Yowamushi Pedal: Grande Road

Sohoku, the team that never gives up.

This season of Yowamushi Pedal started off with a bang, finally quelling the much awaited cliffhanger in the season prior. The story is a fresh burst of excitement that further develops the characters and evidently concludes this exciting race.

Story: 6/10
Each episode begins with a quick recap of the episode that came before, helping the viewer understand where the bikers are in the race. The story encompasses the entire middle - second half of the Inter-High. It is no question that the first season of this anime needs to be seen beforehand, but it is definitely worth the ... watch. Though each episode was filled with exciting plot twists and moments that keep you on the edge of your seat, the show lagged in a few areas. Most episodes spent half of the time reflecting on events that had happened in previous episodes. The vast amount of flashbacks made the story drag and frustrated me because the race could have been finished much sooner. Thankfully, there was enough character development and intense scenes to keep the viewer thoroughly entertained. You would think that an anime about bicycle racing would grow boring after a few episodes; however, I can personally say that this show had me excited for a new episode every week.

Art: 7/10
The art style was relatively average, but stayed clean and consistent throughout both the first and second seasons of Yowamushi Pedal. The scenery presented in the show was well drawn, as were the fast-paced racing scenes. Nothing obscure was drawn and nothing seemed out of place, but nothing spectacular was shown either.

Sound: 8/10
The music definitely was a perfect fit for this anime. It was an exciting blast that would get you excited to watch the show, even if you weren't excited at the start. The opening was very suitable for a sports anime, since the aim is to get you pumped for the chase. The voice acting was also very satisfying. All of the voice actors adapted to their respective characters and there were thankfully no unnecessary exaggerations in tone. At times the characters would shout in excitement, power, or dismay, but it adds to the overall pathos of the show.

Character: 9/10
One thing that Yowamushi Pedal has excelled at the most is its character development. Of course there was a much broader look into the lives of the characters in the first season, but each new character that was introduced was never forgotten. The supporting cast on the sidelines as well as the opposing bicycle teams were thoroughly developed and well introduced. There was one set of character that was introduced that seemed to play more of a menacing filler role, however, the arc tied into the story very well and enhanced some of the main characters' own personalities. The beautiful character development has you rooting for every single character that is competing in the Inter-High and has you resonating a connection with them all.

Enjoyment: 10/10
If I were only grading this anime on enjoyment, it would have a definite perfect score. I would definitely recommend this show to sports anime fans as well as standard anime lovers. It is no question that the first season needs to be watched first in order to comprehend the story, but it is worth the watch. I absolutely loved this anime and I can't wait to read the manga.

Overall: 8/10

The Anime started well with the first season giving a glimpse into cycling. It baffles how uninteressting and simply bad this season was.
Not only was there basicly no character development, no plot twists that seemed in any way interesting nor did the anime feature anything I would like to see in a story.
The Animation and Sound were almost the same as the first season so thats fine,
but this season felt like a Dragonball Z copy on bicycles.

Maybe 50% or even more of an episode are two or more characters screaming each others name, supported by cut ins of them pedaling or leaning over ... their bikes.
Any other interaction between the characters were surface level deep, meaning it had no impact on the story or the relationships.
Even worse is the aspect of expertise. When you look at the first Season you sometimes get some information about cycling and sports in general.
These information are sometimes even relevant to the story (see training camp in season one and other scenarios). But in this season there are almost no such infos.

All in all this anime was something i looked forward to but which dissapointed me in the end.

If I had to find one positive aspect about it the solid animation and sound design would come to mind.

My verdict: If you want uninteressting screaming and very simple entertainment without deep story or knowledge about cycling give it a go but don't expect much from it.

Tirelessly peddling, constantly looking forward, and triumphing over great mental and emotional fatigue to reach one’s dreams is what Onoda Sakamichi accomplished, and all while having the greatest time of his life. Yowamushi Pedal in its entirety is not about attaining selfish desires, instead it portrays the struggle to reach what seems unattainable, a dream, and using a road racer (aka a fancy bicycle) as a metaphor of always looking ahead in life masterfully ties it all together.

Blindly going into a sports anime with no prior knowledge about the sport and coming out with a strong passion and excitement towards it is something that ... makes this genre of anime fascinating and valuable. Yowamushi Pedal has completely changed my perception towards road racing, as now I perceive it to be a very exhilarating and respectable sport. It is the portrayal of road racing and the blood, sweat, and tears that each rider experiences throughout their journey that captivated and immersed me in the story line. However, the sport alone is not the anime’s only selling point, but it is the determination and courage that the athletes relentlessly endure in order to accomplish their dreams, and to help their teammates accomplish the same, that motivates me to enthusiastically pursue my own dreams without looking back.

The story in season two begins in the middle of the final three day long road racing inter-high tournament and continues right where season one ended. The story is fairly simple, to win this major race in order to fulfill the dreams of each team member, which is to become stronger and become completely enthralled in what they love the most—road racing. But this simple premise really is something that I love about this anime. The straightforwardness of the overall story line allows the audience to focus on the race and the adversity that each character faces, not only for the athletes on the main team (Sohuku) but also for several rival teams. What each character maintains throughout the anime is their charisma as each individual is memorable and has unique traits, which is a common method used in action and sport orientated anime. The story is very thrilling, inclusive, inspiring and the balance between humour and seriousness allowed me to enjoy both the anime and the sport of road racing.

The characters are not particularly developed but this does not detract from the overall attraction towards these characters. The development of one character is not important in Yowamushi Pedal compared to the development of the team, as road racing is portrayed to be mainly a team sport, therefore the growth of certain characters only add to strengthening the team as a whole. The main character, Onoda, is a very inspiring individual as he is first introduced in season one as one of us, an anime loving high otaku, but becomes quickly fascinated by the road racing team at his high school. The fact that this athlete is a typical otaku who has no interest in sports prior to discovering road racing is quite shocking because most sports anime revolves around a strong and masculine protagonist. On the other side of the spectrum we have the main antagonist of the anime, Midousuji, who is literally portrayed to be a snake riding a road racer…I honestly don’t understand how the producers came up with such a vile character, but to be honest it was pretty hilarious watching him frustrate the other riders and probably the entire audience.

Who doesn't love bright and bold animation to go along an inspirational and amusing sports anime! The bright colours used to individualize each character and team with the constant vivid scenery really brought the fresh and comforting feel of summer. The use of intense colour beautifully reflected the characters attributes and aura throughout the second half of the tournament and the style of animation was very straightforward and direct like the plot. It was obvious that some parts of the animation did not entirely allow the audience to completely enjoy certain scenes due to a lack of detail, however as the producers were limited with a strict budget I couldn't ask for more. I was never once disappointed by the atheistic of this anime as it allowed me to feel the excitement and joy that Onoda felt while pushing forward towards his dream.

The soundtrack was very uplifting and exciting which complimented the intensity of the sport and the emotions of the characters. In addition, the main OST of the anime really was well constructed to build the sense of determination and hope in the emotions of the characters, and allows the audience to develop a strong connection to this particular soundtrack.

Yowamushi Pedal for the most part follows the typical story line of any sports anime, but what makes this anime promising is its ability to inspire any individual to keep looking forward and pedal harder, because a dream can become reality for anyone.