I’ll let you choose your own metaphor here – I originally thought of a “much-needed B-12 shot”, but perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that Onoda Sakamichi hit Yowamushi Pedal like an IV drip after a grueling day of racing.  Man, this series needs Sakamichi – it can function without him, and even sometimes in quite riveting fashion, but no one else can bring what he brings to the dynamic.  He’s the life-force, the positive energy, the sheer joy Yowapeda needs to be at its best.

That’s not to say this episode was Yowapeda at its very best – some of the worries I noted last week did turn out to be problems.  But it was still a breath of fresh air to have Onoda around at last, not to mention a little infusion of the old third-year crowd.  As I feared, there was no real consequence for either Imaizumi or Teshima – neither seemed to acknowledge their role in the rather disheartening end to Sohoku’s first day, and no one else was blaming them either – including the one who should have been in the most accusatory mood.

The first-day podium ceremony is a bit of a debacle, as Kyoto Fushimi has to send a stand-in for Midousuji (who’s presumably off sulking somewhere).  And Naruko overcompensates for his bitter disappointment by playing to the crowd and going at it with a couple of onlookers noting his diminutive stature.  Afterwords he limps off like a wounded dog to find a place to rage (and cry) on his own, which is pretty heartbreaking actually.  Meanwhile Teshima is a physical wreck and idiot-boy Kaburagi is blaming everyone but himself for Sohoku’s coming up short three times – before he passes out on the floor of the tent.

All this is not exactly inspiring a lot of confidence, especially with HakoGaku preening over their Day 1 sweep (though Kuroda certainly must be a major concern, though they aren’t showing it).  Teshima sends Onoda – who’s been grinding over a way to try and buck up team spirits – to find Naruko and bring him back for a team meeting.  It’s impressive just how tireless Sakamichi-kun really is, how relentless – that’s what makes him so formidable on the road.  He doesn’t find Naruko but he does find Kinjou, and promptly asks him to come back to the team tent for a pep talk.  But Kinjou refuses – and actually, I think, rightly so.  It may be a bit of a cliche, but it wouldn’t be good for Sohoku to have their old leader come back at their moment of greatest vulnerability – I think it would undermine their faith (however misplaced) in Teshima, and in themselves.

The best part of the episode for me comes when Kinjou tells Onoda that Makishima-san has come to the race too – and that he’s decided that the old seniors shouldn’t see the team during the race.  Kinjou expects Onoda to be crushed, but in fact Onoda is thrilled just to know that Maki-chan is there watching.  His beaming “I’m glad!” is so quintessentially Sakamichi – so indefatigable and so positive – that it’s a perfect reminder of why the tireless terrier is such an emotional anchor for Yowamushi Pedal. As long as he’s going to be central to what happens in the final two days of the Inter-high, there’s reason to hope that they’ll be special.

Omake: