"Did You Really Go to Akiba?" is the second chapter of the Yowamushi Pedal manga series. It was first released by Akita Shoten in the 2008's Weekly Shonen Champion 13th issue and later by Yen Press on the english's first volume in 2015.
Summary[]
Inside of his home, Shunsuke continues his excessive practice regimen in order to get closer to his goal of being able to beat the cyclist he had lost to. Upon completing his practice for the night, he falls off his bike in exhaustion. While cleaning up, Shunsuke briefly recalls the memory of Sakamichi climbing the rear gate slope on his mommy bike before brushing it off as a distraction. Instead, he vows to achieve victory in every race until the day he can have a rematch with Midousuzi, aiming to become the fastest man in the world.
At school the following morning, Sakamichi stealthily attempts to hang up flyers he had made for the anime club, but instead makes a scene when he accidentally stabs himself with pushpins. The same two girls he met the day before witness it and he makes an attempt to leave for class out of embarrassment; however, he is stopped in his tracks when one of the two calls him by his surname.
When Sakamichi asks how she knew who he was, Miki Kanzaki admits to following him in order to learn who he was and introduces herself, hoping to ask him a question. Due to Sakamichi’s poor facial recognition skills, it takes him a moment to remember who she is, but when he does he bows and expresses his thanks for giving him the courage to continue. Aya, Miki’s friend, teases Sakamichi for his awkwardness, reinforcing Sakamichi’s wariness around jocks. Miki inquires if Sakamichi really went to Akiba after school the day prior; Sakamichi once again misunderstands, excitedly asking if she likes anime, which causes Aya to punch him in disgust.
After briefly chastising Aya for her outburst, Miki resumes her line of questioning, causing Sakamichi to realize she was referring to the biking portion of his trip, not the destination. Sakamichi recounts that he had crashed a few times and his chain had snapped, but it only makes Aya frustrated that he’s skirting around the point and accuses him of not going after all.
When the class bell rings, Aya attempts to get Miki to leave; before they can, Sakamichi says that his bike chain broke once he got back from his 90km round trip to Akiba. Both girls are shocked by this for different reasons, but can't learn more since classes have begun.
Later that day, the two girls continue to assess Sakamichi’s story while they eat lunch outside. Aya’s mind has already been made up on the matter, claiming Sakamichi had lied in order to get Miki’s attention because he thought she was cute. Miki has trouble believing that Sakamichi would make something like that up, but admits that it would be amazing if he really did tell the truth. However, Aya is still doubtful, noting that riding to Akiba and back would take more than four hours. Inside, Sakamichi happily eats his own lunch, admiring the capsule toy he was able to afford thanks to his frugal transportation methods. Elsewhere, Shunsuke inspects the school’s bike rack and realizes that Sakamichi’s distinct-looking bike is missing. Mildly curious about its whereabouts, he wonders if it is getting fixed somewhere.
Once the school day ends, Sakamichi resumes putting up flyers for the anime club, imagining how nice it would be to make friends he could go to Akiba with. After successfully hanging one flier, the advisor for the rugby club immediately questions if Sakamichi has the appropriate permission to do so. Sakamichi had failed to speak with the advisor for the anime club prior to making the flyers, so the rugby club’s advisor takes the flyer down. Sakamichi panics while the advisor continues to forcefully give him “advice” on proper recruitment techniques. Eventually, he tears up the flyer in front of Sakamichi’s face to prove his point, which sends Sakamichi into a spiral. By the time Sakamichi’s frustration causes him to shout on the ground, he discovers the advisor had already left, Shunsuke standing in his place. Without hesitation, Shunsuke asks Sakamichi to race him.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
Recurring • First Appearance • Cameo • Flashback • Mention • Cover Only
| Chapter 2 Character Appearances | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Trivia[]
- Numerous cycling trophies can be seen in Shunsuke's home; one of them is a Second Place trophy for the 11th Chiba Cycling Road Race — Junior Division, which seems to be the race he had previously lost to Akira.[1]
- Shunsuke's training includes 20 reps of riding for 60 seconds at maximum power.[2]
- In the flashback to his race with Akira, Shunsuke's cycling jersey appears to sport the logo for Kanzaki Cycle Shop.[2]
- In the chapter title page artwork, Sakamichi is wearing a Trek cycling jersey.[3]
- The full text on Sakamichi's flyers in the English release reads: "REVIVE THE DREAM! ANIME RESEARCH CLUB Let's work together to restart it!! To those who love manga and animation, those who want to discuss it with others, those who are interested in figurines... Moley Moley Rinko, Record of Lodoll War, Maria Academy, Royal Force War Chronicle Torakon, The Daily Life of Hiyori Akimiya. If interested, please contact Club Advisor Takekawa-sensei."[4]
- The extent of Miki's detective work included following Sakamichi out to his bike to retrieve his class and year from the registration card on it and locating his teacher, Shimamura-sensei, to describe his appearance. In addition to learning his name, she also found out that he was a first year, Student #5 in Class 4, and had previously attended Kujukuri West Middle School.[5]
- Due to Miki's fanatic interest in bicycles, Aya refers to her as a "cycling otaku."[6]
- Aya comments that even if Sakamichi was traveling at 20km/hour, it would still take him over two hours to bike one-way from school to Akiba, and over four hours roundtrip. She compares this length of time to playing two rounds of Yukemuri Suspense;[7] interestingly, the game's protagonist appears to also be named Tachibana.[8]
- Sakamichi's extra capsule contained a small figurine of Manyu-Manyu.[7]
References[]
- ↑ Watanabe, Wataru. “Ride.2 Did You Really Go To Akiba?” Yowamushi Pedal, English ed., vol. 1, Yen Press, 2015, pp. 59.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Watanabe, Wataru. “Ride.2 Did You Really Go To Akiba?” Yowamushi Pedal, English ed., vol. 1, Yen Press, 2015, pp. 63.
- ↑ Watanabe, Wataru. “Ride.2 Did You Really Go To Akiba?” Yowamushi Pedal, English ed., vol. 1, Yen Press, 2015, pp. 67.
- ↑ Watanabe, Wataru. “Ride.2 Did You Really Go To Akiba?” Yowamushi Pedal, English ed., vol. 1, Yen Press, 2015, pp. 70 & 81.
- ↑ Watanabe, Wataru. “Ride.2 Did You Really Go To Akiba?” Yowamushi Pedal, English ed., vol. 1, Yen Press, 2015, pp. 71.
- ↑ Watanabe, Wataru. “Ride.2 Did You Really Go To Akiba?” Yowamushi Pedal, English ed., vol. 1, Yen Press, 2015, pp. 76.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Watanabe, Wataru. “Ride.2 Did You Really Go To Akiba?” Yowamushi Pedal, English ed., vol. 1, Yen Press, 2015, pp. 78-79.
- ↑ “DS Yukemuri Suspense Series: Free Writer Tachibana Maki - ‘Tōyako, Nanatsu No Yu, Okuyu No Sato’ Shuzai Techō for Nintendo DS (2008).” MobyGames, https://www.mobygames.com/game/nintendo-ds/ds-yukemuri-suspense-series-free-writer-tachibana-maki-tyako-nan.