This is a Korean "Manhwa," meaning it is created in the style of a Manga, but it is not a Japanese series. The names are Korean in large part, but the main character's master is actually named after a famous school of Muay Thay martial arts, which is a style popular in Thailand.
Story - 10/10
The Breaker was a total breath of fresh air for me. It starts out like a typical shonen, with a young high-school boy being thrown into a dangerous world of super-human warriors, but the story takes many unexpected turns.
The point-of-view shifts between the master and his apprentice, each with their own unique story, and each being equally pushed to their limits. I loved this format, and it made much more sense than ignoring the master and having the apprentice somehow out-shine a godly martial artist in less than one year of training.
The story is dark at times, darker in fact than the most popular shonen around today, and I really loved the tension this created. We knew that good guys could actually get seriously injured or die in this series. The writer wasn't willing to give anyone a "plot shield," and this made everything much more dramatic.
The love stories in this series are actually rather good, especially considering the limited panel time, and I never felt like it was fake or rushed when two characters showed that they had formed a connection. That isn't a critical element for a shonen series, but it did make some of the fights more emotional, especially the finale.
Finally, this story directly connects to the sequel, The Breaker: New Waves, which has been great so far. I recommend checking out the sequel after The Breaker.
Art - 9/10
The fighting is really interesting in this series. It's mostly hand-to-hand, but the artist keeps it fresh between each fight by introducing new moves or new styles. The choreography is just amazing, and never got stale. Every new fight had a new feel to it, even rematches between the same fighters.
Unique martial artists have their own styles, and people from the same house/clan have similarities. This is very well-done in general, and I was always excited by the action.
The backgrounds are decent, nothing special in that regard, but adequate. I've seen better, but also much worse.
The character designs were excellent though. Everyone looked completely different, there were no generic guys, even among the fodder. I loved this attention to detail. The design of Shi-Ho Lee is just spectacular, and it matches her personality perfectly.
Characters - 10/10
I think the characters are much deeper than what you see in shonen series most times. We have 4 key characters.
Shi-Woon Yi is the perfect "coward to hero" archetype. I wish more stories had boys like this. He's your typical shonen hero, but his fear and deep anger are much more believable than what I usually experience in shonen series. The story is mostly about his growth into manhood, but other stories emerge as he explores the martial arts world, and the story becomes about something much bigger than one boy's life.
Chun-Woo Han is the perfect warrior, a monster feared by even the greatest masters in the martial arts world, but he's left that all behind to foolishly pursue a teaching career. Inevitably he gets lured back in as his story intertwines with that of Shi-Woon Yi. He's not just a mere mentor, and Chun-Woo Han plays an enormous role in the story. At times, he feels like the true main character.
Jin-Ie Kwon is a great character. She's a strong girl that doesn't need to be saved all the time, but at the same time she is far from totally free. Her suffering stems from her position within the Sun-Woo Clan, one of the strongest martial arts houses in the martial arts world. Because of her obligations to her father, she often does what teenagers do, running away from their parents and living rebelliously. She saves Shi-Woon Yi many times, and is a serious bad-ass when angered, but no match for Chun-Woo or any of the true masters of the martial arts world.
Shi-Ho Lee is an elegant warrior, not quite on the level of Chun-Woo Han, but a serious elite capable of fighting nearly anyone in the martial arts world without so much as breaking a sweat. Shi-Ho Lee is a stunning beauty, she has a great sense or humor, and a strong aura of confidence surrounds her. I particularly loved her relationship with Chun-Woo Han, and she is an unforgettable character.
Enjoyment - 10/10
I loved this story. It had everything you could possibly ask for in an action series, and then some.
Every arc was emotional, every character felt unique, and the fights were all absolutely thrilling.
Overall - 10/10
This is an emotional story, and you will be moved by the events that unfold.
If you want a light-hearted series that simply makes you feel good every week then you should look elsewhere, because The Breaker is a roller-coaster ride.
I am currently reading the sequel, which has been very different so far, but has improved greatly and may eventually rival the original.
