10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 24 [END]

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 24 [END]



Onoda takes the line first and fulfills Sohoku's dream of overall victory. Series Finale.

Heh.

*raises hands* YES! *still raising hands* YES! *lowers hands to type*

 

I didn't know which way the ending was going to go. Either could have been satisfying. Our hero wins it all, or the new rival takes it to give us an "almost everything look to the future" ending. But this is the most satisfying.

 

I'm glad the end of the race wasn't drawn out any longer so we could have all the relationship and friendship scenes we've been missing for almost a year. Flashbacks are neat, and putting a hand on someone's back during a race is supportive, but you don't get the Grade-A good stuff like that.

 

I'm talking about stuff like this.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 23

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 23



Manami surpasses his limits while Onoda finds strength in camaraderie as they fight for the finish line.

Heh.

Everybody has to make a final appearance before the winner crosses the finish line, even all those guys who "died." Those guys are still kids, but just because you empty yourself for your teammates or for victory, doesn't mean you just have to quit the race. You can get back up a few minutes later. I have big respect for Shinkai and Tadokoro because they "died" for their teammates, but they still kept pedaling and were able to complain about the last climb like pro sprinters.

 

That's right Arakita. Maybe you shouldn't have pulled that little guy with the glasses out of the peloton. To be fair, he would have found a way to chase you down anyway. That's the kind of racer Onoda turned out to be.

 

500 meters to go can't be that far, can it?

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 22

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 22



Onoda and Manami begin their head to head matchup to the finish line.

Heh.

Oh. So that's how they get Manami and Onoda to square off against each other. Not some accidental frame failure, but pure killer instinct. I still think Fukutomi should have gone with him for insurance. If you can load up on the podium without sacrificing the overall victory, why not?

 

Toudou is such a font of foreshadowing. Fukutomi let us know that Manami's wings are like glass when he gets to a summit finish because he just keeps upshifting and draining his legs, but Toudou says climbers only have brains for climbing.

 

Yes, fujoshi, Manami is an M. Go crazy.

 

Let's get all emotional over the announcement of Onoda's name for the finale.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 21

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 21



Imaizumi holds off Midousuji, even with a minor setback. Fukutomi and Manami make their move in final kilometers.

Hmm.

First, read this post on Episode 3. I'll wait... Okay, now that you've seen that, dealing with how Midousuji views victory as this yellow ball of light that reminds him of the feeling he always had after visiting his mother in the hospital was done much better. Now it's poetic. At the time, there was no reference or explanation to this thing that Midousuji wanted most to grasp in his hand. No reference that, after breaking everyone else, and even himself, all that would remain right before the finish line would be this yellow feeling of nostalgia and accomplishment that he wanted to offer to his mother's memory. Because we had that reference, this imagery of his feelings worked. But the feeling of victory didn't work out this time for Midousuji.

 

Ishigaki's words of experience should serve Midousuji in the future. His will for victory on his own terms was too pure, which hollowed him out before he realized his goal. Racing means dealing with adversity, when things don't go exactly as planned. Midousuji treated every minor goal in his strategy with the same priority as the final victory. He pure will ate him up on each of those points and he ended up with nothing left to finish the race. His injury from the day before reasserted itself like what happened to Kinjou. Then he grayed out from trying to climb the rest of the way on one leg. Perhaps he'll learn not to be so obsessive about his plans and prioritize his tactics to serve the overall strategy.

 

Contrast Midousuji burning himself up for each point in his plan to Fukutomi, biding his time, maintaining his pace, using his teammate for support. Not exactly the way he wanted to do it, but his goal is to win, not look strong on every part of the course. That's experience.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 20

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 20



Midousuji and Imaizumi challenge each other for the lead of the race. "Break!" vs. "Move Over!"

Meh.

Great. Midousuji had to have one more "seal" removed to release his final form. Didn't need to see hot pants Grr-oss-uji from behind.

 

 

Heh.

Aw. Dead Kenobi version Naruko pushed Imaizumi along.

 

Hey, don't brag about Onoda when he's right there. He might get so embarrassed he'll stop pedaling.

 

Midousuji didn't like being reminded how Onoda broke through his bottlenecked peloton on the first day. This non-standard model is number 3 on the road.

 

We're getting a real close look at the racing styles of Midousuji and Imaizumi in their purest forms. Everything Midousuji does, all the underhanded stuff and the mind games, is to break his opponents so they get left behind, either physically or psychologically. Imaizumi's style is to lead the race so he can enjoy the silence. Everything he does, from finding impossible gaps to passing on the blind side, is to get in front or move his opponent over. It's "Break!" versus "Get out of the way!"

 

Bringing back the touring couple from Episode 7 in the first season was brilliant! There's only so many ways you can have flashbacks in this show, and experiencing them from the riders' perspective makes each one of them serious. But having the funny couple with the guy who's still trying too hard to impress the little lady recall the Sohoku guys on their first race was a great way to break the tension and have flashbacks showing how much they've grown without worrying we're looking at a death montage.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 19

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 19



The select group of contenders becomes five. Imaizumi shows Midousuji how much he as grown.

Heh.

Ahahahaha! How do you like that nickname Midousuji? Kimousuji (Gross-usji)! Ahahahaha! He didn't like that at all! I noticed that he couldn't call Imaizumi Yowaizumi (Weak-aizumi) anymore. That kind of trash talk couldn't exactly work on the leader of the whole race with only 5 kms to go.

 

Everybody has to call Onoda by his first name now. It's like an after-school confession to your crush! Fujoshi swoon!

 

Speaking of fujoshi swoon, I don't think Onoda liked the kind of smile Manami was flashing at him.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 18

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 18



Midousuji and Manami challenge each other. Onoda catches them and shows them his plans.

Heh.

We knew Manami had wings, but that was quite a surprise to see Midousuji emulate him with his own disgusting purple ones. He too waited for a gust. While Manami waited for a turn on the road, Midousuji waited for a slight riser. Well done on both of them.

 

What a nice way to get a recap episode in the guise of Makishima reminiscing about Onoda. Onoda is the hero of the whole show, but he only remembers fun stuff like riding with his friends. He needs those friends to brag for him to the audience.

 

Onoda has two superpowers - he can keep raising his cadence another 30 rpm and he always follows orders. I believe I've seen him get to 210 rpm in this show, so I'd like to see that again. As for following orders, we've seen him do some crazy acrobatic stuff to rejoin his group after a crash.

 

I think I've finally figured out this "disgusting" code that Midousuji has. If you have a pure will to win, then you're not gross. If you have even a shred of ego, friendship, team spirit, then you're gross. Onoda is the grossest of all, because he just wants to ride with other people, which makes him smile.

 

Aw, Onoda had such a sad smile when he caught Manami and Midousuji. He was smiling because he would get to ride with other people, but he was sad because he had to follow orders. He had to stay in front of Midousuji.

 

I wonder if Onoda will follow orders all the way to the line to stay in front of Midousuji that he ends up winning the race. Hmmmmmmm.

 

Toudou may know how to throw game at a smokeshow, but he doesn't have any experience being on the receiving end.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 17

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 17



Midousuji catches and passes the group behind the leaders. Manami joins him in the chase as Makishima sends Onoda to follow.

Heh.

Midousuji didn't know what to make of Ishigaki calling him "pure-hearted." A better phrasing might have been "single-minded," because Midousuji only has one thought in his head, and that's to win the race. He can't even conceive of other racers having other motivations, so he tries to interpret their actions as being some kind of subterfuge related to that singular purpose. Hey, everybody wants to win the race, but sometimes those aspirations are placed on someone else.

 

Sohoku definitely follows that kind of thinking. Using the image of a hand pushing a teammate forward, like those kinetic ball toys, they keep pushing their hopes onto the last man pedaling.

 

Midousuji is right - Manami's smile is different than Onoda's. We even saw that when Onoda and Manami were looking at Toudou and Makishima attack each other relentlessly. Onoda enjoyed seeing all the climbing action and riding with other people. Manami appeared frustrated that he was still on a leash.

 

Hilarious that Midousuji called Manami a monster. Figures, though. He also pronounced him "not disgusting," because he also wants to win for himself.

 

When will the Sohoku guys learn that Onoda likes passing people on the right? He did that with Teshima during the training camp and he made Makishima almost despair.

 

I guess we ran out of episode time. Makishima gets a deathbed scene instead of a montage.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 16

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 16



Building on Naruko's work, Imaizumi takes on the mantle of Sohoku ace. Fukutomi acknowledges his strength. Midousuji isn't done yet.

Heh.

Aw, looks like Naruko really abandoned the race. They strapped his bike on a roof rack and they strapped him into a gurney. The race radio said 174 abandoned too. If I hadn't heard that, I would think he might surprise us and come back to finish, but chances of that are looking pretty slim.

 

Ishigaki isn't going to abandon too, right? He collapsed at pretty much the same spot as Naruko, doing pretty much the same thing as Naruko. You never know in sports anime, though.

 

I've been waiting for Imaizumi to hit the front so he can enjoy the silence. This is so satisfying after hearing Mitsuki's version of how Imaizumi used to race. He kind of reminds me of David Moncoutié, who was always at the rear of the peloton or in the breakaway in Grand Tours because he hated being in the middle of the pack.

 

Makishima was right - with Toudou still in the mix, there was no way he could be the designated ace against Fukutomi.

 

Interesting that Fukutomi is so long winded in his internal thoughts compared to how much actually comes out of his mouth. Kinjou and he agreed about monsters suddenly developing in race conditions. Kinjou saw that Imaizumi had that in him, which is why he told him "to grow" in his deathbed scene. Meanwhile, Fukutomi lamented that these monster eruptions are something you can't predict.

 

Chibi Imaizumi had such cold eyes. Sometimes you still see those same eyes in the older one.

 

Kanzaki was funny telling Imaizumi's chauffeur not to call him "young master" too. Hey, it was a sign of ultimate respect and endearment from Takahashi.

 

I have mixed feelings seeing a Colnago frame with all Shimano components...

 

I wonder if that white bike Kanzaki was working on was Makishima's or Tadokoro's.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 15

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 15

Naruko makes a flashy impression on the crowds sprinting up a climb. His teammates watch him turn himself inside out to catch Hakone.

Heh.

Aw man, that better not have been another death montage starring Naruko.

 

I've greyed out while running before. The funny thing about it is that you can keep the tunnel vision going as long as you don't stop. I stopped, and had to hug a crosswalk light for about a minute.

 

I'm surprised, and bit annoyed, that no mentions of the handicaps the kids had at the training camp were supposed to help them. Naruko being made to use mountain bike handlebars gave him the strength and practice to ride and sprint while seated, which he used to good effect this episode.

 

I said last episode that I expected Naruko to impress even Makishima with his sprint climbing. Yup.

That's right, Onoda. Naruko had something good to eat. I like how Makishima just let that awkwardness slide.

 

Tadokoro is no dummy. Of course he told Naruko to learn how to climb. His bodyweight made that a given. Naruko wasn't having it, though.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 14

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 14

Kinjou abandons the race. Sohoku carry his feelings of not giving up forward as they chase Hakone.

Heh.

Did you know that there were girls in this show?

 

Who knew?

 

Dammit Kinjou. You just had to give me man tears, didn't you?

 

One thing that made Kinjou's moment of hope awesome, in my view, was that his spark of never giving up came from within. And it wasn't your usual excited cry, it was almost a whisper, "don't give up yet." Kinjou is a man who never gives up and it wasn't based on pride or some other external force. It's who he is. It's what's inside him. And he built an entire team around him just like that. The exclamation point on Kinjou remembering his spirit was Onoda being the first to catch him. I've been waiting since last year to see how Onoda would pick Kinjou up if he started to fall, and the emotional payoff was enormous. Click that link to see how important laying hands on a cyclist's back is. It's a big deal.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 13

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 13

Tadokoro buries himself to get Sohoku to the bottom of the climb with Hakone, but Kinjou may have suffered another setback. Season premiere.

Heh.

Is this Yowpeda ga Kill! or what? It's not like everybody is actually dying, but throwing out death flags and showing memorial montages makes it feel like it. At least we see the depth of feeling the characters have for each other.

 

Sohoku's team philosophy is different that Hakone's. It has to be, since they're a much smaller cycling program. Even a championship race has to feature a development program for the junior riders. Kinjou summed it up best when he proclaimed that Sohoku's jersey isn't complete unless the entire team is together. Fukutomi could respect that, but he doesn't think Kinjou is going to win that way.

 

We saw Hakone protecting Fukutomi and the climbers, with Shinkai doing all the work on the flats. The way Sohoku rode, with even Kinjou pulling with Tadokoro, the protected riders were the juniors and Makishima. That's the foreshadowing you need to see where the story goes on the climb.

One other bit of foreshadowing came the night before when Kinjou told his team not to be sad if the they lose a teammate along the way, but to carry their will to win for them when they're no longer there.

 

We got a nice reprise of the Human Bullet Train music when Tadokoro decided to turn himself inside out for the team.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 12

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 12

Hakone attacks Sohoku to open a gap before the final mountain, burning up Izumida. Sohoku begins their counterattack.

Heh.

Aargh! Another death montage? This time for Izumida? Hakogaku is turning Yowapeda into Akame ga Kill! 

 

Well, now we know what Fukutomi's plan is for Hakone to win. He started using up and discarding his riders on the right day, unlike Midousuji.

 

Onoda had a little crisis there when he realized that the flats right before the final climb would be the last time all 6 of his teammates would be riding together. He collected himself without any help, though. He's getting mentally tougher.

 

The flashback for Izumida showed why he was so impatient to get results within his first year - he wanted to ride the most important race with his mentor Shinkai. Gar! Calm down fujoshi.

 

Izumida's volume goes to eleven.

 

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 11

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 11

Hakone and Sohoku all regroup at the front. Arakita uses up all his power and falls behind.

Heh.

Nooo! Arakita got a death montage for dropping behind. It wasn't very surprising considering how Manami and Onoda had to catch him after they blew past Hiroshima and then Midousuji told Ishigaki that the most active one at this point in the stage would be the first to drop back. At least Arakita gave his last spark in pushing his team past the sprint point line.

 

Hiroshima must have been really punching above their weight if even the Sohoku and Hakone guys they passed earlier made it to the front before they did.

 

Arakita knows talent when he sees it. He called Onoda and Manami "wonder boys."

 

Manami has no fear of Arakita the Wolf.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 10

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 10



After telling Machimiya how Fukutomi recruited him, Arakita blows past Hiroshima, pulling Manami and Onoda with him.

Heh.

Dude. Machimiya. Arakita wants to share a "Bepsi" with you. It's a big honor!

Fukutomi comes from the school of kicking people off the dock to teach them how to swim.

Coming from a baseball background, it makes sense that Arakita wants to know what all the rules are for his first race. "Cross the finish line first" or "catch up to me" are not really rules, Fuku-chan...

I like how younger versions of Shinkai and Toudou just have bigger eyes.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 9

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 9



Machimiya and Arakita battle for position on the road. Machimiya also reveals why he hates Hakone.

Heh.

Geez. Fukutomi made lots of friends on that 2nd Stage of last year's Inter-High race...

I don't remember the particulars of when Kinjou and Fukutomi met on the road, but I thought Kinjou caught up to Fukutomi, not that Fukutomi was trying to catch Sohoku.

Now we know why Machimiya is so obsessed with luck. Two cracked water bottles is very unlucky. Isn't there supposed to be neutral support somewhere?

Good revelation that Machimiya is not only their ace, but their ace sprinter.

Only when Machimiya started screaming did I recognize his voice actor also did Kenichi from the History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi. I only hope the quick shot of some girl hoping he does well in last year's race is named Miu, so we can have him screaming that familiar "Miu-san!"

With Machimiya and Hiroshima Trade School featuring in the end omakes, I take it we're not supposed to hate those guys either.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 8

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 8



Onoda, Arakita, and Manami regroup to chase down Hiroshima, even passing their own teammates along the way.

Heh.

This is one of my favorite episodes so far of both seasons of Yowamushi Pedal! Not only do we have Onoda showing off his awkward, yet brave, negotiating skills along with his super chase ability, but we have the Mad Mutterer Arakita complaining about everything! Throw in Manami revealing his other skill in the furious chase, when we've only seen him on a tailwind climbing attack, and we've got an all the way cool reprise of these characters' stories with some added wrinkles as foreshadowing for the later parts of the stage.

Arakita saw some similarities between Onoda and Fukutomi, because they're both otaku. オタク　(otaku) has come to mean geek or nerd, but actually just means enthusiast. Whereas Onoda is the modern definition of geek or nerd who is an enthusiast of niche animated and cartoon media, Fukutomi is the old school enthusiast, except his hobby is cycling. So immersed in cycling is he, that people can barely understand him, which we've seen with Izumida thinking Fukutomi wanted him to quit the team, and Arakita just trusting his judgment when he told him to lead Manami back to the front if he gets separated.

Manami is so fast on his initial attack that his teammates have to warn him on causing gaps if they're trying to follow him. Fukutomi must see potential in him to be a future ace with a punishing kick, and not just a climber.

Manami has seen the fast cadence machine before, but having a strong leadout man like Arakita get impressed by a skinny little kid was great. Manami even warned him, "Oh, he can pedal much faster than this." It was like when Onoda asked Tadokoro if it was okay if they could start passing guys when they were trying to rejoin their teammates on the second stage. "Is it okay if we pass that guy?" Ha! I still love that scene. This episode we got the, "Is it okay if I go as hard as I can?"

The two younger riders may have some big engines in little bodies, but they don't have a leadout man's pure strength or Arakita's handling skills.

Yowamushi Pedal - High Cadence - Game 1

Yowamushi Pedal - High Cadence - Game 1



Well, now I know why the second season of Yowamushi Pedal is only 2 cours instead of 3 cours like last season.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 7

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 7



Imaizumi and Shinkai catch their leaders, while the peloton catches most of the rest. Hiroshima breaks away from the pack leaving Onoda isolated from his teammates.

Heh.

As I expected, Machimiya rode that peloton until it caught the leaders' teams, and threw it away like a used water bottle. Also expected were the useful idiots in the pack who couldn't believe that Machimiya was just a con man.

Hiroshima is all together, but Sohoku, Hakone, and Kyoto are split up.

Kinjou tried to tell his juniors how bad the last day would be, but they didn't start believing it until they were actually in it.

10 Second Anime - Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 6

Yowamushi Pedal - Grande Road - Episode 6



Machimiya, the Hiroshima ace, tries to demoralize Kinjou and Fukutomi. Sohoku and Hakone form an alliance on the road, while Machimiya seeks to demonstrate the power of the peloton.

Heh.

Creepy. This Machimiya con artist is creepy. Claiming that he's stealing people's luck by touching them, while also claiming the luck comes from how many stars they have. I bet the fujoshi are jealous, though. He held Kinjou's hand and rubbed Fukutomi's biceps. Creepy.

Are you kidding me? It took 44 episodes before somebody figured out they could use the power of the peloton to catch breakaways? These Japanese kids really don't understand race tactics.

Interesting that Machimiya tried to "steal" Kinjou's "stars" from his hands and Fukutomi's from his arms. I know that Fukutomi likes to say he's "strong," so that might be the connection we're supposed to make. I'm not sure what Kinjou's "strength" is supposed to be in hands. Maybe that he never lets go of whomever he catches?

Ha! Way to break Machimiya's confidence game on the leaders by Onoda there. The most important thing you need in a bike race? Your bike! Of course... right?

Onoda is wrong, though. You need to get hopped up on nakama power!