10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Glory Line - Episode 12

Midousuji's team gathers at the front to challenge Hakone while leaving Sohoku behind in crisis.

Line.12 - "Fallen Hopes"

Hmm.

It was about time we started to see how Imaizumi has progressed since last year and the first thing to test is how he does against Midousuji's mental games. Unfortunately, it looks like Midousuji has increased his skill level at those things too.

The two most important things Imaizumi remembered from Kinjou's advice was "face yourself," and "face reality." From his conversation with Miki at the bike shop, it appears that Imaizumi didn't really pay attention to his psyche, where he felt limited in his time because of his added duties as a mentor. The things he should have done was talk to Teshima more about his personal goals and responsibilities, to be more openly "selfish" to his teammates, instead of only opening up to his childhood friend. He left a gap between himself and his new teammates.

Imaizumi trusts Naruko and Onoda with no doubts whatsoever. You didn't see him get mad at Onoda for staying back and dragging Teshima up the rest of the climb. He got mad at Teshima for not recovering quickly enough to enact the plan he had made on the road. Imaizumi also didn't get mad at Naruko for going on ahead. Instead, he praised him for making the right choice. Imaizumi's improvised plan failed and he cracked.

This dovetails nicely with the second thing Kinjou told him, "face reality." He heard it enough from the seniors from last year, that things always fall apart on the road. This is why Sohoku's team spirit is about riding together. If you're all together, if one guy can't find a way to fix their adverse situation, someone else will. You don't just get one chance to get back to the front. You have to make your chances.

Midousuji's digs at Imaizumi are general purpose, but if there is a crack somewhere, those questions can find a way to ooze inside. Imaizumi may have strengthened himself so those psychological attacks don't cause self-doubt, but they could cause Imaizumi to doubt his teammates. He's getting mad at himself for not knowing how weak Teshima, Aoyagi, and Kaburagi are, but this also means he's not facing the reality of how strong they are and how things unfolded on the road. He needs to face reality and make another plan to put the team back into a winning situation.

Here's where I think Midousuji's smack talk about Imaizumi being a baby chick (Chirpizumi) or mentally cracking (Crackizumi) can become a new source of strength for Imaizumi. He mentioned that he felt limited, that he hadn't let loose his full strength yet. He hasn't broken out of his shell yet! He is a baby chick who needs to crack his shell open and unleash his full power. We haven't seen any hint of a super power for Imaizumi yet, so it's about time. Komari noticed it in his muscles too and mentioned it when he passed him on the road, "He has such nice muscles but he's such a rough person." Imaizumi is a diamond in the rough who needs polishing. Imaizumi trusts Onoda and Naruko, so that is something he can build on to place on the rest of the team. Maybe he'll get that realization when he hears Aoyagi and Special K catch up while singing the Love Hime theme...

Heh.

Nice tongue wagging there, Midousuji.

Midousuji is still playing those mind games.

Teshima finally caught up to the other guys. It looks like he wasn't waiting for anyone.

Nice flashback at the Kanzaki bike shop. Imaizumi and Miki are totally OTP.

There's way too much second guessing going on in Imaizumi's head. Midousuji's digs got to him.

Naruko is still tagging along at the front.

Har. Midousuji calls Izumida "eyelashes" too.

Ooh. Izumida wants revenge for Shinkai. And he's zipped up already!

Look! Girls! At the 5 km to go for the sprint line, that is.

Hoho. Izumida got Doubashi to brag on him and Midousuji called him out on it. I love the banter between these two.

Izumida wants to stretch his abs, er, legs. No, abs is correct! Abu! Bua!

Of course! Komari wants those muscles! He is totally the fujoshi self-insert character.

Um, he did not have to go through the sleeve to get to Frank.

Kuroda has good instincts, but he's also overprotective of Izumida. Yes, obviously Komari does something with the feelings he gets from, er, feeling up those muscles. *shudder* "Does something." Stop sniffing your hands, Komari!

Izumida is solid. He wants data on this Komari cipher.

Hahaha. Komari is panting from looking at those muscles flex! Calm down, fujoshi!

Frank senses danger. And now Komari is on Izumida's right side. He's going to try for Andy before this sprint is over.

Hmm. Komari thinks he'll win the sprint at 2 km to go. I don't think Komari knows about Fabian yet...

Ha. This omake is great. Kuroda is just like Arakita with getting no love from this black cat.

Nyaabu! Nyaabu! Nyaabu!

Another new end card. Every week? Or just until the next half begins for Spring?

Cycling Porn.

With the three favored teams battling at the front, we now get to see all their bikes. We got De Rosa, Pinarello, Carrera, Anchor, Scott, BMC, Cannondale, and BH. Tactically, the only thing to talk about is how Imaizumi went to the back of his group because he had given up on catching the front of the race. However, if he's no good at pacing other riders, which is bad for a team sport and especially since he was a leadout man, then the best thing is to sit in the back so he doesn't cause gaps. I suppose Imaizumi was so spoiled with Kinjou as his ace that he never had to worry about him losing his wheel.