Sad that Manami lose, he lose to Onoda twice now and causing his team overall champion title twice. Just when he recovers from it he lose again.

Nevertheless congrats to the biking otaku Onoda for winning again

Yeah, was really hoping for Manami to take it this time. But, good fight either way!

Nice ending.

yup! it was very touching seeing everyone congratulate each other!
No blaming/ self blaming this time too!
both teams had cool captains!

Yes Vince it was, happy Tuesday good morning.

good afternoon mate, I hope your day has been good ;)

At fucking last!!!! They reach the goal for fuck sake haha

come all the way from England, and doesn't congratulate him after his win?

Glad Onoda won his second Inter-High, :)
Although I am terrified of what will go down during his final 3rd yeat at the Inter-High. Which will probably start a sequence of series titles being called Yowamushi Pedal Final S1, S2, S3 etc.

It would be amazing to see a 4th dark horse school appear at the end just as strong, comparable to Midousuji during his 1st year at Inter-High ( ಥـْـِـِـِـْಥ)

Maybe Manami would've won if he followed Izumida's lead and zipped up his shirt to avoid unnecessary air resistance. He did the opposite during a crucial time in the race 🤪

Whoa

6/10, I hope Midousuji wins next time :)

I had so much hope for him and was cheering him on. The damn coward can’t put away his pride and build a solid team to actually bring him to the finish line.

Midousuji should never win until he trusts his team. That is the entire point of the series

the man sacrifices everything and everyone! if he doesn't deserve to win. When i dunno who.

From my perspective, you have a strange idea of what worth is. Being self-serving is different from being deserving.

what can i say. I'm for the underdogs. if you can't beat them join them, substage or destroy them.

Yes, i see no problem with that. I simply find your view on what it means to be 'deserving' of something kind of out of my world. Is all. In my world, Midousuji deserves a permanent ban from racing because he is dangerous when he tries to make other riders fall. This is normally forbidden.

I understand your point. I know in reality there are only so called friendly competitions. i have tenancy to ultimate every competition into a fight to the death with no 2nd chances. I know it's not applicable in real world. But thinking like this every time i compete or see someone compete. Gives me the edge both in winning and loosing.

Well, yeah, that is an interesting perspective. Maybe you like combat sports a lot. I hate those. But still, even in combat sports, what matters most is respecting the opponent. Even when it comes to this, i can't see Midousuji as deserving. Competition is not war after all. Competing in sports or games is an exclusively human activity, that can never exist without having someone to compete with. In other words, competing is a social experience, as any other. Hence why sportmanship is necessary.

Winning is The Goal....

So what? Do you have an idea on what values and principles Pierre de Coubertin created the modern Olympics, by any chance? Winning is not everything, if i may state the obvious.

Yeah yeah bringin people together under the same umbrella in the name of competition but only a loser would just be happy with being there its about giving your best effort an doing what it takes to WIN but i can tell from your comments/replies your not a competitive person an thats where your POV or opinion differs an tbh thats Ok just that a mindset like that could never be a champion at highest level

It is not all black or white. You can do your best to win while remaining a decent person. It is not kill "your mom so that you can win" or "be a loser all your life", right? Why do we even have this conversation?

next time will be a trio finish

That was an awesome race, anime is mid, nice episode final rate is 7.9.

This anime is brilliant. probably one of the best sports anime without the bs

True, thanks for your comment.

The anime isn’t mid dragged out yes tho hood episode

Okay Justen.

Thanks for agreeing

You are welcome.

I'm glad Onoda got a hug from best girl Aya.

Of course, the only hug he cared about was the one from Imaizumi... >_<

Won't going to watch this episode anymore. Will be basing everything from the comments. And according to the comments, the season's over. Onoda won. That's just sad. I don't see Onoda deserving the win. He did nothing. Absolutely nothing.

If I had dropped this anime earlier, I could have said that Teshima could have been the first one to reach the goal. With all the sudden attention given to him, it can't be far from the truth.

Nobody has grown in this race. Nothing changed. Actually, there was one. Midousuji. But his change was not for the better and it was completely unbelievable.

Anyway, wouldn't rant forever here. However, if anyone's willing to discuss and throw shit at this season or the story in general, I'm in. Just reply in this comment.

He did nothing? Lol it was him doing everything. he won and manami had to lose out again and that can be disappointing. But Onoda deserved it

All he did was pedal and whine. That's it. Anyway, if you find that great, good for you. At least someone enjoyed the season.

Fucking shitty story line. Just a repeat of the last inter high wtf!

How I wish this season is as good as the last inter high. At least the previous one allowed Onoda (Naruko and Imaizumi as well) to do something. This race put them on a backseat. I thought that Naruko will receive something after his arc, but no shit. He just can climb, mediocrely. Imaizumi is as useless as ever. And Onoda... He just reached the end of the race. Whining whenever he's on the spot.

All I saw in this race was Teshima. Teshima this, Teshima that. Oh, so you're captain now eh? Calling the shots even he was a weak cyclist. Naruko was the one making the good calls ever since the first inter high.

And I really can't get used to the bullet train power of Aoyagi. It doesn't look good on him. And Kaburagi is just a dumbed down Naruko.

Anyway, that's just a small fraction of the things I thought was greatly annoying on these last few seasons. The story should have ended on the first inter high.

Teshima is a fan favorite in Japan and has won or scored high in several official popularity polls. The person who made the manga has also stated in an interview that Teshima was his favorite. He's usually a background character and he's graduating, which is why he got some spotlight this season.

I figured that he was the author's favorite, given the treatment he was provided. Cause you know, he wasn't given the usual senpai treatment. He actually took over the story.

It makes me wonder how he was able to take over the popularity poll. I tried to date his popularity, and according to data, he was popular from 2014 to 2016. Most probably, he stopped being popular in the polls since he might have already graduated at that time.

After looking into the volume releases, his popularity rose after the first inter high. And basing on the chapters, a lot of focus were actually given to him during this timespan. And the polls where he won coincides with the second inter high, which is what this season covered.

So, I can safely assume that Teshima didn't become the focus because people found him good. He became popular because the author deliberately liked him and put the spotlight on him.

After checking these pieces of information, then there's actually a lot of source material to cover, giving the anime no excuse to milk this inter high too much.

Sadly, I have to say that I my impression of Teshima didn't change. I believe that, with how his character was executed, he doesn't deserve the attention. Maybe the anime did him injustice. Regardless, it ended up that this season is a failure.

You asked for it ^^.

I do believe that Teshima is, by far, the best character in the series. Because he is the character that makes most sense and that is the least contrived or stereotyped in his behavior. Simply by watching him talk and act, you can get to know him. This is not true for every other character in the cast, which are all stereotypes that fill pre-defined roles.

Although i say that, i still agree that the writting sucks big time most of the time. The reason why Onoda may feel illegitimate to win here is because the character, as the MC, is consistently undermined. if i have to sum this up, i would say that despite b ebing called 'Yama Ou', Onoda never won a red tag. And actually, he never even competed for one, not even once. Any time there is a mountain, the author always find contrived excuses to have him out of the race. While this could be explained during the first inter-high by him not being the ace climber, it only feels far-fetched this time around.

This is a case, a VERY common case, of japanese author that do not stand by the things the write. There is this weird idea that whatever happens, a MC must be below average. Either more stupid. Or more ridiculous. Or more scrawny. Or more invisible. Japanese authors always try to suck up at their readers, and so, they fear that if the create bad-ass MCs in shounens, their readers will go away because it doesn't help them feel good about themselves... This is why Onoda, despite being the Moutain King, simply can't show off anything. He always has to be ridiculed, and he never should ake the spotlight, unless this is this one climax in the story. Any character, in shounens (and oftentimes even in shoujos), that achieve things consistently are either anonymous or invisible, so that they never really stand out in their environement. Kuroko (Kuroko no Basuke) is literally invisible. Kyoko (Skip Beat) disguises herself so well that despite being a star, nobody recognizes here, and she even has conversations about herself with others, as if she was a 3rd party. Yochika (Strike Witches) is anonymous. Despite being a war hero, her photo is never published, her achievements are specifically the ones that comes under military secret, and since what she loves most is being humble and cooking for other... she actually never cares to correct people who are mistaken about her...

On top of this, in Yowamushi Pedal, the author proves that he has a very limited empire over both his characters and his stories. He doesn't have the capabilities to do what some others do when it comes to writting. I can't tell if it is because he lacks imagination, because he is a wimp himself in real life (like Onoda), beause he deliberately and strategically follows a very conservative way to approach the Japanese society (one example is the extreme and systemic adoration of sempais, presented as pillars to groups and society here...), because he doesn't truly understand human psychology when so many japanese authors are so good at it, because he is way too stuck up himself to be able to truly think out of the japanese box when writing his story... are any other reason... but everything he does is mostly formulaic. He fails to develop properly the few interesting things he introduced (like Midousuji) and can only master one way to do things... which is actually a defining character of the japanese man, as far as i can tell...

One example comes from a french pâtissier who told his story in Japan. He explained that he turned crazy because he couldn't tell japanese apprentices 'next, put the cream in'... he had to actually show them the gesture needed in order to add the cream, so that they could observe and repeat the exact same gestures... In many cases, they know one way to do stuff and never question whether there may be others or better ways to do it... This is why they still use Fax. Fax worked in the 90's, so they can work forever. Japan is not modern. Less and less so. For example, they were great at robotics 30 years ago. But these days they are so behind that they gave up on it. Maybe it comes from a weird sense of 'tradition'? I don't know. But oftentimes, this shows in their works. Most mangas follow the exact same skeleton, use the exact same formula, the exact same concepts for a MC, a cast, a setting, a storytelling. Even when manga seem very different from one another, simply digging a bit would show that even if they look different, they are the same. Naruto and One Piece are the same stuff, for example. And Yowamushi Pedal is stuck following 'shounen tradition' in every aspect possible. To a shocking degree.

I could go on. There are some good stuff in there, but the contrivances in the writing, meant to adhere to every unspoken rule in the shounen genre, end up being felt. Even those who won't analyze this will end up feeling it somehow. To illustrate this, here is an example of what i mean. The author had no reason to make Onoda a guy who performs in races but actually doesn't care about victory. This is contrived. But why did he force this anyway? Well... He did this because showing a MC put such a strong face and peforming so well at times can only be acceptable if he fumbles everything aside from the race, and doesn't hold any agressive feeling toward victory or opponents. Shounens' MCs have to be wimps (i am confident enough that i will restrict my examples to exclusively sport animes: for the wimp, let's mention "Days"), look weak ("Haikyuu", "Eyeshield 21"), be below average except for a one particular, very specific talent ("Area no Kishi"), be stupid ("Diamond no Ace"), or motivated exclusively by friendship ("Yowamushi", but this stereotype is a defining trope for shounens a as whole). If it is for his nakama, or for the team, agressivity and fighting spirit (if mixed with benevolence, exclusively) are ok for a MC. But not if it for himself. That would be trying to stand out for oneself in society, and this is something that is not well seen in Japan. If you think carefully, you will realize that One Piece's Luffy follows all the same archetypes and rules. To a T. And most shounen characters do, as a whole. But Onoda remains one of the most contrived shounen MCs i have ever seen. A whinning brat prepared to suffer through brutal efforts from the start (the author uses his otaku's dreams about going to Akiba to explain this, but once translated in a competitive environment, it doesn't apply anymore, and the problem is adressed by the good old 'friendship' trope...). A champion not interested in victory... but that still win, and through brutal effort... Ultimate contrivance, all to adhere to tropes. And so on...

And now, there are all the flaws i mentionned in posts in previous episodes. Yowamushi Pedal managed to not be a disaster. But even so, it is riddled with problems.

I'm still not convinced with Teshima being the best character. He, however, stands out. Why? Because he has the relatability factor in all of the main cast. In the first season, the ones who have this trait are the senpais. Those three aren't that great, but they persevered. Basically, this is the reason most people would love Teshima.

Unfortunately, it was handled poorly. He's an underdog who suddenly and miraculously became good. Unlike the senpais, there's no significant growth with Teshima all throughout the story. He's just given everything in one go. He became a captain. A climber. And powerful enough to compete with an ace. Throughout the story, his main schtick is to be with Hajime. With the two of them, they can work efficiently. But suddenly, he can go solo? At the very least, Hajime's growth was more sensible. He truly inspired to become Tadokoro, yet he still is bound with his limitations being not really an exceptional rider. At the very least, his connection with the other redhead was a good use of his character.

He wasn't really undermined. He was mostly set aside. The author found money with Teshima, and he got along with it. Not to mention that he really doesn't like Onoda to be honest. I am familiar with this author's work. And it's not beyond him to be a sell out. He's willing to write anything to get money or published. For example, he wrote/drew Majimoji Rurumo just because his editor said that it was witches, romance, comedy, ecchi, and school life that will make him popular or accepted. All the while, he already knew that he wanted to write about cycling. If you read or watch Rurumo, it was boring as hell and you'll know that the author has no love for his characters. The biggest reason it was only good is that the core premise was just interesting.

You can see that he doesn't like romance, school life, and ecchi. I would even go as far as say he has no interest in male and female relationships. He's more into 'manly connections'—take it whatever you think that is.

Anyway, the author simply don't have anything for Onoda. He's just a checkbox, a token character for a protagonist. With Onoda as the protagonist, the core premise of his story works and become interesting. So, when his arc was over, Onoda was done for. He's just a protagonist in name. The same goes for the other two. They're checkbox as well. The author doesn't want to write anything about them anymore.

About your case about Japanese authors, I would like to disagree. I believe not all of them can be grouped in that category of yours. I think the observation you have is skewed as I think you were only be able to observe mainstream shonen authors. There are a lot of shonen protagonists that don't fit into your description. A few of them are Gintoki, the guy from Baby Steps, and many more.

And about authors being scared of writing badass characters... Dude. I got a chuckle. If you see the manga and light novel market, it's overflowing with badass and overpowered characters to the point it's already sickening.

TL;DR: I believe what you're digging too deep for this one. I think the author just don't like what his story has turned out. He doesn't like his main characters. He wants to do something else. Either way, I would love to watch the creation of authors who are truly invested in their protagonists. I still remember Slam Dunk, Diamond no Ace, Haiku, Blue Lock, Baby Steps, and many more sports manga and anime. For Yowamushi, I'm going to throw it together with Ahiru No Sora.

Anyway, I appreciate the long reply!

Well, we basically agree. As i said, i consider Teshima to be the best character in the series, but nowhere have i said it escaped all the problems i described afterwards. I did say that the author contrived his writing for various reasons. I described how Onoda was contrived (undermining MCs is a japanese habit. I can easily write a 10 pages essay to emphasize and demonstrate this point. But this does not matter enough to me to justify such hard work ^^. So i stand by the fact that Onoda is indeed undermined, as most MCs are in shounens and shoujos). You described how Teshima is contrived. And i do agree with what you wrote. I believe that you gave a pretty clever and accurate analysis that really show that you considered the character as a whole rather than as the sum of its parts, too. Which is the right way to do it i believe. Again, the author wanted to reach a goal and doesn't care about making sense as long as he can reach his goal and the inconsistencies are soft enough that numbed readers do not care to point them. A more talented author would have considered his story and characters years in advance and would have sowed clues here and there, that would build up towards a character development. But this author is no good at doing that and doesn't care if what he wants to write at a given time is consistent with what he wrote in the past or not. You explained it well.

I believe that most japanese authors actually listen to their editors way too much. Did you ever watch idol animes where idols state that their job is to be what their fans want them to be? That they can't date because they literally belong to their fans? That they have to make music that is expected from them rather than music they actually like? Actually, did you ever see an idol unit in real life or in anime that actually know music...? Even in 'Love Live', there is only one that actually know a bit about it, but this is all. Only in "Zombieland Saga" have i ever seen an idol in an anime actually playing instruments on stage. Which is plain weird for musicians. They are tailored marketing products where even their personality is fabricated as something to sell. Their members are chosen depending on their physical type, so that every 'customer' of the delusion they sell can find his 'unmarried waifu'. Did you ever watch one of these real life japanese TV show with idols who smile and laugh and spam 'oishiiii!' 'sugoiiii!!' even when they eat crap? Sincerity is not worth all that much in some cultures. From this perspective, what you call a sell out personality becomes an artist dedicated to bringing joy to his readers... It is about 'answering expectations'. Certainly you have seen this saying many times in animes already. 'Answering expectations'. I can't tell if it is a cultural shock or simply yet another panel of excuses japanese use to look good despite doing things that are debatable...

Onoda is indeed a checkbox. As are 99% of shounen protagonists. You certainly have noticed how characters, mostly MCs, are tools more than anything. They are done the way they are done for cold and calculating reasons. Author hardly ever care who their MC is. They only care about how useful they can be for their purposes. This is why Onoda is a checkbox list of contradicting elements. Onoda is an entity meant to be useful to the author from the very start. Onoda, as is the case for most shounen MCs, is not even a character. Onoda is 100% a device. That is why it is contrived. Because for practicality sake, Onoda hosts contradicting elements that the author felt was compelling as a tool set. Anytime he feels depressed in real life but thinks he should humour his readers, he can make Onoda fumble and become a comic relief. Easy way out. Anytime his story becomes too passionate, too agressive or intense... he can bring relief with Onoda's embarassing lines about friendship. Anytime he fears his readers may fail to relate to the story, he can remind them that everyone is welcome, because even a wimp who was afraid of sport clubs ended up being a hero. Anytime the competing aspect becomes too prominent in a race and starts to tense the whole thing, he can use Onoda to spout some more crappy lines about not caring about victory or competition and actually focus on his admiration for Makishima... Meaning you don't need ambition or strenght to become a hero, you only need a sempai. Anytime the story focuses a lot on sports, being fit, efforts, success or popularity, he reminds his readers that Onoda is an otaku who loves the worst kind of anime possible: a magical girl shoujo about a ditzy romance... better yet, Onoda can even have hotshot-cool-popular-with-girls Imaizumi accept his passion and even respect it... Onoda got the respect of Miki, and even trendy Aya... Yes otaku reader, you can love 'Love Hime' type of anime and still f*ck.

Who do you think he tries to sell his manga to? Onoda contradicts the nature of the story merely for tropes sake. Considering the kind of story the author tells, he needs such a MC in order to balance it out according to what is generally accepted for the genre, what he believes is generally accepted for the genre, what his editor believes is generally accepted for the genre, and who his readers may be. Katsuki Hikaru cut away from most tropes with 'Baby Steps' and the best sport manga ever was canceled after 10 years, just so that the publisher could publish more tropey crap instead. Onoda does not exist, not even as a character. And the author hardly even tries to develop him. This is why Irohazaka being devoted to Teshima was infuriating to me.

Obviously, what i say doesn't apply to all authors. I mean, i shouldn't even have to say: 'Disclaimer: what i say is about trends and tendencies. Since we are 7 billions on Earth, it goes without saying that nothing can ever be said that applies to everyone, except obvious things like 'we are all born and will all die'. I even mentioned Baby Steps. Bu the way, the name of the MC is 'Maruo Eiichiro' ^^. I can give you more examples. 'Shoukoku no Altair' contradicts what i said pretty heavily, too. I recommend it, too.

Regarding bad-ass characters. Yeah... even though my post was long, i actually sumed it up and took shortcuts. This one will be likely longer... Yes, most MCs are the way i described, but some are not. Yes, there is the Kirito syndrom. There is Son-Goku, too. You know, in animes, there are humans, and super-humans. What do you call over-powered? 'Yowamushi Pedal' is about reality, mostly: the inter-high. Cyclism. Most Kirito-like characters are MCs for distopian super-power type of series. Although, i admit, i liked Kirito at first, because while powerful, he is not stupid like Naruto was. And to be fair, 15 years ago, this neketsu trend i am talking about started to stop being absolute. Luffy, for example, created in 1996, is the archetype of what i am talking about. But the very first MC that crushed this trope for me was the one from " Machine-Doll wa Kizutsukanai". Dang, i do have some memory... It's been a decade... Thing is, the author of 'Yowamushi Pedal' is not one to take risks. Rather than trying to do new stuff, he sticks to old rules. Those who have proven to sell more than enough. I maintain that he dreads creating anything that may not sell as well. And when it comes to shounen MC being made the way they are because authors want to suck up at their readers, this is not even my theory. I researched the topic, a decade ago. And this explanation, tied to the neketsu genre, just happened to align with my own observations. I am not the one who came up with it.

I guess we do agree with our observations regarding Teshima. The only disagreement I guess is a subjective one, particularly if he's supposed to be the best character or not. For me, I can't really choose one. I guess Naruko would fit, as he's also relatable with his struggles. His story arc is a bit more complex compared to the other two.

I don't really think undermining MCs isn't really a Japanese exclusive. Most modern stories in Hollywood are undermining their protagonists to the point that they're already disrespecting them. There are other literature as well, but I guess your point is much more relevant as we're talking about manga and anime.

It's true that they listen too much to editors and the magazines. Too many mangas were milked dry because of it. So many mangakas have been axed because they tried so much to appease to the request of their editors.

I don't really watch idol animes, but I get where you're going. I guess work is just work for them. I think it's the same outside of Japan as it's how the entertainment industry works. We just know better now because of social media and stuff.

Hmm. I could disagree with the 99% of shounen protagonists are just checkboxes. Goku pre Super isn't a checkbox. He isn't there to be a token protagonist. The story revolved around him. Gintama is highly unique. Rorouni Kenshin. It's kinda difficult to concur with what you said regarding authors being too calculated with their protagonists. There exists some truly good authors that do care about their characters.

But when it comes to Onoda, yes. He's truly a checklist. Otaku. Wimp. Kind-hearted. The list goes on. And he does just serve his purpose. He has a very flexible character traits to the point that he might be a schizo.

Well, I guess the manga sells well to cyclists. I do ride bikes as well, so it was interesting to see the story unfold. This is why the first inter-high was the highest point. It was something new. Not all high schools in the world can have the budget for a cycling club.

Onoda's just there to be the bland protagonist. Though he's in a way growing, but not in the direction people want to. In the last season, he's adjusting to the senpai position, which is... not interesting. It's not even explored well. Hajime even got the better development in that department.

Ah. Thanks for reminding me his name. It escaped me. He was the A guy—his nickname was A-chan. Altair sounds familiar. If you think it's good, I might try to watch it.

About the super-powers, it's to see that the author has run out of realistically possible skills in the story. When Hajime tries the bullet train and the Hakogane ace tries to ride while there's music, I lost it. It was cringe. I believe that there are other technicalities in cycling he could have explored. The author could have also explored equipment and the technicians they have.

About Kirito. Well, he was good at first. However, when he started pulling ass pulls, I was like eh..? In a way, I like Naruto better; though he also experienced the same problem Yowa has. The author focused too much on their favorite character and have forgotten Naruto for a long time. Oh. Machine Doll. That's a title I haven't heard in a while. Too bad it didn't get new seasons. It was a comfortable watch.

And lastly about Yowa's author. As I said previously, he just isn't in it anymore. He's also working on a different Yowa manga, a spin-off. There he's focusing mostly on the senpais. After all, they graduated. And all of them are actually good characters. It's sad that they were forcibly removed from the story because of school stuff. lol. I think there is where his interests lie as of now.

I'm familiar with Nekketsu. I think Ashita No Joe perfectly portrays that trope. Hajime Ippo as well.

Anyway, again, I appreciate the lengthy reply. It just kinda suck that I won't be bothering to watch this anime anymore. I stopped watching a few episodes after the finale. It was a chore to watch this season, and I'm sure nothing would change. I thought this season was a failure because of the studio. But I was wrong. It's the manga. I already looked at the latest chapters, and all I can say is that it's time to move on. If people didn't like this season, I'm sure the next ones would be very painful to consume.

We don't need to agree you know. It is always a matter of perspectives. Reading interesting perspectgivs that differ from mine is the reason why i talk with you, and people in general. When i do mistakes, i look for people who can adress my mistakes. I stand only by the things i have deeply dug over time, and even then, it is not rare that i start researching the same topic again, as it happened in the past that i was proved wrong regarding things i was pretty sure i had resesearched thoroughly. And even though i have watched over 400 seasonal cours over a long time period, there are still plenty of things i don't know. I said 99% as i could have said 78%. I have no statistics and threw a random number meant as a random illustration, and your view on this won't be any worse than mine.

When it comes to characters, i am not really interested in backstories. You don't know people's backstories in real life, so having one for a character only makes sense if it presented as a direct explanation on the model Cause >>> Consequence.

I have stopped watching anything from Hollywood a decade ago. Aside from when a friend suggests one. We tend to dislike the same kind of crap. Last one he sugested was a low budget concept with Nicolas Cage: 'Mandy'. Before that was 'Let me In'. This proves that they can still create, granted no big producer is behind the project. I tend to be very happy when i see big bockbusters fail. Because most of the time, this is a dumbed down version of something that could have been interesting. Like 'Battle Angel Alita' is a dumbed down version of japanese manga 'Gunm'. I kind of resent this one because the film wasn't too bad, it is simply that they shaved everything that made 'Gunm' from it, and they only kept the aesthetics, without the meaning. So, they can just burn in flight for all i care.

What i am going to say may sound pretty haughty, but i will say it anyway. I despise stupidity. I have very little patience with idiots. Especially when it is something deliberate that comes from greed. So, even when it comes to gaming, i stopped caring about anything that was published by big US editors in 2011. Others do the same. I am not certain what i said about idols applies to many things in the west. It will apply to some degree, obviously, but not in the same way. There is nothing quite like this sort of subservient submission on other continents. And probably, the pandering and greed part will be found mostly when it comes to big US productions, like Hollywood. Because the more money is involved, the more they will want to sell to the masses, and those who use the most money to make their crap will be in the US. Note that this is merely my personal experience when it comes to crap provenance and destination. Others may have a different one.

'Yowamushi Pedal' refers the 'Tour de France' quite extensively. As a french who went to see it from the roadside several times, and who had plenty of cyclists in the family, i can relate with the story and races. The bad thing there is that while the parts that make sense push me to say 'it is well done', the parts that don't make sense push me to say 'it is kid show'. Oftentime, i cringe at how everything is convoluted in the race, when simpler scenarii would have been more fitting and thrilling enough. The simple fact that every last goal line is taken via sprints is distracting, to say the least.

Altair had budgeting problems. It shows. But it remains better than most shounens. My perspective, again. And obviously the 'super power' crap that starts to appear here is very 'Prince of Tennis'-like. I hate that. That is a big, big no from me. The one reason i won't miss the 3rd years this time around is because i know i won't have any more of Balloonyagi stuff to suffer through. And gosh... while i can accept somehow that focus can be reached through music in races... the 9th by Beethoven? The NINTH, by Beethoven? You are serious? Apparently, the character says it himself: it is cliched. But as much as i appreciate classical music (and metal ^^), japanese need to learn that there is something beyond the 5 pieces they know about... Worst case scenario, they could even have used stuff like 'Paul Dukas - L'apprenti Sorcier'. Yes, this is well known french stuff. This is pretty cliched, too, though not as much, and Disney made an animation film around it long ago. This remains as a pretty well known reference and they need to stop with the 9th... Or maybe Dvorak's 9th... Although i guess this one is overused all the same... It may even be one of the 5 japanese know... At the very least, despite its many flaws, a series like 'Nodame Cantabile' showcased how authors were not ignorant of what they used as reference. There is Liszt, Debussy, many others.The 9th in Yowamushi made me cringe hard, i even skipped parts of episodes because of it. The only flaw Beethoven ever had was to be german, so he deserves more appreciation.

I don't think the author have a lot of culture compared to others. Not a lot of knowledge or wisdom. When i look at how many manga are articulated, thought out, all the references they use... What i am going to say may be mean, but the author himself feels like 'mediocre' to me. This is when added to his seeming incapability to imagine anything that is not a sprint, or rehasing of the same monologues...

Well, to be honest, this was the first anime i have watched in 14 months. I don't watch animes a lot anymore. Although, i am rewatching 'High school fleet' right now, because i never watched the film sequel. Who knows if i might not watch something else afterwards.

Edit: there are typos and grammatical mistakes. I am too lazy to correct every last one of them. Give me a pass, please.

Teshima is popular because he is human in the team. There is a monster in most other cyclists. Onoda and all are beasts. teshima is kinda like Guts in this case

Guts? Of all people you can compare to you would use Guts? Woah there. Guts is beyond human. While his adversaries were strong, Guts isn't an underdog. He isn't like Teshima a bit.

True, Teshima's human, but he transcend to an ace level cyclist and a high-level tactician. And that's the problem. He was not built by the author properly to deserve those two roles/qualities. All he had were just flashbacks and some a few chapters/episodes of story. These flashbacks are a cheap trick to push a character to greatness to validate the current direction his character was experiencing.

I could have accepted that if he raced against any other Hakone cyclists. But he went against its current ace, Ashikiba, achieving almost similar levels of performance. That's BS.

I mean Guts in the sense of someone fighting against things they are not supposed to. He is a normal dude in the realm of monster cyclists. he stilll got the mountain tag against all odds

Naruko has become a great climber, he literally helped the team catch up to a hopeless lead by Midosuji. Mediocre ? That is greatness

Nope. He didn't become a great climber. He became a decent climber. Onoda and Manami are great climbers, but not Naruko. He is a great sprinter though.

That's the problem with Naruko's role and arc in this season. He's becoming a domestique and all-rounder. While that's good and all, the balance in the team is kinda ruined with its current setup.

Instead of having an ace/captain role assigned to one cyclist, you have Teshima and Imaizumi. And this alone messes up their strategy. Instead of having commands coming from the core of the team, you have your team captain providing commands through flashbacks! It's so fucking convenient! So even if Teshima retired,asfa;kjnaaknkasdga

Ah whatever. I won't bother even explaining. Just watch the first inter high and the old Shohoku setup. There's a reason why it's better than the current one.