10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 18

Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 18

The Big Three 2.0 earn their spots on the Inter-High team, but only if they can finish the 1,000 km on the last day. With the rain, Onoda has extra problems, but Perm-guy saves his day.

The end of training camp faked me out in my expectations in two ways, one of them I'm a bit disappointed in, and the other is fine with me. First, the disappointing one. The Big Three 2.0 win their spots on the Inter-High team, but only because the 2nd-years both got leg injuries on the final sprint, and wouldn't be able to finish the 1,000 km. There were 2 conditions to make the squad: Have the most laps by the 3rd night and finish the complete distance by the 4th.  The 2nd-years would have had to finish ahead of Imaizumi and Naruko to stay one lap ahead, and Onoda wouldn't factor into it all. The way I figured it, the first-years could all finish ahead of Perm-guy and Quiet-guy, but with Onoda behind in laps, one of those 2nd-years would get the last spot on the 6-man squad, but refuse it because his buddy didn't make it, letting Onoda on in his place. That's very Japanese too. But I didn't expect the double leg-pull deus ex machina. So that resolution fills me with meh, but then we wouldn't have Tadokoro giving his little juniors a bear hug as he consoles them. The author threw the fujoshi a bone there...

The second fakeout was not taking the handicaps off for the Big Three 2.0 on the last day, but giving them rain to contend with. I'm okay with that, since it fits the harsh training philosophy of Kinjou. I guess we'll see the fruits of their training in another episode when their bikes are back to normal.

As for how Onoda made the squad, the rain was another deus ex machina, because it made Sugimoto ask-me-anything-kun drop out on the last day. I was expecting the handicaps to come off so Onoda could finish the distance before he did, but with adding rain instead, we get Perm-guy loaning Onoda his pedals and shoes because he also wants to see how fast he can pedal. Onoda may be short, but he's got big feet. You know what that means, ladies? Right. Big shoes! Hah, I kill myself...

So, with Perm-guy's shoes, and Sugimoto dropping out, our Big Three 2.0 get to race with the Big Three, and Onoda's bromance with Manami climbing-no-ikemen gets to stay alive. High fives all around.

This week's cycling porn features the 2nd-years last time we'll see their bikes, more shoes, more pedals, riding in the rain, and a pedal wrench.

Goodbye Corratec. Goodbye Cannondale. Braking in the rain takes a little longer because the brake surface on your wheel is all wet, and the brake pad has to wipe that stuff off first before it gets grip on the dry enough surface. Cyclists, be patient in the rain, please. Onoda also shows why pedaling with cheap plastic pedals without any metal grips is slippery. When I was learning to ride my bike, I had some good ones with metal teeth on the edges. I never lost my grip, but they sure hurt if you tried to run across a crosswalk and they smacked the back of your ankle. Perm-guy uses his pedal wrench to put his pedals on Onoda's bike, and gives him a clinic on why they work better. Your foot won't come off unless you do a very unnatural ankle twist, and you can pull up on the pedal too. It doesn't give you twice as much pedaling power like he claims, because think about, can you lift up the same amount of weight with one leg as you can push down? Of course not. But what it allows you to do is give your other leg a chance to push down with the same strength as before, but even faster. Even a little help in making the weight of the down stroke less is all bonus. Visualize small circles to feel all your muscles working around the entire pedal stroke.