What's happening, underdogs? We're back and now pedaling into a totally new terrain -- covering our first Japanese sports anime, Yowamushi Pedal. Joining us and holding our hand through this episode is David Weinberger of the Shonen Flop podcast. David does an amazing job breaking down the five types of anime (shonen, shojo, seinen, josei, and kodomomuke) and explains why Yowamushi Pedal is derivative and cliche.
Meanwhile, our unvarnished critical perspective within the world of anime at-large lends us a more charitable view toward the series (which chronicles the evolution of an otaku into a competitive cyclist). Filtering the archetypes and tropes through a narrow and naive lens, we leaned positive -- finding its themes of companionship & dedication quite wholesome and heartfelt and endearing. Sometimes, perhaps, ignorance is bliss. But more often than not, cynicism is wicked fun, too!
Check out the series on Netflix if you'd like. It was a wicked pop-punk intro and outro & a pastel-hued aesthetic. OR just listen to us revel in a fruitful discussion of sports anime series and their varied rewards.
Enjoy! Ruff, ruff!
