Review by Ian Keogh
The Breaker is a high school story infused with gangster chic, at least on the basis of what Jeon Geuk-Jin and Park Jin-Hwan supplied in The Breaker 1. Charismatic substitute teacher Chun Woo-Han turned up at the high school attended by Si-Woon, a bullied student who won’t fight back, and who wants Chun to teach him. Shortly afterward the provocative Si-Ho Lee arrived as the school nurse, and to open The Breaker 2 a new school janitor arrives in a Lamborghini.
Chun was revealed to readers at least as Nine-Door Dragon, a gangster who’s also the ultimate martial artist and needs to lie low for a while. Unfortunately The Breaker 1 ended with him in a collapsing building. Si-Woon, meanwhile has been given a pill to maximise his potential and that increases his qi, or life force, but he’s unable to control it, and so while it’s a considerable power, it’s likely to damage him along with any opponents.
Because a primary cast has been established, Jeon now broadens the world, and this volume moves away from the school more often to supply greater information about assorted gangs, their power structures and their rivalries. If there were any doubt, both nurse and janitor also have gang involvement
It’s noticeable that Park lapses more often here into the exaggerated cartooning characterising emotional response in manga, but enjoys Si-Ho’s vampish personality. There’s an exploitative element to her presentation, but it should also be noted she’s always completely in control of a room. Because the action levels have been considerably raised in this volume, Park’s skills as a choreographer of martial arts fights come into focus. They’re stunning.
It might be assumed there’s a reason Alex the janitor is shown driving an expensive car as car chases are a feature of action thrillers, but Jeon has a surprise in store. There is a thrilling car sequence stopping and starting again, with Alex acting as if he’s in GTA, but it’s not what any reader will predict.
Anyone who enjoyed the school drama aspects of the previous volume may be disappointed that the balance has so radically shifted, and it doesn’t return. School bully Chang-Ho was well crafted as a threat in the first volume, yet it seems he’s barely rates a cameo here, as the horrors Si-Woon faces down here mean he’s not likely to provoke fear again. However, Jeon proves he can still be a threat via the cliffhanger ending.
Jeon introduces another intriguing new character, and broadens the world via the mention of ‘Murim’, connecting the martial arts mayhem with an intangible mystical presence. From what was previously introduced, The Breaker was always going to be a coming of age saga, and Jeon cleverly introduces disagreement between Si-Woon and his mentor, reflecting disagreements the younger Nine-Door Dragon had with his teacher. The world has been considerably broadened here, and that plays out in The Breaker 3.
