Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road

Episode 12

Don't expect a mid-season cliffhanger in the middle of Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road. We're about halfway through the second season, but there are still 30 kilometers to go on Day Three of the Interhigh. Given that it took three episodes each to describe all the upsets that happened in the final five kilometers on the two previous days, I estimate that it'll take another twelve episodes to wrap this one up.

But while you're along for this lengthy ride, expect things to start getting real. In episode eleven, we were told that one of the 14 people on Sohoku, Hakogaku, and Kyofushi's teams would be first across the finish line. One episode later, only 12 remain. My prediction is that the dropouts, more than anything else, will determine the eventual first place winner. The third day feels like an endurance race; whoever is still pedaling long enough to cross the finish line is the one who's going to make it.

Fukutomi's strategy for Hakogaku is to exhaust his team's cyclists one by one, which sounds harsh and unsportsmanlike, but is actually pretty smart when you consider only one man has to make it across the finish line for their entire team to be the winner. Meanwhile, Kinjou's goal is to keep all six team members intact—at least for now. The first-years seem stumped at his kindness, but there's strategy behind it. Remember when Kinjou's knee was bugging him back in episode four? My guess is that he's going to need the first-years to fill in for him in the end. Due to a couple of my previous predictions and the fact that the race ends on top of a mountain, I'm envisioning an eventual battle for the finish between Manami and Onoda.

However, it's the dropouts providing the drama right now. These departures are treated with far-from-proportional melodrama that fits the high-adrenaline pace of a sports anime. When Arakita dropped out, his team basically gave him a eulogy. This time, it's Izumida's turn to carry the team as hard as he can, and we can all guess what that means.

This episode, titled “Izumida's Pride,” focused on the muscular cyclist's relationship with his teammate Shinkai. We were told vaguely that Shinkai and Izumida have a more special-than-average bond back when Izumida was a little chubby and trying to get in top cycling shape. (Perhaps he lost the weight when he stopped trying to eat nonstop protein bars the way Shinkai does.) This episode elevated their friendship into a bromance. “You were powerful, fast, and beautiful” and “My heart's greatest desire [is] to ride with Shinkai-san,” were select lines that might have you wondering if the fujoshi are actually on to something.

More broadly, second-year Izumida's wish to ride with his upperclassman demonstrates the finality of the Interhigh in Yowamushi Pedal. It's not only the last time that the third-years get to ride as high schoolers, but the last time that the younger team members get to ride with the upperclassmen they've grown to idolize. Yowamushi Pedal puts an emphasis on individual mentorship, where you can point to any first or second-year and identify his major influence—Imaizumi's is Kinjou, Naruko's is Tadokoro, Onoda's is Makishima, Manami's is Toudou, and now we see that Izumida's is clearly Shinkai. No wonder dropouts feel like death to them; this really is the last time they'll consider one another as teammates.

From the beginning flashback to Arakita's dropout all the way to the Sohoku team's hilarious omake scene at the end, this episode focused on the boys' friendship and support for one another, and while it can be a little overemotional, it never rings insincere.

Rating: A-

Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.