Apr 22, 2017
Firstly, let me say that I feel this anime would have done much better had it preceded Yowapeda, as I imagine a lot of people will be interested in this anime after already having seen the aforementioned and wanting more glorious bicycle action. Also, this is my first review and it's more than likely to contain a few accidental spoilers.
Now that that's out of the way, onto the review. I went into this anime with fairly low expectations but I was pleasantly surprised. Minami Kamakura focuses on the fun side of cycling, touring around, sightseeing, and just enjoying yourself with your friends or by yourself.
...
It's a nice change from the other sports anime that I've seen which have been very competitive focused.
As this is the case however, it's going to lose a lot of it's audience for the same reason. It's difficult not to compare this work to Yowapeda despite them being wildly different anime, and because of that it kinda... loses a bit of its majesty.
Many people like their anime to be competitive focused, but this one is more about the slice of life aspect, which I personally think is a good direction for it.
Yes, the anime is a little dreary at times. There were a few parts where I got a little annoyed at the anime, majority of the time during the race. Should you watch this? Honestly, the anime is fairly average. I quite enjoyed it for the most part, but I think the rating is fairly accurate. There's nothing that's exceptional about the anime, but I do think it's a very good entry level cycling anime.
Pros:
- Very definitely marketed towards women and non-cyclers
- All the brands were correct (tfw Cannondate)
- The club supervisor actually has an active role in the club
- It's a very good instructional guide on how to cycle, and how to get into cycling
- It shows off cycling as fun, rather than just for the competitive sporty aspect
- Cute girls
- Sandy's voice actor had an excellent accent which really fit the character, which is a change from other VA's voicing an "American" character
- The background animation and the way the bikes are animated are really nice
- The terminology used is easy to understand for those who aren't into cycling
Cons:
- Very definitely marketed towards women
- The race was really lackluster
- The odd obsession with mummy bikes
- The mummy bikes being equal in speed to the road bikes???
- UNICO
- The animation for the mostpart seems quite lazy, especially during the race
- The way the faces look just... isn't good
- Nothing really stands out about this anime
- Sandy's reason for being in Japan
If you haven't seen Yowapeda I think this anime is a really good entrypoint into the world of cycling. If you have, try not to compare the two or you might just drop it when the race comes along. I've given this anime a 7 because I feel like a 6 isn't doing it justice, and it's definitely a decent anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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