Recently, I read an article on that quaint anime/sub-genre, 'Cute girls do hobbies.' Bakuon!! was recommended to me by the one who steered me to Sabagebu! Survival Game Club. I won’t call this ‘strike two’ for the fellow, although Bakuon is a strange info-series on motorcycles, teaching us how to pop wheelies and speed up full throttle as you pass gorgeous scenery. And the last thing you'll see on each episode is a reminder to follow all the rules of the road and drive safely. A crazy dance of responsibility and irresponsibility.
But the girls who make up the Motorcycle Club are downright kawaii flirting with moé.
Hane Sakura (sweet and silly) is the main character, and we see things from her point of view, which is hard as she seems most dense in all subjects. Hane wanted to learn how to drive a motorcycle when she was struggling up the steep hill leading to her school. Still, Hane is a relative dolt in the area of motor cycling. The reason she bought her Honda? It's pink.
Onsa Amano (sweet and sour) seems to be Hane’s BFF. It was Onsa breezing up the hill on her Yamaha which led Hane to try for her motorcycle license. Onsa strives to be the inspirational know-it-all in all things motorcycle, but this tends to make her irritating. Her thick head of curly hair has earned her the name 'mophead' from her friendly nemesis ...
Rin Suzunoki (sweet and stacked compicateding) doesn’t like Onsa because of her choice of motorcycle. Her love for her Suzuki Katana makes her Osna's bitter foe. Their adversarial relationship reminds me of the Ford vs. Chevy rivalry in my high school days (find on road dead ... fix or repair daily ... flip over, read directions ... guess which side I was on?). But Rin is so devoted to Suzuki that she dons the tight-fitting Suzuki cyclist's uniform and bears the Suzuki 'S' which was accidentally branded on her ... Well, let's put this behind us and move on. As all the other girls deem the Suzuki brand as the inferior cycle, Rin is the long-suffering non-member of the Motorcycle Club.
Raimu Kawasaki (sweet and secretive) is the senpai of the club who wears her cyclist helmet all the time and communicates by writing. There is some mystery about how old she is. She has never left high school and appears to have first attended when the present teacher was a third year. This would place Raimu in her early thirties. Raimu is hands down the best motorcyclist of the group, reaching her destinations at superior speed and near supernatural abilities.
Hijiri Minowa (sweet and sophisticated) is a girl from an ultra-rich family who wishes to be part of the Motorcycle Club even though she cannot ride a motorcycle. She must make do by riding in the sidecar of the family Ducati driven by the family butler Hayakawa. It is Hayakawa's goal to train Hijiri to find the independence of driving herself.
Chisame Nakano (sweet and spunky) is a first-year who comes into the series around episode nine. She knows the racing side of moto-cross as she grew up, winning all the time. But she is short, and the girls' goal of setting her up on the brand of their choice is answered by Chisame's knowledge of seat height. Unable to drive a normal motorcycle, Chisame is just as quick on her scooter, the legendary Super Cub.
Bakuon is a paean of praise for the four major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki). The motorcycle Hijira rides in is a Ducati, an Italian brand which needs constant replacing. It seems that foreign brands of motorcycles get short shrift. Wonder about Harley Davidson? I live about an hour from the plant, fifty minutes from their museum. Often mistaken for a superior looking motorcycle, it is taken to be the ride of an 'angelic' character who pops in and out of the story. Seems no ‘Hogs’ were harmed in this series.
The episodes began with solid plot lines dealing with the comradery of the girls as they gain their licenses, do tours, take in the hot baths and spas, wash their bikes a la bikini method, lure new member Chisame into the club. But the last episodes were clumsier, almost a confusion of plot and subplot. The last episode gives us a major 'what if'' there were no such things as motorcycles. For one moment, Hane was the most knowledgeable of the girls in re motorcycles. We have no clear knowledge of Raimu, even if she will one day 'graduate' and leave the Motorcycle Club to the members.
Good characters support the five/six girls, from Rin's accident-prone father, Onsa's basically dishonest father, Chisame's superstar father, and even Baito, Hane's friendly training motorcycle who returns to Hane as the new gas tank. They contribute the zaniness which the girls themselves could not offer. Cute can offer only so much. In the end, Hane is nearly back to riding a bicycle to school.
Bakuon!! is a good primer for motorcycle details, odd and ends, and basic road info. But the plots sped us nowhere, the real weakness of the series.