Yowamushi Pedal

Veronin★ 8

Peer pressure often prevents us from being the person we want to be. The teenage years entail a necessity for conformity and a fear of change. Physical appearance, grades, money and social status are used to determine someone's value in society. Or so it seems. For Onoda Sakamichi, he finds his place by pedalling and pedalling forward. Yowamushi Pedal is a story of a weak-willed, unattractive and friendless otaku finding joy in life through the sweat of sport. Nobody, including himself, thinks him capable of more than shopping for manga and singing embarrassing anime songs. He rides his cheap bicycle from school to Akihabara once a weekand the dismal cycle begins anew. But through a series of fortunate coincidences he finds untapped talent and a place in his school's cycling club. Unlike most protagonists in sports anime, Onoda is not a hot-blooded maniac with a craving for victory. He is timid, weak-- but earnest. He pedals on not out of proud, but because his aching muscles and the wind beating against him makes him feel alive. In a race he does not need to worry that he is shy or awkward; all that matters is that he pedal forward and dominate the asphalt. While Onoda may not be likeable in the traditional sense (his timidness can occasionally reach the point of frustration), much like Mihashi from "Big Windup", you can't help but root for the poor guy. The other members of Souhoku's cycling club are fairly exciting, though most of them are nothing you haven't already seen before in a sports anime. There's Onoda's rival, Imaizumi, but the rivalry seemingly vanishes into thin air as the Interhigh tournament approaches. Naruko represents the life and energy of the club, while the three seniors unsurprisingly serve as mentors to the first-years. The most interesting of all the characters (sans Onoda) is Makishima. His long, green hair, lanky body, molester-like smile and spider-like cycling manoeuvre has him come across as a creepy little bastard, but gradually he develops and adds a distinct personality to the show. Souhoku will certainly feel the loss once he graduates. The rival cyclists are, well... they have quite a personality. One of them is a muscle freak who names his pecks (Andy & Frank, in case you were curious) and regularly screams "Abs!" while riding with his jersey unzipped, exposing his bulging, twitching muscles. Yes. Yowamushi Pedal is a very strange show. Others are more conservative in their personality, with the unbeatable Hakone High serving as the second main cast of characters. Their rivalry with Souhoku feels genuine as a result of a number of flashbacks, and these scenes fortunately are handled gracefully, only ever shown when pertinent to the story. The individual members of Hakone High are all fleshed-out, too. Even Muscle Dude. The one blemish in an otherwise fun cast of characters is Midousuji of Kyoto Fushimi. He takes ridiculous to a level that I don't believe I have seen before in a sports anime. He does not stop at simply being the arrogant antagonist; he is a goddamn animal masquerading as human. He slurps with his long, lizard-like tongue, bends his body in positions impossible for the human body, loudly grinds his skeleton-like teeth in front of his opponents, strangles his team-mates and leaves death shrieks like a complete lunatic. Okay, I understand that the show wanted to create conflict by having a villain that the entire audience can despise and root against, but he did not need to be exaggerated to such an extent. His character simply creates a pervasive, ceaseless sense of imbalance within the show. And he does not ever stop frustrating the viewer. By the power of God, Jesus, Allah, those Hindu deities that I can't remember the name of, my mom and every other person in the history of mankind, won't somebody please please please beat the fool senseless? Midosuji aside, Yowamushi Pedal does an excellent job of being accessible to those who have no prior experience or interest in the sport of cycling. Basic terminology is concisely conveyed to the viewer without being condescending, and it focuses more on the abilities of the cyclists rather than the intricacies of some obscure technique they are using. It does occasionally stray from realism during the Interhigh tournament, though. Every main character seems to have some sort of superpower. And you have to wonder how the characters don't lose their breath from talking so much while cycling. Yowamushi Pedal is a visual feast. It is easily one of the best-looking sports anime produced to date. In the thirty-eight episodes produced thus far, there has not been one where the animation quality has dipped to any noticeable extent. The amount of CG used is thankfully minimal (usually limited to the scenery and the legs of the cyclists), though to be fair, it does skip many of the expensive shots by focusing more on the faces of the cyclists, with said faces given extra prominence by the blurring of the backgrounds. However, the best part of the visuals is the most basic: colour. Too many shows forget the importance of colour. Grey and brown is not fun for the eyeballs. The musical score is great, but the real beauty is in how well-timed it is. All the tracks start and end at the perfect moment; a final dash towards the finish line being accompanied by a hot-blooded orchestral piece with guitars riffing in the background, or a tense 'eleventh hour' piece playing as the characters run out of strength and fall behind. One of the best moments in the entire show occurs in the thirty-first episode, with Onoda motivating his teammate by forcing him to sing along to a cheesy anime song (the way he's always encouraged himself), it later switching into a guitar solo of the song before finally crescendoing into the show's main background piece. Even if there's no particular stand-out track, the excellent usage of these tracks makes every episode a joy to watch. It's also pretty damn motivational, to boot. However, it should be noted that the first season (should they even be considered separate seasons?) does not have a conclusion. It ends in the middle of the Interhigh tournament during one of its climaxes, the final sprint of the second day with no 'to be continued' to assuage the viewer. Watching the second season is an absolute necessity, so you will have to prepare yourself for a fairly long ride. Yowamushi Pedal is first and foremost an inspirational story of the weak surpassing the odds and triumphing over the strong. It will not leave you with something you haven't already seen before, and while it is most certainly not deep or philosophical, it excels at doing what matters most: leaving a smile on the viewer's face.

Solid_Cow★ 4

Yowamushi Pedal is not a good show. It's a standard, predictable shounen sports series that does nothing memorable or exciting. Every conflict in the story is caused by not having enough pride in your team, and every conflict is resolved by having more pride in your team. The characters all fit neatly into their pre-determined stereotypes, and nothing really changes between the start of the show and the last end card. But this show does excel in one area, and that is copious amounts of balls-to-the-wall MANSERVICE. Now, I don't claim to be an expert on the admiration of the male physique. I like my ladiesmore than I like my guys, which is why I lean towards shows like Highschool DxD more than Free. But I started this show with no idea what I was getting myself into, and for the first, oh, 10 episodes it was a so-so show about bicycles. Then it started happening. The outfits got tighter, the shorts got shorter, and the amount of screen real estate taken up by sweaty butts increased dramatically. I was bewildered by this sudden turn. “Truly,” thought I, “these camera angles are those reserved for fanservice shots, but there is nary a panty to be seen!” It wasn't until 2 episodes before the show ended that I finally had a complete conception of what I was seeing. It was a shot of two cyclists crossing the finish line, one positioned triumphantly behind the other with his arms held to the sky, hips thrust proudly into the rear of the one in front. The loser was wide-eyed at this sudden shock, overcome with the realization that the winner had completely taken him by surprise. It was then that I knew just how far from home I had come. Yowamushi Pedal is a show built entirely on a foundation of manliness. You're apt to see so many sweaty, panting men with their firm butts thrust high in the air, grasping at each other and fighting for dominance, that you'll never want for another slash fic again. There is a veritable smorgasbord of masculinity on display for any tastes you might have. Do you fancy the stoic leader type? Take your pick from any of the team leaders. Do you prefer a foul-mouthed lone wolf who secretly cares deeply for his friends? You got it. Want a tall, awkward guy with a big heart? Well, you're getting one anyway. The dogged nice guy with a dark and troubled past even makes an appearance. Like your guys with a more bishounen appeal? Here's a fun activity: count all the female cyclists you see on the character page. Done? Those are all guys. Do you love big beefy bros? There's not one, but TWO massive mountains of man-meat here, one of which even names his muscles for easy reference in fan fics. “Oh Arakita-san, please rub lotion on my Andy...” Like long, spindly guys with no bones and a sociopathic hatred of humans? You may want to talk to someone about that, but in the meantime, enjoy Yowamushi Pedal! No matter your preference, this show's got you covered. Should you watch Yowamushi Pedal? If you've read this far, you should already know the answer to that. If you like men's butts and you cannot lie, pick this one up and tough out the first two arcs. You will be richly rewarded. If you just want to watch a by-the-numbers shounen then by all means, pick this up as well. But if you're not in the mood for manservice and you don't want to see something that insults your intelligence, then give Yowamushi Pedal a pass. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go marathon Seikon no Qwaser to reaffirm my sexuality.