Reviews

Story 8: The Breaker's narrative has a unique approach to its structure by creating a very linear story that progresses in an almost circular fashion. What I mean by that is that each new 'arch' follows a similar pattern, with the same beats and plot details, but each one furthers a very clear linear pathway toward the conclusion. Unlike stories like the big three this story is very clearly bringing us to a conclusion and each loop is simply a means to make us care about the world and characters in order to make that conclusion feel more impactful. And in that regard, this story shines, it has a solid set of likeable characters that gain depth as you progress and are mostly well developed. Its hallmark however is the story's message on bullying and peer abuse. I have never seen a story handle this issue in a more relatable and realistic fashion. The writer and artist clearly were holding nothing back in their depictions, and did not hold anything back when expressing how horrific these kinds of situations can become. Now, while it is unpleasant to think about, it is important to discuss and the creators should be commemorated for being willing to have that in this manwha.


Art 6: The art for the most part is quite fair, with character designs that stylish and unique, set pieces that are nice to look at, and shading that sets the tone for each panel. However, when in motion the results are iffy, some of the fights just really don't look very good and are hard to keep up with. The blur style they use doesn't really portray the motion the characters are taking and often just looks disjointed and bizzare, like each movement is breaking both time and space for the sake of plot. Granted, this is generally only an issue in the early part of the series, and is far less noticeable later on.

Character 8: the characters as mentioned before are generally well developed and mostly turn into interesting figures within the narrative, with one exception. The bully is just the bully, he has no other characteristics and has no redemptive qualities. This is a bit of a shame, but is understandable given the clear zero tolerance message being expressed here. Still I feel it is a bit of missed opportunity to make a deeper message on the circular nature of abuse and bullying and it could have really elevated the story to a higher level.

Enjoyment 8: this series has three key details that make it stand out and keep it entertaining: a surprisingly unique and well developed lore, a solid character line up that works well together, and a strong moral message that doesn't sugar coat important and serious concerns. The manwha may not be a masterpiece, but it is a damn good read that holds well to scrutiny.

Overall 8: If you are looking for a solid martial arts tale, featuring an underdog rising story that expresses strong moral arguments in a very relatable way while not holding back in explaining the serious nature of bullying and child violence, then you will enjoy this series.