English Dub Review: How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? “Do You Like Christmas?”

Overview:

It’s already the holiday season in Dumbbell land, and Silverman Gym is having a party.

Our Take:

It is an adventure. The girls all want to flirt with cute guys, and use the party as an opportunity to do so. They’re all single, and that does bother them. They are still teenage girls, after all, and worry about that kind of thing. Somehow, them all not realizing that all the cute guys were muscle men was pretty funny. What did they expect from the patrons of this gym, exactly?

Admittedly, this episode didn’t actually focus too much on exercises. They were there, of course, but there was a significantly less of actual exercise and instead was on more events. It felt far more slice of life, because it’s focused on the happenings of the girls outside of working out (even if that component was still there). Honestly, I’m here for it? The girls all have a really nice friendship, even including Tachibana in their antics, and all support each other. Comedically, they end up playing off each other well. Even if what they’re doing isn’t exercise related, it’s still fun to watch. I’m completely here for more of this.

The twist that it wasn’t entirely romantic with Machio was actually cute. I was a little concerned, since Machio is clearly an adult either in his twenties or early thirties, and Akemi is still in high school. But no, she just wanted to ogle him, and he just wanted to cosplay. Surprisingly, it all worked out.

I still really appreciate that this show treats cosplay fairly well. Machio picked it up as a hobby after Comiket, but also knows he can’t do it regularly, hence his desire to go to the cosplay event at Not-Disneyland. He isn’t flustered by it, and finds it fun. Zina too, has kept Tachibana’s secret, and even tries to help her keep it under wraps when Tachibana has a slip of the tongue. At the same time, it doesn’t shy away from the fact that cosplay can get pretty embarrassing at times, especially if you’re in an outfit that doesn’t entirely suit your age. Tachibana, clearly an adult, in a school uniform is something she doesn’t want her colleagues to see because it’s so out of place out of the context of cosplay. Every cosplayer understands that, one way or another, it’s very relatable.