Kuroda delivers Ashikiba to the front just in time for the final sprint against Naruko and Midousuji.
Line.05 - "3 Seconds Less"
Hmm.
There were a couple of things that gave me deep thoughts this week. The first was how reckless Kuroda was in the leadout for Ashikiba. From what he's mentioned, he used to race like this all the time, when some final event gave him the scar he never lets fully heal. I'm hoping we get more details on that event, because I wouldn't be surprised if someone clocking him after a race knocked some sense into him.
It's one thing to injure yourself when riding recklessly in a bike race, and most cyclists are very forgiving for the little gambles they take in the race knowing how dangerous this sport is. How dangerous is this sport? Ride in a car at 40 miles an hour, strip down to underwear, put a Styrofoam water cooler on your head, open the door, and jump out. That's what a road racer faces when he crashes. If you do it by yourself, fine. If you do it in a bunch sprint, the guys behind you understand what you were up to. But if you take your hand off the handlebars around a curve and put it on the back of your protected sprinter intending to crash? Well, somebody just might stomp on you while you lie bleeding on the road.
That's not just one guy you're intending to hurt. That's everyone around you and behind you. If Imaizumi hadn't seen Kuroda take his hand off the handlebars, he would not have braked in time and gotten around the mess Kuroda caused. That's also messing with Imaizumi's sprint and taking him out of the finale. If you even touch the brakes in that situation, you end up 3 seconds back. Kuroda was reckless and committing unsportsmanlike behavior.
Now, the second thing I liked was really three things. The three main guys competing for the first day's finish line really showed how they think about winning and that they all embodied what their teams are about. Midousuji's pure desire for victory was boiled down to one word - "Mine!" His team last year and this year is built around his own singular, personal, selfish desire to win. Victory is his and no one else's.
Naruko's phrase was "Win!" This is the motto for Sohoku all the way through. It doesn't matter who wins. That yellow jersey crossing the line first is all that matters. Just win! Similarly, Ashikiba's mantra is something you heard Fukutomi say over and over again last year. "I am strong, we are strong, he is strong." Anybody that Hakone respected or admired was "strong." For Ashikiba, the desperation in his voice makes it sound like the "I am strong!" he says is an aspiration instead of a show of confidence, but he's totally bought into the Hakone mindset, which bodes well for the kind of race Izumida want to run.
Heh.
Midousuji says it's time to fly. More like time to buzz and blow spittle from his lips...
Kuroda has super close cornering. Is this why he rolls up one sleeve? So he doesn't rip up the jersey and cover up his scrapes?
I get a kick out of these episode titles. I don't read the manga (please no spoilers), but I know that each episode title is a chapter title that's featured. It must be a fun game for the manga fans who watch to try and figure out which chapter title the anime guys are going to choose.
Everybody is hitting these barriers like Arakita used to. Why is Kuroda the only one who is going to end up bleeding?
This is taking the spectator narrative device too far! They can see Midousuji's locust wings? Come on!
Naruko is too nice. He calls Midousuji's locust swarm form "Flying Ride." I would call it Hentai, as in the Metamorphosis. What a freak...
Har. I didn't know Midousuji made that buzzing noise with his mouth when he did this technique. And what happened to his white streak in his hair anyway? I guess it went to the same place the crack in his tooth went...
Sure. Let's take both hands off the bars in that leaned over position to reposition the head. That's about as believable as using one hand to pedal out of the saddle.
Naruko says he has no tricks left. Just speed. Like a roller coaster, he says, he'll just go faster. Midousuji says, "So, you do have one." I wish these guys could race each other forever. That banter is too fun.
Okay, so Kuroda rolled up one sleeve, but not the other, and now he's bleeding from the shoulder that's covered up. What's the deal here?
That's barely a crash. He's going to get up and walk his broken bike across the line... except that bike is totally fine! The chain is still on and both water bottles are in their cages! That's a magical bike!
Ha! Nice. Midousuji came up with another put-down for Hakone. The Japanese shortening for Hakone Academy is Hako Gaku, which is just the first two phonemes for Hakone and School (gakuen 学園). But if you say gaku-gaku (がくがく), that means "trembling, wobbling." Wobbling Academy is a pretty good approximation of the pun Midousuji just thought of.
Oh, so not only can the spectators see locust wings, they can also see Naruko speeding up like a roller coaster.
I do hope this roller coaster thing for Naruko becomes something huge like the Tadokoro Human Bullet Train he had with Makishima and Kinjou.
Look! A girl! And she's calling Midousuji gross! She's not wrong.
Wow. They're building up this sprint really well. I can't see any foreshadowing which would point to the winner.
Oh. Except Midousuji threw his bike too early and it's not that super awesome one he used against Shinkai last year. So, it's down to Naruko and Ashikiba.
Let's throw everybody's picture up there to show the stakes involved. On Kyoto Fushimi, they only had Komari, and he was still looking at his hands like he was so happy he felt Kuroda's thigh.
The Sohoku alumni are there, but they don't even need to yell with the younger Sugimoto deafening everyone.
Dayum! Ashikiba wins! And it's not a three way tie like last year. He totally had it.
Meanwhile, Naruko and Midousuji are facing second place and having their rivalry continued. Yup. This race is going to be even crazier than last year.
So, Ashikiba didn't hear another song before the win, and he celebrates with Beethoven's 9th, the 4th movement chorale. Is his metronome only for climbing then?
Oh man, this omake. Fujoshi swoon. Perm-hair senpai is now going to be called kelp-head.
Ha! Better yet, the grayed-out freeze frame didn't freeze! I love that kind of convention breaking humor.
Next time, Sohoku Shaken, they say. Come on. This is the team of THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN. They win when it matters. Who cares if Hakone cleaned up all the tags on the first day? I don't. I'm waiting for THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN to show the younger Shinkai why Manami and Toudou worry about him so much.
Cycling Porn.
This week, we had loving looks at Kuroda's Kuota, Naruko's Pinarello, Midousuji's De Rosa, and Ashikiba's Wilier Triestina. The big cycling focus of the episode was how closely the riders took the turns, even scraping up against the barriers. Then there was that crash. Unfortunately, with those kind of barriers, the kids would not have been able to get that close.
You see those barrier feet where Kuroda ends up after his crash? Yeah. They would have been there on the curves too. Nobody would have been riding over those feet to scrape their shoulders and helmets. Temporary barriers just can't be set up like guardrails on mountain passes. It's a nice dramatic touch, but totally impossible in racing conditions. In fact, barrier feet are a common cause of race pileups in bunch sprints. They do have a new kind of barrier that's set up more like a sandwich board, which the racers prefer, but that's mainly because it keeps the spectators from leaning over the fencing and striking the riders with their elbows and cameras.
"That's a magical bike!" Best. Line. Ever.
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