First Impression – Long Riders!
Scenery and Cycling go together
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I like out-of-the-ordinary (at least in the US) sports. Auto Racing, Olympics (not Volleyball or Basketball), Soccer, etc. And one that I like seeing some of is Cycling. And I like it from a “person who thinks it is cool to do, but never does it” perspective. One dislocated shoulder from a bike crash is enough, I think, and I’m not really interested in fighting with stupid drivers. But watching cute college girls biking? That’s a good thing to do. |
Starting a Hobby
Starting off on a fun hobby
The main story in Long Riders! is the main character, Ami, using the opportunity of her college entrance to try to change herself a little. Inspired by seeing a random person’s folding bike, as well as her friend Aoi’s habit of riding to school, Ami decides to give it a try. I don’t know if her idea of getting a folding bike because it’s smaller, and presumably easier for her to ride, is quite on the money, but this is a case of “go with what you are interested in.” Sometimes people will ask for my advice on what kind of guitar to buy, and my answer is “the guitar you like”. What matters more is that you’re interested in it, it makes you feel cool, and you keep doing it.
If you’re not used to the taste, it can be quite the shock
So Ami, after a bit of sticker shock at the first store, finds a bike that she likes. More like one that she falls in love with. And that’s just fine. She even names it. Even better, she falls in love with riding right away, on her first trip with Aoi. But she still makes beginner mistakes, like not eating breakfast before their ride. This leads to “hunger knock” (known also as “bonking” or “hitting the wall” in other places), and meeting some other cyclists who have brought some energy food. This turns into a nice trip to a dairy to eat ice cream with their new friends, but they don’t even learn their names. That is, until the next day when they run into each other at school.
Typical Beginner
Setting up Ami’s motivation: food
I liked that they didn’t start Ami out as a complete “I don’t know how to even ride a bike” character. There’s still plenty of learning space for her learning what you need to do to ride longer distances, how you have to treat your body, what you have to do to prepare your equipment, and what you have to get used to. She also has to get used to terminology, something that Hinako throws at her fast and furious. Hinako and Yayoi are very experienced riders, participating in long-distance rides to different places. Throughout all of this, Ami is a bit of an endearing airhead, making stupid mistakes like looking right into a light when she turns it on. But she’s happy to go along when they’re invited on another ride in another town. Ami and Aoi take advantage of a pack-and-take to ride the train to a starting point, and then meet up with Hinako and Yayoi who rode all the way there. Throughout the ride, Ami has all the new rider complaints, like how tough hills are to get used to and also a sore butt. But even with the physical problems, she still enjoys the overall experience, and those things are definitely things that can be worked around or will go away as she gets more in condition.
I really liked this cool pipeline crossing, so you get to see a picture of it!
Well-integrated
CGI Bike, drawn person
One thing that I found easy to notice, but in a good way, was the way CGI was integrated into the show. The show is produced by Actas, and they have a history of great integration of CGI, going back to Girls und Panzer. There are two things that I think they do really well: mix drawn and computer animation in the same frame, and add little things that add realism to the CGI. In these first two episodes, there were some good examples of both. Putting their bikes together, the bike frames were CG, but it seemed their hands were drawn. And for the other, when they were showing them riding, there were sequences where Hinako would coast and move back to Ami, then start pedaling and pull away again. Rather than having the usual cookie cutter CG, mixing it up makes the show look much more detailed and interesting. Even just a little thing, like having Ami wobble as she pedals her bike, really makes a big difference. It’s been something I’ve always wondered why they don’t do more of (of course, the answer is “cost in time and money”), adding in just a little variation in the CG. Make the trains wobble. Make the cars vary in speed. Have things bounce a little. And maybe we’re getting to that point where it will be included more.
A nice group shot
A good start for a show that there probably weren’t many people highly anticipating. For me, it’s a nice sports-oriented show that hasn’t devolved into “sports anime,” at least at this point. They’ve had situations where Ami has to power through pain or tiredness, but didn’t have it get all ‘Rawwwwr!!!’ I really liked the feel of the show, and like the fairly standard character designs and the clean art, with some interesting scenery thrown in, like that super-cool arched pipeline crossing the meeting point for Aoi and Ami’s first ride, or a view of Fuji-san after climbing one last hill. I think we’re also going to get some good food, as they have built in an excuse for these girls to eat a lot.
Let’s have more fun!
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Not a bad start and I think this will be my pleasant diversion show of the season. It’s understandable that Ami would make beginner mistakes, especially when a couple times she didn’t listen when Aoi tried to make suggestions, such as looking at several bikes rather than buying the first one she thought cute and within her budget. However, if she’s going to continue these longer cross country rides she really should graduate to a bike better suited for it. But I don’t expect that to happen.
I also like the fact that Aoi made a mistake regarding a beginner biker when she thought a 40 kilometer ride was a good starting ride. Sure, she did say they could quit anytime Ami felt she’d done enough, but she did think 40 km shouldn’t be too much. Often an experienced person forgets what a challenge something can be for a beginner.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t know that a 24-mile flat ride along a river-side trail would be that difficult for even a beginning rider. Especially considering that even non-athletic Japanese women are probably in better shape than an average USian schoolgirl, as far as walking and standing.
And I don’t know that there’s too much wrong with using a folding bike for longer rides. Of the folding bikes I was able to find online, the smallest wheel size was 20″, and that’s really not too bad. They also have 7 gears, usually, and given that the highest and lowest are probably close to, say, 8th gear and 2nd gear on a 10-speed (yeah, we’re old enough we remember a “10-speed” as the standard of road bikes), that’s not going to be too terrible except on the steepest of climbs. And like I say in the post: It’s more important to be in love with your bike, at least for a beginner. That’s what’ll get you over the sore butt and the ragged-out legs and back on the bike.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I still think 24 miles is a bit much for a beginner. Remember, that was Ami’s first real ride so there’s going to be an issue with sore muscles the next day even if she has no real trouble making the ride. 10-15 miles would be better for a start, then work her way up to more. Like any new exercise it’s best to start easy and work your way up even if you’re in good shape. And we’ve had no indication that Ami has done more than everyday activities. In fact, it’s implied that she hasn’t done more than that. Even if she was fairly active in other areas biking would probably use muscles she normally uses little. So Aoi did over estimate what would be a good starting trip for Ami.
As for using a folding bike, it was fine for the two trips we’ve seen so far. Not the best for the second trip with the hill, but okay. But it’s implied there will be longer trips. Her folding bike is good for a starting bike for Ami to see if she’ll want to get into more than casual biking. And as you say it’s important to have something she likes. However, if this show does have its characters do some serious biking she needs something better. But that is something they can build up to until she decides she needs to upgrade.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I have to agree with HannoX. I typically do 30-60 mile rides, and a 24 mile is not something a beginner can easily do, even if it’s mostly flat. At least not without pain/soreness the next day. And from the first episode they were going at a good pace…
Bicyles use different parts of the muscle (calves, quads, and ankle movement) in very fast and very repetitive motions, so it’s easy to overwork them (and cramp) when you’re not used to it. The repetitive part is key, most people normally bicycle somewhere, stop, get off, walk around, etc. On a longer ride, you’re generally not stopping much.
The pedals don’t look like clip-ons, so you’re only transferring energy on the down push of the pedal. Weight makes a big difference as well for longer rides, although I’ve never ridden foldable bikes so I can’t comment on how they are for longer rides. But there’s a world of difference riding my mountain bike vs. my road bike for anything more than a short jaunt to the convenience store.
It’s like comparing running on a treadmill vs. actual running. Most people can run for quite a while on a treadmill, but change that to actual running and that number drops off a cliff. There’s a lot more variables that come into play, even along a river-side trail (e.g. variations in terrain leading to different energy usage, wind, obstacles, other people, etc.)
Hm, maybe a comparison would be like running 5-10 miles. Most people can do it, but a complete beginner would be wrecked if they never trained and just did it one day.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
So far, I find I can identify more with these characters and their situation more than I can the girls in Moe Moe Burning Ping Pong. I guess it’s because practically any idiot can ride a bike? Speaking of which…Ami is not doing bad, all things considered? Sure and she’s making ameteur mistakes, but right now is when she needs to be making them.
So far, this one is really grooving on the familiar, as we’ve got Yui and Mio, then we meet Ritsu and Tsumugi. So far I’m loving Ritsu, uh, Hinako, as that bit of proud cheekiness she has in her skills makes her come alive a bit more.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Yeah, as for the ping pong girls I’ll watch Ep. 3, but not sure I’ll stay with it any longer. This promises to be a much better sport show.
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
Right now, out of the various cute girls doing cute things shows airing, this one is my favorite. It appeals to me more than Ping Pong Girls, or Stella no Mahou.
Ami’s getting through this pretty well. She’s learning some things the hard way, but that’s also giving her an incentive to make sure she really learns them, and doesn’t repeat her mistakes. And this was a 34 mile ride she took in episode 2. That’s a pretty impressive trip just in general. I went on some bike trips when I was younger, so I can’t say for sure that I’ve never done that, but I wouldn’t want to bet that I have.
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
…Are you responding to the right post? That sounds more like a response for Flip Flappers.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I am responding to the wrong post…LOL
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Seen the first two episodes and so far its kinda meh i’m not sold on the jumping back and forth between 2D and 3D bits even though I know why cause its cheaper to do it that way vs hiring in between animators to draw those bits oh and wow ep2 had some derps as far as character’s faces go lol
That said its still quite fun watching the girls interact with each other and the fact they are in college is a refreshing change from high school setting; however my lord Ami is so freakin dumb I get it she is the audience character who is being introduced to this new cycling world and all that but wow she takes the cake on dumbest LOL also she gets so LOUD…idk I just don’t really like her haha.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
See, to me, a lot of the CG stuff they do is things that would be thoroughly infeasible if they didn’t do it in CGI. I don’t know if it’s necessarily much cheaper, I’ve heard things both ways on the costs of CG, especially when you have to generate models.
I think the big key to having the CG elements work, still, is making sure that the textures are believable in the finished product. When do we really laugh at CG? When it’s some monster that might as well be made out of cardboard, just pasted in and looking completely different. Everyone looks at that and thinks “Ewww, that’s terrible.”
But that’s not what we’re getting here with Long Riders! Here, much like in GuP, it’s really things that are more accurately described as almost uncanny valley problems. Not that they look almost realistic, but that they look and move *almost but not quite* the same as the drawn stuff. Gears and wheels that are perfectly regular… the way real gears or wheels would be, but not the way someone who hand drew it would be able to do it. Or they move too straight, or with too much regularity (although, as I said, they’re working on that it seems).
And at this point, I think opinions on CG like this is much closer to a style thing – “I don’t mind / don’t like this style” – than something I would say is a technical *problem* or something you could fault a production for. To me, it’s certainly something that’s not in the same category as dropped frames or continuity errors (which the first episode of Long Riders! *did* have, with the name of the bike changing from Pontac to Pontiankh).
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
Just to point out, but the second episode had continuity errors as well. Along with continuing the Pontac/Pontiankh switching, the scene in the restaurant after the girls went to the bike shop has a few, most obvious being Hinako’s shopping bag appaering and disappearing off the table, getting specifically moved off the table and put away, only to reappear on the table by magic a few seconds later into the discussion.
This appears to be one of the most blatant cases I’ve seen recently where different parts of an episode and different rat assets and such must have been drawn and designed at different times and after different decisions were made, and either they failed to check for continuity, or they just didn’t check thoroughly enough.
That said, this stuff, and the CG, is more of a “heh. That’s silly” to me, than a “RUINED FOREVER!” kind of thing. I’m still enjoying this series. Even noticing that Ami rode through the same location twice on her way up that killer hill is just amusing.
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
…”different art assets”
I can tolerate minor typos, but that one gets confusing.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Not a bad start. I liked how they kept it more realistic, although the character designs are flat (with some bad animation at times). I don’t like CG, and it clearly stood out here, but I can live with it.
Aside from doing a 24 mile right out of the gate, the fact that Ami never picked up cycling because she was afraid of falling (indicating someone who has little experience with bicycling) to instantly jumping on and doing fine going around was a huge stretch in my mind.
Interesting that the first road bike showcased was a Giant. Are they popular in Japan?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, it wasn’t a Giant, it was a GIGNT. And I don’t know if it is that they’re popular, I’d imagine they’re probably in the same kind of market position that they are in the US: Well-considered, but I don’t think they’re anywhere near the top end.
And I don’t think it was that Ami never had learned to ride a bike. I think it was more that she didn’t do it because as she got older she got clumsier, in her mind. And as far as unlikely beginner anime moves, I think that their 40km ride plan (which we don’t know if they actually did, and probably didn’t end up doing that much) was probably not too bad.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Hmmm, that’s true. They did mention she was super clumsy, so maybe she already knew how to ride a bike but was afraid of somehow falling off while going.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Wow, this is poor animation. Scenes with a helmet, next scene no helmet, and then right after it appears again >.>
The moe levels are too low to offset my annoyance from the CG =( It needs more moe.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Plus the clothes flip flop from scene to scene. Actas was much better in Girls und Panzer and Regalia. Makes me wonder if they are working with no budget or blew it all on the CG. orz