Japanese manga artists have a problem with… bicycles. Here’s why
A Japanese manga artist recently took to X to explain why it is so difficult to have characters riding bicycles in manga and anime. The original post garnered over 3.9m views, and many questions from commenters, prompting detailed discussion about how to draw bicycling characters, as well as praise for a certain popular cycling anime series.
Their legs are too long, their torsos are too short, and their waists are too high.
Real-life bicycles are shaped how they are because real people ride them.
Manga artist Gaku Miyao does the story and art for the Aoba Jitensha-ten (Aoba Bicycle Shop) manga series, which unsurprisingly features characters riding bicycles. On his X account, he recently explained that manga characters’ exaggerated proportions (particularly their long legs) make it hard to draw them pedaling a bicycle. Using his own sketches as an example, Miyao pointed out how you have to consider the movement of the crankset (the part of the bicycle that you pedal to propel the bike forward) in order to successfully draw a bicycle-riding character.
It is difficult to draw this difference in elevation for a character who has long legs.
You have to lie effectively with camera angles and cropping.
*Note: A fulcrum is the point on which a lever turns. The lower fulcrum is when the pedal is at the bottom and the upper fulcrum is when the pedal is at the top.
Despite these difficulties, there have been a number of cycling-themed manga and anime. These include the Nasu series and Yowamushi Pedal (pictured at the top of this article). The Yowamushi Pedal manga has been running since 2008 and has spawned a movie and TV anime adaptation, which has 5 seasons so far. Miyao praises the Yowamushi Pedal anime for its technical skill in conveying believable anime cyclists.
In response to Miyao’s discussion, X users chimed in with many images of anime and manga characters doing some cycling.
Several commentators gave examples from popular children’s manga and anime Doraemon. In the second and third pictures in the post below, characters Nobita and Suneo look proportional when riding a bicycle. However, Doraemon seems to be struggling to ride naturally in both the sticker above and the third picture below. As Doraemon is already a bright blue cat alien, he can get away with looking a bit strange on a bike.
Expressing his surprise at the number of responses to the original thread, Miyao cleared up commenters’ questions about motorcycles in anime. He explained that they are easier to depict because the character is just straddling the motorcycle, making long legs simple to deal with.
Do you agree with Miyao’s views on drawing bicycles? Are there any other things you find hard to draw alongside manga-style characters?
Verity Townsend
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