Throughout the majority of the episodes, Onoda can be seen wearing a Catlike Kompact Pro helmet. This led to the Spanish brand releasing it's own limited edition helmet in 2015.
As discussed in S1, the Inter High Race which is the focus of S1 and S2 is based on the Hakone Ekiden, a long distance foot race for universities across Japan. Similar to the Inter High the Ekiden is based more on team work than individual honors, with participating teams required to work together and show team spirit and perseverance. The Hakone Ekiden is from central Tokyo to Hakone and back, covering 200km over 2 days.
Episode 1 was previewed at a screening in Tokyo on September 28, 2013. Regular broadcasting began on October 8, 2013.
Based on is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Watanabe. It began serialization in the 12th issue of Akita Shoten's Shounen manga magazine Weekly Shounen Champion in 2008.
The first two episodes were pre-aired at a special event on 29.09.2013, regular TV broadcast started on 08.10.2013.