I noted last week that no Sohoku riders (past or present) made a single appearance in that episode – and how that must surely have been one of the few times that’s ever happened. Well, I won’t swear to it but I’d be willing to wager than we’ve never had two episodes running with no Sohoku presence at all. This truly has become a race about Hakone Gakuen and Kyoto Fushimi – to the point where if Sohoku does make a run at contention on the final day, Yowapeda is going to have some serious convincing to do to make it seem realistic.
More than that, though, the last couple of eps have really turned into the gallery of freaks, as Yowamushi Pedal’s weirdest characters have taken over the narrative. When you have Midousuji and Izumida around and they’re the two most normal guys in the spotlight, you know the third one must be a piece of work. And damn, I’m not sure I’ve heard many seiyuu sell out on a whack-job performance the way Fukuyama Jun is here – he’s totally taking Komari over the top and back again. And a few flashback scenes to his childhood aren’t likely to change that.
Indeed, Komari’s childhood isn’t much of a revelation. He grew in a proper traditional Kyoto home, trained to be dignified and reserved. But since he was a kid, he’s longed for muscles – not to have them and not just to look at them, but to touch them. I suppose it’s pointing out the obvious, but Komari is not a healthy, socially adapted person – this is not normal, in the sense of being creepy and offensive. You simply can’t go around doing what he does to other people – it’s quite literally assault. If Komari really wants to touch muscles that badly the massage idea is probably the best bet (at least those people want to be touched), but he’s sure going to have to learn to keep his mouth shut and what a poker face is.
None of this is top-shelf Yowamushi Pedal by any stretch, don’t get me wrong. But the most interesting part of it is Midousuji (as it so often is). He’s enough of an oddball and outcast not to be freaked out by Komari, and indeed, sees an opportunity here and takes it. Maybe at the start he was manipulating Komari as a sort of experiment, but eventually he saw the potential value in him – first as a masseuse, then as a rider. I think a guy as singularly driven and strange as Chimera-kun can see that same single-minded obsessiveness in others, and he saw the potential if it could be harnessed.
The odd thing is, Komari is kind of right about Midousuji being a completely honest person. He doesn’t give a toss about discretion or tact, and he’s quite pure in what he is – somebody completely and totally driven to win at any cost. Sure he’ll use tricks to try and achieve it, but his eyes are never off the prize – total victory. It’s easy to see why someone like Komari, who’s hidden his true self (albeit with good reason) his whole life would see Midousjuji-kun as someone to be admired and follow him as a mentor. I’m not sure all of that is enough to get him past Izumida in this sprint, but in the big picture I don’t much care about that anyway – it’s time for it to be done already so we can get on with the story.
Onigirimake:
