NICE BULK! |How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? Review

Back when I first started my journey to lose weight, I really wished I had something that I was really into that would make this journey a little easier. I always thought back on how much I learned from sports anime and how they motivated me to get into said sport. After a year on my Journey, we now have How Heavy Are The Dumbbells You Lift? or Danberu. As much as it sucks that I couldn’t experience this series when I started my journey, I’m really happy to see it now so that I can gain new information and have a better perspective on the subject matter now.

I will likely be talking spoilers in this post so I do recommend, if you haven’t watched it, to go check it out. Also, check out my first impressions I wrote for the series a few months ago.

When I first heard that some people who played a huge part in NEW GAME! are working on this series, I was super excited to check it out. The initial PV didn’t really help in selling it, to be honest. You only saw the main girls lifting and heard heavy breathing. The last thing you want is someone walking by your room thinking you are watching Hentai…

The series did meet my expectations on overall quality. I didn’t have high expectations on animation quality because this isn’t meant to be some sakuga induced thrill ride. It’s just an anime on strength training and fitness. Though, we somehow get these crazy JoJo inspired moments that blow us away. Hibiki’s arm wrestling showdowns were one of the best highlights for me this season and I must’ve shared the gif of it everywhere. It was so good!

Speaking of Hibiki, I believe she is a great protagonist for this series. She is a bottomless pit that just wants to lose weight to meet boys. Many may be feeling the same way at her age. At the end of the season, she learns more about strength training and diet while gaining all of these great friends. One of my favorite things about the last episode was seeing her jump on scale happy with her results. I’d rather see her have this moment at the of the season making it known to the audience that progress comes with consistency over time with your diet and exercise. Let’s also not forget that she practically has super strength because of all that food she eats.

Danberu does a great job of providing you with a base. I learned most of my lifts and routines from a friend who showed me the ropes. Some people are uncomfortable with asking for help so this may be more helpful for that crowd who needs a spark of inspiration and quick bits of information. Learning how to do the lift, how it benefits you and then taking the time to have you do the exercise with the characters at the end is such a great way to ease the audience in. They also provide great ways to do most of the exercises at home.

I’ll be honest, I initially thought this series would be for anyone but I was probably wrong. I thought with all this great information that it was providing and entertainment value, it was just a no brainer. I tend to forget how much fan service can turn someone off very quickly. I do understand. It’s not for everyone. It’s unfortunate. I would love it if there was something that pleases everyone so that everyone can be more informed on fitness and enjoy anime together.

Hopefully this isn’t the end of the road for these girls. I would love to get another season or even just a spin off series of Machio because that guy had some crazy life we still don’t know about. At least the manga will be coming to the US in November so we will have legal ways to read it. Thanks for taking the time to read this and supporting us even though we are ridiculously inconsistent. We love y’all!