So, Yowamushi Pedal volume 11. There’s a lot of pedaling. Good stuff; you should read it.
Ok, that sounds like a book report by someone who didn’t actually read the book, but it’s the truth.
The manga is kind of in a funny place right now. The riders are close enough to the finish line that they’re now kicking it up a notch on the last sprint, but the finish line is still far enough away that the others are hoping for a miracle to take down Hakone Academy. So there’s a lot of sweat and tears in this eleventh volume as the schools formulate their final strategies. If the number one thing you care about in a sports manga is seeing the players working hard, you’ll love this volume.
First though, Arakita is determined to follow Fukutomi’s orders and catch up with the leaders, carrying Onoda and Manami. With Arakita in the spotlight, of course the manga is going to show his past. I found Arakita’s story to be one of the best ones I’ve seen in this series. He’s not Yowamushi Pedal‘s first former bad boy, but the author did a solid job of showing Arakita’s teenage self lashing out at baseball and how he ended up a cyclist. Fukutomi also plays a large role in his story, and it helps show why Arakita is so dedicated to the team’s ace.
Then the action switches back to Sohoku. Considering how much they (and the author) have emphasized that they’re best as a whole, now comes the concern not all six will cross the finish line together. I was worried for a moment that Onoda would end up causing a scene about this. Instead, though, the manga goes in a bit of a loop where the first years admire the third years and the third years admire the first years. It’s something I think causes concern for the future. I know the second years aren’t bad cyclists, but we’re unlikely to get this level of mutual respect considering not one second year was good enough to ride at Inter-high.
Another reason this volume is solid (and a bit worrying for the future) is that Yowamushi Pedal shows just how much being at Inter-high means to Kinjou. Tadakoro and Makishima, too, of course, but Kinjou is the heart of the team who has spent the last year dreaming of this rematch. So readers will probably be as shocked as he is with how this volume ends. Some readers may find this dramatic moment a little forced, but the author makes up for it with the heartache and hope that stems from it.
Still, while emotion makes up a large part of Yowamushi Pedal volume 11, it’s all about the pedaling. And with the finish line approaching, soon they’ll be putting the pedal to the metal for the medal.
Or trophy. Or whatever the winners get. Right now, it looks like Hakone has this in the bag, and we’ll see if Sohoku can manage a come-from-behind victory.