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Yowamushi Pedal Manga Has 17 Million Copies in Print
posted on by Karen Ressler
This year's June issue of Akita Shoten's Bessatsu Shōnen Champion magazine announced on Friday that Wataru Watanabe's Yowamushi Pedal manga has 17 million copies in print. The 50th compiled volume (pictured right) shipped on April 7 in Japan.
The 43rd compiled volume revealed in January 2016 that the manga had 15 million copies in print at the time.
Wataru Watanabe launched the original manga in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine in 2008, and the story has inspired stage plays, a live-action television series, and three television anime adaptations. The first anime seasons inspired two compilation films, and a feature film sequel opened in August 2015. The Yowamushi Pedal: Spare Bike spinoff manga also received an anime adaptation with a two-week run in theaters last September.
Yen Press licensed the original manga and is releasing it in 2-in-1 omnibus volumes in North America. Discotek Media has licensed the first two anime seasons for home video.
The manga centers around Sakamichi Onoda, an otaku at Sōhoku High School. He loves anime and games so much, that he would ride his commuter bicycle to and from Tokyo's Akihabara shopping district in a 90-kilometer (about 60-mile) round trip over steep slopes after school. Onoda's life changes when he encounters his school's cycling team, and he ends up joining the competitive sport of bicycle racing.
