-Story-
7/10
I'll go right ahead and say that I'm not usually "into" sports manga and/or anime, mainly because I'm not into sports in general. Thus, I can't really say how clichéd or not clichéd the story is compared to other titles in the genre. I do know a few things about shōnen though, and seriously - this is so shōnen.
A lot of determined faces, seemingly impossible odds, close failures that get solved in the nick of time by the power of some good ol' Japanese Spirit(TM), speeches about friendship and teamwork, and homo-eroticism. My god, is there a lot of that last one (this is excellent fujoshi-bait, so keep that in mind fellas).
Anyway; yeah, as far as shōnen goes, this story probably has seen the light of day more times than can be counted. And honestly? I don't mind.
The characters tries, works hard, support each other, fails and then tries some more. The competitions are exciting, the friendships are touching and the funny moments are genuinely funny.
Have we seen it before? Yes, definitely. Does it matter? No, I don't think so.
(It's also nice to be able to truthfully say that I actually learn something new when watching it; Watanabe, the mangaka, is a cyclist himself and all the facts and techniques that show up are real, if sometimes exaggerated.)
-Art & Animation-
8/10
Nothing really special. There are shots that linger a teensy bit too long, many close-ups of the eyes, looped footage, CGI in a few places (though it's not as jarring as you might think; I for the most part didn't think about it) and probably some other tricks to make the animation seem not-as-cheap-as-it-most-likely-is. At the same time, the art still looks nice. The art in the manga is at best stylistic and at worst sloppy, but the anime makes a good job of cleaning it up and giving the character designs a little bit more consistency. The result is polished, if slightly generic.
(I'm also happy to tell that there's a considerable lack of side-mouths or "fish-faces", which is always a welcomed virtue.)
-Sound-
9/10
Absolutely lovely. If the music wants to get you pumped, you'll get pumped. If it wants to break your heart, reach for the tissues. If it wants to make your heart grow three sizes and fill it with fluff, don't fight it - embrace it. It will get you, sooner or later. All of the opening and endings fit very well with the concept and are pretty damn good songs on their own to boot.
The voice acting is equally satisfying; among the cast there are some known and some less known, but all of them are doing a great job and every voice fits their character superbly.
-Character-
10/10
The trump card of the show. These characters are WONDERFUL and I love every single one of them. Each and every one have their own special blend of talent and eccentricity that makes them stand out and be charming both by themselves and when paired with another character. Perfect since much of the humour comes from the guys' personalities playing off each other. Like probably many other sports anime and practically every shōnen anime there are rivalries in abundance, but so far only one of them is actually malicious, which is a nice change of pace. It's safe to say that the characters alone are reason enough to check YowaPeda out.
-Enjoyment-
10/10
If you haven't realised it already, I enjoy this show immensely, both in a written and animated format. It's fun, exciting and at times incredibly sweet. I was amazed at how something as simple as racing up a hill could pull me into the action and struggles of the characters. Sports anime and manga might not have been my thing before and, hell, maybe it still isn't, but after watching Yowamushi Pedal I'm at least willing to give the genre a try.
Overall, a 9/10 - lowered only because of the art and story which we've unquestionably seen before. Still, I cannot stress enough how worthy this show is of your time and attention.
And about the fujoshi-thing I said before? It's actually not that bad, so please - don't let it be a deterrent (just stay away from certain forums and art sites and you should be fine).
