10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 27

Yowamushi Pedal - Episode 27

Eternal rivals, Peak Spider vs. Forest Sleeping Beauty. Or is that Forest Ninja? Makishima places the team above his own goals. Can Onoda catch up?

Heh.

Everything between Makishima and Toudou is gold. Evenly talented, and evenly respecting of each others' gifts. They're the best of non-friendly friends, which Toudou showed back in last year's stage race, when Makishima double-flatted and couldn't contest the mountain sprint. "This doesn't count!" Toudou yells.

Sleeping Beauty of the Forest? More like Sleeping Ninja, since Toudou sneaks up on people to pass them by. That was great, Makishima telling him that's what people say behind his back, and Toudou's reaction that he never even knew.

Makishima also shows that he's not as unemotional or cynical as his exterior belies.

Okay, he never learned to smile; we even saw that when he first rode with Onoda. However, when Toudou reminded him that this is their last race together, he almost goaded him into attacking with him, but he just played it off as stretching. Makishima knows the stakes, and he gives us a hint in how much he believes in Onoda catching up to them. "3 minutes," he tells Arakita of Hakone after Toudou goes on ahead, "in 3 minutes, we'll catch up." Gave me chills.

Meh.

I understand ratcheting up the dramatic tension, but there is no good reason for Onoda to just be standing on his bike waiting. Waiting for what? Waiting for someone else to tell him he can catch up? Ah well, it's his first big race, so he needs reassurance.

Cycling Porn

This week we've got some more bike brands, some smooth acceleration, and shifting.

They actually left the Ridley brand on Toudou's bike in the flashbacks, but sometimes it was back to the edited Redkey. What gives? We got a nice look at Tadakoro's Specialized and Makishima's Time. Makishima is also using Campagnolo shifters, since they showed him impatiently tapping the switch with his thumb. Well, he could be using Shimano Sora shifters, but I highly doubt that.

One cool thing about Toudou's "Sleeping Climb" is that he accelerates out of the saddle, but his bike doesn't sway side to side. That wup-wup-wup sound you hear when people attack is the tire moving from different positions as the tread hits the road differently. If the tire stays on the same line of tread, you'll just hear the same rolling sound as before. Sleeping Ninja, indeed. This is why climbers need to learn how to accelerate quickly from the sitting position to disguise their attacks. It's no good if you're behind somebody, waiting for the right moment, but then you ring a big cowbell yelling, "Hey, I'm attacking right now!" Leave the wup-wup-wups behind unless your move is so strong it doesn't matter if they hear you coming.