Yowamushi Pedal: Glory Line – 13

OP2: “Dancing (ダンシング)” by YouthK Saeki

It’s a remarkably light season for me when it comes to carryovers – in fact, I believe Yowamushi Pedal is the only one. That kind of fits, though, as sports is a definite genre trend for this season – and with the lineup basically dominated by reboots or sequels to old-timers like Captain Tsubasa, Major and Ashita no Joe, Yowapeda more or less has to carry the mantle for the new generation of sports anime. And while it’s not all that new anymore, thematically I think Yowapeda very much represents the evolution of sports manga over the past decade – quite different from the old days in many respects (including commercial appeal).

The first thing that was notable to me about this ep was the OP, because I think it might be the best of the entire series both in terms of song and sequence – it’s a good ‘un (and I like the ED as well, though it’s a lot more conventional). But content-wise what really stands out is that not a single Sohoku rider made an appearance in the episode, never mind had a line of dialogue – and I know there haven’t been too many times that’s happened. That speaks to just how much of a sidebar they’ve become in this race – we don’t even see Naruko, so presumably his Quixotic quest to stay with the leaders has failed for the moment. They’re going to have to become relevant before this Inter-high is over (the narrative basically demands it) but right now the path is not immediately clear.

This ep is given over almost entirely to Izumida and Komari, and as I’ve noted before what’s remarkable about Komari is that he’s such a freak that he actually makes Izumida look like a normal person. Fukuyama Jun is chewing so much scenery here he must have gained 20 pounds. I’m not so much emotionally vested in who wins their little sprint challenge, and I don’t think it’s actually that critical in the race either – Izumida’s “revenge” is, as Kuroneko says, more about winning the race on the whole than avenging his personal humiliation.

Izumida, in fact, seems to have done surprisingly well as captain. The surprise to me is based on his personality, but the ep does raise another point – it would normally be highly unusual for a sprinter to be captain. He’s unlikely to be in the mix at the finish on the third day (if he is, something has gone wrong), and thus not in a position to take strategic control. But as for build-up he’s done a good job (U.S. Soccer should listen to him when it comes to the merits of promotion/relegation), and that’s reflected in HakoGaku’s dominating performance in the race so far.

Allowance does have to be made, though, that KyoFushi has mostly been playing possum. Midousuji has been mostly content to lurk in the background, and Komari is basically a ringer, intentionally subbed in at the last moment so their opponents wouldn’t realize how strong he is (especially when wearing his sakura glasses). Strong or no, this is seriously one of the creepiest characters I’ve seen in any anime – Izumida is doing a nice job holding it together in the face of it. But whatever happens between them here, both are going to wait for their teammates as soon as Day 3 begins – and once they connect, both teams will try and bury Sohoku once and for all. That’s the real headline here.