DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyDumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?
ONA ActionKengan Ashura
SPECIAL ComedyDumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?: Silverman Gym Oni Tore Kouza

REVIEWS

• 

  Razovy

  75/100
  Working out ain't fun, we all know that by now. But watching cute girls working out? That's a whole different story!

  ダンベル何キロ持てる？ How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Written by [Razovy](https://anilist.co/user/Razovy/)

  Working out... yeah... it ain't fun! I remember when I had to work out almost every single day for 8 years straight. At the time it didn't really bother me all that much because I was used to it, but ladies and gentlemen, after quitting and trying to go back to it recently... I just couldn't.
  I used to play an amazing sport called Kickboxing and it required me to visit both the boxing-gym as the training-gym almost every single day. When I wasn't lifting weights I was either hitting someone in the face or getting knocked in the face (the latter being the least fun).

  I recently picked up this anime and I was surprised about how well it described the ups and downs of training. Not only that, but there were tons of cute girls in it, even a boxing girl!

  We start out with our main character Hibiki who is starting to put on a few. In complete disarray she joins a famous gym, meeting Akemi, the most famous girl in school. With the help of Machio, their trainer, Hibiki is determined to lose the extra pounds.

  The Good
  'How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?', besides being very funny, is genuinely educational. The exercises these girls have to do are very effective in real life as well!
  The comedy and educational side of the show is great of course, but the real reason we tuned in every week is because of the wonderful characters. I'm a sucker for Cute Girls Doing Cute Things, and there are plenty to choose from in this anime. My favourites being the teacher (Tachibana Sensei) and Ayaka, the boxing girl. No matter who your favourite might be, I can ensure you that the dynamic between the characters will make you want to keep watching!

  The Bad
  Fortunately there isn't a lot to mention here. That doesn't make this the perfect show, not even by far! However, for an anime that knows its audience and tropes so well as this one, I feel like I should only judge it on the few shortcomings it had regarding it.
  The main shortcoming is that although the story is enjoyable, there is nothing truly interesting about it. Is that necessarily wrong? Absolutely not: again, this anime knows its audience and a strong story isn't what keeps them showing up every week. It would be odd for me to start talking about character development and plot progression, as this is not what 'How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?' is aiming for.

  Conclusion
  I definitely like this show! It will never be my favourite anime, but I am planning on reading the manga. I hope that says at least something about how well the story makes you come back every time.
  Should you watch it? Sure. It won't be mind-blowing but after a hard day of work this show is very enjoyable to watch. It mellows you out :)

  Thank you very much for reading my review! I hope it was useful!

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• 

  nflstreet

  75/100
  Both a fun slice of life anime and an entertaining infomercial about exercising

  

  Going into Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?, my expectations for it were low. I did not think it was possible for a full-length anime about exercising to be entertaining, but I was proven wrong by Dumbbell.

  The anime follows Hibiki, a girl who decides to start going to Silverman Gym after she weighs herself and finds out that she is overweight. Joining her is Akemi, her school’s student council president and main workout partner; Ayaka, whose family runs a Boxing Gym; and Zina, a transfer student from Russia who self-appoints herself as Hibiki’s ‘rival’. Dumbbell also has a big list of supporting characters, the most important being Tachibana, a teacher at the school the four girls go to, and Machio, their eccentric (and shredded) trainer.

  Falling (generally) under the “cute girls do cute things” type of anime, Dumbbell is one of the most informative and useful ones to be aired. Lifting weights, cardio, aerobics, isometrics, etc. are a useful thing to know about, especially if you are out of shape and want to start working out. While watching an anime about working out is not the most conventional way of getting into working out, it beats listening to random people on imageboards or reddit, watching videos on YouTube that have conflicting information, or going into a gym cold turkey and not knowing what to do. Dumbbell not only has “cute girls do cute things” checked off, but it also gives you information that is actually useful in the real world.

  A huge part of the anime is its informative sections about exercise, Machio’s Muscle Lessons being the most prominent of them. These sections cut out from the actual anime for a minute or two at the time, but do not detract from it. They work as a combination of an infomercial for that particular exercise and also an explainer for what the characters on the screen are doing. Another example of this is at the end of each episode, Machio and the four main girls and Tachibana review an exercise that was done in the episode and do a set of said exercise, encouraging the audience to go along with them. Going along with them is optional but is encouraged to get the full satisfaction of watching the anime.

  As for the actual plot of Dumbbell, there really is not much there to speak of. Sure, there are episodic plots and some overarching themes, but nothing deep and moving. For this type of anime, this is perfect—it knows what it is, and does not try to be anything else other than a funny and sometimes educational slice of life anime. There are no unnecessary conflicts or drama in Dumbbell that often detract from other anime of a similar nature. It is not that none of the characters go through any hardships or dilemmas, but the anime deals with it in a light-hearted way that does not drag on or make it a chore to finish an episode. Most characters have a problem or two they have to try to figure out (or hide), but it does not detract from the show itself.

  Although you do not have to work out or want to work out to watch Dumbbell, it might inspire you or at least make you more knowledgeable about it. While most of the information the anime gives out is factual, there are some things it states that can be disputed, like the concept of ‘Golden Time’ for example. Several more experienced lifters have dissected some of the episodes like this guy. If you do not care about the actual details and just like slice-of-life anime, you should give Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? a shot.

  ---

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• 

  CryingLad

  94/100
  The true motivation to go and exercise

  [This is SOL, so not that much spoilers. Only pure MUSCLE.]()

  
  
  I saw this Anime a season before it was starting to air and thought that it would be some another trash ecchi bait, but holy shit I actually love this show.

  [PREMISE OF THE SHOW:]()
  The show focuses on Hibiki Sakura, a high schooler which loves to eat as much as possible, when her friend (Ayaka Uehara) tells her that she gained weight she tries her best to lose that weight by signing up to the Silverman Gym. And thus the whole show starts.

  The show is filled with many educational scenes which show us how to safely and properly exercise.
  The show also does contain many comedic scenes which I found funny, but to be honest I was too focused on the excercises. This god damn show has actually made me want to go out and do something. Big props to this show for doing that.

  Overtime in the show more and more character join Hibiki in her adventure to lose weight. There are many events that happen during all of this but I would say that you watch the show, its quite an experience.

  

  
  

  [CHARACTERS:]()
  Hibiki Sakura - The main character in this show, she is very motivated to lose weight. She did show intense strength, mostly when she had something to gain. Hibiki is so cheerful and happy that it made this show so much better.

  Akemi Souryuuin - A muscle obssesed gal, she wants to be made of 100% pure muscle. She is much more technical than Hibiki or the rest. She is kind of like Machio-san. A good character nonetheless.

  Ayaka Uehara - The one who pushed Hibiki into exercise, she also joins the same gym and learns the way of kinniku with Hibiki and the rest of the gang. She comes from a family of boxers so therefore she knows her way around kinniku.

  Satomi Tachibana - The teacher of the rest of the squad, she was uneasy exercising with her students but soon enough they bonded together and all of the get along just fine. Because she is teacher she is more serious about things but I still liked this character anyway, always made for some funny scenes.

  Naruzou Machio - The star of the show, machio-san is perfection on another level, there is no one else like him. The way of kinniku is him, he is the kinniku. Anyway he is the instructor of the gang and he takes muscles very seriously. Honestly everytime he appeared on the screen he made the show just that much better.

  Zina Void - The russian gal, my goodness she is great. I was waiting my whole life to hear a Japanese voice actor acting as a Russian scream "BLYAT". Zina is very competetive, which is great cause I also can relate to her. She becomes friends with the rest very quickly and easily.

  Those were the main character of the show, of course there are some side characters but I think I already wrote enough in the character section.

  

  
  

  [ART/ANIMATION:]()
  The animation is great, really smooth and fluid during the exercises. Of course its not a high budget Anime movie or KyoAni standards but it really is nice to look at each episode.
  The same goes for the artstyle, its nice and colourfull.

  

  
  

  [MUSIC:]()
  The OP and ED are such BOPS, my goodness. I listen to them nearly everyday, they are just so catchy. Honestly they make any exercise playlist 1000x better.

  

  
  

  [OVERALL OPINION:]()
  I honestly didn't think this show would be so good, I was gonna write it off as some trash but the first episode was enough to change my mind, it also get better each episode. Honestly this is such a great show.

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