I've not watched any anime for ages — not because I haven't wanted to, but simply because I haven't been making time for it.
I decided to be decisive and change that last night, and the anime I picked for my triumphant return to the medium was this season's currently airing How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? — a show about a cute girl who, upset to be putting on weight (but oblivious to her lifestyle factors that were making this happen) decides to join a local gym with a certain sense of trepidation.
I'm in love. There are only two episodes released so far at the time of writing, but I'm already feeling a bit like I want to do something kind of unprecedented for me: I want to re-watch those two episodes I've already seen, I enjoyed them so much. It's a wonderful blend of comedy and fanservice, and it's utterly charmed me so far.
Not only that, but I found the educational content of the show to actually be rather inspirational — so much so that I've found myself looking up opening times and costs for my local gym, and am strongly considering joining up to complement my early-morning swimming sessions that I'm hoping to make more of a habit this coming week. It may help, of course, that the more educational sections of the show — most notably those that demonstrate the exercises and how they might be beneficial — are needlessly erotic in the best possible way.
Popular media is a wonderful means of inspiring people to do things — whether it's learning an instrument, making new friends, getting fit or simply being a better person. I'm already feeling that How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? is going to be a favourite anime from this season — and people who watch a lot more than I do are always saying that this season is the strongest they've seen for a long time!
Will it top that glorious season we had Gabriel Dropout, Interviews with Monster Girls and Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid all in one go, though? That remains to be seen, but I think I've flipped the switch in my head that has made me excited to find out now…
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