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Rock Band ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D to Perform Yowamushi Pedal Opening

The official website for the anime adaptation of Wataru Watanabe's Yowamushi Pedal manga announced on Thursday that four-member Japanese alternative rock band ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D will perform the opening theme "Reclimb." The opening single will go on sale on November 20 with a second, untitled track.

ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D previously contributed the second opening theme "In My World" for the Blue Exorcist, the second opening theme "Complication" for Durarara!!, and the ending theme "Song for..." for Bleach. California's FanimeCon hosted the band's first performance outside of Japan in May.

Japanese band Under Graph will perform the series' ending theme "Kaze o Yobe" (Call the Wind). The ending single also goes on sale on November 20 with the track "Sekai de Ichiban Suteki na Hito." The band previously contributed the ending theme "Kotoba" for the anime series Night Head Genesis.

Yowamushi Pedal centers around Sakamichi Onoda, a high school otaku who loves figures from anime and games so much that he would ride his commuter bicycle to and from Tokyo's Akihabara shopping district in a 90-kilometer (about 60-mile) round trip over steep slopes. Onoda ends up joining the competitive sport of bicycle racing.

Osamu Nabeshima (D.Gray-man, Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, Zetman) will direct the anime at TMS Entertainment. Reiko Yoshida (Tamako Market, K-ON!, Bakuman.) will be in charge of series composition, while Takahiko Yoshida (Welcome to the NHK, Big Windup!) will serve as character designer.

Wataru Watanabe launched the original manga in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine in 2008, and the story already inspired stage plays. The limited edition of the manga's 29th volume bundled an original anime DVD with the same main cast as the television series on August 8.

The television anime will premiere on October 7.

Thanks to GokuMew2 for the news tip.