Anime has always been a medium used to shine a spotlight on exercising in one manner or the other. Sports anime stimulated people to join a club or One Punch Man, which started a trend thanks to Saitama’s routine.
With a title as heavy as its topic’s muscles, this anime uses comedy, a slice of life, and facts to bring fitness and weightlifting into our living room. If you did not feel like lifting yourself, you still appreciated the show, right?
With that said, will Hibiki come back with her brawny crew with Season 2?
What Happened So Far In How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift
Hibiki Sakura is a high-schooler with a fierce appetite, to say it nicely. To be blunter, let’s say that she is quite a greedy character. Her friend Ayaka Uehara does not miss the occasion to tell her that her waistline is expanding generously and shamed by her habits (and the prospect that it will make her look less desirable). Hibiki decides to join the Silverman Gym.
There she encounters the Student Council President (and honorary idol) of her school, Akemi Soryouin. But between Akemi’s fiery adoration for muscles and the gym being frequented by famous professionals from the bodybuilding world, Hibiki loses her motivation. She is stopped by Naruzo Machio, one of the trainers, who convinces her that she will make it as long as she earnestly works toward her goal. Presently head over heels for her coach, Hibiki decides to tackle the world of fitness and toned shape to achieve her objective, perhaps wow Machio in the process, and get used to a whole new lifestyle.
What Is Going On With Doga Kobo?
How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift premiered on July 3, 2019, and ended on September 18, 2019, after twelve episodes. The anime is directed by Mitsu Yamazaki, written by Fumihiko Shimono, and Yukari Hashimoto composed the score.
Anime and manga have that thing to focus on one specific activity and make it exciting and engaging. There has to be something about knitting out there, and we do not know it yet. How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? to reconcile the crowds with gyming and convince the hesitant novices to stop thinking and jump into it.
The anime is a charming mix between comedy, sports, a slice of life, and ecchi. It works extremely well. Yes, even the ecchi that strangely finds its place into the grand scheme of things here. The plot is weightless (we have puns here) and a bit disconnected. However, it is just enough to give a real motivation to its protagonist, introduce us to the rest of the cast, and set the rest of the story on the right track. That is why the slice of life is quite enjoyable, not dull or repetitive throughout those twelve episodes.
The comedy is lighthearted and pretty solid, coming from all angles and hitting the mark. It does not need to be forced as the tone, atmosphere, characters, and visual gags have fantastic chemistry with each other. From an insane arm-wrestling competition that will leave you with broken ribs (laughing will do that, believe it) to aspirations to become muscle idols, there is something for everyone to laugh at. The show uses all the techniques in the books to reference real people and movies without getting a copyright strike: the supporting cast characters have the most excellent names (Barnold Shortsinator, Jason Sgatham, Comrade Poutine) or Fist of the North Star being called “the world’s first muscle manga” by Machio as he cosplays Kenshiro.
The anime uses shots à la Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure adding a sense of critical tension to its visual gags and constantly plays with contrasts (read: Machio). As said before, the ecchi is seamlessly used, not being invasive and out of context just for the sake of showing too much skin and sexy shots. It was not needed, but it is not too much either. You will see such during the bits of the informative instruction. How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? shows that even with its atypical format, it is a sports anime: if you need information about fitness, gym, and working out, go no farther, for this anime has it all. The exercises and the advice given are all rooted in reality and can be used by viewers, newbies, and enthusiasts alike. They come in well explained and presented instructional bits, focused on diets, specific exercises, muscles to use or not, and even posture. And that is not all: post-credits, you will find a short workout to follow and easy to do at home. It is motivational and inspirational.
Can you feel the enthusiasm?
The characters do not go through an emotional journey. Is it a flaw? No. The boys in The Everyday Life of High School Boys do not either, and this anime was a 10/10 slice of life/comedy. How do you achieve likable characters that we want to follow even if nothing significant is happening? You allow them to be relatable while still being their person. We can all find ourselves in each of the central girls, and we all love to feel supported by someone like Machio.
The protagonist, Hibiki, is adorable in all her gluttony and shallow goals. Who does not know the struggle of losing weight because food is way too delicious and should be thoroughly enjoyed in this life and not the next? And striving to lose weight or gain muscles to look good this summer on the beaches, strutting our stuff?
The rest of the main cast is as colorful: Ayaka has a background in boxing and has natural ABS, Akemi looks proper but has gone crazy for muscles (read: Gou from Free!), Gina is a Russian otaku from the Silverman Gym Russian Branch, Satomi is a teacher trying to stay fit for her cosplay addiction while trying to hide that she is very much into cosplaying and Machio is the kind and supportive trainer with deceptive looks as the man triple his muscles volumes once he starts flexing those bad boys. It’s impossible to get bored.
The animation is average, but Doga Kobo knows how to play off its weaknesses by using still shots, speed lines, and dynamic angles. The character design is simple (not including those ridiculous muscled bodies), but its simplicity allows the studio to switch between styles during comedic bits easily. However, that does not mean that the anime has nothing for itself: Doga Kobo has skills, and the studio uses them when and where it matters: some of the sakuga used in the show is fantastic.
Doga Kobo is kept busy as they have a lot of projects lined up in the present and the future. In 2021, the Selection project and My Senpai is Annoying both started in October and are still airing (meaning that the studio is still working on them). In 2022, three more animes are already planned, including a movie.
What do we know about How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift Season 2 so far?
Unfortunately, nothing new. It has not been said that it was outright canceled, but nothing new in the anime industry. Several anime have been abandoned after a season or two, without an explanation. That is often the case for anime created solely for promotional purposes.
What are fans saying about How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift Season 2?
Not a lot of conversations about Season 2 can be found.
The question has been asked. Here are the reasons provided: when the anime ended, the manga only had seven volumes; Doga Kobo is not known for producing second seasons for its anime; the anime ended recently in 2019. Furthermore, Doga Kobo has a pretty full and busy schedule for the months to come, so is it worth it to wait for the news right now? How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? has a subreddit active at regular intervals, and it is mentioned on Twitter (not that often though). The anime has a Discord server and scored decently on MAL, AniList and IMDB.
Will there be How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift Season 2?
The source material of How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? is a manga written by Yabako Sandrovich and illustrated by MAAM. Serialization started in August 2016, and the series is still ongoing today with thirteen volumes out. Sandrovich is also the mind behind Kengan Ashura. If both mangas are different, they show the writer’s love and knowledge of martial arts and fitness. The manga was nominated in 2019 for the Shogakukan Manga Awards and Gadget Tsuushin included lines from the OP and the workout videos in its anime buzzwords list 2019.
Funimation released the complete series on Blu-ray in 2020. How heavy are the Dumbbells you Lift? has an excellent selection when it comes to goodies (towels, t-shirts, tote bags, key chains, curtains, plushies, and so on). In Japan, the title is widespread, with search queries consistently scoring pretty high (a constant seventy-five without reaching zero over the previous twelve months). In the West, interest comes and goes in pretty drastic ways.
When will How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift Season 2 be released?
No date is available. The show ended only in 2019; there is still some hope to see Season 2 one day before completely scratching the idea. The manga has a lot of material to adapt to right now since the anime touched on less than the first six volumes.
What Can We Expect In Season 2 Of How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?
Hibiki’s and her friends’ journey toward fitness perfection still has a lot to show; however, it might not happen before a while. Or never, for that matter, if we look at the studio in charge. A shame as the manga is still ongoing and has a lot of steam going on for itself. With thirteen volumes out, there is enough material for a new season of twelve episodes. People enjoyed the first season, and the show was a prominent tool to motivate some viewers to exercise.
