Key Takeaways
- Sakura rises through the ranks of the Bofurin gang, making enemies & allies, learning what it takes to be No. 1.
- Sakura’s past of being bullied drives his hot-headed nature & fighting spirit to protect the townspeople.
- Sakura’s powerful fighting style, resilience, and flexibility make him a force to be reckoned with in battle.
Haruka Sakura is the rag-tag main character of the manga/anime – Wind Breaker. A first year at a school known as Furin High School, Sakura is a member of the gang – the Bofurin, a group formed to protect the civilians of Makochi, a town in Japan.
After being accepted into the group, Sakura’s plan was to rise through the ranks and fight his way to the top, but he quickly learns there is more to rising up the ranks than just fighting. He makes powerful enemies and allies along the way throughout the series and learns what it takes to become No.1.
The Warrior and First-year Student
A Hero by Heart and by Might, Sakura is Always up for a Fight
Not much is known about Sakura’s past, and he is always seen to be hot-headed and angry at the world, even if people are being nice to him. This feeling stems from the fact that he has been bullied his entire life for as far back as he can remember. He was mostly bullied because of the tone color of his hair and differently colored eyes, this resulted in him always picking fights with those who bullied him. After being enrolled at Furin High School he is surprised to find that they are welcoming and treat him as one of them.
Still adamant about being the underdog, Sakura pushes them away, but they still accept him for who he is. All his life, all Sakura knew was to fight, and is flustered when any other type of emotion such as gratefulness and respect is given towards him. He reacts awkwardly to positive attitudes from others and responds aggressively. However, because of his delinquent personality, Sakura fits perfectly as part of the Bofurin gang who are responsible for looking after the townsfolk.
How you look like doesn’t matter in a fight! – Haruka Sakura
In the first few episodes of the series, Sakura is seen protecting the towns’ people from rival gangs even before he was part of the Bofurin, this is seen when Kotoha Tachibana who runs the café in Makochi is attacked by a rival gang member. Sakura eventually learns what it means to be part of a community with a collective goal and finally feels like he belongs somewhere as him and the rest of the gang take on the rival gangs. Kotoha also tells him to trust those around him and to rely on them if he plans to make it to the top. Sakura eventually becomes selected as grade captain through his classmates’ votes and is given the responsibility of looking after his comrades from his grade and begins building meaningful relationships with his classmates and develops an attachment towards them.
A Fighting Spirit Like No Other
Never Back Down, Never Give Up! Does He Have What It Takes?
Recognized for his street brawl fighting type, Sakura is extremely powerful and flexible when it comes to fighting. His speed, agility and precision outranks the average thug by leaps and bounds. While his fighting style is a mixture of various combat types, Sakura is able to easily counter and attack his opponents by landing powerful kicks and punches, he also uses airborne attacks such as flying and spinning kicks to take down his opponents.
Because of his flexibility and gymnastic-like movement, Sakura can move quickly to land attacks on multiple opponents. His footwork and agility play a huge role in making it difficult to land attacks on him. Sakura is also one to never back down, this is seen during his fight with Jo Togame, the second-strongest fighter and the second in command of the gang known as the Shishitoren. No matter how many times Sakura was beaten down, he kept fighting Togame until he eventually landed a powerful punch on Togame ending the fight. This shows the kind of resilience and power that Sakura possesses.
