I rewatched the episode in which Midousuji jumped up onstage, during the opening ceremony of the Inter-High, to trash-talk the reigning champions and the kid he likes to bully (because he knows he's gotten into his head). That indeed is the one where Midousuji explains his choice of frame size and configuration (super high saddle, extended handle bars). In his (borderline insane) mind, it's all about minimizing the weight. In a later episode, he drapes the upper half of his extremely elongated body over the handlebars, so that his head is practically in front of his front wheel, as part of his special sprinting technique. I'd love to see someone ride a De Rosa like that in real life!

In any sports anime, there are characters who have some wacky style/look to distinguish themselves. Midousuji is a great villain in this sports context. "Pendulum dancing" btw is not the name of Makishima's style, but the full name of the dancing technique used by all racers.

I'm much more familiar with the sport of American football, but I still enjoyed Eyeshield 21 immensely. It's got even more outrageous exaggerations - linemen who are at least twice as tall and 3x as heavy as other linemen, a demonic QB who can pass a ball so that it flies perfectly parallel to the ground, only 5 ft. above ground, for 70 yds; star receivers and CBs who can hold entire conversations in the air, etc.

I Iike Yowamushi Pedal as well. I'm more of a sports/competition type of anime fan just because I like the age old train hard till you win mantra that's prevalent in this type of anime. Yowamushi Pedal easily ranks up there among my favorites right with Hajime No Ippo(boxing), Kuroko no Basket(basketball), Capeta(kart/F1 racing, and Prince of Tennis.

That's one aspect I like about these sports anime. Another aspect I enjoy is the rival players pushing each other to new heights of excellence, whether it's Shin learning some new super tackling technique to stop Eyeshield 21, or Toudou calling his rival climber to cajole (eg. "You're eating ice cream again aren't you? Come on, man, carbo-load - I recommend pasta! I want you in top condition when I race you!"). There's always the villainous character who exhibits poor sportsmanship, but generally there's this idealized sportsmanship that I enjoy.

The main character is the embodiment of the joy of cycling - in that sense I relate to him.

I watched this anime recently and really enjoyed it. Sometimes it almost seemed like Initial D with road bikes.

I love how some of the voice actors ended up buying their own road bikes:

The voice actor for Jinpachi Toudou - Ace Climber of Hakone High - with his new ride, the same brand and model as his character (Ridley Fenix):


Source: Crunchyroll - Inspired By "Yowapeda" Role, A Cast Member Purchases His Own Road Bike

It's funny that the guy who played Toudou's main rival climber also bought a Ridley Fenix. Don't know what the guy who played my avatar (Onoda) bought - it'd be awesome if he got a BMC teammachine like the one Onoda began riding later in the manga, after the end of the events in the anime.

Anybody notice that the muscly kid on Hakone Academy's team appears to have named his tits after Andy and Frank Schleck?

You know, I literally was just thinking this over the weekend as kind of a "shower thought".

Just found an older oav anime called Nasu: A Summer in Andalusia. Haven't finished it yet but looks good so far. Only a 50 min movie on a Spanish Rider riding in the Vuelta de Espana. More of a dramatic down to earth type of anime.

There is part one and part two of that story, part one is in Spain, part two is in Japan. Make sure you dont miss them.

From Wikipedia:

directed by Kitarō Kōsaka, the famed animation supervisor of the Oscar-winning anime film Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke and long-time collaborator of Studio Ghibli, and adapted from a short 3-tankōbon manga by Iō Kuroda, entitled Nasu, which was serialized in the Afternoon manga magazine.

Kōsaka became interested in adapting the work after his long-time collaborator, Hayao Miyazaki, a fan of cycling, himself recommended the manga to Kōsaka.

Ok, Ghibli connections galore... My interest is piqued!

Thanks for the heads up on the second part. Really liked them both. I was laughing during the massage scene in the second cause they even got Pepe's tan lines correct. Only weird part that didn't seem to fit thru both movies was that one guy who was five minutes behind "powering up" before the last lap of the race in the second movie.

Also just came across a 7 minute anime short called Hill Climb Girl. More in the way of Yowamushi Pedal in terms of feel. Good to watch for a quick hill climb bit with Team Sky and main character riding a Pinarello bike.

I think one should keep in mind that it is a cartoon, and as such there are many absurd exagerations made for the sake of humor and entertainment. I thought Midousuji's theory about having the smallest bike for light weight was pretty funny, considering the old arguments for/against compact frames vs. "regular" bikes with horizontal top tubes. It's just that old argument taken to a laughable conclusion.

I haven't watched the show very much, but found out about the comic way back in 2012. There is a much more down to earth manga about cycling called Overdrive which I also enjoyed years ago. I don't know if it was ever adapted for TV, but the comic itself was enjoyable - if a little formulaic.

Hmm interesting. Just wanted to chime in as somewhat of an anime watcher. Wouldn't have thought that topic come up on a cycling forum lol! I've never really watched a sports anime though, mainly just what is on Netflix. Getting into anime a bit later in life my tastes are rather narrow. A few comments above have me thinking this is a comedy type with some silly stuff in it. Generally I don't like comedy or silly stuff, and don't get too turned on by anime about real life kind of things. I'd much rather watch sci-fi and fantasy if I am to be entertained. But if I can find this one I might give it a shot, I'm not entirely opposed to such anime. My favorites are shows like Ghost in the Shell, and Claymore, fwiw.

Some other forums I use anime avatars actually, like this one of my favorite anime/manga character Clare...

You're in luck, Overdrive was adapted for TV, there are 26 episodes. If you Google it it should be easy to find somewhere to watch it for free online. However, Yowamushi Pedal is a LOT better. Overdrive is just so... bland in comparison. And the female lead is a huge b*tch as well.

Yowamushi Pedal is awesome. For the people complaining about the unrealistic aspects such as Makishima's climbing style or Midousuji's entire riding style, stop. There are much worse offenders out there in anime, such as Kuroko no Basket. In that one, there's literally a character who can make full court shots at 100% accuracy. In an actual game. If you want to watch realistic cycling, go watch old TDF videos on Youtube. The whole point of sports anime is to give the characters superhuman or unrealistic abilities/powers and over-dramatize every detail to make the sport more entertaining to watch!
Someone already rides a bike like that in real life. Two, actually: Ryder Hesjedal and Adam Hansen!

Both have impressively high saddles. But I don't think either of them sprint like this

Haha, true. Let's face it though, Midousuji is the most unrealistic character in the anime. In real life, the closest to Midousuji's sprinting style is Mark Cavendish.

Also, check out Ryan Trebon's bike. He has a crazy high saddle and huge bar-saddle drop as well.

I have started re watching the series. To me the most unrealistic is Manami when he is climbing winds come out of his back so I don't think they should do that but again I completely understand the show is for kids and I am ok with that. Midousuji is thirsty for victory so that make him do crazy stuff, I can see people like that on real events. Enjoy the show, keep in mind it is for entertaining only and don't take anything too seriously.

Say what you will, but I cut a minute and a half off of my commute after watching that show.

As some of you know, this anime is based on the manga of the same name. As it turns out, the author of the manga has a cyclocross team, although it is unclear whether he races with the team or merely owns it.

Crunchyroll - "Yowamushi Pedal" Manga Author on Cover of Japanese Bicycle Magazine

I ordered a copy to get the stickers, which I intend to put all over my new bike.

The Yowapedal cyclocross team seems to be competitive - one of the members took first place in something at the 2014 Japan National Cyclocross Championships - I love how their unis are a mashup of the Sohoku and Hakone jerseys:

https://vimeo.com/album/3155732/video/114601132

I wonder if this means Onoda will take up CX racing next.

The show's pretty good but it progresses so slowly...

Just watched the movie, which is set in the fall following the events of season 2 (the Inter-High summer race and its conclusion) and involves a rematch between two certain schools.. The story moves along a lot faster because it's a 90 min. movie. The three main first-year riders get some sweet cycling gear upgrades (eg. electronic shifting).

It's an entertaining sequel to Season 2 that also sets up the audience for the already-announced Season 3.

3 years late to this thread, but I just watched the first season, and now more than halfway into the second (mountain stage part of day 3 of the inter-high race). I do like this anime and find myself a bit addicted to it. My only gripe is that pace of the anime seems to grind along slowly, 20 minutes of viewers time for sometimes 50-100 yards of actual racing. I get it, you need some sort of character build up time, including Midosouji and his mother. Other than that, the anime is fun, characters are likeable (to the point you start to care about them), and has enough action to keep you in your seat.
And funny enough, it's inspired me in two different ways. One, I'd like to lose more weight (already lost 3lbs it's a start, right?), do more hill climbs, and try to up my speed more than last year. Second, my daughters are huge anime fans and demand that I take them annually to our local anime convention (Detroit's Youmacon). And since I have to be there, I usually cosplay something to hide myself in the crowd. So this year, I'll try to be Tadokoro with sunglasses (gotta hide the wrinkles around my eyes). So, Sohoku jersey, pants, and shoes have been ordered. Once the conventions are over, I'll do a few rides in them to see if anyone recognizes where they're from

Someone above mentioned Nasu: A Summer in Andalusia. Being that Studio Ghibli films were my first introduction into anime by my wife, I'll definitely check parts 1 and 2 of these.

Does anyone know where I can read english translated yowamushi pedal?
Please send link

bingo.