Izumida Touichirou is a third-year student at Hakone Academy and the captain of the Hakone Academy Bicycle Club during the 42nd Summer Inter High arc.
Appearance
Izumida is known for his long eyelashes as well as his extremely toned body, which is the result of vigorous weight training in preparation for the Inter-High. He sacrificed his performance in other road races to create the "perfect body" specifically for this competition.
He wears his jersey unzipped, exposing his abs along with his pectoral muscles, who he calls Andy and Frank. He zips his jersey fully up only when he is seriously competing against a strong opponent.
He initially has a shaved head, but later grows his hair out. By year three, his hair has spiked up with shaved sides.
Personality
Passionate and proud of his status as a member of Hakone Academy's famous cycling team, these things can lead Izumida to underestimate an opponent. However, his confidence and pride seem to be largely disconnected from himself, attributed to outside factors such as his muscles, which he thinks of as sentient; he's named his right pectoral muscle Andy and his left pectoral muscle Frank, and in Ride 24, Izumida noticed that he had 'raised' them separately to the point that they have different uses (and personalities). He has a habit of naming muscles, and chants "Abs! Abs! Abs!" while sprinting, or uses "Abs!" in everyday conversation. His bizarre nature sometimes baffles his fellow teammates, but some have joined in on his abs chant.[1]
Originally, Izumida felt sincere doubt in his abilities, but he's worked hard to overcome his insecurities and continues to strive for improvement. Izumida is very serious and methodical in his lifestyle, rigorous in his training, and speaks politely to his upperclassmen and other cyclists, even if he considers himself better than them. While usually thinking with a calm and clear head, Izumida is prone to being overcome and swayed by his emotions, be them anger or despair, and his sense of justice. He greatly admires and respects his veteran cyclists, most notably Shinkai, and becomes easily angered if someone insults them. Unlike other characters, Izumida is very quick to snap with rage at Midousuji when the latter is insulting not only Hakone Academy, but his rivals at Sohoku as well.
In the Hakone fun ride, however, he, as the new captain of Hakone, bluntly called out the third years, having been enraged since losing The 42nd Inter High. He relishes as a captain and becomes a highly competitive cyclist. He won the sprint checkpoint in the Hakone Fun Ride against Shinkai.
According to Kuroda, however, didn't not like Izumida at one point because he acts like a righteous class president, and is too serious, tactless, humourless and likes to point out every mistake Kuroda makes.
Skills and Techniques
As the result of his intense training, Izumida's core strength reached a level that allows him to sprint at his full potential. He is usually chanting "abs!" repeatedly during his sprint. His pectoralis major muscles, Andy and Frank, can sense when there is competition. If both react, his opponent is an extremely strong cyclist. He only zips up his jersey when such an event occurs and he's sprinting seriously. They also react to dangerous situations as a warning/reflex as demonstrated when Frank tensed up in reaction to the falling street cones and Andy seemingly allowed Izumida to brake a bit and dodge to narrowly avoid them.
His right pectoral muscle, Andy, is exclusively offensive. It supports his core and compresses his lungs, pushing him forward. His left pectoral muscle, Frank, is prudent and bold. It detects all threats and presses on his heart, sending blood flowing throughout his body so he can accelerate.
However, Izumida focused so much on preparing for his first Inter High, he sacrificed experience in cycling that comes with losing over and over, which is an advantage other cyclists have over him. (For example, knowing they can ride through fallen street cones without falling.)
By the time "Fabian" (his lower back and oblique muscles) are more well-developed, he can unleash his Full-Muscle Sprint.
Trivia
- Likes
- Takoyaki (though he usually exercises moderation)
- Movies (zombie flicks), has a big reaction to each one[2]
- Body building
- Dislikes
- His pecs being touched[3]
- Unique talent
- Naming muscles
- Hobbies
- Knowledgeable about plants
- Has a daily watering routine where he gives each plant a specific amount of water
- Recently became interested in bonsai
- Also knowledgeable about wildflowers
- Best subject
- World history
- Misc
- His pecs, Frank (left) and Andy (right), are probably named after the two Luxembourgish cyclist brothers Fränk and Andy Schleck, who won several international titles. The brothers are actually Climbers
- His latissimus dorsi (lower back muscle) is named Fabian, after the internationally renowned cyclist Fabian Cancellara, who was also Andy and Fränk Schleck's longtime teammate. Fabian is a time-trialist.
- In the 3DS game, cat-Izumida refers to his pecs as Nyandy and Fnyank.
- He constantly compares himself to a long, sharp, and polished spear, while he considered Tadokoro and Naruko as big, filthy and blunt spears.
References
- ↑ Yowamushi Pedal Episode 27 Omake
- ↑ Yowapeda Grande Road Episode 7 Omake
- ↑ Yowapeda Grande Road Episode 8 Omake