Yowamushi Pedal Movie

This review will mostly compare this movie to the two first seasons of the TV series, as they are a prequel to it.

Spoiler free.

The main issue I can reproach to this movie is how rushed it is. The beginning is fine we can feel the Yowapeda vibes, even though everything is not entirely detailed like it would have been in the TV series. But it is still very enjoyable.

But then, there is the 2 days race. Each day of the race lasts about 20 minutes on screen, crazy considering how the 3 days of the Inter High race lasted over 35 episodes in the anime. ... It becomes a classic sports/action movie for this sequence, lacking the Yowapeda spirit, that is : character development (we learn nothing about the new characters introduced, for instance), psychological tension, suspense. And of course, it has plot holes. "Why are there suddenly only X people riding ?", "How did Y catch up ?", etc. You cannot let your mind wander for a second or you'll miss lots of things happening, and even by watching carefully there are things you won't be able to catch : things are not properly explained, the thoughts of the characters are mostly lacking, etc.

It was a disappointment to me as the race core is pretty much nonexistent, I feel they should have made this into a TV series of at least 12 episodes, or even better a 24 episodes one.

TL;DR : The non-race moment are fine and compare well with the TV series, the race however is way too rushed and fast paced. If you like the daily life parts of Yowapeda, you'll enjoy this movies, but do not expect the same spirit of the TV show in the race sequences. Overall, it's not a bad movie, there are funny moments, there's drama and heartwarming moments, but it just cannot compare to the TV series due to its pace.