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Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road
Episode 18

by Lauren Orsini,

Every time I feel like Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road has given us all it has to offer, an episode like this comes along and digs deeper into old characters, while even introducing new ones. An extremely flashback-heavy B part keeps me from giving this episode a higher rating, but it was a joy to see Onoda's triumphant return to being the protagonist of his own show.

The episode starts out strong by righting an egregious wrong—Kuroda Yukinari's hair color. You may have wondered who that white-haired character was this episode, but he's actually already been introduced. He's the 2nd-year cyclist that Manami beat in order to make a spot on the Hakogaku Interhigh team. He's also been in a few background shots—all the while with brown hair. It's unclear why the bluish-white-haired Kuroda went brunette for earlier episodes of the anime when that wasn't the case in the manga. Either way, the animators have corrected this earlier oversight just as we're getting to know Kuroda, who will play a major role on the Hakogaku team going forward.

Kuroda knows Manami's otherworldly power to harness the wind to his favor firsthand, but Midousuji is only just figuring it out. As Manami and Midousuji ride wind gusts, their parallel skills are illustrated with matching pairs of wings—angelic white for Manami, ghastly violet for Midousuji. Only now, Midousuji's perceived evil seems like more of an act than ever compared to Manami's ruthless, high-powered aggression. Continued close-ups of Manami's face show his eyes and smile wider than ever, and it's a little bit scary. The kid is out-Midousuji-ing Midousuji, and he looks good doing it. Then there's the post-credits scene, in which he devilishly manipulates Toudou—and still looks sweet the whole time!

But Kuroda, Manami, and Midousuji are merely a prelude to Onoda's half of the show. In the same way that Naruko's growth was described in a conversation between Tadokoro and Shinkai, Onoda's mentor Makishima extols his virtues in a chat with rival Toudou. It's rare to see sulky Makishima light up about something the way he does when he's talking about Onoda. Everyone Onoda comes into contact with in this show is transformed in a positive way that supporting characters don't get from one another. I've used the term Manic Pixie Dream Boy for him in this regard. What's incredible about Onoda is that he does “exactly what you tell him to do,” no matter how impossible, Makishima notes. Tell him to catch up to two racers. Tell him to double his cadence. Tell him to triple his cadence. He does it with a smile. As Midousuji recalls from their race to the pharmacy, it's not only Onoda who transforms other people. Cycling with friends makes him more powerful than he is alone.

Onoda is awesome, but the flashback this episode was a little excessive. (I also have a tough time believing Toudou would remain quiet that long while the timid Maki-chan talks his ear off.) It was a letdown when the ending song began to play right as things were getting good. However, one thing that's certain is that Onoda is front and center at the final stage of the Interhigh, and he's bound to make good use of that spotlight.

Rating: B

Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.


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