I definitely understand the appeal of this series. So, if you have any interest in strength-training or just wanting a short, comedy anime series to watch and enjoy, then give “How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? – The Complete Series” a try!
TITLE: How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? – The Complete Series
ANIME RELEASE DATE IN JAPAN: 2019
DURATION: Episodes 1-12 (300 Minutes)
BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 4×3, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Funimation
RATED: TV 14
Release Date: July 7, 2020
Originally Created by MAAM, Yabako Sandrovich
Directed by Yamazaki Mitsue
Series Composition: Shimo Fumihiko
Music by Hashimoto Yukari
Character Design by Kikuchi Ai
Art Director: Sugiura Miho
Anime Production: Doga Kobo
Featuring the following voice talent:
Fairouz Ai/Madeleine Morris as Hibiki Sakura
Amamiya Sora/Sarah Wiedenheft as Akemi Sōryūin
Toyama Nao/Alexis Tipton as Gina Boyd
Tomatsu Haruka/Jessica Cavanagh as Rumika Aina
Horie Yui/Leah Clark as Satomi Tachibana
Ishigami Shizuka/Morgan Lauré as Ayaka Uehara
Ohara Sayaka/Natalie Hoover as Yakusha Kure
Ishikawa Kaito/Stephen Fu as Naruzō Machio
Hibiki Sakura’s love for food is starting to affect her size. In effort to slim down, she scopes out her local gym only to discover two problems—it’s a haven for intimidating body builders, and her classmate Akemi has a weirdly aggressive muscle obsession. After meeting her handsome personal trainer, Machio, Hibiki bites the bullet and starts her quest for a hot bod!
NOTE: The following being reviewed is the Digital Edition and not the Blu-ray release
In 2019, there has been a big push for men to go muscular and women to compete in body sculpting competitions.
One can thank singer Nishikawa Takanori (aka T.M. Revolution) who went from thin to muscular and actor/saxaphonist Takeda Shinji, who was having health issues that affected his saxophone playing which is doctor recommended he work out and sure enough, Takeda who was known for his very slim stature became the face of muscular talent and one of the muscle men of NHK’s “Kinnkiu 3- Ninshu”.
While male TV talents were showing that it’s cool to have a muscular and physique body, which is counter to the typical Japanese body-type, Japan has had a boom in female talents showcasing their muscular/toned body.
From cosplayer MIHARU (who competes in IFBB Bikini Pro competitions), models ROLA and Fujita Nicole posting their training videos on Instagram.
There has been a boom of female talents showcasing their muscular abs and workouts have been a big thing many female entertainers tend to share on SNS.
And there has been admiration by some of these talents for a manga titled “Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?” (How many kilo’s on the dumbbells can you lift?) which is written by Sandrovichi Yabako and illustrated by MAAM.
The series was so popular that it would receive an anime adaptation in July-September 2019 courtesy of Doga Kobo.
And now the anime series titled “How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?” is available on Blu-ray courtesy of Funimation.
The series revolves around Sakura Hibiki who wants to lose weight (as she loves to eat), feeling insecure that she won’t be able to attract anyone. Despite not wanting to be overly muscular, she joins the local Silverman gym where she sees classmate, the perfect model student, Soryuin Akemi, who joined because she wanted to live a healthy life.
And to help them out is Machio Naruzo, a tall guy who often wears a blue and white tracksuit.
While he looks very slim, once he removes his clothes (which he tends to do quite often and only wearing a speedo), he showcases his uber muscular physique. Machio went to a university in the USA where he studied sports theory and would eventually become interested in bodybuilding and learning under Harnnold Dogegenchonegger.
Eventually they start working out with world history teacher Tachibana Satomi, who is a closet cosplay/anime fan. When her colleagues complain of her weight gain, Tachibana joins Silverman Gym to lose weight and is surprised her students are also attending the gym.
Another teacher, Yakushi Kure joins the gym but is sensitive when people comment about her age. She has a secret life of being an assassin.
Sakura’s friend Uehara Ayaka, who’s family trains in their family boxing gym and decides to hold boxing classes at Silverman Gym due the increased membership at their own gym.
And the other friend they meet is Russian transfer student Gina Boyd. Very competitive and decides to make Sakura Hibiki her rival after losing a competition and joining the gym.
Together, the young ladies hang out and take part in competitions but most importantly, being there to ensure that both stay on path and not stray away from their workouts but also to inspire each other no matter how difficult their workouts can be.
I have to say that when I first saw “Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?”/”How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?” making a lot of noise in Japan, I was surprised.
For one, Japan hasn’t been a culture known for bodybuilding. In fact, the physique that many men try to emulate are its celebrities who are typically skinny, those with six pack abs were looked at as awesome and worked hard in obtaining those abs.
But now, those same skinny celebrities are now becoming bodybuilders and have grown in size and aren’t afraid to show it.
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Suffice to say, the discussion about working out, becoming muscular has become a big topic in Japan and as for the anime series, “How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?” it coincided with the muscles/workout popularity which was featured on the news. Never before have I seen workout shows in Japan about going muscular.
The anime series even led to a collaboration cafe in Tokyo and Osaka.
So, with that being said, how is this series overall?
If anything, this is a sports comedy anime series. Friends who workout and are competitive. Inspiring each other, calling each other out, competing with one another and seeing how all that hard work has led to them growing from each other’s work out and leading to a final episode which all of them compete against each other.
It’s a fun, short anime series that will appeal to those who care about working out but also some of the absurdity of it (ie. Machio always stripping down to show his muscular physique) but also showcasing real-life weight training techniques.
In a way, perhaps I’m more biased to enjoying this anime series because I had similar friends who went to the gym with me and I went from a skinny guy to a muscular guy and it’s quite fun when you workout among friends and have each other to count on but also to inspire you when you feel like quitting.
So, I definitely understand the appeal of this series. So, if you have any interest in strength-training or just wanting a short, comedy anime series to watch and enjoy, then give “How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? – The Complete Series” a try!
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