Makishima Yusuke’s Awkward Kindness Is Exactly Why I Like Him

Spoiler scope: This essay discusses Yowamushi Pedal season 1 through episode 10, especially the first-year Welcome Race and the beginning of Makishima and Onoda’s senior-junior relationship.

I completely understand why so many people like Makishima Yusuke.

He has that classic appeal: sharp face, long limbs, intimidating first impression, strange climbing form, and then—under all of that—someone much softer than he seems. The official anime even gives episode 10 the title “Peak Spider,” and later official material calls him Sohoku’s “Peak Spider” climber. He looks like the kind of senior who would be difficult to approach.

And then he starts caring about Sakamichi Onoda in the most awkward way possible.

That gap is what gets me. Makishima does not suddenly become openly affectionate. He still looks severe. He still sounds blunt. He still seems like someone who would rather act than explain himself. But once Onoda appears, you can see how badly Makishima had wanted another climber beside him—and how little practice he has at actually taking care of one.

He starts by refusing to expect too much

The first-year Welcome Race runs through episodes 6 to 9 of the first anime season. Onoda enters as a complete beginner, falls to the back on his city bicycle, gets a road bike during the race, catches up, and eventually reaches the mountain stage against Imaizumi.

What I love is Makishima’s reaction to that progression.

At first, he feels almost defensive about the idea that Onoda could really be a climber. I do not read that as simple contempt. To me, it looks more like someone refusing to get excited before there is enough reason to believe.

Makishima is already Sohoku’s senior climber. If another strong climber joins the team, that changes what is possible for him too. A team does not need climbing strength only to drag everyone uphill. At the front of a mountain stage, climbers also get to fight for the mountain prize itself. Having another rider who can handle the climbing work means Makishima does not always have to imagine himself as the only person available for that role.

So when a first-year suddenly appears and might actually be good at climbing, of course there is hope in that.

But hope is dangerous when you have already learned not to expect too much.

That is why Makishima’s early coolness makes sense to me. If Onoda turns out not to be strong enough, then there is nothing to lose if Makishima never believed in him in the first place.

Then Onoda keeps giving him reasons to believe

This is the part that makes the Welcome Race so satisfying to watch from Makishima’s side.

Onoda keeps advancing.

He adapts to the road bike. He catches the riders ahead of him. He reaches Imaizumi and Naruko. Then the race enters the mountain stage, where the thing Onoda has been doing almost accidentally for years suddenly becomes relevant in a completely different way.

And Makishima’s attitude changes with him.

The more Onoda proves that this is real, the harder it becomes for Makishima to keep that original distance. What begins as skepticism starts turning into attention, then anticipation, then something much closer to excitement.

I like reading that change as hope becoming safe enough to show.

Makishima is not just watching a talented freshman emerge. He is watching the possibility of finally having another climber on Sohoku become real in front of him.

By episode 9, Onoda is fighting Imaizumi for the mountain prize at Minegayama. The official episode summary frames it as Onoda deciding to go for the mountain award and throwing everything he has into that final climb. For Onoda, it is the moment he discovers that climbing might actually be his place in road racing.

For Makishima, I think it is also the moment when “maybe” starts becoming “this kid really is a climber.”

That is why his happiness hits me so strongly. It is not only pride in an impressive first-year. It feels like relief too.

The funniest part is that he has no idea how to be a senior to him

Then comes episode 10.

The Welcome Race is over, Onoda has discovered his potential as a climber, and Makishima is assigned to train with him one-on-one.

This should be simple. Makishima is the experienced third-year climber. Onoda is the new first-year climber. Senior teaches junior. Done.

Except Makishima has never had this exact relationship before, and it shows.

That awkwardness is probably my favorite thing about him.

He is not naturally smooth or reassuring. He does not suddenly turn into the kind of senior who knows exactly what comforting sentence to say. His way of caring still comes out stiff and slightly strange. But Onoda can feel what is underneath it anyway.

And that is the thing about Makishima’s kindness: he seems to think he is less gentle than other people think he is.

His appearance works against him. He is thin, sharp, severe-looking, and his climbing style makes him look even more unusual. The “Peak Spider” image fits him perfectly on the outside. Someone meeting him for the first time could easily assume he is cold or difficult.

But the people around him do not experience only that surface.

When Makishima starts looking after Onoda, the care is obvious even when the delivery is clumsy. He notices. He watches. He makes room. He teaches. He gets invested.

He does not need to say “I am a caring senior” for the feeling to reach Onoda.

That is exactly why the tsundere comparison works for me. Not because Makishima is secretly a completely different person, and not because every blunt character needs that label. It works because there is such a visible mismatch between how intimidating he thinks he is and how clearly his affection leaks through his actions.

He can be awkward about the expression without being unclear about the feeling.

Onoda gives Makishima a role he had been missing

I think that is also why their relationship becomes warm so quickly.

Onoda does not only gain a senior climber to learn from. Makishima gains a junior climber to care about.

Those are not the same thing.

Makishima already knows how to climb. He already has pride as a climber. He already has his own rivalries and goals. What Onoda changes is that suddenly there is someone directly beneath him in that role—someone inexperienced enough to need guidance and talented enough to make that guidance feel exciting.

So of course Makishima is a little clumsy with it.

He has wanted the possibility before he has had the experience.

That is the version of Makishima I like most: the scary-looking senior who does not realize how transparent he becomes once he starts caring. He can keep the sharp face, the spider-like climbing, and the awkward delivery. None of that hides the warmth very well.

If anything, the awkwardness makes it easier to love him.

For more on the freshman Makishima begins watching so closely, read Sakamichi Onoda’s Hidden Talent Before He Became a Road Racer. You can also browse the full Yowamushi Pedal series archive.

Reference points

yowamushi-pedalmakishima-yusukesakamichi-onodacharacter-analysissenpai-kouhai

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