Sohoku faces their frustrations at losing to Hakone so closely on the first day of racing. Onoda finds an unexpected spark for team spirit.
Line.06 - "Sohoku Shaken"
Hmm.
Man tears. Just putting that out there at the start. As much as I would like to see Onoda on the screen all the time, my eyes and runny nose just would not take all the spirit leaking out of his scenes. Just imagine! It took one minute talking with Kinjou and just the knowledge that Makishima was out in the parking lot and Onoda grabbed that Sohoku Spirit of THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN again.
I always get maudlin, thanks to the great background music too, with each scene that Onoda has with Kinjou and Makishima. Kinjou was the first one to believe in him. The pivotal scene was when Kinjou told Onoda he needed to increase his cadence to 120 rpm to catch the front in the freshman race. Kinjou already knew he could do it and he's been protective of him ever since. Makishima and Onoda are climbers, so they spent the bulk of their practice sessions together, with Makishima swaying side to side and Onoda just grinning wildly because someone was riding with him. They didn't have much in common, and neither could hold a conversation, but they talked with their legs.
It's kind of funny how I get emotional about the seniors' relationship with Onoda, even Tadokoro because he was the first to believe in the power of Love Hime, but I don't about Naruko and Imaizumi. I think it's mainly because the older guys didn't spend as much time with Onoda as his classmates. Imaizumi and Naruko are used to it, plus they see his not so inspirational side as he's turned the cycling club into the anime and manga club with road racing. But they know, and it's not that they're unimpressed, it's that they don't even need a moment to realize it. This is what's special about the seniors' relationship with the avatar of Sohoku. They need a moment to recognize this small, nerdy kid is THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN and was always meant to be.
What's great about this year with Teshima and Aoyagi is that they finally get to see the stuff about Onoda that Kinjou and Tadokoro always talked about in racing conditions. In practice sessions, you see the nervous otaku try to talk about pedaling technique, and then he just busts out 150 rpm on a 10% grade. In race conditions, you see the absolute determination that THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN wants everyone to ride together. Whether that's riding on the lip of gutter up an 8% grade to pass the peloton, or carrying the captain of the team for half a stage, you don't argue with those big blue eyes. There's a reason Onoda's special "pressure" is the same color as Team Sohoku. THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN believes that Sohoku rides best when they ride together.
Heh.
Well, Hakone looks happy crossing the line, but I didn't see Kuroda there.
This is just like the 2nd stage last year when Midousuji didn't win. I hope we don't see him and Onoda have another night ride together as he's quitting and riding back to Kyoto. Maybe Midousuji has matured a little.
Ha. Ashikiba is tall. 202 cm to be exact and the tallest ever to win a stage at the inter-high race.
Naruko can hear you talking about how he looks like a red bean!
This is fun. Last year we got these podium hijinks before the race started, but in the real world, funny stuff with the racers happens when they try to hold stuff in their hands and they mess around with how tall or short the other is.
Yay! Podium girls! Sadly, the cycling world has become a bunch of prudes too and podium girls are starting to disappear because of fake sexism. Everybody loves a pretty girl, especially the other pretty girls!
I wonder if Miss Nikkou is a real thing or not.
This podium presentation is a recap for last season too. Doubashi got the green tag and Manami got the red tag. Just a reminder how close Sohoku was for second place in all three presentations.
Yay! Manami fan girls! It's like all the Toudou girls just transferred straight over to Manami.
Why is Manami wearing shorts over his cycling kit? Maybe we'll find out next episode.
Well, it looks like Sohoku's team van made it in time to massage the hell out of Teshima.
Kaburagi still has to ask whether he's the idiot...
This scene with Kaburagi is a good reminder about his character, which we haven't seen in a long time. He's hot-headed, obvious about his judgments, and lacking in experience when it comes stage racing. Of course Naruko is frustrated, but his first priority is to be flashy enough from his 2nd placing so the public doesn't see his meltdown in private.
Imaizumi, Naruko, and Onoda are all mensches for each other. They won't brag on each other when they're present, but out of ear-shot, they're each others' best cheerleaders. They've become real brothers, macho type brothers, but brothers all the same.
Aw. Let it out, Naruko! At least he's not collapsing in private like Tadokoro last year.
Teshima made sure Onoda knew he got the best Sohoku award - he made sure everyone finished.
And then Kaburagi bonked. Better after the race than during it, but he should have been drinking and eating instead of jumping up and down yelling about Naruko putting on a good podium presentation.
Ha. Onoda somehow thinks a serious injury means an arm sling.
Suddenly, a wild Kinjou appears. Really wild. How can he see with his glasses on his forehead like that?
Onoda wants Kinjou to visit with the team, but he won't. Kinjou knows team psychology.
Really, the seniors could have just waited ten minutes. Teshima would have sorted them out anyway, judging from his speech, but THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN brought it all together after being reminded that THIS team needs find their own spirit. A big dose from THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN goes a long way. Maybe there will be overnight shenanigans in the omake?
Teshima's speech hit the right notes. Kinjou and the rest were right to let them have their team meeting. Of course, Sohoku are still the challengers. Hakone has a hundred cyclists to choose from. Sohoku really only had 10, but they fielded lots of interest because they had THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN riding with them.
Onoda's spirit is still the core of the team. Even how he recounted how he met Kinjou showed he has a special aura. It's like he was Moses and God touched his forehead and said, "You are my Chosen People." Well, it was more like, "this team is strongest when it looks weakest, because Sohoku rides together!"
I like Teshima's satisfied hungry look as he looks at Onoda all fired up. He finally gets to see why he's THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN.
Mad props to showing their glove tans when they brought their hands together.
Ah. Kaburagi was left out of the team bro fisting. He's out of it, but it still counts, right?
Man, this omake is going way back to last year's training camp. Of course you want to rock someone sleeping in a hammock, but you have to be prepared for the consequences!
This is just like the 2nd stage last year when Midousuji didn't win. I hope we don't see him and Onoda have another night ride together as he's quitting and riding back to Kyoto. Maybe Midousuji has matured a little.
Ha. Ashikiba is tall. 202 cm to be exact and the tallest ever to win a stage at the inter-high race.
Naruko can hear you talking about how he looks like a red bean!
This is fun. Last year we got these podium hijinks before the race started, but in the real world, funny stuff with the racers happens when they try to hold stuff in their hands and they mess around with how tall or short the other is.
Yay! Podium girls! Sadly, the cycling world has become a bunch of prudes too and podium girls are starting to disappear because of fake sexism. Everybody loves a pretty girl, especially the other pretty girls!
I wonder if Miss Nikkou is a real thing or not.
This podium presentation is a recap for last season too. Doubashi got the green tag and Manami got the red tag. Just a reminder how close Sohoku was for second place in all three presentations.
Yay! Manami fan girls! It's like all the Toudou girls just transferred straight over to Manami.
Why is Manami wearing shorts over his cycling kit? Maybe we'll find out next episode.
Well, it looks like Sohoku's team van made it in time to massage the hell out of Teshima.
Kaburagi still has to ask whether he's the idiot...
This scene with Kaburagi is a good reminder about his character, which we haven't seen in a long time. He's hot-headed, obvious about his judgments, and lacking in experience when it comes stage racing. Of course Naruko is frustrated, but his first priority is to be flashy enough from his 2nd placing so the public doesn't see his meltdown in private.
Imaizumi, Naruko, and Onoda are all mensches for each other. They won't brag on each other when they're present, but out of ear-shot, they're each others' best cheerleaders. They've become real brothers, macho type brothers, but brothers all the same.
Aw. Let it out, Naruko! At least he's not collapsing in private like Tadokoro last year.
Teshima made sure Onoda knew he got the best Sohoku award - he made sure everyone finished.
And then Kaburagi bonked. Better after the race than during it, but he should have been drinking and eating instead of jumping up and down yelling about Naruko putting on a good podium presentation.
Ha. Onoda somehow thinks a serious injury means an arm sling.
Suddenly, a wild Kinjou appears. Really wild. How can he see with his glasses on his forehead like that?
Onoda wants Kinjou to visit with the team, but he won't. Kinjou knows team psychology.
Really, the seniors could have just waited ten minutes. Teshima would have sorted them out anyway, judging from his speech, but THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN brought it all together after being reminded that THIS team needs find their own spirit. A big dose from THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN goes a long way. Maybe there will be overnight shenanigans in the omake?
Teshima's speech hit the right notes. Kinjou and the rest were right to let them have their team meeting. Of course, Sohoku are still the challengers. Hakone has a hundred cyclists to choose from. Sohoku really only had 10, but they fielded lots of interest because they had THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN riding with them.
Onoda's spirit is still the core of the team. Even how he recounted how he met Kinjou showed he has a special aura. It's like he was Moses and God touched his forehead and said, "You are my Chosen People." Well, it was more like, "this team is strongest when it looks weakest, because Sohoku rides together!"
I like Teshima's satisfied hungry look as he looks at Onoda all fired up. He finally gets to see why he's THE NATIONAL CHAMPION OF JAPAN.
Mad props to showing their glove tans when they brought their hands together.
Ah. Kaburagi was left out of the team bro fisting. He's out of it, but it still counts, right?
Man, this omake is going way back to last year's training camp. Of course you want to rock someone sleeping in a hammock, but you have to be prepared for the consequences!
Cycling Porn.
Not much in the way of cycling scenes this week since it was all about the podium presentations and the drama in the recovery area. We did get to see Doubashi's Specialized S-Works, big Ashikiba's reach winning the bike throw, and Teshima's Cannondale, Aoyagi's Corratec, and Kaburagi's Felt in the team tent.
For the recovery portion after the race, I would have liked to have seen the kids cooling down on rollers or trainers while eating and drinking before getting man-handled by the masseur. This is actually why receiving an award and being part of the podium presentation requires the experience of a champion to navigate post-race recovery properly. There's about an hour's worth of protocol after the race, including media interviews and such, so you need to have skill in managing cool-down, nutrition, and rehydration in addition to standing around receiving things from pretty girls.
Not going to lie, last episode was a bit hard to swallow. I was really salty about Ashikiba winning the first day, not because I hate the character or anything ("c'mon, he hears Beethoven when he cycles!" is a good enough reason to like the guy) but because the Midousuji x Naruko rivalry didn't receive the epic payoff it deserved. Kuroda keeping the IF YOU DIE IN THE INTER-HIGH, YOU DIE IN REAL LIFE meme alive was nice, though.
ReplyDeleteThat Kinjou and Onoda moment, bro... that alone made feel much better. The charisma of not only him, but all of the third years is just undeniable. Teshima getting more screen time is also very welcomed, especially since he and Onoda sat back for these first episodes.
It's going to be a loooong week waiting for the next episode. I wanna see if Kuroda is getting a funeral or racing the next day (cats are supposed to have seven lives...) and if Kyoto Fushimi still have six members. Komari, Braces and that sprinter who raced after Onoda on a climb in the previous season are confirmed according to the speakers in this episode, and I'm assuming the guy who took Midousuji's place at the podium too... but what about their super background nobody sixth member?! And I'm sure Midousuji won't need Onoda healing anime conversations this time around. I wished he appeared at the podium but at least he's not cowering on some corner like on the last Inter-High....... I think.
One last thing: now the opening can't spoil us about what comes next... at least until we get a new one.
I like your point about the spoilers all being done for this particular opening credit sequence. I think we're going to get a new one in about two weeks, just so we can get more spoilers for the next day of racing. Of course, this could just be a cynical reaction...
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