Yowamushi Pedal is the greatest comic.
Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Wataru Watanabe
Translation: Su Mon Han
Lettering: Lys Blakeslee, Brndn Blakeslee
What They Say:
Day one’s shocking climax!
Team Sohoku barrels toward the end of day one of the inter-high…and into a neck-and-neck battle with the reigning champs, Hakone Academy! Now Imaizumi needs to fend off the feral assault of Hakone’s Arakita and help propel Kinjou to the finish line. But could Sohoku’s can-do attitude be their downfall? The ever-devious Midosuhi is counting on it to snatch victory!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
I love Yowapeda. I love every page that I turn, revealing some such nonsense or drama. I love Onoda and his determination. I love Makishima and his relegation. I love Tadokoro and his singing. I love Midosuji and his creepy-ass attitude. I love everything about Yowamushi Pedal.
This volume is a culmination of a lot of the things I love about this manga. It’s the end of the first day, and Sohoku and Hakone are neck-and-neck. The race is initially between Arakita and Imaizumi, the ace’s assistants that let their best riders draft behind them until the last 500 or so meters. Arakita, the third year trash talker, overtakes Imaizumi, the first year with the calm demeanor, because of that calmness. Arakita sees Imaizumi as weak and, well, he’s probably not wrong at the time. Imaizumi has grown relatively complacent in middle school winning basically every race he’s been in, or at least that’s the impression I got from the anime and manga. He wants to win, but he doesn’t know how to chase anymore. Arakita awakens that back up in him. They give chase, and stay within a few inches of each other until they give the pushes to their aces.
Until Midosuji comes in. Midosuji, like Brian Kendrick, is the man with the plan. He knows exactly what’s going to happen and he has several dozen step plans for those eventualities. He knows where he’s going to catch up with the leaders from the peloton. He knows when he’s going to catch up to the aces. He knows when he’s going to overtake them. He knows everything…until he doesn’t. The first day’s race ends in a three way tie. A heated day one of racing—racing where cones interfered with the sprint, where Onoda’s crash almost ruined Makishima and Toudou’s last races, where Midosuji came out of nowhere to tie two other top third years—is finally over. Three volumes (well, three omnibuses and six volumes) and day one is over. Phew.
This is where Yowapeda has to add drama. Tadokoro, the human bullet train, is struggling after day one. It’s a grueling race in devastating heat, so something is bound to break in some of these kids. Tadokoro pukes and is barely able to maintain his usual cocky composure through his fatigue. He says he’ll be fine—and he’s probably been through some other inter highs before this, so we’d have to assume he would be fine.
Also Onoda’s mom is the best mom.
But the second day begins with much fanfare in the last half of this volume, but Tadokoro is not among the riders. He’s able to pull himself to the starting line, but can’t get his bike moving from there. The fatigue has caught up to him.
Meanwhile, Onoda, Makishima, and Naruko have been riding to catch up with the front, not knowing that Tadokoro has been left behind. If the first day’s big drama was Onoda’s crash, then the second day’s is Tadokoro’s fatigue. Both require Sohoku’s riders, against all odds, to ride past all the race’s participants. And both require…singing?
It’s in these moments that Yowapeda is at its funniest. Yowapeda is a sports manga, a comedy manga, and a horror manga (more on that in future volumes…) all in one, and it’s wonderful. Yowapeda has a knack for making something so insurmountable full of fun and comedy. In day one, Onoda rode ahead of everyone singing the opening theme song to his favorite anime, Love Hime. This day, he has to convince Tadokoro to do so. And Tadokoro, being a relative muscle head who just wants to win, is willing to do anything to achieve that victory.
So they sing. Hime all the way.
In Summary:
If there’s ever a representative volume of what Yowapeda can do the best, this is probably it. It has the excitement of the culmination of a race, it has the excitement of winning a race, it has the disappointment in falling just short, and it has the comedy that allows the manga levity in its most serious moments.
Content Grade: A+
Art Grade: B-
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: December 19, 2017
MSRP: $24.00
