At times, Yowapeda can be an interesting mix of the absurd and the realistic, at least as far as the cycling side is concerned.  The personalities in this show are obviously pretty over the top, but there aren’t much in the way of “Shounen Jump Moments” – a few here and there, maybe, but for the most part Yowamushi Pedal displays a keen knowledge of cycling strategy (Watanabe-sensei certainly has that) and a desire to honor it.  That this applies even to Midousuji-kun is the ultimate test of that, as he’s about as absurd a character as you’ll find (at least until Komari came along).

In point of fact, Midousuji has a pretty good understanding of the strange dynamics (both physical and mental) of grand tour road racing.  It’s he who asks the very question I did last week – why didn’t Imaizumi and Naruko make a break for it when they had the chance?  They indeed had both Hakone and Kyoto outnumbered at the front, the only time Sohoku would he in an advantageous position for the entire day.  The manta of “all six together” certainly has some benefits to it, and it’s admirable – but maybe it’s something Sohoku takes a little too far at times.

From Sohoku’s perspective, what’s happening here looks very much like a collapse.  Teshima is only able to catch up to Onoda and Imaizumi because they slow down for him, and he’s unable to keep pace when Imaizumi tries to match Hakone’s acceleration.  Worse (and having to carry a subpar captain is bad enough) Imaizumi (who strikes me as himself the worst possible choice for captain of the second-years) loses it, calling out Teshima for his inadequacies as a road racer.  He’s right, but that it what it is – fact is, every strategic decision Imaizumi has made in this race has blown up in his face.  KyoFushi are gone in a heartbeat with only Naruko for company (because he decided it himself), Aoyagi and Kaburagi are even further behind, and things are looking grim.

What’s left for the second day is the sprint finish – and Izumida quickly assumes that’s why Kyoto has made their appearance at the front.  But the sense here is that Midousuji has a bigger game he’s trying to play, and he’s more interested in the endgame than the distractions that come before.  This part of the episode is full-on freakshow – between Izumida’s “abu squats”, Chimera-kun’s general loopiness and Komari’s flat-out creepiness, the bizarre factor is definitely larger than life here.

Komari is the X-factor in this race, in a lot of ways.  No one has any idea of what he can do as a racer, only that he likes to inappropriately touch other guys.  Midousuji gives him his chance to show off here and take the sprint against Izumida himself, but I’m not even sure how much it matters who wins it (especially if Chimera-kun won’t take Izumida’s bait and fight it himself).  The fact is that both HakoGaku and Kyoto are complete at the front, Naruko is fighting for dear life to stay close to them, and Sohoku is scattered both physically and mentally all over the course.  If they can come back from this state to stage a competitive finish, it’ll be something of a Shounen Jump moment in and of itself…

Nekomake:

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