Alternate titles: Nerds on Bikes, Yowamushi Pedal
Manga Adaptation by TMS Entertainment
Simulcast on Crunchyroll

Premise: A nerd joins the cycling club.

Iro’s Verdict: Flat Tire

Look, it’s a generic shonen sports story like a million others you’ve seen, except the sport is competitive cycling. I guess the other gimmick is that the main character is a super stereotypical otaku, and thus impossibly annoying, but I imagine that just makes it more appealing to the target audience. And of course he turns out to be incredibly naturally talented on a bicycle, because this is a sports story. Bleh. There are pretty much no redeeming qualities here.

Marlin’s Verdict: Uninspired

I don’t quite see the point in this protagonist. His dogged pursuit of otakudom is somewhat admirable, but he has nothing that really strikes me as a sports show protagonist. He also suffers from an incredibly realistic nerdy personality. His constant timidness and buffoonery hurt because I remember when I was like that with anime. The supporting characters are also really stereotypical, with weird supernatural gimmicks being their strong suit instead of actual ability in the sport. I’ve never been a huge fan of sports stories, and this one isn’t giving me any reasons to continue.