The Breaker will be considered the prequel and New Waves the sequel.

Martial arts has always been intriguing and looking at stories where characters who are weak, wanting to get stronger is a journey of self discovery. In some ways, media that projects this topic is relateable to viewers because most of us want to follow our bliss and find a path that truly fits us. For The Breaker, Shi-Woon is the young boy we follow to search for his path of self discovery. This review reflects the series as a whole rather than just this sequel.

I'll do my best without spoilers for the prequel or this, but the story seems to follow a linear path for the predecessor, where as prequel opens the world up to other factions within the Martial Arts community(Murim). The Breaker does a great job fleshing out it's story with giving us the perspective of other factions, but the same cannot be said about New Waves. The premise is run of the mill and seen elsewhere, but the series has an edge with the awesomeness of Chun Woo. The dude is a beast and is the most feared existence within the story and his effect on the plot and characters are executed well. While it is a broken record by the end of the series, his existence brings meaning to each character. At the end though, the series leaves a lot to be desired mainly because of inconclusive ending and some plot holes(eggs).

Characters are a mixed bag, most development comes from Chun Woo and Shi Woon. Nothing is wrong with that though since they are probably the only interesting characters within the series and the oldhead in New Waves. The first season handles Chun Woo and Shi Woon with care and we see both of them blossom, whether it is a good or bad thing. However, I did feel like the flash back memories that we see are out of place and always come up in convenient times. Not only for these two, but for other characters as well. It is not the best way to go about justifying the character's actions and beliefs and seems a bit forced. Also, New Waves becomes awfully stagnant in character development. There is a limit to how naive some can be and to push that limit creates a repetitive vibe.
The side characters are very forgettable, I mean all they do is contribute to the plot. It's what their there for but at least give them some characterization instead of sexualizing the females and showing us how emo some of the male characters are. Some female characters I have in mind are definitely useless to the series as a whole. A LOT of plot convenience and flash backs drive some of these characters and I wasn't fond of that while reading The Breaker and New Waves.

Art is pretty cool, really brings out the characters emotions and action scenes are well defined. Picturing the scene in my mind with the SFX already seems really intense. Wasn't expecting in this series, but fan service was existent and probably was the only form of comedic relief which was eh.

Overall, The Breaker has more ups than downs. Obviously all reviews are subjective and people are titled to their own beliefs and enjoyment, but the inconsistent flow of The Breaker can turn off people. It is an enjoyable, action shounen read. Looking for a good cast of characters, you may or may not find it with this one but there are certainly some interesting characters in this series. The story was OKAY; it deviated from what I thought was gonna be and went into bumblefuck direction honestly. Give it a read if you like a protagonist in search of self-discovery.