I’ve had a rocky relationship with fanservice and I’m interested to learn where the good people of Doujins.com stand on the matter. You see, I began my time with anime in my teenage years. Back then I was a dumb fuck who didn’t know good from bad, left from right, and well-written from shit. Whenever I saw fanservice I automatically assumed “and there it is, another dumb show trying to appeal to the low IQ mongoloids, unlike my supreme teenage intellect self”. Anytime fanservice would show up I’d be put off even in anime I loved like Code Geass. Furthermore, I ended up never giving anime like Highschool of the Dead a chance (which was all the rage back then in my school let me tell you.) According to some reviews I may have been right to skip it, but that’s not the point. The point is that I’ve recently been impressed.
If y'all don't get the fuck up off the floor and go back to saving the world in the next three seconds I swear to God...
No anime that I’ve seen in recent years has utilized fanservice in such a crafty and captivating way as How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? It’s an edutainment comedy anime that focuses on providing information to viewers regarding exercise techniques, tips and tricks. How do they do that you may ask? Well the show has several segments where an instructor character talks about a specific exercise or fact while one of the girls from the main cast is demoing said exercise. They’re often portrayed as sweaty, toned, and hot as fuck. During these segments the camera will often pan toward specific muscle groups related to the topic at hand, which the girls pose to show off. You bet your ass I’ve learned more about muscles in the past few weeks than I did in my entire year of human anatomy back in high school. My eyes were naturally drawn to the girls on screen cause well…I’m horny...but the show’s ability to hold your attention and cram in information about your hamstrings, iliopsoas, glutes, and whatever else thanks to that was pretty eye-opening for me.
I don't even blink during these segments. That's training your eye muscles man.
Over time I’ve softened up on my stance on fanservice, especially in comedic instances, and this show really made me appreciate what it can accomplish when put into the right hands. When are you ok with seeing fanservice? Do you think a certain anime handled fanservice well? Work those hand muscles and let me know what you think in the comments!
