.

CloverWorks’ Challenging Shift in Artstyle: From Kawaii (Cute) to Kakkoii (Cool)

Sakura | Credits: Studio CloverWorks

Studio CloverWorks took a bold creative decision, changing their signature cutesy art style and adapting a grittier, cooler manga. According to character designer and animator Taishi Kawakami, this adaptation was fairly challenging for them. The sheer number of characters and the intensity of action sequences complicated the overall adaptation process.

Fight scenes with rhythms, rapid-fire cuts, and back-to-back action required supreme skill and stamina from the production team. Kawakami confessed that he was grateful for the hard work of the entire crew, which paid off in the end as they presented a very exciting, fast-paced anime. With consistent character designs matching Ufotable’s high standards, Wind Breaker further increases CloverWorks’ reputation for paying attention to each detail.

Compared to your average anime, there are a lot more cuts of the fighting scenes and the action scenes are almost back to back. The biggest challenge was just getting to the finish line. I’m very, very grateful for the crew and for all of us hanging in there until the very end. 

Still, for Toshikazu Tsuji, it was certainly a huge creative challenge. He had to overcome his usual approach to drawing cutesy female-led characters and come up with a cast of masculine characters while also providing an insane amount of details in the fight scenes! The characters needed to be cool but still real. This strategic shift from art style helped CloverWorks renew its overall visual identity and demonstrated the studio’s flexibility to try something different.

Wind Breaker is available to watch on Crunchyroll.