Happy New Year! Now the Christmas season is well and truly over, I can get back to posting about anime and manga. I didn’t try as many new series as I thought I would over the holiday season, but a few is better than none. First up, Yowamushi Pedal, a series I liked a lot after episode 1 then liked less and less with each subsequent episode until I dropped it after episode 4.
What I liked about the first episode is the slight twist on the staple “naive character doesn’t know he’s talented in a sport” trope many sports anime have. Sure Sakamichi is naive and doesn’t know he’s a cycling prodigy, but he’s wholly devoted to another interest (anime) and is determined to pursue it in high school. I wanted to find out how he would reconcile the two interests or whether he would end up dropping anime together because 3D friends and physical exercise are so much better.
I also rather liked the snobby rival character who was shown up so easily (sort of) by an oblivious Sakamachi. That interest stayed with me in episode 2 during the race, but then the technical terms started flowing. Cadence. The height of the seat blah blah. Rotations. Pedaling this, pedaling that. It was too much technicality too soon for me. Plus the gallery and their commentary were seriously annoying, especially the stalker manager girl with the huge eyes. Ick.
Then episodes 3 and 4 just lost me completely with the introduction of the Osakan character with the bad voice-acting. I can’t even remember his name now, but the whole episode was just so boring. Some guy threw a cigarette butt at a bike so they pedal and pedal and pedal and pedal (repeat for 15 minutes) and that’s supposed to be interesting? That’s when I realized a show about cycling just wasn’t for me. The better kind of sports show at least makes an effort to show you what’s so exciting about that sport in particular, but Yowamushi Pedal just takes it for granted that everybody likes cycling already. If you don’t, well, it’s got nothing to offer you.
So having realized I wouldn’t be able to sit through any of the other races/matches the show had to offer because cycling is just too boring, I decided to call it a day and quit while I was ahead. I still like sports anime (I think?) and Yowamushi Pedal probably isn’t bad if you like cycling or racing shows. It’s just too boring for me so I’m out.
