Imaizumi Shunsuke

Imaizumi Shunsuke is a first-year student at Sohoku High School and a member of the Sohoku High Bicycle Club. He has been cycling competitively since middle school. Imaizumi is an all-rounder and he uses his sharp, logical thinking to strategize in races, though he becomes quite hot-blooded when driven into a corner. His dream is to become the fastest cyclist in the world.

AppearanceEdit

Imaizumi has short, thin, and spiky black hair as well as dark, narrow eyes; he has a sharp jawline and chin. He is rather tall and lean, often seen in his biking outfit, school uniform, or usagi brand T-shirts (which he collects). He is considered handsome by his many fangirls. In the manga, his appearance is initially much younger-looking with larger eyes and a rounder face. Over the chapters, he is drawn much more mature and sharply.

PersonalityEdit

Imaizumi generally behaves quite seriously and very reserved around classmates and girls, though he gets worked up when angry or finds himself at a loss, and can become quite embarrassed if caught saying or doing something unexpected of his cool and serious demeanor that he'd rather have kept secret. At first, he is prideful, cold, competitive, and obsessed with winning races on his own in order to eventually beat Midousuji. He approaches cycling with logic and technical understanding. Once he meets Onoda, Naruko, and the rest of the Sohoku cyclists, his personality begins changing into one more accepting of the strength of a team's will. Although he tries to hide it, his loss of a race to Midousuji when he was younger still haunts him and makes him question his worth as a cyclist. During the Inter High, he faces the complex he developed after losing to Midousuji and learns to rely on and believe in his teammates, riding for himself as well as the team, and supports them to the finish line. He embraces his nature of riding aggressively rather than always mathematical and meticulously, as well as his roles of an assist and ace.

In the anime, per Onoda's influence, he develops a liking for Love Hime and frequently sings the anime's theme song.

After winning Inter High, his fandom grew, and both Imaizumi and Onoda are both uncomfortable with their newfound fame, but as it happened in Minegayama Hill Climb Race, Naruko was yet to revel in his growing fame.

Imaizumi is very easy to dismiss rookies, most notably Onoda and Sugimoto Sadatoki, but he finds it really uneasy to compliment people.

In the second year, however, he has become more supportive of Onoda (in how he should act towards freshmen) and other rookies, he also persistent to turn Naruko into an all-rounder.

Skills and TechniquesEdit

He is an all-rounder cyclist who is good at both sprinting and climbing. He's the type of guy who manages himself by shifting gears often. He shows the ability to devise tactics and use logic in order to achieve victory. He works to assist the ace, Kinjou, another all-rounder. He used to ride emotionally and like to shove competitors aside just so he can get his 'peace, quiet and clear air' as a leader and champion.

As he trained at the 1000km Training Camp, Imaizumi had to ride his bicycle without gearshifters. As a result, he now feels like he can move his bicycle to his bidding. Near the end of the 3rd day of Interhigh, his abilities were fully awakened, resulting in the defeat of his ultimate rival Midousuji.

After the Inter High, Imaizumi's road bike was given a new light blue Scott frame, lighter wheels and motorized gear shifters. This allows him to shift gears much faster with no delay and with a simple light touch, and the battery in the system can last for 1500 km before it needs replacing.

He is also an able Ace-Assistant, having helped many riders win different races, even when he wants to become an Ace for once.

TriviaEdit

Likes

Riding at the front of the pack

Quiet environments

Watching waves at the beach when no one else is around

Dislikes

Losing

Crowds

Collects

Cycling caps from all of the European teams

Hats

Usagi brand t-shirts

Best subject

Classical Japanese

Misc

• He is often seen wearing earphones, but he is listening to movie soundtracks.
• According to the movie, he is really good at ping-pong, it could also be due to him not wanting to lose to Naruko.