Yowamushi Pedal: Grande Road

I have to say I did not see that save by Midosuji coming, he's the type to quickly abandon dead weight.

The whole episode is intense and brilliant, but like Brad said it is Midousuji that steals this episode, which is actually quite an achievement because there are a number of awesome moments here. The episode starts by not wasting any time and jumping into things, we get a minimal recap and then it is off to the race.

Things are immediately exciting because we are in the best part of the race; the battle of aces. However, this episode is more for the seconds to get their moment to shine. First we have Fukutomi's nice strategic move to have Shinkai be the assistant for the race. Not only is it a great move to troll Midousuji, but Shinkai was such a cool character last season that I love to see him get a moment of triumph after his split second loss to Midousuji last season.

And let's face it, it's absolutely delicious to see all of Midousuji's plans unraveling before his eyes. This episode also makes sure to remind us that Midou is a complete bastard here with the way he was using Nobu to block Arakita, playing on Nobu's ego and then laughing his ass of all the way as Nobu thinks he'll ever have a shot at being ace while Midousuji is around. It's a great scene and shows just how bad Midou is but also just makes him such a good villain that you really do have to love to hate him. He thought he'd crushed Shinkai but he comes back just as strong as before so the whole move to block Arakita ended up being a waste.

He then turns his sights onto Imaizumi, but Imaizumi has finally decided to give it all for the team and he's left his petty rivalry with Midousuji in the past, which was actually the best way to "defeat" Midousuji. It's at this point that you can tell that Midousuji is losing it because bumping Imazumi is a cheap move even by his standards. It does give Imaizumi an awesome if very brutal moment when he chooses to sacrifice his own body for the team. He is going to be damn sore after the day is over after the hitting the railing like that, but damn was it satisfying.

And then this is where Midousuji rises above all the other cheap tactic villains. Even after all his plots fail he's still not out. He's actually trained his ass off and forced his team to train their selves to the peak and now he's still in it when it becomes a match of pure strength. It's impressive and makes him a more formidable villain for it. When he gets down to it he knows when he has to keep his teammates as well, instead of letting the guy fall Midou makes the save. It's not out of any kind of team spirit or altruism, he just really needs that guy if he is going to win the battle of strength and it shows how easily he's switched tactics here now that his schemes have fallen apart. You can kind of see why the team respects him even if he is such a slimy bastard.

Now we're down to the final stretch and next episode we get to see the battle of the aces. Kinjou is going to be fucking awesome next week and I can't wait for it. He was cool this week in the little screen time he got, but next week should give him a chance to shine.

The post credits scene was brilliant in that it was both hilarious and terrifying.

That's probably going to be very relevant for the third day, actually. Not surprising if he fractured something there.
And judging by the last scene of the previous season, the third day will mostly have Onoda and Manami in the focus, so it makes sense.

Oh man, it is so good to have this back, and on a Monday like before too!
Takes no time to get right back where it left off. Most constructive things that could be said about the episode have already been said above, but that ain't gonna stop me from gushing.
Midousuji indeed did steal the episode, and I love how he's gone from a character I felt was completely out of place into being one of the best sports series villains ever, though this is of course because we've seen him struggle properly.
Too often, villains like him either gloat in their(believed) victory and are completely crushed once their plans fail them.
Midousuji does not fall into something as cheap as that, and even he has had to fight hard for his victories so far.
Other characters got plenty good moments as well, and I see it all as preparations for the next episode.
I also really liked Koutarou's part. Usually the role of characters like him is to eventually turn on Midousuji, but we can see how dutiful he is, and how he does respect Midousiji's strength in the end.

to be a villain until he bumped imazumi.

I just consider him a cocky tactician with uber all around skill to boot. All of his other tactics have been fair game in line with the rules. Even the sohoku 2'd years tried that blocking tactic.

And later, Imazumi himself did some bumping of his own so I'm back to not considering Midousuji a villain.......just not a nice guy.....

always set up to be the villain or at least insofar as shounen sports anime have villains. He's a monster ripped straight out of a horror movie with his weird movements, hideous facial expressions and weirdly creaky body. For the most part his tactics might be in line with the rules, but that's just because absolute victory means everything to him so he can't do anything overt to get himself disqualified. However, if there weren't any rules he'd definitely be the guy that was trying to off everyone else so he could have his crushing victory.

It's just that he also happens to be a great character that surpasses a lot of other one dimensional villainous types that appear in these kinds of anime. Other lesser examples would be Sawamura from Hajime no Ippo and Hanamiya from Kuroko. Both characters are underhanded bastards that aren't ever meant to be redeemed as characters. Midhousuji is just flat out better than both of them. He's the character that was made for you to love to hate.

The only reason the bump stands out is because Midousuji usually isn't that direct in his approach. Usually, he plays more of a mental game against his opponents and ruthless using his team in the most efficient way possible. However, at that moment the rest of his schemes were falling apart so he was just trying anything that came to mind. Imaizumi was so focused that he wasn't prepared for it when it's something every rider has to watch out for.

You know Midousuji when people to say to you to use your head I don't think this is what they had in mind.

But even though the first few minutes of the episode are dedicated to Midousuji once again showing that he will do anything to win even if it means leaving a piece of his face on the road, this episode is all about the friendship/rivalry that has grown between Kinjou and Fukutomi.

As we enter the last stretch of the second day it's time for the aces to take over and suddenly Midousuji becomes a lot less important in the face of Kinjou and Fukutomi as they have something that Midou is missing that friendly rivalry that drives both to greater heights and brings out their best attributes. As much as Midou might scoff and call them weak for "needing" each other he doesn't understand at all what is going on between the two of them. They aren't friends exactly, but real competitors that bring out the best in each other. The thing Midou isn't understanding here they both want to win this more than anything, they might share a moment of recognition but neither one of them is giving up this race to anyone least of all to each other. Their competition with each other makes even Midousuji seem completely irrelevant here at the end.

Given their history it would be easy for Kinjou to just hate Fukutomi for what he did at the last Interhigh; it doesn't matter that it wasn't intentional because it was still dangerous and could have lead to permanent injury. Even after Fukutomi comes to apologize it would still be easy to hold a grudge, but Kinjou just wants to build his team the best he can and he doesn't have time for a grudge, especially when Fukutomi offers something better as that kind of special rival that always brings out the best. The one that makes him push past all his limits to be the victor and in this the two of them share a bond. When they lock arms there at the end of the episode it's such a cheesy moment but it works. This is something that the show has been developing for a long time now and it's moments like these I am thankful for how many episodes it has gotten because it wouldn't have the same effect otherwise.

All of this isn't to say Midousuji is out of this yet. All his plans ruined, he's hung on and through his own strength has overcome his own weakness of not understanding friendship and just rejecting the concept of human interaction that isn't based on the needs of the moment or as domination. I could actually see Midousuji pulling through and winning the second day. This might be a good time to give him another shocking victory before he finally loses it on the third day.