The Multiple Strands of Competition in Prince of Stride: Alternative

After axing pieces about Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine and Dances with the Dragons, here’s the post I decided to put up for Megane Day 2018.

Prince of Stride: Alternative (henceforth POSA) is pretty much the only sports anime I felt I would ever like…before I started reading the Kuroko no Basuke manga on the 30th of September and found it was alright. It does help that POSA is based on an otome game and the sport doesn’t exist, but I digress.

Competition with the Self: Ayumu

One of the drawing factors of POSA is that just from the anime, you can feel the wind, the passion and the tension surrounding teams before the race has even begun. “Passion” being the key word here – even though Ayumu originally joined the Stride Club to avoid his Shogi Club being shut down as well, he gives Stride competitions his all. That’s why, when he gets injured enough to pull out of one race, the effect is devastating. Not only does Ayumu have to deal with pain he didn’t have to put up with if he’d recruited more members for the Shogi Club, the kanji of his name means “to walk” when used as a verb. Basically speaking, it was pretty darn clear from the outset he wasn’t suited to a lifestyle of running.

However, he does it anyway, and that’s the admirable thing about him.

Competition with Others: Honan vs. Saisei

The big attraction of POSA is, from the outset, the big Honan vs. Saisei matchup, along with the clashes and the path to getting there. The two schools are equally matched and using the same training facilities matches them up even further. However, regardless of whoever wins or loses, these guys are always such good sports to each other, which is why the show gives this rivalry the focus it does. (Another reason would be because Saisei are popular because they’re idols as well as being a Stride team, but when the anime’s based off a visual novel…hey, you gotta sell those discs somehow!)

Competition with the Actions of Others: Tomoe, Kyousuke, Heath

Tomoe, Kyousuke and Heath make up something of a power trio in the Honan Stride team. Due to a disagreement, later revealed to be a bluff from the opponent of the time in a show of unfair sportsmanship, Kyousuke quit the team and shouldered the burden, including the blow to his reputation. However, after the new Stride team is formed, luckily Heath and Kyousuke make up in time to substitute Ayumu out.

Competition with the Blood: Tomoe, Riku

Ever since Tomoe decided to side with Nana’s dad, the brothers haven’t been so close, so Riku initially spends his time running away from Stride. However, whether they actually fix their bonds is a question for the visual novel to answer…

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This was going to be a pseudo-OWLS post way back in February, but it’s repurposed for this. If you ever picked up on that…well, I guess that just means you know the nuances of my writing style.

So did I miss anything regarding the types of competition in POSA? I know I had to cut out a bit on Takeru and Riku because it didn’t work. Otherwise, who’s your favourite glasses character?