Rinkai! (リンカイ!) is a Japanese mixed-media project about
women's keirin cycling created by
Mixi. A
manga series by Kiyoshi Yamane titled Rinkai! Azalea began serialization in Amazia's Manga Bang! service in April 2024. An
anime television series produced by
TMS Entertainment premiered in April 2024.
Characters
As per their official profiles, every character is a
cyclist each representative from a different Japanese
prefecture, associated with a specific
velodrome situated there. Each character's surname shares in turn the name of the city which is home to such velodrome.
The daughter of the owner of an
onseninn establishment, together with her older sister Atsumi they are known as the "On-Sen Sisters". A cycling enthusiast, she became an athlete without having any previous experience in the sport.[2]
Born to a Japanese mother and a French father, himself also a cyclist, she achieved entrance to a cycling training institute in the first ever special selection for female athletes, all the while completing school education ahead of schedule.[3]
Previously the center of a former local
idol group which ended up disbanding due to certain internal issues, she set out to become a cyclist who would be able to earn a living with her own strength alone.[5]
The only daughter of a renowned
zaibatsu family of the
Tōkai region, after being raised in a sheltered and overly affective way by her parents, she decided to become a cyclist in order to become independent from her family.[7]
Capable both in sports and in the academic field, after graduating from school she found a job at a major firm. Not feeling fulfilled with it, however, she switched through different occupations, from
office worker to
yoga instructor, until finally becoming a cyclist.[9]
A sports multi-talent with an innate leader character, she began cycling competitions since the second year of high school, dominating the whole national scene with her prowess.[11]
A gold medalist at worldwide competitions and current title holder. Despite not starting as an elite athlete, she changed radically after going through a certain moment of her life, rising all at once to the top position.[13]
A
manga series by Kiyoshi Yamane titled Rinkai! Azalea (リンカイ!アザレア, Rinkai! Azarea) began serialization in Amazia's Manga Bang! service April 9, 2024.[20]
Anime
An
anime television series was announced alongside the manga series at the
AnimeJapan 2023 event.[1][21] The series is produced by
TMS Entertainment and directed by Takaaki Ishiyama, with Hideki Shirane handling series composition, Hiromi Ono designing the characters, and Shuichiro Fukuhiro, Yoshihei Ueda and Mana Hirano composing the music.[22] It premiered on April 9, 2024 on
Tokyo MX and
BS Fuji.[23] The opening theme song is "Windshifter" performed by
Rico Sasaki, while the ending theme song is "Override!" performed by the main cast.[24]
Medialink has licensed the series in South and Southeast Asia and its streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel.[25]Rinkai! is licensed for Spanish-speaking countries via Jonu Media.[26]