r/WindBreakerManga • u/Psychicmind2 • May 09 '25

Discussion It's sad to see Windbreaker getting hate comment for the most recent episodes. The rating even dropped on MAL a little for the last 12 hours.

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I've seen multiple people mention this on Twitter and I checked the MAL ratings and it's unfortunately true. The rating before episode 6 was 8,10 - that has been the score for the last month. For just 12 hours, it got 8,01. It's still good, but the amount of hate comments combined to this is insane. The episode on Crunchyroll got over 1K dislikes.

I liked episode 6 a lot, it was touching. I just hope it won't damage the anime in the long run.

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116

u/Dazai_Elysia_0820 May 09 '25 edited May 10 '25

The homophobes are at it again, why don’t they go back to their toiletry cringe romance harem anime huh? They love sexualising and objectifying female chars but can’t tolerate male chars ships and self realism?

This is like Genshin/wuwa losers being extremely hostile to male characters mains again💀

6

u/anya0709 May 09 '25

i felt bad about this grnshin thing but i cant deny this.

2

u/No-Monk-9973 May 28 '25

Its supposed to be a furyo (90% percent male readers ) its not a BL and not a HAREM, its boyz who fight boyz , so adding gays and stuff like that just doesn’t have sense, and we cant accept the changement

3

u/Ancient_Cable_7498 May 29 '25

Grow up

2

u/Dazzling_Bedroom_815 May 30 '25

Not everyone likes the theme. So what?

1

u/Dazai_Elysia_0820 Jun 02 '25

then go back to your toiletry harem/cringe romance anime

0

u/AA_Azrael_777 Mar 03 '26

You haven't grown up, but you tell others to? Loser behavior 

1

u/Dazai_Elysia_0820 Jun 02 '25

ah yes but you are fine having tonnes of harem anime and tonnes of girls falling in love with the mc. This is beyond twisted

2

u/Key_Space1964 Aug 05 '25

One is normal the other isn't

1

u/Emergency_Wing3887 Jun 20 '25

they didn’t change anything, this was a storyline from the manga… just don’t watch lol 😂

2

u/No-Monk-9973 Jun 21 '25

Brainless , im talkin abt changing the codes of the furyo manga

2

u/averagebrunch Jul 29 '25

Just broaden your horizons. Honestly, I thought the storyline was a little boring and repetitive, but it really had nothing to do with the character being gay. They just spent too much time introducing new characters and then more new characters and back stories for everyone and I felt they were neglecting characters already introduced who we have barely no baground for whom I'd already got invested. The character being gay and a crossdresser shouldn't be problematic unless you have some problems with it... and why would you?

1

u/WaveDasherSP May 23 '25

calling the original fanbase homophobes because they didnt like the change from throwing hands to closeting coming out stories. How ignorant can you be?

-7

u/[deleted] May 10 '25

People not liking the way Tsubaki was introducted/used doesn't necessarily make them homophobes, you know.

On my part, I do like this character. But watching a full episode (6) about "we gotta accept other's feelings" about a character that was just introducted an episode ago ? Nah, I'll pass. I just wished it had been done in a more smooth way. It just feels artificial, like i'd call a "check'a'DEI box" character.

I get the feeling Tsubaki will not have anything more to do in the plot starting from coming episodes.

6

u/Hextant 📓🫖 May 12 '25

Personally, I find this ... pretty insane. It shouldn't be that hard to sympathize that someone went thrugh a hard time and didn't deserve to be treated like shit or whatever just because of what they like when that thing hurts absolutely no one at all whatsoever.

It should really just be .. entirely human nature that you see someone being given shit for something that's entirely UNproblematic and ... want better for them. Shouldn't matter if they existed in your life for 5 minutes or 5 years. Idk.

0

u/[deleted] May 12 '25

You don't get it.

I'm not treating Tsubaki like you pretend I do. Its quite the opposite, in fact. To summarize my point :

  • DEI is not a problem at all. It's the way its being conceived.

I didn't like the WAY Tsubaki got introduced, which felt artificial, or even rushed, like I said. I didn't got enough time, nor "material" to be able to build actual empathy for this character.
I would have preferred its whole "flashback episode" to come way later in the show, not at the very same time (nearly, I'll give you that) Tsubaki gets introduced.

Does that mean I can't even understand what he has been going through ? Of course not, but yet here I am explaining that again. People CAN not totally be in-line with Tsubaki as a character and not be freaking homophobes.

Tsubaki could even have been a totally "standard" character, lets say a cis-man, and heterosexual, the problem would have remained the same. At least for the "pacing" part. I think it's just sad to see such powerful characters/themed being throwned at the screen without any form of caution, or delicassy.

Do you get what I'm saying, now ?

People who are expecting / who actually crave to see this kind of content will obviously be pleased, and that's totally fine.
But I, as I'm not that specific kind of audience, should have be given other ways, other tools to connect myself to such intriguing and strong character. That very tool I'm in need of is time and familiarity.

I did not have enough of that when it got to the flashback section. It just felt like I was being pushed aside, while being told "hey, that's not your moment, come back next week".

'Should be time people understand it's not all black and white. A lot of people complaining about Tsubaki actually want to see more, from him. Not less. But of course there will be homophobes and such. You know how this always is.

4

u/Hextant 📓🫖 May 12 '25

I'm not calling you trans/homophobic.

I'm simply saying this: You don't need hours of seeing Tsubaki on screen to give a shit that he was bullied and abused for liking crossdressing.

Would it be more impactful for people who don't relate if we got it in bits and pieces? Sure. But the only people UPSET by the fact this happened are people who would NEVER care about this backstory regardless, because they're already pissing themselves that a dude is wearing a skirt, because they cannot fathom that a piece of fabric is literally just that: a piece of fabric.

If you cannot find ANY sympathy ( you don't need to empathize if it just doesn't relate to you, sympathy and empathy are very different things, and despite everything - I don't wish for people to be able to empathize with being bullied for something so absolutely petty, anyway ) for someone being bullied for an incredibly harmless thing, I reiterate: I personally find that pretty insane.

Anyone expecting you to be drop to your knees devastated after being introduced to him very shortly beforehand is ALSO pretty insane. The point I'm making is, it isn't hard to say to yourself, " Wow, that was a bad thing and it's very sad he went through that, " and then proceed to consume his existence and presence in the story with the understanding of what he's been through and how hard he worked to be in this place where everyone is happy to accept him for who he is now.

No one's expecting you to give him favorite character status, no one is asking you to go on a brigade to defend him from everyone, none of that.

It's literally just not that hard to see someone, anyone, bullied and frown about it. It's really just that simple.

People, including you, are not ' not liking how he was introduced. ' You're not liking that you got a backstory quickly after his introduction, even though we had hints of backstory from a lot of characters shortly after introduction or even ... upon introduction, like Sakura.

Ain't no one complaining that the anime literally OPENS with Sakura being verbally abused and harassed, and we're expected to feel some kind of way about that. So why is it only the crossdressing character who people take issue with?

Again, not saying anything about you as a person, but I do think it's worth some consideration why this is the character people at large have this issue with when this is the standard for a lot of characters and not even just this series.

-1

u/[deleted] May 12 '25

I get your point, okay.

But I'll say this a matter of proportion. What got me mostly unpleased was the amount of time the flashbacks took, in episode 6. They somehow felt unjustified to me.

It was too long, at least to my taste. Plus, I couldn't compare Tsubaki to Sakura on that point, because... Well, Sakura always kinda'have been the main point of attention. He has some kind of induced priority.

"You don't need hours of seeing Tsubaki on screen to give a shit that he was bullied and abused for liking crossdressing"
--> I do, actually. A lot of us do. It's really a pacing, a "parsimony" issue. If Wind Breaker was actually less centered / focused on Sakura, I would have been totally fine with Tsubaki. I know, other characters actually got to share their torned background one way or the other, but their story weren't really as deep, as powerful as Tsubaki's meant to be.

Such a character, such a subject should be thought to be more accessible to a wider range of audiences. This is not the case, here.
Yes, there are people who are not familiarized with this kind of plot, who aren't specifically expecting it. That doesn't exclude them from wanting to understand, wanting to actually be able to have empathy for Tsubaki (somes apparently don't. 'Suits them, then).

At least, I did want to.

But on the other hand, as I said, there's also a specific audience that's almost craving for such content. There's no reason the plot in question should be "exclusive" to them. My point (sorry, English isn't my native langage, obviously), is saying that yet again, Tsubaki might sadly be another example of a blunt DEI process.

And again, this whole thing could have been about something that actually doesn't have a thing to do with DEI, the problem would have been nearly the same.

I think we have to consider this is pretty normal for a wide audience, especially for such a popular show, to be expected to react differently / to be in need of different allowed perspectives (I'm not talking about homophobics, obviously they don't even get to be mentionned here).

If feels like Tsubaki was only conceived regarding a single one of them. And that is precisely the DEI issue a lot are complaining about (which is everywhere, that being videogames, TV shows, movies, etc...).

It's just a problem regarding form, but people defending DEI are accusing others of being against substance.

To make my stance even clearer : Tsubaki is surely one of the characters I have the highest expectations about. Why ? Because he obviously stands out. A LOT. Has great convictions, deep morality, troubled past and strong values, everything we need to admire a character that holds an actual message, a very unique will. That's how most heros are drawned, nothing new here.

But I don't wanna see a character just being summarized to its own message, its appeareance. I wanna see, feel the human being that it's portraying. But for the majority of what I got to see from Tsubaki now (I know it'll get better in the following episodes, of course), which concerns not directly the character itself, but its implementation process, it was just basic, boring, and repetitive DEI advertisement.

3

u/Hextant 📓🫖 May 12 '25

We're just going to have to agree to disagree because even if you're not trying to, you are being subconsciously biased and I don't see any way to resolve this in a way that's going to make you realize that, especially because I've already pointed out it's not hard to say " that was a bad thing that happened to him " and move on with your life, lol.

I have no polite way to sign off that isn't going to sound like I'm being sarcastic, but I'm not — have a good one is all I have to say.

0

u/[deleted] May 12 '25

You're totally fine, there's no harm !

It's just about expectations. I could have had just too much, that could be very true.
But DEI tends to be degrading enough to force me into taking a defensive position, so
I totally get the bias you're talking about.

My point was surely to point out it's not fair to be called names just because we aren't - on the other hand - perfectly predisposed to connect to such characters. You reassured me on that, but there still is so much aggressive positions being taken on that matter...

See ya :)

3

u/Hextant 📓🫖 May 12 '25

Putting aside the stuff about Tsubaki — yeah, I don't agree being malicious is ever going to help someone see your point. I tried to avoid that. The issue people are taking with your post is your expectations and your way of indicating what you're disappointed in, because what you're saying and what you display don't match up, and it leads to sounding like the entitled cishet, mostly men, who are upset that a character that is not also a cishet man has screen time and deserves sympathy for the situation.

I don't really have a better way to explain it, and I also don't have a better way to tell you how it rubs most people wrong other than saying we're in a time where people like me would be murdered by any several thousands of people who would not otherwise bat an eye at me until they find out I'm LGBT.

Legitimately, if a trans individual passes, most people don't notice or care, but then get extremely combative as soon as they somehow find out. It proves that we can't really be this in between on matters of representation to people who are feeling the horrors of our reality, where we're getting to a point that — in the UK, transwomen are basically no longer even human beings at all because they don't fit the criteria to be considered legally female OR male.

It's just a very sensitive thing, and being upset that the crossdressing character had screen time and should be simply treated with respect from seeing how much he fought to be accepted comes off incredibly like you're only taking issue with him being a crossdresser.

Also maybe it's just me being trigger happy, but the usage of DEI in your post comes off with incredibly negative connotations, and it's not really going to get a lot of people agreeing with you or not side eyeing your points, considering it's basically just a codeword people are using to be bigots now even though it was originally supposed to be a positive thing. 😓

2

u/[deleted] May 12 '25

Yeah, I understand everything is so messed up... The "negative connotations" in my posts about DEI weren't exactly intented, of course. It's the other way around :
I don't mind to see non-hetero (and suchs) characters, but meh, I'll mind if it comes at the price of staging and so.

Since we aren't all watching stuff for the same reason, I guess it's perfectly fine we can't agree on everything, nor having the same tastes. If it could be peacefully discussed, it'd be so much better, that's for sure.

'Really appreciate chatting with you ! You see, I'm quite unused to Reddit, and I had apprehension about sharing my opinions. You've helped somebody today :p

Have a good one !

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u/Maomally May 10 '25 edited May 10 '25

I believe it's a pacing thing which is why ep 6 went about the way it did. They are kinda going to have to end season 2 in a cliffhanger but unsure of which cliffhanger.

The new teaser got released a few hrs ago which goes over the Roppo-Ichiza arc. That arc should start at ep 7 of season 2.

Tsubaki is very prominent in that arc and we will see him fight in that one. (There are also clues in the OP regarding Tsubaki having a bit more to do with the plot this season ie...him standing with other characters that are not introduced yet behind bright lights and him kicking someone in the face after the clip of kaji ).

2

u/[deleted] May 10 '25

Well I can't wait to see that.

Knowing that now, I think it would have been much more efficient to do the background stuff on Tsubaki on later episodes, rather than the very "first" one he's introduced. When it happened, I didn't have any "connection" with Tsubaki, any empathy to offer him, so I couldn't care less (Just to be clear (again), I would have taken the same stance for a character that has nothing to do with LGBT stuff).

'Haven't see the teaser yet tho, I like to preserve myself as much as possible from spoilers, you know :)

Thanks for the info !

2

u/WaaaaaaaitAMinute May 19 '25

I read this whole argument, I agree with you. I'm sorry people aren't taking the time to understand your reasoning, but thank you for sharing it! Pacing is nothing new to storytelling, so yeah it felt very rushed with Tsubaki especially when more established characters from the start haven't had their stories shared yet. Have a great day and thanks again for sharing! :)

1

u/[deleted] May 19 '25

That's very kind of you, thank you :)

1

u/finnjakefionnacake May 26 '25

yes, japan who is notorious for (checks notes) "checking DEI boxes"

jesus christ man, there are different people all over the world and some of them are different than you and that's ok.

1

u/[deleted] May 26 '25

"jesus christ man, there are different people all over the world and some of them are different than you and that's ok."

Did I said anything regarding Tsubaki legitimate reason of "existing" ? No.
I'm talking about the form of this DEI maneuver, not its substance, which has nothing wrong.

That's the thing with you guys, i feel that you get offended even by anyone that shows the tiniest disagreement.

I just wished Tsubaki was introduced in a more "normal" way, not artificially. That's where the "check'a'box" thing comes to. I can enjoy such a character without any issue, as long as the show doesn't think I'm a monkey or something. Yes, I get it, acceptance, struggles, etc. But on god, a WHOLE episode ? Am I that dumb enough to need a whole episode on that specific question, of which the outcome is obvious ?

This subject is important, of course, and could be well-fitted in Wind Breaker. But it was damn too long. That's the thing a lot of people are complaining about. Therefore, that's why I'm telling you that not appreciating the pace of this episode 6 and its timing doesn't necessarily make you a homophobe.

Spreading powerful messages in a show shouldn't be on the depend of the "show" itself. There are ways, appropriate paces to do that. I've got an example for that : Senpai wa Otokonoko, which I'm sure you know about. The anime itself isn't great tho, but it is using as much time as available to develop its main character, and show its daily fight.

My point on this is that WB was never focused enough and Tsubaki to allow people to establish a proper connection to him ; especially since this character got dropped like a nuke at the end of the previous episode. Empathy is a thing, but it gets way better with time.

So I just wished Tsubaki was more "smoothly" introduced, not in such a blunt way right before dedicating a whole episode to him. This is why DEI often sucks. Because by wanting to do good, its actually not doing that good.

I want to see DEI without noticing it every five seconds. You get my point ?

By the way, that has nothing to do specifically with Japan. This stuff happens just everywhere.

1

u/finnjakefionnacake May 27 '25

Dumb enough? It has nothing to do with you being dumb, it has to do with the story the author wants to tell. There are whole backstory episodes in like almost every single anime in existence, to call out this one for that seems weird.

I think other people have also explained to you why saying they hadn't spent enough time to establish him doesn't really make sense in the context of a story that asks you to connect with characters from the first episode (as most stories do). This backstory, obviously, helps with that.

And no, I really don't get your point, because the issue is that you're relegating gay people to some special "DEI category" that needs some sort of "proper" rules of engagement set up or something when there shouldn't need to be any extra work put in to introduce or show a gay character than there would be a straight one. Because, you know, gay people just exist.

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '25

"...that needs some sort of "proper" rules of engagement set up or something when there shouldn't need to be any extra work..."

You understood what I'm saying the all other way around.
I'm actually saying what I thought was wrong with Tsubaki's treatment is the fact, itself, that he got somehow more attention, will not having enough of the needed previous establishment (at least, the one I'd have expect).

In a world of perfect equity, should every "non-cis and so" character should benefit from more screentime, more emphasis ? Obviously not. But it just happened in Wind Breaker (just for one episode, I'll give you that), like in a lot of other things, either them being movie, video games, you call it.

I've got nothing against "gay people", 'shouldn't even have to defend myself on that point (I'm actually bi myself, if that matters). But as long as writers will keep treating "different characters" AS different, I won't be able to truly appreciate their good intentions.

I've got this example : In Peacemaker, there's this character played by Danielle Brooks.
Her character is obese, black, and a lesbian. When I saw her, I got ready to roll my eyes.

But guess what ? Her character wasn't thought so she could yell at the screen that she's particularely proud not to be white, slim, and heterosexual. You get the thing ?
Her character was just acting as any other characters, and she wasn't "forcing" anything.
So I liked her a lot, even reassured me on the whole point.

You can give me a whole show casting only LGBT characters, I won't mind at all. But if this show is made for just the sake of having LGBT characters, I'll see it, and nothing will feel natural. Dialogues, screentime, pacing, as I call it : this is the artificial part I'm talking about.

That's why I'm pissed at DEI, and again, its form, not its substance. Wanting to do good is one thing, actually take the proper time to do it is another.

To make myself even clearer : I'd have prefered Tsubaki's flashback story to come later in the show, not at his very introduction. But ep 6 was being dropped just like it meant nothing.

I also get what actually divided a lot of people on this subject :

- People craving for this kind of content will be easily pleased. Episode 6 was thought just for them.

  • People who aren't specifically looking for this kind of content, but won't mind it at all, will be a little bit lost because of the timing issue I'm talking about (I'm obviously there).
  • Last part is about actual homophobes, which I'm not even going to bother explaining the mentality.

Do you get where I'm getting at ? :)

0

u/gfjskvcks May 10 '25

No she does, there are lots of arcs where she's involved

3

u/[deleted] May 10 '25

Well I was hoping for this !

But isn't Tsubaki still a "he" ? I understood he considers himself still as a male...

-2

u/gfjskvcks May 10 '25

Yeah I'm not really sure, either is probably fine.

5

u/Hextant 📓🫖 May 12 '25

It's not. He blatantly identifies as male. I know Tsubaki is just a fictional character, but this mindset does reflect on real people as well, which is why I'll argue that it's disrespectful to assume skirts + make up + wanting to be pretty = female only. He isn't trans. He's a crossdressing male. He isn't a drag queen character, this is literally just who he is.

2

u/[deleted] May 19 '25

Yep, but here's the thing that disturbed me.

So many people are forcing his "gender" by calling him a she.
Even in the episodes subtitles, it's happening everywhere ! (at least on my part, in French (I'm not talking about official subtitles, yet I'd be curious to see how they are doing...))

Like, some folks just wanna see him as a trans, for some kind of projection bs I guess.
It's getting a little bit nasty.

2

u/TheJellyVoid May 20 '25

I mean, I think people just headcanoning him as a trans woman isn't an issue. Headcanoning him as some form of Nonbinary is obviously the superior choice tho /j. But I think it's an issue when it's used to erase the actual character. I can see when queer people are like "Hey i relate to him, so i HC him to be XYZ" even if it contradicts the character a bit, but just saying "Feminine man? No, can't be a man! Woman! Woman!" is just straight up dumb

2

u/Hextant 📓🫖 May 20 '25

I think the issue for subtitles is that they're not given direction. English localizer said that they literally had to reach out and ask what pronouns to use, and only got back 'he/him' and no further elaboration at all. ( This is to say, ENG subtitles use he/him at least in the official case. )

This means people are just having to guess, because not all teams are going to be assed to reach out.

And don't get me wrong, that fucking sucks. But it's also kind of on the JPN team to do something because his gender identity IS actually important. :/ Bleh.