10 Second Anime - Minami Kamakura Koukou Joshi Jitensha-bu - Episode 2

Tomoe takes Hiromi and Mori-sensei on a bike tour of Kamakura. They meet new friends and relatives along the way.

Episode 2 - "Go Explore Kamakura"

Heh.

Interesting. All those beautiful scenes in the opening credits were used in this episode. The animators just plunked Hiromi, Tomoe and Mori-Sensei right into them.

Ha! and Heh. The sign outside the bike rental place said "Let's Go To Cycling," which was the same kind of incorrect English used by the artist main character in Over Drive to recruit for his high school's cycling club. Oh, and he used his classmate's extremely fine butt without her permission...

Hmm...

Maybe things haven't changed that much since 2009.

I'm still not used to the Japanese calling a hybrid bike a "cross" bike. I hear "cross" and think "cyclocross."

Yay! Mori-sensei joined the little bike tour too.

I liked how this episode started out as sight-seeing in the town, but it turned into a meeting of new friends and relatives.

Oh man. Mori-sensei is just like a cat. Exercised a little. Ate a little. Nap a little.

One of my favorite things to do on a bike is to get to the front of a long line of stopped cars because of a bike lane. Glorious.

Hee! Hiromi is so cute to throw in the little English she knows. "Let's go!" and "Delicious!"

Mori-sensei is a cat but Hiromi is a puppy. Chasing squirrels, going down strange alleys and getting lost.

Of course. That grandma and little girl had way too many lines not be part of the ongoing supporting cast. And they apparently live above a fancy liquor store. I like them more already.

Alright! Two episodes in and the cycle bros appear. What's the deal with alpaca, though? Long Riders had the bike shop lady saying "-paca" at the end of everything while working at Alpaca Cycling while wearing an alpaca hoodie. Now we have a cycle bro wearing an alpaca jersey saying "-paca" at the end of everything. He even has the same little alpaca smile. Is there some cultural reference I'm missing?

Back in the '90's every café was combined with something. The only combo that took was chain coffee shop with chain book store. I saw video games and café, comic books and café, souvenir shop and café... Man, I would have lived at a Bakery and Bike Shop.

So, who owns Cycle Flat? Nagisa's husband? Father? Nagisa is Mori's little sister, but they're both transplants to Kamakura, just that Nagisa has been there longer. Well, the Cycle Flat shop will be open next week, so hopefully we find out.

Cycle Bros, you're target is a lost high school girl. Go get her! Eh...

New characters from the OP: rich girl Fuyune and tan athletic girl Natsumi. This cycling club is going to be full of newbies instead of the usual slice of life girls sport club we've been seeing recently.

No modesty skirts in this anime. Too bad for Natsumi she's going to be attracting hip touches from curious ojou-samas.

Fuyune is great. "One bike, please!" Hahaha!

Cycling Porn.

We saw some more bike brands this week, like a Miyaba cruiser and Liv Escape Hybrid. The Cycle Bros rode Neil Pryde, Cannondale and... Liv? Liv's frame geometry is specifically designed for women's hips and leg lengths. They're a subsidiary for Giant, but their bikes don't look like Giant's. That's odd that the portly bro would be riding a Liv. Natsumi rides a Cannondale Six.

I would like to see a cycling anime that just ignores the newbie problem of trying to push off in the wrong gear. It happens to me all the time in traffic because I'm pushing a big gear and then I have to stop suddenly. Pretty hard to pull an emergency braking maneuver while down shifting. It's not that big a deal to use your bodyweight on a heavy gear to push off and then quickly shift to an easier cog.

I find it interesting how Japan figures out how to appropriate English. All across the Anglosphere, we call compression shorts with a padded chamois "bike shorts." Just bike shorts. Japan ended up calling them "racer pants." No, Fuyune, not an Olympic style swim suit.

I liked Nagisa's little PSA on getting home safe. I have a similar aphorism for anyone exercising on wheels. "Go Fast. Have Fun. Be Safe. Most important is to Have Fun!"

The Fun Stuff.

Look at Hiromi being all smug at Tomoe needing help to ride a bike. I could look at Mori-Sensei shift gears all day.

Mori and Nagisa don't look a lot alike, but they both know how to shoot cute looks. Also, Nagisa knows how to bribe young men with fresh pastries.

Tomoe's little sister is going to be popular with the doujinshi crowd. Every new bike owner knows exactly what Natsumi is feeling as she looks at Fuyune on her expensive bike. "Oh, I broke something," is not something she wanted to hear.

Cycle Bros are bros. Emphasis on the "bros." Rescue a lost girl for walnut jam rolls? Bros! It also looks like the cycling club is almost complete. We just need that blonde girl who might be a foreigner. Time for Hiromi to try out her Eigo, "Let's Go!"



It's Tomoe's turn for the Preview Card with the bike she hasn't bought yet.



The End Card makes it look like whoever is in the Cosplay club saw Hiromi and her stylish jacket on Tomoe's borrowed bike.