Rinkai!, Episode 6: Wait for My Future Self!

The track cyclists in training see the harsh consequences of professional sports. But success has more than one path.

Episode 6 — “The Morning Sun of Tomorrow”

Hmm.

I can’t believe it. Rinkai! did something you hardly ever see in sports anime: a main character failed. We saw in the last episode how Ai’s obsession with Nana led to injuring herself. Her decision to train without resting over the summer break led to worse consequences than we had known. Ai’s speed measurements dropped her down the rankings of her L14 class and were so poor that she faced dismissal from the cycling academy. Everyone has a bad day in pro cycling, so there was a rule for a makeup exam. But Ai’s “bad day” came from fatigue and injury. She had too little time to heal, and the Keirin Cyclist Academy flunked her. As in pro sports, results matter. There was no forgiveness.

After I saw the school had a “makeup test,” I thought, “Oh, so Ai will barely pass, and the show continues.” Like every other school-based anime, right? The dumb, likable characters always pass the makeup test! Or they take extra classes to stay in school. Have you ever seen an expulsion scene for a lead character? Rinkai! did something novel. However, it does reflect the reality of pro cycling. There are several ways to join the pro ranks besides completing a young riders’ program.

Fictional Rinkai! Follows Real Life.

The Yates twins in road cycling, Simon and Adam, present an almost exact analog to Ai, Nana, and Izumi’s situation. The twin brothers started racing at the Manchester Velodrome, and British Cycling selected Simon for its Olympics development program. While Simon remained in Britain for his early career, Adam went abroad to France to race with a development team under a sponsorship. Both brothers have had successful professional careers as winners of Grand Tours and stage races. They each won the Young Rider’s classification for the Tour de France! For Rinkai!, Nana and Izumi followed Simon Yates’s route, and Ai followed Adam Yates’s path. Will they all end up at the top of their sport like the successful British twins? Of course! This is still anime, you know!

Rinkai! Makes Me Go Heh.

Oh, boo. Remi Hiroshima tries blaming Nana for making Ai go crazy about overtraining. Shouldn’t rivals be helping each other? Since when? Ai’s friends try blaming themselves for not watching over her, but that’s not right either. Oh! There’s a makeup exam! Everything will be fine now! Oh, but Ai’s coach thinks she needs a month to heal. Whoops. Two weeks, no exceptions. Professional cycling will be just as harsh, if not harsher. Ai’s friends can help her by tying her to a bed.

On the other end of Rinkai!’s scale, Nana’s results are so good she can graduate from the L14 term early. World Champion Remu Tachikawa wore the “golden cap” in her L7 class but didn’t graduate early. Remu wanted to stay at the academy because she liked her classmate Tsutsuji Kurume too much. You know, the other world champion. Will Nana wait three months to graduate because her rival is still there? That depends on Ai now.

Designated Rivals?

Aw. Ai didn’t recover soon enough. She missed the time cut. Whoa. The cycling academy president illustrates how unforgiving sports can be with a betting ticket. People win money on your results, not based on your talents. That’s a good reminder of what “keirin” means — “betting circle.” Izumi remarks that Ai didn’t cry during her dismissal, but those tears will surely come later in the Rinkai! episode. Aw. Nana and Ai talked together for the first time. Nana says she wished she hadn’t come to Japan because she ruined Ai’s career. Oh? Ai designated her replacement rival: Izumi! Ai will be back, but not at the academy. Izumi cries for Ai.

Oh? Remu greeted Ai at the academy gate as if she had just left prison. Now, the tears come. Aha. Remu had never mentored anyone before, but Ai would be her first student. There is more than one path to entering the professional ranks.

Rinkai!’s Ice Queen? No, Just Quiet.

One rider leaves, but the next day of cycling arrives. Ooh. The girls follow a derny around the track. Oh? Nana is smiling as she watches her classmates. That’s new. Izumi’s inspiration is still chasing after Ai. Nana is up late writing notes. She needs a dictionary. So, there was a language barrier. Her graduation is big news, apparently. Wow. Izumi has letters for everyone from Nana! The genius girl has technical training advice for them. She cared about each of them, but the language barrier caused her to keep her distance. I wonder what Nana wrote for Izumi. Like Ai, Nana left the academy gate early but under much different circumstances.

Nice. Rinkai! reminds us that each character has a “home bank.” Nana’s first professional race will be at the Shonan Bank in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa. The girls at the academy are watching her on TV. And guess who’s at the track! It’s Ai! She kept Remu’s sunglasses, I suppose. The race has a live “derny.” That dude will ramp up to 50 kph before letting the girls go. Nana takes the lead and never lets it go. Win!

Ah. What did Nana write to Izumi? She had no technical advice for her. Good luck!

Rinkai! finally showed us some track racing again. Did you enjoy the mature thigh-pumping action? I did. How about some new cycling waifus? Any favorites? Let us know in the comments below.

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