I couldn’t finish it. I literally couldn’t. I said I’d write a review and usually I make sure to read all of the story that I can to make sure I can give a full opinion and analyze why I have that opinion but I really just couldn’t continue reading it.
Asura recently added a new webcomic titled Breakers. When reading the synopsis, I really thought that I would enjoy this webcomic and honestly wasn’t expecting to be unable to finish reading all 29 chapters that are currently out. I managed to get to chapter 15 before I couldn’t continue.
So is it bad? No. It’s just not for me. Why? From now on there will be spoilers. Skip to the next line if you want to avoid spoilers.
So right from the start we notice that this story is an isekai story where the main character has some kind of broken advantage over everyone else with the addition of the MC having prior knowledge about this supposed game he was isekaied into. This doesn’t actually mean anything bad but generally puts the story under the banner of OPMC, progression fantasy, and isekai which have many overused tropes that require some thinking to stand out as a story.
Let’s hit upon the first issue. The main character is OP and the story shows us this right from the beginning by showing how skilled the MC is at the game they are playing. This tells us the MC is high on the competence value. The story then throws them into the game as the supposed “weakest character” but the MC literally looks at their traits and goes “oh gee I’m so OP.” This is supposed to mean they will be OP but their strength comes from the speed of their progression. This actually seems like a great way to balance an OPMC and it’s basically the same formula Solo Leveling used when choosing the weakest E-rank as the start of the story. However, there’s kind of a big problem with the execution of the supposed “weakness” of the MC in Breakers. They really don’t seem weak at all.
We’re thrown into a situation where the MC and his little group is attacked by an enemy group. Initially this seems like the awakening moment that we saw in Solo Leveling where we build empathy for the pathetic MC and then watch as an external force swoops in to save the MC. From there the rest of the story focuses on the progress of the MC attempting to gain enough power fast enough to stand on their own. This is the expectation I have for a story with the set of characteristics Breakers presents in it’s synopsis and initial chapter. However, this kind of doesn’t happen?
The MC somehow gains the power to solve their problem during the first fight meaning I really can’t see them as weak no matter how much they keep saying they are week. The art really tries to depict them as weak but the art can only go so far when literally every single plot point is trying to show how powerful the MC’s abilities and intellect is which allows him to maneuver his way to a win. This really makes it difficult for me to go, “Ah yes. This main character is weak and has to get stronger quickly to survive in this world.”
Despite the MC’s obviously increasing ability, we never actually see him fight because he’s supposedly, “super weak.” which honestly feels ridiculous since many parts of the story make no sense. Almost all the problems introduced in the story are solved in a chapter or less and almost all of them feel like a two dimensional problem.
What do I mean by a two dimensional problem? They literally feel flat like they have no substance. So what does that mean? Alright. So the issue the MC runs into is that his sister is captured by the enemy. Great. This is an incredible problem that the MC can use to grow and overcome. Wait. He just looks at a minimap and that’s it? That feels kind of lame… there wasn’t any difficulty! Oh wait, he gets caught by the enemy while escaping! Oh but it doesn’t matter because he can now use his other incredible ability to steal powers to get out of all his difficulties. The character technically grew more powerful but the characterization of the character didn’t grow a single bit.
Every time in Solo Leveling he had a power up, we saw the development of a new person. The old E-rank falling away to make room for the shadow monarch. And then it all culminates in the realization that he had become the shadow monarch and was the shadow monarch the whole time with that ability hidden inside. This kind of story has substance. A three dimensional character which I can dig into. However all of the characters in Breakers are flat as paper. There’s nothing to dig into.
Now this doesn’t mean Breakers is a bad story. In fact, some people in the comments on Asura seem to like this story a lot. However, it’s not for me. I like thinking about stories. I like deep connections. I like watching a character develop as a person. And I’m tired of all these system stories that seem like copies of each other.
My final verdict? 4/10
5/10 art
3/10 story
Potato is yum 
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