The ZONE Podcast: Nerdy News and Reviews
We, the Zealots of Nerd Entertainment (or the ZONE Alliance), are a group of eople talking about old and new movies, television shows, video games, and everything else in nerd/pop culture!
The ZONE Podcast: Nerdy News and Reviews
Wind Breaker (Season 2): When Anime Hits Cruise Control
"Wind Breaker" Season 2 delivers a continuation that feels more like falling action than true progression, maintaining the gang-fighting formula but without significant evolution from the first season.
• Season 2 picks up with Nagato's involvement with Kyo before shifting to Fuurin bonding episodes
• Tsubaki's introduction and character arc provide the season's strongest storyline
• Fighting different gangs becomes repetitive with a "copy and paste" feeling from Season 1
• Too many characters introduced too quickly makes it difficult to connect with most of them
• Character designs vary in quality - Tsubaki's transformation stands out positively
• Umemiya remains a compelling leader character
• Season 1 rates as an 8/10 while Season 2 falls to a 6/10
• The upcoming Season 3 will likely introduce the remaining kings
Take it easy, stay nerdy and remember that great things are coming.
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- J.B.
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Windbreaker, season 2, I gotta say it's okay. Like honestly it feels like the second Core to the first season for me, to where the first two episodes kinda Pick up when we left off at the end of Season 1, with Nagato getting Mixed up with Kyo. Aside from that, it was more like Fuurin just bonding with each other with some filler episodes. Then we get introduced to one of the kings, tsubaki, and then from there it was more like Tsubaki's arc, like just who he is as a person, who he's been affiliated with, and the Usual lather rinse, repeat with Getting into tussles with all these Different gangs and what not. I would say it's at least An 8 Because it's good.
Speaker 1:It doesn't really Expand on what season one, like season one was great, but uh, season two just felt like, yeah, you know, if you, if you had put season one and season two together as just one season, then I'm like okay, uh, at that point it was like the midpoint. That would have been like really good for me. And then at this point in season two it's just feel like falling action. I mean not to discount it too much, but just didn't really stand out for me this time around. But that's just my personal opinion, sebi Phantom, on how you feeling about windbreak. I know you wasn't on for the first season, so I guess it's a good opportunity to ask you how you feel about both seasons of windbreaker so for windbreaker.
Speaker 2:I'm not an action girly.
Speaker 1:You know that I'm a slice of life romance Girl through and through, but I don't know why I picked it up, you know what I love how you and Mira Jane Are like polar opposites In the sense where she's not really Into the girly girls because she's more Into things like Windbreaker. Unfortunately, she had to jump off from this review, which is fine, that's all good, but she would be more into Windbreaker, tokyo Revengers and you know this review, which is fine, that's all good, but, uh, she would be more into windbreaker, uh, tokyo revengers and you know, the shonen action anime. And then you, on the other hand, is like, I mean not to say that you're not into this stuff, but like you know, I just think it's like a fun counterbalance that I think it would be great for the podcast.
Speaker 2:I don't know no, I get it totally, yeah, I'm. When she said that earlier podcast about, again, I'm such a shonen girl, I'm like, yeah, and I do not like shonen at all. I've tried to get into it. I just can't. I'm not an action person. Full of filler episodes or to me, just get to the romance, get to the point, let's go. But just go back to season one. I actually thought it was really good. You know we're following sakura.
Speaker 2:He's a cute character. Um, gave me todoroki vibes, dual hair, whatever. Um, I guess my favorite episode, the just to go through. Togami is my favorite character out of season one dark hair, tired eyes, whole thing. Anyway, season two um, we meet keel. Of course I like that whole thing. Um subaki knows my other favorite character from season two. But I kind of have to agree with you kind of felt like it was kind of redundant from season one. You know, know, I get the whole thing. You meet other gangs, you fight them, end of story. I was just kind of hoping there was a bit more because it kind of felt like towards the end of season two we were kind of just having another season one where they were just kind of like fighting Umamiya again, is it Umamiya? Yeah, fighting um umamiya again. Is it umamiya? Yeah, it's umamiya. I just felt like it was just copy paste over. Here's a new gang.
Speaker 1:Here's this done over can I just say that umamiya is my favorite, just so far, consistently, because he's the kind of leader that I want to be. Because, keep in mind, when we talked about Windbreaker Season 1, this was when you were not on this, but I mentioned this in Season 1, where, while Yuma Nia is the kind of leader that I want to be, then there was the other guy from uh thing. It was a shizu toron, like the one with the tigers, uh, I'm trying to remember, uh, the leader of the tiger gang, like he was the one where he wanted to be free, almost like some aaron jaeger vibes, but he actually got worse and worse, even as far as like bullying his own people, but he wants freedom at the same time. But like bro ah man, that one that had soft to him.
Speaker 1:Because at least with season one, it felt like at that moment when they were having like that tournament style way of doing things, it felt like it was actually about something. It was like you could actually ooh, like yeah, like okay, y'all actually talking about some shit. But then, season two, it's like it's not bad, it's just just feel like falling action from the first season, like I don't know, like maybe I don't know, I don't know, I just wasn't into it.
Speaker 2:I guess that where it comes to the whole point, where it's just like a copy and paste, oh, Tomiyama, that was his name, choji Tomiyama.
Speaker 1:That's why yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because, going back to season one, I do like the fact that each person that they Fought, they had some sort of Except for Sakura and Togami, but they had like some sort of like chemistry going on, like there's a reason why they're fighting each other. But with season two, I get it like they're they run into um shizuka, the whole thing.
Speaker 1:She got on my nerves, but keep going. I'll explain, but keep going.
Speaker 2:I just felt like Shizuka is there fighting for the girl. Let's fight. Okay, there's gravel, and then you have Endo.
Speaker 1:I get it, I do like seizuka um, the girl where they were trying to save her from um that one gang um led by man bun which, by the way, man bun kind of pissed me off too To where he just seemed so plain looking Chizuri yeah, that was his name.
Speaker 2:Yeah, his name is Chizuri.
Speaker 1:Chizuri. Okay, he got on my nerves a little bit too, but as a villain I'm like, okay, fine, because it was more like his thing was. Oh yeah, he kind of things like it was more like his thing was. Oh yeah, he kind of thinks life was a video game and I'm like, okay, at least he's kind of a character Like alright, I've seen this kind of character before, like he just kind of visualized everything as a video game and I'm like, and as a villain point of view, I'm like, yeah, he's the kind of guy that got a real punchable face, which makes it more satisfying when he actually does get death warned, like you know. But the girl, the girl pissed me off to where, like, I guess, in a way.
Speaker 1:It just made me mad how she made it so easy to where. Oh no, don't fight over me, I'll go with you. I swear I'm like man, sit back and let it work. Like, come on. Like you keep doing it. Like stop making it more complicated than you need to be you trying to run towards them just to hope that you stop the fighting? I'm like girl, you are underestimating us. Just sit back. We got this.
Speaker 2:I don't like her character design.
Speaker 1:I feel you.
Speaker 2:Where's your bangs? I'm sorry, why are your bangs so high on your head?
Speaker 1:It bothers me so much I didn't want to bring it up, but I'm glad you did, because I was like bro, it just looks so weird, even when people in real life kind of do it. I'm sorry, but it just looks so weird. Like, even when people in real life kind of do it, it just I'm sorry, but it just looks so weird to me because it almost feels like did your stylist fuck up or did you do that intentionally? And if so, are you sure that's the length you wanted to go with? Like see, I have dreads right and I have bangs where at least my bangs go to my eyebrows and shit. Like, see, that makes sense. Like y'all making it sound Like y'all had a bad hair day, like I had bad hair day, and just rolling with it. I don't know. It feels weird for me. Yeah, no, unfortunately, when you cut your bangs, that short unfortunately makes your forehead Look bigger than what it is and just rolling with it.
Speaker 2:I'm like I don't know. It feels weird for me. Yeah, no, unfortunately, when you cut your bangs that short, unfortunately, it makes your forehead look bigger than what it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's all that it gave me. I'm like your forehead is so large. I have bangs too. My bangs are actually grown out a little bit more, but they pretty much the verge of my nose, but I'm kind of parting them now. But that's beside the point. I didn't like the character design. I think the only one that I really liked was Tsubaki now, because I like the transformation, not a guy, not a girl, just kind of here. I like makeup Done is deal. The only other thing that I didn't like about Windbreakers is that at one point they were introducing way too many characters yeah, like especially season one.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I get it like, okay, introduce them now and then maybe, uh, as the series progressed you know they're gonna be fighting different games anyway. Everybody else is gonna have a more flexed out uh, character development, uh, their own story, whatnot, okay, fine, but still, though, it feels like a lot of characters to keep up with, and I don't know. It's kind of how I felt about, um, when I did the blue light review with mirror jane, to where, like, um, some guys I like, but then I'm gonna be honest with you, there's not a whole lot of people I'm just going to keep up with. Like that. Same thing when we did the Aposicare Diaries review, to where, yes, a lot of lovable characters, but, come on, y'all, that's a lot of people to keep up with.
Speaker 2:Like you're only going to remember your favorites, which is perfectly fine. That's kind of what the point of anime is You're going to remember your favorites, which is perfectly fine. That's kind of what the point of anime is You're going to know your favorites. But I felt like they could have broken down the season a little bit differently, because at one point they were fighting like three gangs per like one season or two gangs per season. Yeah, it would stop fighting one gang to fight another gang, which again is the whole point of this anime. But you would just get finished knowing like 20 different characters, and here's 20 more. Not to mention, you got to remember the whole foreign school, and then you got to remember these background characters, and then Seizuka, and you're just like I don't know half these people.
Speaker 1:It's like a catching story. I'll just be like who are you people?
Speaker 2:Pretty much Like I just Wait a minute, who are you? That's exactly what I'm saying, Because with Sakura, like I'm barely scraping the surface with this poor kid, but even then I don't really know much about it. The only person I know more about that I've seen a background story for is Bakino. That's a whole four episodes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like he had like a whole piece they. They had a whole arc and I'm like I mean other than the whole Shishi Torin thing. But then again with Shishi Torin it felt like everybody had a mini arc in that one. So it's like you know more of Tsubaki than most of the guys there, because at least you've got time to get to know this character. Versus let's introduce a whole bunch of people and give them a little bit of backstory and then maybe to get a little bit more backstory as the series goes. But I'm like I don't know. But I don't know if I even like this character, I just want to be invested in this character. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I get it and we're not done yet. We still have what four, three other leaders to continue on with.
Speaker 1:Ah, fuck, I forgot there was like more of them. Like I think we were into one of them and then Tsubaki makes two. So yeah, like.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've got like three more left, because I think there's five. So by the time we're all said and done with the last season of this, we're going to know like a hundred and something characters, and I don't got time for all that.
Speaker 1:It's going to feel like. It's going to feel like having a whole grand fleet, like One Piece where there's a whole bunch of people uh, in purine, but it's like, okay, I remember sakura, I remember nire, I remember suo, um, um, um, okay, um, the zealot, the guy, I forget his name, but I remember him um um, see, that's what I'm saying, like you're not gonna keep up with it.
Speaker 2:I guess this is what it really means. I mean, would they consider this a shonen?
Speaker 1:because I feel like shonen's have a lot of like multi-character, like levels, almost yeah, I want to say shonen, because it's tailored more towards teenage boys and it's like it's mainly teenage boys being involved in this. So I'm like, yeah, it counts as children.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is the reason why I like romance. You get two main characters, maybe a couple side pieces, and then you're done, that's it. I only have to remember like five names, maybe six.
Speaker 1:I feel you on that one. Like I said, windbreaker, I mean it's not bad. I mean as a whole. I'm going to say combined. If I'm going to combine season one and two, I would give it an eight, but season two alone feeling kind of like a six, it's just not adding. It doesn't really add on to what Windbreaker is about, aside from introducing a character that we actually get acquainted with, versus let's introduce a whole bunch of characters and then it's like you kind of get an idea of what they're about, but not a whole lot to go to run with, you know. So I will say Windbreaker is still good. The second season just felt like a rinse repeat for me.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to lie with you, jb, I probably will not be watching season 3. I know there's going to be one because we have more characters to go over then I'm going to be like wait, hold on.
Speaker 1:I know what we said about season 2, but hear me out, it gets explosive in season 3. But if that happens I'll let you know. If not, I'm like I don't blame you. It might go on Anime lightning, where I'm like season 3 Rolls and Just like season 2. Not much to say here, so let's just throw it on Anime lightning.
Speaker 2:Yeah, again, very few characters that I could Thoroughly enjoy. Fighting is not really my thing, but Season one, I have to say, is like a Eight to go along with you. And for Season two, I have to say, the only Good thing about it was, oh gosh, blanked out there from one thing I'd have to say about a 6.6 gotcha, gotcha.
Speaker 1:All right, that is it for our review on windbreaker. Oh, another piece of nerdy news that I almost forgot. That's involving comic books. Apparently spider, spider-gwen symbiote, you know, like the whole thing with Gwenam, but apparently her symbiote, like it's kind of like I don't know, I guess it got diffused from her and gone by its own identity called Tantrum. So you could say that while Spider-Man has his foil with Venom, uh, spider-gwen now has Tantrum as her symbiote, rival, villain, antagonist person. I thought it was interesting, pretty interesting. So, with that being said, let's go ahead and call this one out. Thank you for listening. Go ahead and have yourself a good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good night, but ultimately, take it easy, stay nerdy and remember that great things are coming. We are zoning out of here.
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