Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru

I guess Hinako and the girls of Anitore didn’t quite manage to do the job. It has been many years since and we otakus and weeabos are still as fat as f*ck. Lazy and a big slob. Nothing has changed to get us to change. Hence it is back to the drawing board and maybe instead of providing some obvious fanservice just to get us motivated to workout, maybe provide us with something more meaningful. Something that would really make us feel the need to do exercise no matter how simple it is. So we hope that all you fat dweebs out there, Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru might be that answer that would finally make us all get off our lazy chairs and start moving about. Well, are you starting to get worried about that expanding waistline of yours? Don’t worry. Don’t even be sad. Just do it! Because this series gives you the chance to shape up for a great body. All you need to do is put in the effort because effort in the end never betrays. So what are you waiting for? Get up and start moving! Oh my macho…

Episode 1
Hibiki Sakura loves her food. Until her friend, Ayaka Uehara points out she is getting fat! Every girl’s nightmare. Hence Hibiki promises to work out and get slim. Starting tomorrow. Self-training failed so she has a try-out at a nearby gym, Silverman Gym. She sees Akemi Souryuuin who is from the same school also there to check things out. But this gym isn’t what Hibiki expects. It’s filled with muscle monsters! Akemi has muscle fetish so she’s already orgasmic at the sight of those bulky bulges. She’s definitely in. Hibiki opts out until she sees Naruzou Machio. Damn, this hot prince is her type of guy. Sign me up! So with Machio as their trainer, we get a glimpse on how to do basic bench presses. We can see how unfit Hibiki is despite trying out the first time with no weights and she is already breathless. Akemi is steady, doing twice her weight. Hibiki is depressed but with Machio encouraging her, you bet she is going to come back for more. And then the ‘truth’… Because Machio takes off his jersey and we see him as a muscle monster under that pretty face! Flex those biceps, baby! Akemi is so in love. With your muscles! Next day in school, Hibiki’s body is aching all over. Don’t go overboard, newbies. With Hibiki continuing to eat, this means she continues to put on weight. This means Ayaka points it out to her again. You’ll be fat by the time summer rolls in! Yeah, gotta go shape up again. Now we’re doing squats. As usual, Hibiki is unfit but manages to finish her sets. But with the thought of getting a killer body, you bet that’s the motivation she needs to keep on going. Later, Akemi finds out that Hibiki eats 6 meals a day! Hey, that doesn’t mean she’s a glutton, okay? Or is she? However she is amazed because of this blessed appetite, it means she can eat and build muscle mass! Akemi insists she be her training partner and one day they’ll be the most macho of the macho-est! Hibiki in despair. She joined the wrong gym…

Episode 2
Wow. Hibiki must think she has lost some weight after all that training. Guess what? Her weight increases! Time to press the panic button. Don’t worry. As Machio explains, because of her muscle growth that is denser than fats, it is only logical that her weight increases. He adds about avoiding extreme dieting because the rebound would lead to lower metabolism if not properly maintained. So always exercise regularly! Today’s training has Hibiki trying out lat pulldowns for the back muscles. After that, they head to the gym’s bar where Machio serves them some protein drink. Also explained about the golden time effect whereby if you consume protein within 30 minutes, it will have dramatic effect on your muscle growth. I think Hibiki didn’t understand that concept so she went to eat plates after plates of sirloin steak. Maybe that’s the real reason her weight increased… Because Hibiki’s muscles are still sore, Akemi takes her swimming. It’s a great way to train muscles in every part of your body too. Akemi makes intelligent guesses the kind of sports others do based on the muscles she observes of other people. Like cyclists they have stronger and bigger calf muscles. When Hibiki wants to do stretching as warm up, Akemi prohibits her. She explains about the myth about warm ups and studies shown it decreases effectiveness and might lead to injury. Hence a better way is to do light dynamic stretching. And then they hear a rip. Good news it isn’t Hibiki pulling a muscle. She ripped her swimsuit… Hibiki is at Ayaka’s place and she knows her friend as a movie buff. Arnold action movie spoof? Unfortunately, Ayaka’s sister, Nana needs her to help out with the family business for now. What do they do? Not your typical eatery. Why, father is a retired pro boxer and now runs a boxing gym! Oh Hibiki, Ayaka is your best friend and you didn’t know about this? So we see some hardcore and Spartan training. Damn, Ayaka, those abs! If dragon flags are too hard for normal people like Hibiki, then planking should be a good start. Then they let her try the punching bag. OMG she punches it off in one blow! A new world champion? Hope she didn’t break it…

Episode 3
Teacher Satomi Tachibana thinks she has put on weight so her colleague recommends Silverman Gym that just opened nearby. She is sceptical for fear of running into her students but is told young girls won’t even go there. Yeah… Imagine her surprise when she sees Hibiki and Akemi there. Satomi thinks she’ll quit after her free trial but the moment she sees Machio, she signs up! Another victim, oops, I mean member for life. Due to some mini exercises she does at home that made her muscle sore, Machio explains about the proper way of light training using your biceps and triceps. As Satomi gets into the groove, the students wonder a strange tan on her belly. They think she is wearing some sort of kinky swimsuit to attract her boyfriend. Despite this is not the case, she agrees to keep her secret safe. It is revealed her true secret is her love for cosplaying. She intends to slim down before Summer Comiket. Hibiki stops for lunch. Uhm, isn’t that a huge serving of bento she’s got? This has Akemi point out this method of skipping breakfast and then suddenly eating a lot is a diet programme for sumo wrestlers due to the slowing down of metabolism. She suggests a more balanced diet via bodybuilding diet. While Hibiki’s food is all fried, Akemi is mostly steamed and grilled. But don’t despair if it sounds too hard. Because there is a day where you can ‘cheat’ and eat all you want to trick your body into thinking it has enough calories. And so Hibiki starts off with this. It’s not even cheating day and she’s already chowing it all down… Yeah, she’s missing the point… Satomi manages to slim down for Summer Comiket. Her worst fear comes true when Hibiki and Akemi are here. Is she busted? Oh wait. It’s Machio cosplaying here too. Damn, is this Kenshi-Machio? Really, “Omae… Mou shinde iru!”. WTF?! What do you mean this character is from some muscle manga, Lifts With The Straight Bar?! Muscle King?! Who the f*ck?! Anyway, the crowd loves him and starts taking pics and Machio even doing brutal poses from the manga. Flex those biceps away! Yeah, all the men are so macho gay here… And somehow we get some basic front press posture lesson from Machio. At the end of the day, Satomi must be tired from all the tsukkomi moments. Just when she thought her students spot her and her secret is out, they think she is here to buy doujin and a BL fan. Well, the price to pay to keep her secret a secret.

Episode 4
With summer here, Silverman Gym is packed with people. People with different motivations and never really got the time to go to gyms are now gathering to do so. Such peak periods are called prime times. But with the bench presses crowded and a queue forming, Machio suggests the girls to use the chest press machine. This is unpopular with many as they have this opinion it is not as dignified as free weights. Of course the machines do act as support if you are seeking to build those chest muscles. Ayaka is also here since her boxing gym has increased enrolment so she will be using Silverman Gym to offer additional boxing classes. Hence she will be joining Hibiki and Akemi too. One day, coincidentally all the gyms and pools are closed. Akemi invites the duo back to her place. You mean this huge mansion is where she freaking lives?! She shows them a video by Toshio Ozu. An exercise video that tells you how to do exercises in your home. There are the basic push ups and sit ups. But the highlights are the dip (suspend yourself in air by using 2 chairs as support for your arms) and reverse push up. Once the video is over, they try it out. When Hibiki tries the dip, the chair breaks! Holy sh*t! Make sure the chair is strong enough. Although Akemi won’t make her pay for it, later Hibiki sees an ad on TV that a similar antique chair costs millions… Oh sh*t… Our girls head over to the next prefecture for the beach. Coincidentally Satomi too. Yeah, she keeps running into them, huh? If you’re wondering there is nobody else on the bus or beach, they find out too late that the beach is closed thanks to sharks. There goes their plan to snag a man. Except for Akemi. She’s only here for the training. This has her come up with an idea so as not to waste their beach trip with an explanation on how to do a burpee. Once summer is over and the next term begins, Satomi is tanned and feeling tired. She hopes the girls are alright. Yup, the power of youth has them bursting with life more than ever.

Episode 5
Hibiki dreads the sports day. Even more so when this year’s events, the participants are chosen via lottery. It’s just not her day as she is now in the 400m relay race. Hence going to Machio for advice, he explains about hamstring muscles before introducing us to the leg curl exercise that should help build those muscles. Hibiki is pumped up to do so because it is going to give her a firm butt. But then she rips her shorts. At the end of the day, her hamstring muscles are aching so much that she could barely walk. During sports day, Hibiki’s class is dead last. The final 400m relay event has Hibiki as her class’ anchor. Her main rival is Akemi who was last year’s champion of this same event and she too will be the anchor of her class. Hibiki won’t lose as she has trained for this day. Flashback shows that Machio also taught her to do bicycle crunch exercises to develop her iliopsoas muscles. The race gets underway but Hibiki falters and misses in retrieving the baton although she manages to pick it up and continue running. Akemi wins and amazingly Hibiki gets second place. However the judges disqualify her because it is against the rules to pick up a dropped baton. All for nothing… Machio gives his regulars raffle tickets to celebrate their first year anniversary. Hence the girls decide to enter a sauna competition and the winner gets all their raffle tickets. Yeah, first place could be a trip to USA! And they remind us not to do this dangerous challenge alone and bust the myth of sauna helps reduce fats but only helps in blood circulation. The challenge goes on until Hibiki and Satomi are left. Hibiki is literally really starting to feel the heat. How can Satomi still be so cool? Actually she already passed out! With Hibiki as the winner, unfortunately with all the raffle tickets, she won only the Silverman t-shirt. All. Of. Them. Yeah, might as well give it all to Akemi who seems really fanatic about it.

Episode 6
Hibiki dreams to have a home theatre. But she can’t afford it thanks to her money always going to food or the gym. That wish might come true since Silverman Gym will be holding an arm wrestling competition. 100,000 yen prize! Sign me up! Don’t know the rules? Don’t worry. Machio will explain it all. Even explaining the various muscles if not, the muscles of your entire body being used. As practice, Hibiki faces off with Ayaka. Instantly Ayaka lost! Woah! Is she some She-Hulk?! Next is Machio and of course Hibiki losses but she saw this dramatic vision that she was arm wrestling with a rock! Come competition day, unfortunately Ayaka and Satomi chicken out while Akemi is sick. Because the female’s competition has already so few people, guess what? Total participants are only 2!!! Including Hibiki! So the first round is already the finals!!! Her opponent comes all the way from Russia and Silverman Gym’s Moscow branch, Gina Void. She is eager to win this badly because she needs to cover her air ticket home! We see an interview of Gina telling us the different methods to use in arm wrestling combat. Then the finals begin. Instantly Hibiki owns her!!!! OMFG!!! She might be on her way to become like Machio since she also rips part of her clothes dramatically on her way to winning. But the ‘nightmare’ isn’t over because Gina is now interested in Hibiki and becomes an exchange student in her school! Is she going to become her stalker and gunning for revenge? Luckily she is in a different class. But Gina blames Hibiki for this conspiracy?! We further learn that she doesn’t do strength training back in Moscow. She trains more on sambo and such strength training is only used using equipment as an auxiliary. Because her training focuses on utilizing the muscles in an efficient way and to master the goal kipping. Eventually this develops your nerves more than you muscles. Gina wants Hibiki to use the horizontal bars to try kipping. Her ulterior motive is to pinpoint the strength that she defeated her with. Hibiki fails spectacularly and Gina thinks she won’t show her strength easily. Way off mark… After school, Gina can’t go with them to the gym because she has to say hello to her host family. When Hibiki returns home, she has this sinking feeling. Her worst fear comes true because Gina is having her homestay at her place. The ‘nightmare’ continues…

Episode 7
Today is the gym’s off day so too bad Gina can’t have her revenge on Hibiki. Thus Hibiki takes them to enjoy some grilled meat at a yakiniku restaurant run by her brother. So while we feast on the delicious beef, hear some explanations on the benefits of meat. Vegans may not like it, though… Gina thinks this source of protein is Hibiki’s secret. Then she watches her eat. Isn’t her servings double? She thinks she is following the diet of some famous pro wrestler when in reality Hibiki is just a glutton. But Hibiki complains about her money woes so Akemi says outside gym memberships are covered by the school since her mom is the chairman and she is so rich she can help others fund her hobby! Is this power and money abuse? But whatever since this helps solves Hibiki’s financial problems. Gina realizes Satomi looks familiar. Because of that mole underneath her left eye, she realizes she is that famous cosplayer. Damn, Satomi must be the only person she know who has that very specific mole. Hence the duo skip training as we see Satomi accompanying Gina on a day out. When Gina confronted her over her identity, Satomi was devastated. In fear that she will lose her job as some of her cosplay outfits borderlines porn, she is willing to do anything to keep it a secret. Gina didn’t intend to rat on her but since Satomi went as far as becoming her life slave, oh well… Gina learns of Satomi’s exhaustion and rest periods in between exercises. Hence the explanation of blood circulation as well as active and passive resting. As we know Gina is one of those foreigners who come to Japan for the otaku culture, currently her obsession is idols. Hence she wants Satomi to help he achieve that dream! Oh dear. Kutarou Deire is one of those judges at a public audition. He is bored at how normal all the idol wannabes are. Idols must be more than normal! He might get what he wished for because our muscle girls come riding in on macho guys! WTF?! Could this be the talent he is looking for? So our girls do sparring and weight lifting as part of their talent. Satomi keeps her identity hidden by wearing a kendo mask and under the alias F*ck The Budo! Really! She then demonstrates deadlift as our semi-naked Machio explains to the audience this dangerous weightlifting. The crowd applauses to this spectacle and at the end, Deire now believes idols should be normal… Yeah, please be normal. Also, our muscle girls didn’t quite make the cut… Obviously…

Episode 8
Satomi declines invitation from fellow teachers, Rumika Aina and Yakusha Kure to hang out. Then they discover that she has been hitting the gym so the duo too decide to try out. As beginners, Aina is worried about her sides so Machio tells us about abs muscles and the training to strengthen those regions. Everyone is in shock when Kure is able to easily lift heavy weights. She didn’t say but an intelligence guess would tell us that her ‘sport’ is taking care of her family as she is the only one among the ladies who is married. In the end the duo did sign up for Silverman Gym but a branch closer to their homes. The school has a hiking trip up the mountains. Hibiki, Satomi and Aina are in shock. They didn’t know they are this unfit and are already out of breath climbing up! Hibiki trying to keep her sanity by eating? Anyway, we have some walking lessons by Kure as she tells us the right walking method so you won’t tire easily. The weak trio decide to employ this method. So excited that they missed the correct path and went an opposite route. Safe to say they realize they are lost while the others have already reached the top. They are worried when the trio have not arrived and it’s almost lunch time… You think Satomi is bad as she panics? Aina and Hibiki are worse! Writing their death poems and leaving some ID for their bodies!!! Satomi stays sane as she realizes she can get help by climbing this tallest tree. Hence some rope climbing lessons to train some muscle parts. The trio start climbing but realize they keep slipping down. Thinking their clothes are the culprit, they strip down to climb better. After all, nobody is watching, right? Unknown to them. Our climbers at the top are having lunch while peeking at the lost trio via binoculars. Looks like they’re having much fun climbing a tree naked. It is revealed that the part they are lost at is just the athletic corner of the mountain. Worse still, the moment they realize what happened, lunch’s over… Sad ending…

Episode 9
Holy sh*t! Is that Arnold arriving in Japan?! After Machio explains to us the workouts for back muscles, suddenly his pecs start trembling. OMG! Arnold is here! Oh, sorry. Barnold Shortsinator!!! You know, that American action movie star who stared in Seven Commandos, Last Action Predator, Conan The Red Bull and Twin Cops?! But not the one whereby he is a robot from the future sent back to present day to kill a future resistance leader. Yup, that’s another actor! So no “I’ll be back” catchphrase for this guy!!! This guy is so buffed that he makes all the other macho men trembling in muscle fear! Barnold is here to see Machio. They both have a history. After Machio finished his sports studies in America, he took up bodybuilding in which Barnold was his master. But after Machio graduated, Barnold never contacted him once. Why? Barnold dropped his phone in the water! Why Machio hadn’t do the same? He accidentally crushed his phone while flexing! Oh course Barnold being here means he is going to challenge him. This world’s toughest handgrip only 100 people in the world can close it with 1 hand. Is Machio up to the task? Why, in fact he crushes it with no sweat!!! With Machio passing this test, Barnold announces he will be holding a bodybuilding competition right here where all the international body builders will be attending and he wants him to compete. The girls are invited as Barnold explains to them the competition categories that include physique and bodybuilding as well as the criteria that the participants are being judged on. When it is Machio’s turn to go on stage, his muscles are so godly that it blows everyone’s clothes away!!! OMG WTF???!!! So godly his muscle light that all the competitors kneels before him!!! OMF WTF?! Too much godly macho???!!! Safe to say he won the competition with ease. As Barnold praises his victory, Machio knows this is only another test because the world’s best body builders aren’t here. True enough, Machio has yet again meet Barnold’s standards. As he views him now on equal footing to compete with him, the final showdown will be in Las Vegas. Be there or be square. Unfortunately Machio’s job takes priority so he can’t come. The end. What an anti-climactic ending. Hasta la vista, baby? Although Barnold returns to America, he leaves his private secretary, Jason Sgatham to support Machio’s training. No wonder this guy looks f*cking familiar… And so Silverman Gym gains another macho weirdo…

Episode 10
What’s the use of having a hot body and slim figure when you have no one to date with for Christmas! Holy sh*t! Sounds like the girls have wasted their time?! Yeah, they look so down. But don’t worry. Machio announces a gym party whereby they can mingle with other guys. Game on! All is not lost! However, with Ayaka pointing out that Hibiki has rebounded due to her excessive eating habits, Hibiki wishes to trim some of her arm’s flabs. Hence Machio explains about triceps as well as the lying triceps extension AKA skull crusher exercise for the occasion. Hibiki underestimated the EZ bar she is about to use and knocks her own head. Ouch! Wow. This move does live up to its terror name. The party is here and WTF Satomi dresses up as some S&M queen to snag hotties? Let’s hope her mask and wig can hide her identity. As the girls mingle, in the end they’re too shy to even ask anything so I guess there’s no progress. But there is still hope when Machio announces the raffles and the grand prize is tickets to Tochigi Disney Land (TDL). The girls think of using this as an excuse to ask the guy out. The raffles is conducted with Machio flexing his muscles and the numbers printed on them. This might look like he is showing off his usual but as explained, doing posing can also help build muscles because of the resistance via flexing. In the end, Satomi wins the grand prize. She’s the only winner among all the macho men! I guess all the girls lose hope in choosing a decent pretty guy. As the tickets expire by the year end, Satomi can’t use them and gives it to the rest. Surprisingly Akemi wants it. She can use it as a chance to go out with Machio. SAY WHAT?! And so Hibiki, Gina and surprisingly Satomi go to spy on Akemi’s date with Machio at TDL. Don’t mind the horror-looking spoof mascot, Mockey! What a mockery… It is soon discovered there is a cosplay event here and the duo are participating. Because Machio is dressed up like a shirtless Hercules, hence Akemi’s true goal revealed: To glare at his muscles. But we’ve all seen this coming, right? And Machio is more buffed than ever especially in his pecs as he explains his usage of the incline bench press. Meanwhile Satomi got separated from the pack and decides to go have fun. Suddenly it all comes crashing down when she sees Aina who is also here for the same reason. Dead awkward… Let’s pretend this never happened…

Episode 11
It is New Year’s Eve and the girls pay a visit to the shrine. Wow. This shrine has hundreds and possibly thousands of steps! So is this where their training comes in? Apparently they’re going to try climbing it because legend says the deity at the top can grant your wish in romance. Oh yeah. And of course, some lessons on stairs exercise to help those burn some calories for those who aren’t into jogging. You know you’re in trouble when Gina and even Akemi is having trouble catching their breath! Only Ayaka seems to breeze through. Luckily they manage to reach the top but what awaits them is a long line of macho men! Oh my macho!!! And who is the head priest of this shrine? Machio!!! He claims this shrine belongs to his family and his helping out. But I think he was just recently promoted to godly status after that bodybuilding win so this is somewhat fitting… So let’s hope God would grant their kind of guys instead of macho men… With the New Year holidays, the gyms are closed so Gina suggests doing street workout that is all the rage in the western side. Too her dismay, Japanese parks are paltry! But don’t worry, Akemi brought some guidebook from Toshio that teaches us simple exercises that can be done without the use of any equipment. Although the girls try it out, they have to quickly abandon it because housewives from the area are giving them strange stares… Remember Gina’s dream to form an idol group with them? Yeah, she hasn’t given up on them and has registered them to enter an amateur talent show for New Year. And Deire is the producer! Oh damn. He thinks his show is going to tank in ratings when he sees those girls. His career is over! Although he manages to put a stop to their intention to do some air chair (Gina is planning to break the 11 hours record live on TV?!), they improvise and let Satomi do wrestler’s bridge instead. Everyone is impressed and even more so when Ayaka sits on her while she is at it. In the end, Deire thought he is a goner but his manager is pleased the programme got the second highest rating! WTF?! And the demographics who watch them are 20-34 year old women?! Mind boggling! He wants Deire to grab them and make it big. Can he do it? Not if Jason can help! He shows Deire a poster of the Nikunoshima Tour. Care to collaborate, sir?

Episode 12
Wherever this fictional tropical island is, our usual suspects will be joining on this tour. Except for Akemi and Hibiki. They cite being busy with stuffs. But when they hear a Mr Nikunoshima contest, that means muscle men and hot guys, they immediately sign up. Not so busy now, eh? While the older ladies drink, the younger ones take to the beach. The watermelon smashing game feels like it is so that Machio can teach us the importance of shoulder trap muscles… On to the contest, because there are no contestants, another contest will be held in its place, Ms Nikunoshima! So disappointed? The winner gets some protein set and some DVD collection of the past contests that totals in about 40 hours! You bet Akemi wants it! We see the girls strut their stuffs. The highlight is Akemi doing a perfect push up while doing a handstand! Hence a lesson on how to do proper push ups. Damn, I’ve been doing it wrong all the while?! The final contestant is Hibiki and she literally blows the crowd away because her single punch destroys the punching bag!!! Oh my macho!!! Beat that, Falcon Punch! Because Akemi and Hibiki’s results are draw, a final showdown is set between them. They will have to do bench presses and after each set, additional weights will be added. The one who can’t continue loses. The moment they start, WTF this Super Saiyan dragon aura???!!! We hear Akemi narrate how this challenge will settle it all since the start. Once she finishes the first set, to everyone’s shock, Hibiki didn’t start at all because she is too hungry to move!!! Therefore Akemi wins it. Meanwhile Jason and Deire are drifted at sea. Dying?! Their aim was to make the tour a candid camera show but it was ruined when their boat went adrift. WTF this gay moment of them hugging each other?! Hibiki talks to Akemi and feels how her life has changed ever since she enrolled in this gym. Then they spot something coming from the ocean fast. Barnold! So he is back! He is pulling the drifted boat! Yeah, he received an SOS from Jason a week ago and came to rescue. Don’t ask about the gay hugging… And definitely this is BS because there is no constellation that looks like those pecs!!!

Got, Macho?!
Oh my macho… Have you developed a fear of muscles and macho men?! Heh. Thankfully I didn’t. Not that I want to become so overly buffed like them either. And with the end of the series, hopefully that doesn’t mean the end of your healthy and active lifestyle because it goes without saying that to remain in shape, persistence is key. I know lazy ones will argue that round is a shape but don’t start complaining or point the finger when hot guys or girls give you the pass. So I guess that is it for this series and that it is not going to be, “I’ll be back… For another season”!

One can say that half of this series looks more like a workout video. While I am not an exercise buff, I believe that in every episode, the featured exercise is explained comprehensively. You get to learn what kind of muscles you are building up from the exercises that you do and this is good if you want to work on certain muscles and body parts instead of going for the full course of buffing up every muscle in your body. It is quite entertaining and educational as you get to learn the names of those muscles affected while doing that training. Yup, muscle parts apart from biceps and triceps that I have never even heard of in my life and probably have forgotten right now as I type this sentence. Holy crap. And you thought every human bone each having their own specific name was bad enough, wait till you get to the muscle section.

And of course the ‘charm’ as well as I could go as far as to say as ‘motivation’ for us to watch this series and do get us to do those workouts is the so called ‘fanservice’. I guess we still can’t do away with that. Every time we see Machio or the girls in their special lesson segment, we see the girls demonstrating the workout. But they show it in ways and angles that make them look sexy and if you have a dirty mind, I’m sure you can go further than that and imagine the ambiguous. If you want to call this part sleazy and it’s just an excuse to get one to train, well then, it is not surprising because doesn’t all old workout videos feel pretty much the same thing? Isn’t that why you have a hot model as the face of the workout video? And of course it is a no brainer to want a workout video without any sort of workout demonstrations because a lot of people would do better watching others better than being told or given verbal instructions. You know, some people’s vocab might not be so good so even they can misinterpret or do not understand what to do. Hence the best is to demonstrate such workouts. And of course it’s going to look hot and sexy because you’re not going to do exercises in a casual suit, aren’t you?!

If all those workouts and exercises within the episodes aren’t enough for you, be glad to know that at the end of each episode, there will be a short segment where by Machio and the girls will once more have us viewers do a short exercise that was featured in the episode (sometimes amidst the picturesque background like the airport runway or Grand Canyon). This time without the distracting of whatever plot (is there?!), we can now solely focus on doing the workout that now truly resembles a workout video. Alright people, don’t give up until the countdown is finished! There you go. Nice bulk, everybody! Unless you’re trying for competitive sports, it goes to show that simple workouts are sufficient so long you put in the effort. Don’t need elaborate equipment or exclusive gym memberships. The simplest thing can also be your workout routine. So are you ever so ready to cancel that gym subscription?

And oh, before I forget, even if you do some decent workouts, please also eat well. I’m sure it is not this series’ intention to shame you on all those fatty food you eat because when you see Hibiki chowing down all those tasty high cholesterol yummies, you can see the amount of calories she consumed printed on the screen. Yeah, a warning to be careful because you are also literally what you eat… As this show isn’t your worst nightmare Spartan demon instructor, go ahead and eat what you love but just remember to burn out equally what you put in. I wonder how many calories I have burnt while typing this ‘long’ blog. I’m not going to be optimistic, though…

Character wise, they aren’t anything much since the exercises and workouts that the spotlight. Each of them has their own personality but it isn’t deep because as we don’t want you to be distracted with character development. And of course the character whom will draw a lot of attention is Machio. This guy whose name itself is suspiciously a pun of to become macho, you got to love him when he starts to do Hulk’s specialty of ripping his clothes when he flexes just to show off all his muscles. He guides the girls and views them having potential in staying in shape. We all just want to know where he gets those special gym clothes because the moment he puts it on, he shrinks into normal size! So technically if I wear them, it would make my flabby belly and fat stomach disappear!!! Oh yeah! Where can I get those clothes?! Sometimes I think Machio just wants to flex his muscles as he never misses a chance to show them off. Just the slightest pun of the buzzword will send him shredding his gym clothes and posing like Mr Universe. Once you get used to this like the other girls, you’ll ignore him and let him do his flexing in the background. Now that Machio is now elevated to some godly status after that bodybuilding win, will macho-ness descend onto everyone in the world?! Because in terms of muscle strength, I’m sure he can put Kratos (God of War fame) to shame! “Oh my macho” to “Oh my Machio <3”! With Machio and the rest of those regular buffed guys in the gym, there is this unfounded fear that spending too much time would turn you into one of them and become gay… I don’t know, I just feel that way. From

It was no surprise that Arnold’s spoof would somewhat appear as I predicted it should happen somewhere early in the series. I guess Arnold has been the epitome of a great bodybuilder. Those who are old enough will remember this guy showing off those abs and body in that Conan movie. While I have no qualms about this Last Action Hero Predator dude making his cameo, my only ‘complain’ is why the English subbed version changed his name to Barnold Shortsinator. Originally if the spoken Japanese and even in the credits is Harnold Dogegenchonegger. I don’t know what pun Dogegenchonegger is supposed to be taken from but I guess ‘dogeza’ which means to prostrate could be it because you look short when you are on your knees. Yeah… But maybe Shortsinator sounds close to Schwarzenegger… And Sgatham is pronounced as ‘sugoi-tham’. Yeah… Too bad buffed action heroes didn’t make their appearance like Sylvester Stallone, Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and uhm, Chuck Norris? Heh, don’t want to turn this into some The Expendables knockoff!

To be fair to the other characters, it’s not like they have no personality at all. Sometimes simplicity is best because they help pull off a few funny jokes instead of turning this into one boring serious workout video. I mean, how the heck can you run a workout episode for a normal 24 minutes runtime? Don’t want to repeat that mistake in Hinako, do we now? And so we have Hibiki who is probably the weakest link in the group (literally in terms of fitness) but she is commendable as she won’t give up and keeps trying. Just try to watch what you eat, okay? Don’t cut off totally but plan what you eat. Literally her motivation mostly runs on food and hot guys. Yeah… Then there is Akemi who is a muscle buff. Macho men are her type and I’m sure she’ll totally fall in love head over heels had she played that weird retro game, Cho Aniki. Yeah, it will freak many of us out. But not Akemi. Ayaka is probably the strongest of the group since her family runs a boxing gym so it is no surprise she has the stamina and damn those abs on par with Shingeki No Kyojin’s Mikasa. Gina feels like the stereotype foreigner. There’s this running joke cliché about her being a foreigner who loves Japan but misunderstands its culture. And sometimes the things she says, you wonder if she is also a Russian because she doesn’t do, uhm, Russian-like stuffs. But you can learn a few simple Russian words from her.

All in all, despite all their effort they put in, the one thing that continues to elude them… They still have no boyfriend! Yeah, it’s the elusive prize and rare Pokemon they’ll ever catch! Heh. If they don’t snag one soon, soon they will join the singles club like Satomi and Aina. Every new year just drinking and getting drunk all by themselves. So sad… Good thing these girls are straight despite they go to an all-girls’ school. So f*ck the PC culture of gays and lesbians, these girls want a handsome guy as their man! Can’t you be happy for them for that? Oddly, after all the training we see them do, they don’t become buffed like Machio. Or at least we see them gain some muscles. Still the thin and svelte figure. Maybe they did enough power training to maintain that feminine size. Heck, even Hibiki looks rather okay before she started her Silverman Gym workout. After all, they don’t want to freak out hot pretty boys by looking so buffed, right? Don’t want to turn into Amazon women, right? On a trivial and unnecessary note, I wonder how many calories sex burns… Oh sh*t! A question that I’ve been dying to ask this series!!! It would be straight up weird to see a porn version of this series! Then a different ‘workout’ for us viewers, if you know what I mean!

Art and animation for this series feels simple and because of that, it has this cartoonish feel. To a point that sometimes when I look at it, the slightly cartoonish tone of the series, is this anime targeted for younger audiences? I don’t know. The girls look cutely cute, though? As we all know with Machio being so buffed, he looks funny and cartoonish so there you have it. And with the girls’ design being simple, I have a feeling I have seen them from other animes. Like I thought Hibiki looked like Nana from Sunohara-sou No Kanrinin-san. Doesn’t Ayaka look like Danganronpa’s Asahina? Akemi shares a resemblance to Ojou from Oshiete! Galko-chan and Gina is a simpler version of Anna from Shimoneta. Satomi? Those droopy eyes sure remind me of Sanae from Karakai Jouzu No Takagi-san. No points to guess whom Barnold and Jason take after. Hasta la vista, baby! This anime is done by Dogo Kobo who did YuruYuri, New Game, Himouto! Umaru-chan, Gabriel Dropout, Love Lab and GJ-Bu. Therefore you might see some similarities on the trademark of the girls’ cuteness here.

For the voice acting department, it is great to hear Yui Horie helming at least a supporting role instead of some minor extra role. After making taking a hiatus and thought she had made a comeback after that disastrous Ousama Game, she would be back for good but ever since she has been taking just cameo roles. So I hope to hear more of her but I have to also be realistic because I have to come to realize that many of my favourite seiyuus at this point are starting to go into semi-retire state. Oh well. I guess I should be appreciative of what I can get. The other seiyuus whom I recognized are Nao Touyama as Gina, Haruka Tomatsu as Aina, Rina Satou as Nana, Sayaka Ohara as Kure and Hiroyuki Yoshino as Deire. Shockingly I didn’t realize it was Yuuichi Nakamura’s voice behind Jason. Maybe he wasn’t in his usual angst mode that I often recognize him in like Fairy Tail’s Gray and Clannad’s Tomoya.

Another amazing note is how Hibiki is played by Ai Fairouz who is an Egyptian-Japanese. Not bad for her in landing a major voice acting role in her debut. I never actually thought she would be a foreigner because she sounds so, uhm, Japanese! Kudos on her first role and hope to hear her more in the future. The rest of the other casts are Sora Amamiya as Akemi (titular character in Akame Ga Kill), Shizuka Ishigami as Ayaka (Mito in Shokugeki No Souma), Kaito Ishikawa as Machio (Iida in Boku No Hero Academia), Tessyo Genda as Barnold (Kaidou in One Piece) and Nobuo Tobita as Toshio (Souun in Uchouten Kazoku).

Personally, the most amazing part which catches your attention is the opening theme. Onegai Muscle by the duet of Hibiki and Machio is an absolutely fantastic catchy song. Why, this song could be in the running for the best anime song of the year! This song has such vibrancy and vitality that not it makes a good song for any workout video. The hip hop and rap nature enhances its awesomeness and you can learn some of the workout terms from the lyrics too. Even if I can’t bring myself to do all those exercises, I sure can hear this song over and over and over and over again to get hype! I never really got bored of it! Let me hear this song one more time! “Onegai muscle, meccha motetai! Onegai muscle, meccha yasetai, yes!”… As for the ending theme, Macho A Name by Machio is also epic in its own right but personally it still can’t match up to Onegai Muscle. In this song, it sounds weird because you have all the macho guys singing in the background and it just makes you feel gay hearing it! I mean, with the lyrics like, “Muscle, muscle! Kinniku wa muscle, Oideyo macho a name”. Ugh! So gay… And honestly, it’s still nice to listen! But not sing along because I feel gay while trying to do so… The final episode’s ending theme, Snow Globe by Tea feels like some epic Hollywood slow ballad. It is fitting for that final episode but how come it reminds me of Titanic’s My Heart Will Go On? Probably as it is sung in English and has that suspiciously familiar flute accompaniment. My Muscles Will Go On should’ve been it!

Honestly, to let you in on a little secret, I have been doing a bit of a personal workout myself even before this series aired. Yup, I do some short exercises while I watch my daily anime but they only often lasts as long as 10 minutes. So I’m not going to get that desired body any time soon. Gotta be patient and persevere… But thanks to this anime which could not have been even timely, now I have a few more ideas to add to my repertoire and now my workout session can last up till about 15 minutes before I’m out breath! Hey, at least there is some sort of improvement, no?! I hope. But still not cutting down on that tasty and yummy chocolate and fried chicken, though… Some pleasures you just can’t do away with completely.

Overall, this anime has been quite entertaining, educational and enlightening. This series is refreshing and unique because it is quite down to earth, simple and realistic. Something different than all the isekai fantasy genre that we’ve been spammed lately in recent seasons. Who’d knew there would be so much fun in seeing the characters wade through their way through various simple exercises. A double bonus for me because it makes me feel good inside after watching while doing my mini exercises. I know they make it look easy but you still have to put in the effort and be consistent and persistent. No pain, no gain. Though, having no pain is still my preferred motto. Even if they don’t get a boyfriend in the end, at least they stayed fit. Fit and single sounds a lot better than fat and single (loser)! F*ck PC culture on fat acceptance! It’s the survival of the fittest not the fattest. It’s either you shape up or you ship out. Until then, always nice bulk everybody! Oh my macho…