is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Watanabe. It began serialization in the 12th issue of Akita Shoten's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion in 2008. The series has been compiled into 100 volumes as of May 2026. The manga has been licensed in North America by Yen Press since 2015.
An anime television series adaptation aired from October 2013 to July 2014, followed by a second season aired from October 2014 to March 2015, a third season aired from January to June 2017, a fourth season aired from January to June 2018, and a fifth season premiered in October 2022. The first three seasons have been licensed by Discotek Media in North America in 2014. A live-action television drama adaptation aired in August 2016. A live-action film adaptation was released on August 14, 2020.
By September 2022, Yowamushi Pedal had over 28 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series. In 2015, the manga won the Best Shōnen Manga award at the 39th Kodansha Manga Awards.
Plot Sakamichi Onoda is an otaku who has just entered high school. In middle school, Onoda did not have any friends with whom he could talk about his interests, and hopes to change that by joining his new school's anime club. However, he is crushed when he discovers the anime club has been disbanded due to lack of interest, and in order to reestablish the club, four new members must join.
Since he was a little boy, Onoda has ridden his city bicycle (referred to as a "mamachari", meaning "Mommy Bike", in the anime)—a simple and bulky bicycle designed for short rides—for transportation and fun. A fellow freshman, and much more serious cyclist, named Shunsuke Imaizumi notices Onoda riding his mamachari and mocks him inwardly until he sees Onoda riding up a steep hill with little effort. Another student named Naruko visits Akihabara to get some plastic Gundam models for his younger brothers and meets Onoda, who catches his attention because of his cycling skill on the mamachari. Later on, both Naruko and Imaizumi try to convince him to join the bicycle racing club at their high school, Sohoku.
Teams and characters
Sohoku High School Sohoku is a hard-working team that acts as the main school in the story. The team is characterized as being able to overcome internal conflicts and brutal training. For example, Sohoku hosts an intense and gruelling 1000 km training camp every year to determine who will advance to the main race of the series, the Inter-High.
Voiced by: Daiki Yamashita Live action actor: Yuki Ogoe (TV Series), Ren Nagase (Movie) Onoda is the main protagonist of the series, a first-year high school student, and a member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Club. His personality is initially characterized as being a shy otaku with a difficulty in speaking up for himself. However, after joining the bicycle club, his confidence receives a dramatic boost, and the love and admiration he has for his fellow teammates becomes apparent. Since the very beginning of the series, Onoda shows stamina when riding uphill, and thus, the captain of the team, Kinjou, makes Onoda one of the team's climbers. To nurture Onoda's ability to climb for long periods of time, Kinjou assigns Makishima, a fellow climber and third-year, to tutor him. Onoda's best cycling ability, the team finds out, is that he performs best when chasing someone in the lead. When Onoda enters the Inter-High, he performs amazing feats for his team such as passing more than 100 cyclists after a crash and drafting Tadokoro, who was recovering from stomach pain, for almost 70km from the back of the race to the front where the rest of the team is.
Voiced by: Kōsuke Toriumi Live action actor: (TV Series), Kentaro Ito (Movie) Imaizumi is a popular first-year high school student and a member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Club. Imaizumi is a logical thinker with a generally dry personality, although, when entangled in certain situations, he can become quite frenzied and passionate. Because he dreams of one day becoming the fastest cyclist in the world, his cycling style is defined as an all-rounder. Because of Imaizumi's customarily coarse personality, his relationship with his teammates varies from person to person. For example, he has an intense rivalry with fellow teammate Naruko because of his sprinting abilities and overall attitude, likewise, he sees the captain, Kinjou, as his biggest obstacle. On the other hand, Imaizumi is seen being fairly gentle and kind towards Onoda.
Voiced by: Jun Fukushima Live action actor: Taiga Fukuzawa (TV Series); Ryota Bando (Movie) Naruko is a first-year high school student from Osaka, and a member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Club. Naruko's personality is sharp, spunky, and highly competitive, however, he takes cycling very seriously, and often gets very upset if he is defeated in a race, even if it is by another teammate. He is a high-energy sprinter, and his vitality often gets fueled by his mentor, Tadokoro, a fellow sprinter and third-year, who he affectionately refers to as "old man." He maintains a friendly rivalry with Imaizumi, and is always supportive and caring towards Onoda.
Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto Live action actor: Naoya Goumoto (TV Series), Ryo Ryusei (Movie) Kinjou is a sunglasses-wielding third-year high school student and captain of the Sohoku High Bicycle Club. He is an all-rounder cyclist with an amazing iron will in addition to being Sohoku's ace. Kinjou comes off as having an icy personality, but throughout the series, he continuously shows that he has the best intentions for his team at heart. Kinjou works incredibly hard to bring out the best in everyone's cycling abilities, especially Imaizumi, who he considers his mentee.
Voiced by: Showtaro Morikubo Live action actor: Ryōma Baba (TV Series), Shuntaro Yanagi (Movie) Makishima is a third-year high school student and member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Team. Makishima is the ace climber of the team and has the nickname of "Peak Spider" due to his unusual dancing technique when cycling uphill. His generally awkward personality, in addition to his strange looks, makes Makishima seem unapproachable or even frightening. However, throughout the series, he offers wise advice to his mentee, Onoda, about cycling. Makishima is also well known for having a longtime, intimate rivalry with Hakone's ace climber, Toudou.
Voiced by: Kentarō Itō Live action actor: Yūki Tomotsune (TV Series), Ken Sugawara (Movie) Tadokoro is a third-year high school student and member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Team. Despite his bulkiness, he is the team's ace sprinter, and oftentimes throughout the series, takes advantage of his large body to perform his signature riding style "Human Bullet Train", where he drafts wind for the team as they ride behind him. He is sometimes seen as the "fatherly" member of the team, having been a mentor to Naruko, Teshima, and Aoyagi.
Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio Live action actor: Kousuke Kujirai Teshima is a second-year high school student and member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Club. Teshima is a climber who works as a duo with fellow teammate Aoyagi. During the 1000 km training camp, he injures his legs in the final stretch and loses to the first-years, thus losing a spot in the Inter-High. He has an outgoing, cheerful, yet serious personality that never fails to keep the other members in high spirits. Teshima is most noted for having a very close relationship with Aoyagi, a fellow second-year. He is often seen "reading Aoyagi's mind", and knowing how Aoyagi is feeling or what he wants without him having to speak or show facial expressions. Teshima becomes the new captain of the club as the third-years leave.
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka Live action actor: Ryō Yashima Aoyagi is a second-year high school student and member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Club. Aoyagi is an all-rounder rider who works as a duo with fellow teammate Teshima. He considers himself to be "unskilled", but usually manages to claim first place in races with Teshima's help. However, like Teshima, he injures himself in the final stretch of the 1000 km training camp and loses a spot in the Inter-High. Aoyagi is a very quiet boy who spends most of his time with Teshima, however, it is not uncommon to see him grow more vocal in stressful situations. Aoyagi becomes the new vice-captain of the club as the third-years leave.
Voiced by: Kōki Miyata Live action actor: Hiroki Harai (TV Series), Mizuki Inoue (Movie) Sugimoto is a first-year high school student and member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Club. He avidly claims to be an "experienced rider", and often offers advice to the fellow first-years. However, his actual skills are very slim, and he does not even fall into an all-rounder, climber, or sprinter category. His lack of skill becomes even more apparent when he fails to complete the 1000 km training camp because he refused to cycle in the rain. In the case of Onoda, Sugimoto's advice is given not out of ego but a genuine desire to be helpful. With Onoda being very new to the sport, Sugimoto's explanations of the basics greatly benefited him, for which he remains grateful for.
Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura Koga Kimitaka is a second-year high school student and member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Club. It is later revealed that he sustained injuries in the previous Inter-High, leading to his withdrawal the 1000 km training camp to recover. His nickname is the "Stamina Simpleton", for his seemingly unending stamina, which he demonstrates by scouting the entire route of the 42nd Inter-High by himself.
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono
Voiced by: Mitsuhiro Ichiki Sugimoto Sadatoki is Terufumi Sugimoto Younger Brother and is a first-year high school student and member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Club.
Voiced by: Wataru Hatano
Voiced by: Kanuka Mitsuaki
Hakone Academy Hakone Academy is the country's largest cycling team, and claims to be made up of "six aces" with many more in reserve. During the first year of the series, it was noted to have 50 club members. Since Hakone is such an expansive team, the selection process of who does, and does not, go to the Inter-High is quite complex. To determine who has the honor of participating in the Inter-High, all of the members race against each other, and only the winners of each group (A – F), are allowed to participate. Furthermore, these groups are divided so that the team takes three all-rounders, two climbers, and up to two sprinters to the Inter-High.
Voiced by: Tsubasa Yonaga Live action actor: Keisuke Ueda Manami is a first-year high school student and a member of the Hakone Academy Bicycle Club. Manami is very easy-going and easily distracted by nature, cycling, and the feeling of complete freedom. He is the mentee climber to third-year, Toudou, and serves as Hakone's second climber during the Inter-High. Though for different reasons, Onoda and he have a similar joy for climbing hills and the two hit it off almost immediately as friends and competitors. His most notable feature is that people hallucinate seeing wings on his back when he reaches his top speeds during a race. He accomplishes this by reading the wind conditions, then shifts upwards and dances when gusts come up from behind. His skill allowed him to win his club heats and join the Inter-High team, the first first-year to do so in the club's history.
Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara Live action actor: Ryo Kitamura