10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Glory Line - Episode 20

The top teams race for the top of the mountain and the finish line.

Line.20 - "King of the Mountain"

Hmm.

Well, that was a bit disappointing. Oh, the episode was good, don't get me wrong, but Onoda didn't fight for the mountain sprint line because he didn't have Manami there, and everyone at the front of the race, except for Mizuta, knew the tag was worthless if the real Kings of the Mountain weren't trying. Still, the circumstances really cemented Ashikiba's position as the Ace of Hakone and led into the necessary character development for Yuuto.

Besides, we needed this flashback to stretch the episodes before the end of the season. The timing looks like we'll get an episode to deal with Yuuto with a finish line cliffhanger, the stage win and its aftermath, an overnight episode for alumni reunions and other bromance related stuff, and then the final episode showing the roll out for the third and final stage before another hiatus. Right on schedule.

Heh.

Why are the spectators assuming Hakone has options for the finish line? Yuuto has no sprint since he's a climber. Or does he? Maybe they're assuming so because his older brother was a sprinter?

Midousuji is still scheming. The Mizuta gambit didn't pay off.

Or did it? This is good climbing tactics. Have a team mate keep attacking to draw out and tire the other guys out before the top of the mountain. I'll talk about this a little bit more in the next section

This is odd. Why is Yuuto questioning Ashikiba's orders now? They're Hakogaku. Of course their job is to win all the tags if they can. Oh, right. Yuuto is still a first year. He's not as dumb as Special K, but he doesn't have the culture and pride of his school's cycling traditions instilled in him yet.

Midousuji thinks he got a successful catch with his chum bait. Ashikiba looks like he burned a match too hard, but we'll have to see. I hope we're not setting up a three-way race for the final stage between Onoda, Manami, and Yuuto.

Gloating Midousuji is best Midousuji.

Ashikiba is still the ace. He's getting fired up for the finish line.

Hmm. It's downhill to the finish line, but the last few meters look uphill. Hmm, again!

Look! Girls! Aya still can't believe boys act this stupid. She better get used to it. Men never really grow up past high school...

Oh? Onoda is getting powered up for the downhill?

Oh, of course. He forgot to fuel Imaizumi up with nakama power. He gave him the good stuff too. The Smiling Climb face! Imaizumi better win now.

Har. Of course Imaizumi heard Sugimoto's voice. In his heart! Calm down fujoshi...

Ah. Here we go. Flashback to Yuuto joining the cycling team. It's understandable that he has issues with being in Hayato's shadow.

He doesn't like his picture taken? That kind of explains why he had the Love Hime mask on when we first "saw" him when Manami returned Onoda's water bottle in Akihabara.

Ashikiba is really perceptive. He's no airhead. He's going to take Yuuto down a peg.

Ha! The omake is making jokes about Crackizumi.

Yuuto fittingly takes his turn for the end card.

Cycling Porn.

We got some more looks at the top riders' bikes, Ashikiba looked like he was sprinting on the track instead of up a hill, and Yuuto is wearing those strap and ratchet shoes from Sidi that they don't sell anymore. Also, don't litter. I stuff gel and bar wrappers in the stretchy part of my bike shorts above the knee. When you're done with your ride, you may have some extra sweet thighs, but it's better than treating the world as your litter basket.

Now, let's talk climbing tactics. Again. Midousuji's tactic of sending Mizuta up the road from a select group is pure pro tactics. In the real world, the pros wouldn't care about the mountain line, unless somebody was up there caring about the KOM title, but usually that guy was in a long breakaway and he'd already been caught and passed. What the pros worry about, which is why it's so important to have even one teammate in that front group, is whether the random attack will stick and then they have to chase that guy down before the finish line. In that situation, the other teammate just gets to rest and sit in the back, because his guy just might win the stage, so why should he help the group catch him?

For the anime, it came down to Hakogaku's pride, which is a thing in itself and shows how Ashikiba has taken on the role of their ace down to his core. But for the other teams, what mattered was making sure Mizuta didn't get away on the short downhill. He is a sprinter, so he was a dangerous guy to let go for a fast finish. In the end, Midousuji got what he wanted in getting someone to burn a match before they were ready for the final sprint. However, Midousuji should consider that Ashikiba isn't the reputed airhead when it comes to pure cycling.