Common Name: Long Riders!
Alternative Names: Longriders!
Score: 7/10, 5/5
Length: 12 Episodes
Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy, Sports
Summary: Upon entering college, Kurata Ami had the joy of experiencing love at first sight. Of course, she'd always entertained the idea, but never actually had the courage to try. It took some time and money to make sure it all worked out, but now she has a bicycle of her own and is ready to join her friends in the world of cycling.
Review: Hey, does anyone remember K-On!? Cause this show is almost literally K-On! with bikes instead of instruments. So, yeah, it's definitely not getting any points for originality. That doesn't mean it's bad though. On the contrary, I really liked this show for it's cute and straightforward nature. It's not like it was trying to not be K-On! with bikes.
It even has the same kinda inappropriate jokes!
Alright, I'll move on from that little hangup with this show, since it doesn't actually amount to much. The show is actually pretty good in it's own right. While it's true that you could make a pretty samey comparison chart, that's not the point of the show. The point is that it's a show about cute girls having fun while riding bikes, and that's exactly what it does. In fact, the show has some legitimate merits. Specifically, it does a pretty great job educating the audience of all the kind of bikes that our out there, their good and bad aspects, and all the kinds of things you should know if you want to own and maintain a bicycle. On top of that, you get some to see some beautiful really gorgeous scenery as the girls take on more and more difficult rides. Of course, since Ami is brand new to the pastime, there are a ton of gags involving her not knowing what she's getting into and complaining about how cruel her friends are as they push her to get better.
It gets really funny when the bike enthusiasts start chanting, "One of us. One of us."
So, it turns into a fun and legitimately engaging experience as the audience gets to enjoy the sights and sounds and experiences of the cycling world along with Ami and her friends. What I like best though is that Ami doesn't stay a hapless airhead forever. While that is basically what defines her character, she does eventually have the basic tips and tricks down like it was always second nature to her, and, through that growth, she unconsciously encourages other people to take up cycling as well. Or to put it simply, after being infected with a love of bicycles she spread the plague onto other innocent souls. The thing is, I've found that spread of interests to be pretty true to life. Friends get interested in their friends' interests and at some point something will click and then they learn to enjoy that pastime with their friends. I really like the show for acknowledging that little aspect of any interest. To be clear though, the show isn't without a few faults here and there.
Luckily, these faults are pretty easy to spot. (By the way, there were like six more guys before these ones).
The show has a few hiccups every now and then when it comes to the normal art, but the show really struggles when it tries to utilize CG in the show. Now, I realize this is a weird complaint considering I just praised Brave Witches for its use of CG animation, but that felt like a legitimate attempt at innovation. This show, on the other hand, seems to use it as a means to cut corners with the budget. The CG just doesn't look or move well enough to warrant its existence in the show. If anything, it's an active detriment since noticing it would snap you out of the show's engagement. So, is the show worthwhile? I think so, but as I've said time and again, I'm biased toward cute things. If you'd like to learn about bikes and like cute girls, it's a pretty solid pick. I definitely wouldn't recommend it without someone bring up an interest in bikes first though.