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Yowamushi Pedal: Spare Bike Spin-Off Manga Launches Next Month
posted on by Sarah Nelkin
The August issue of Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Champion is announcing on Saturday that a spin-off of Wataru Watanabe's Yowamushi Pedal cycling manga will begin in the magazine's September issue. Watanabe will write and draw Yowamushi Pedal: Spare Bike, which will tell the untold story of cyclist Jinpachi Tōdō. The cover of the magazine will feature art from the new series, and the first chapter will have introductory color pages.
The story of the original manga centers around Sakamichi Onoda, an otaku at Sōhoku High School. He loves anime and games so much, that he would ride his commuter bicycle to and from Tokyo's Akihabara shopping district in a 90-kilometer (about 60-mile) round trip over steep slopes after school. Onoda's life changes when he encounters his school's cycling team, and he ends up joining the competitive sport of bicycle racing.
Wataru Watanabe launched the original manga in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine in 2008, and the story has already inspired stage plays. The first season of the anime adaptation of the manga premiered last October, and Crunchyroll streamed the anime outside of Japan as it aired. A second season is scheduled to premiere in Japan this October.
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