Yowamushi Pedal
Yowamushi Pedal (Japanese: 弱虫ペダル, Hepburn: Yowamushi Pedaru, lit. 'Weakling Pedal') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Watanabe. It began serialization in the 12th issue of Akita Shoten’s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion in 2008, and as of June 2024, the series has been compiled into 90 tankōbon volumes. The manga has been licensed in North America by Yen Press in 2015.
弱虫ペダル
(Yowamushi Pedaru)
Wataru Watanabe
Shōnen Champion Comics
February 21, 2008 – present
90
Wataru Watanabe
Wataru Watanabe
Akita Shoten
Shōnen Champion Comics
- Weekly Shōnen Champion (2012–2013)
- Bessatsu Shōnen Champion (2014[2]–present)
Shōnen
16 August 2012 – present
13
Osamu Nabeshima
August 8, 2013
20 minutes
Osamu Nabeshima
Reiko Yoshida
Kan Sawada
TMS Entertainment
October 7, 2013 – July 1, 2014
38
Osamu Nabeshima
Reiko Yoshida
Kan Sawada
TMS Entertainment
- NA: Discotek Media
September 19, 2014
90 minutes
Osamu Nabeshima
Reiko Yoshida
Kan Sawada
TMS Entertainment
TV Tokyo, TVh, TVO, TSC, TVA, TVQ, AT-X
October 6, 2014 – March 30, 2015
24
Bandai Namco Games
Adventure
- JP: January 29, 2015
Osamu Nabeshima
Reiko Yoshida
Kan Sawada
TMS/8PAN
- NA: Discotek Media
June 12, 2015
89 minutes
Norihiro Naganuma
Reiko Yoshida
Kan Sawada
TMS/8PAN
August 28, 2015
90 minutes
Takayoshi Tanazawa
Kōta Fukihara
BS SKY PerfecTV!
August 26, 2016 – October 7, 2016
7
Osamu Nabeshima
Kan Sawada
TMS/8PAN
September 9, 2016
60 minutes
Osamu Nabeshima
Kurasumi Sunayama
Kan Sawada
TMS/8PAN
- Crunchyroll (streaming)
- NA: Discotek Media (home video)
TV Tokyo, TVh, TVO, TSC, TVA, TVQ, TSC, NBC Nagasaki, AT-X
January 10, 2017 – June 26, 2017
25
Osamu Nabeshima
Kan Sawada
TMS/8PAN
October 13, 2017
90 minutes
Osamu Nabeshima
Kurasumi Sunayama
Kan Sawada
TMS/8PAN
Crunchyroll
TV Tokyo, TVh, TVO, TSC, TVA, TVQ, TSC, NBC Nagasaki, AT-X
January 8, 2018 – June 25, 2018
25
Kōichirō Miki
Kōichirō Miki
August 14, 2020
112 minutes
Osamu Nabeshima
Kurasumi Sunayama
Kan Sawada
TMS / Die4Studio
October 8, 2022 – March 25, 2023
25
- Kineko Abekawa
- ikra
- Yukiko Tōno
- Wataru Midori
Akita Shoten
February 6, 2023 – present
An anime television series adaptation aired from October 2013 to July 2014, followed by a second season aired from October 2014 to March 2015, a third season aired from January to June 2017, a fourth season aired from January to June 2018, and a fifth season premiered in October 2022. The first three seasons have been licensed by Discotek Media in North America in 2014. A live-action television drama adaptation aired in August 2016. A live-action film adaptation was released on August 14, 2020.
By September 2022, Yowamushi Pedal had over 28 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series. In 2015, the manga won the Best Shōnen Manga award at the 39th Kodansha Manga Awards.
Plot[edit]
Sakamichi Onoda is an otaku who has just entered high school. In middle school, Onoda did not have any friends with whom he could talk about his interests, and hopes to change that by joining his new school's anime club. However, he is crushed when he discovers the anime club has been disbanded due to lack of interest, and in order to reestablish the club, four new members must join.
Since he was a little boy, Onoda has ridden his city bicycle (referred to as a "mamachari", meaning "Mommy Bike", in the anime)—a simple and bulky bicycle designed for short rides—for transportation and fun. A fellow freshman, and much more serious cyclist, named Shunsuke Imaizumi notices Onoda riding his mamachari and mocks him inwardly until he sees Onoda riding up a steep hill with little effort. Another student named Naruko visits Akihabara to get some plastic Gundam models for his younger brothers and meets Onoda, who catches his attention because of his cycling skill on the mamachari. Later on, both Naruko and Imaizumi try to convince him to join the bicycle racing club at their high school, Sohoku.
Teams and characters[edit]
Sohoku High School[edit]
Sohoku is a hard-working team that acts as the main school in the story. The team is characterized as being able to overcome internal conflicts and brutal training. For example, Sohoku hosts an intense and gruelling 1000 km training camp every year to determine who will advance to the main race of the series, the Inter-High.
Reception[edit]
Manga[edit]
The Yowamushi Pedal manga won the Best Shōnen Manga award along with The Seven Deadly Sins manga at the 39th Kodansha Manga Awards in 2015.[44]
By May 2017, the manga had 17 million copies in circulation;[45] over 27 million copies in circulation by July 2021;[46] and over 28 million copies in circulation by September 2022.[47]
(in Japanese)
