Anime Series Like Yowamushi Pedal

Although otaku Sakamiuchi Onoda hoped to join the anime club to make friends, he sadly finds it disbanded. To cheer himself up, he decides to bicycle to Akihabara – a 90km trip he has been doing since elementary school. When he peddles past a school peer practicing peddling up an incline, Onoda’s skill at it baffles him enough to challenge him to a race. Thus starts Onoda’s foray into the cycling world.

Yowamushi Pedal is proof that with the right characters and right approach, even riding a bike can be interesting. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Yowamushi Pedal, then ready, set, pedal down below.

For Fans of Cycling

Long Riders

After being enamored with a collapsible
bicycle she saw, university student Ami Kurata empties her account and buys a
bicycle. Now with her friends, she enjoys weekend bicycle trips with that
changes her view of the world completely.

Yowamushi Pedal is more about the competitive side of cycling, but it also takes the time to take in the small joys of it. This series is more chill and showcases some great scenery.

Minami Kamakura High School Girls Cycling Club

Hiromi has just moved to Kamakura and rides her bike to school everyday. It is this activity that introduces her to Tomoe, the leader of the girls cycling team and sees her dragged into the club herself.

Did you wish that perhaps the characters in Yowamushi Pedal were… Cuter? And also girls? Well, here you go. This series isn’t as competition-oriented, but it is a great series about the joys of cycling.

Over Drive

One day, after it being suggested to him by his
crush, Mikoto decides to join the cycling club. However, he doesn’t know how to
even ride a bicycle.

While the synopsis if kind of bare bones, of
all the series on this list, Over Drive is probably the most similar to
Yowamushi Pedal. Not just because it is a cycling anime, but it has a lot of
the same plot points and tropes. You wouldn’t be wrong in assuming some parts
were perhaps gleamed a little from this predating manga series.

For Fans of Beginners in Sports

Baby Steps

In order to work on his health, honor student
Eiichirou Marou decides to spend his free time playing tennis. There he meets
Natsu, another student who is determined to become a professional tennis player
due to her love for it. Her passion begins to rub off on him, but as he
continues to play, the more fascinated by it he becomes.

Both main characters in these series end up taking up a sport for non-competitive reasons. However, through the meeting of particularly passionate people, they find themselves pulled in deep, but also have to work to get to the top.

Eyeshield 21

As a shy and frequently bullied kid, Sena is
accustomed to running away. However, after Hiruma, the captain of the American
Football team, sees his skill at running, he goes to great lengths to recruit
Sena as a running back in order to turn the team’s lackluster record around.

Originally, Onoda rode his bike to get places and in Eyeshield 21, Sana ran fast to escape bullies. Yet, both of these characters ended up being built for a particular sport by their outside actions, and when brought into the world by another player, they embraced their talents.

Hajime no Ippo

Makunouchi Ippo has been bullied his entire
life, but dreams of changing himself. One day, he is saved by Takamura Mamoru,
who happens to be a boxer. After Ippo faints from his injuries, Mamoru takes
him to his gym where Ippo asks to be trained in the sport of boxing.

Both series start by the main characters being discovered by a person that is already deeply enthralled in their particular sport. They note the talents, and then they start to nurture those talents in a focused way.

For Fans of Racing

Initial D

Takumi Fujiwara is a spacey high schooler
that works as a nighttime delivery guy. While his fiends are car nuts, he doesn’t
know a thing about them. However, one night he gets a crash course into the
world of street racing.

While Initial D is about cars, you will find a lot of similarities here. They both are new to the sport, but have a sort of talent for it. Yet, the real similarity is how they make these seemingly lackluster races into something intense and engaging.

Capeta

After losing his mother, Taira Kappeita put
on a tough front for his father, but was actually lonely. One day, his father
brings some spare parts home and builds a go-cart. The pair decide to head to a
circuit and take it for a test. There they discover the frame is bent, yet
despite this, Taira’s technique managed to not only drive it, but almost
surpass the fastest cart driven by Minamoto Naomi. Seeing this, Naomi’s mother
encourages him to enter the official race.

Go karts and cycling, both are sports that seem not very exciting to watch but would probably be more fun to actually do. Yet, Capeta and Yowamushi Pedal make them both seem so exciting in the way they are animated and written.

Do you have more anime recommendations like
Yowamushi Pedal? Then let fans know in the comments section below.