Interview with the main pairing from muscle porn anime Dumbbell Nankilo Moteru? – half-Egyptian rookie Fairouz Ai (Sakura Hibiki) and Amamiya Sora (Soryuin Akemi). One of the shows that I’d been looking forward to most this summer, though I daresay it still won’t make me get my ass off my chair (unless 10ch ‘persuades‘ me…)
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The anime captures the global bodybuilding boom!
Q: NHK’s ‘Bodybuilding For Everyone’ (Minna no Kinniku Taisō) became such a big hit that its stars were invited to the 2018 NHK Kohaku Utagassen – the bodybuilding boom really seems to be making waves!
Fairouz: Yeah (laughs)!
Q: Have you seen ‘Bodybuilding For Everyone’?
Fairouz: I did! I really love Murasame (Tatsumasa)-san!
Amamiya: Eh?
Fairouz: He’s a Swedish guy who became a naturalised Japanese citizen. He’s so cool!
Amamiya: Is he a bulging (muscles) guy?
Fairouz: He’s muscly! Plus, he’s a gardener. He’s totally cool.
Amamiya: Oh~~! I didn’t know that. Are the bodybuilding workouts similar to radio calisthenics?
Fairouz: Erm, it’s got poker-faced macho guys doing strength training exercises.
Amamiya: …Is it supposed to be a surreal kind of thing?
Q: The show is pretty surreal. When it first started, people were wondering ‘What the heck is this?’
Fairouz: I was thinking ‘Is this really showing on NHK?’ (laughs) Let’s do some strength training exercises!
Amamiya: I-I’ll make up my mind after I see it first…
Fairouz-san’s unstoppable muscle love
Q: Fairouz Ai-san, you love strength training and muscles, don’t you?
Fairouz: I love them! I love them as much as I love eating three meals a day.
Q: So you must’ve been fated to meet Hibiki.
Fairouz: That’s right. When I heard about this title I thought to myself, ‘I wanna be in this show!’. I wondered if the reason I’d been training all this while was because I was destined to encounter this series. I’ve been training for a year and 9 months now.
Q: Amamiya-san, do you like muscles?
Amamiya: Nope, I don’t like them at all (laughs) I think a lot of women have muscle fetishes. Like, ‘Oh my god those arm muscles are insane!’. Not me though – in fact, I can’t stand them. But now that I’ve tried working out myself, I can imagine how tough it is to actually get to that point so I do have a lot of respect for them!
Q: So you do work out, correct?
Amamiya: I go to the gym twice a week.
Q: Great! I was just about to ask about your gym experience.
Fairouz: I was working at a gym around 2 years ago, but that’s not why I started strength training, it’s the opposite – I got a part-time job there because I was interested in strength training. I can get specialist tips on the job and use the gym for free – it was totally worth it! Obviously I’ve already quit the job but the knowledge I gained from my time there has proved to be useful for this part.
Q: What sort of strength training do you do?
Fairouz: I get asked that question a lot! (laughs) Right now, I go to the gym around 3 times a week and I split them up into leg, chest and back days. For wide stance squats, I do them while lifting around 50kg of weights…
Amamiya: T-that’s amazing.
Fairouz: For leg days I do Bulgarian squats and leg curls to strengthen my hamstrings and I also use abdominal machines to work on my abs. I do dead-lifts and one-hand rowing for back days, as well as arm curls and dumbbell kickbacks as well as ab machines for my abs. For chest days I do bench presses, dumbbell bench presses, dumbbell flyes, shoulder presses, side raises and ab crunches.
Amamiya: Amazing…
Q: I understand your reaction (laughs). What’s the aim with all this training?
Fairouz: I kinda think I wanna be like a gorilla.
Amamiya: That’s unusual (laughs)
Fairouz: People like (muscle idol) Saiki Reika and the trainer AYA are super cool. I wanna be a strong, cool woman who can knock people out with one punch. But yeah, I think I need to narrow it down a bit. After a workout I’ll go ‘Yay I did my best!’ and then go home while eating fried chicken and ice cream.
Q: The more I hear the more I’m convinced you’re really just Hibiki in disguise…it’d be great if a balloon showing the amount of calories popped up next to your ice cream, wouldn’t it?
Fairouz: Nooooo! I wouldn’t be able to eat it (laughs). Don’t wanna see those calories~
Q: Amamiya-san, you perform in concerts so you’d have to train for them, correct?
Amamiya: I got frustrated trying to work out at the gym and things like that, so there was a period of time where I’d given up but I’ve started going again thanks to this series. My goal is purely to work on target areas – I’m not looking to bulk up but to slim down certain chubby bits. So yeah, I work with a personal trainer on my upper arms, buttocks, thighs and back.
Q: It’s nice to have a dedicated trainer.
Amamiya: To be honest, working out is really not my thing and I’m not fond of anything that requires hard work or is painful, so I think it’s kinda impossible for someone like me to persist unless I have a personal trainer.
Q: You’d get frustrated.
Amamiya: If you work alone there are days where you’ll think ‘I can’t be bothered today, let’s just not do it’, plus I don’t have the interest nor the knowledge so I can’t figure out how to do things properly unless someone demonstrates it for me. So yeah I’d recommend a personal trainer. There’s also the fact that I’m also working on this series so I don’t want to feel embarrassed about it – I have a friend like Fai-chan after all. Many of the cast members do strength training too and having them around inspires me to work hard.
Also, I made a promise with Fai-chan where we’d both work towards our goals; Fai-chan to bulk up and me to slim down to my ideal figure, so that we can show each other the results of our efforts at the (anime’s) event – and that’s why I’m doing my best.
She’ll get switched out if she slims down!? Maintaining the status quo in hopes of a 2nd season!?
Q: By the way, can you tell me what I should do to get a six-pack? I’m doing planking, which the manga is covering now, but can you really get abs without using any training equipment?
Fairouz: Yes you can! The latest publication (vol 7 released on June 19) has a story about ‘how to get abs within 2 weeks’ so do check it out!
Amamiya: Ahahaha.
Q: Oh, you’re shilling the series (laughs)
Fairouz: But they do show you how to train without any weights. I have to warn you though – it’s super-duper tough! Though I’ve got to say that everyone has abs – it’s just a matter of whether it’s visible through all that subcutaneous fat. If your body fat ratio goes down, those abs will definitely shine through!
Amamiya: You’re right. When I was thin, I could form a 4-pack if I strained hard enough. I wish I could go back to that level. I’m not saying that I want to get ripped though…
Fairouz: Let’s both do our best~
Q: Speaking of the series – the manga is really interesting; how did you find it?
Fairouz: It was like strength training had finally obtained its citizenship! I was super happy. There hasn’t been a series that focuses mainly on diet and working out and now that we’re seeing a fitness boom, I think it’s very timely for the manga to ride the wave of popularity.
Also, there are so many misleading diet plans out there. They promise stuff like ‘you definitely won’t relapse!’. If young people fall for those tricks they might eventually end up with eating disorders etc, so this manga aims to put an end to such problems by introducing proper dieting methods and setting good examples. ‘If you read this manga, you’ll learn the right way!’
Q: It does cover how you can continue eating normally but still gain muscles by working out. I guess Hibiki eats way more than she’s supposed to, which is why she can’t shift the weight.
Fairouz: The day Hibiki slims down is the day the manga serialisation will end (laughs)
Amamiya: What shall we do if the 2nd season of the anime has a different main character?
Fairouz: Noooooo!
Q: Let’s not allow Hibiki to lose weight (laughs)
Fairouz: To be honest, if you tried to read training guides and looked up websites on muscles you’d stop right away after seeing all the baffling katakana. With this series you get cute girls teaching you how to do everything in lively ways, so you can easily slip into the manga and soak up the information with an open heart. That’s what’s attractive about the series to me.
Amamiya: A newbie like me who knows little about working out could read this manga and learn about how you can train without having to use special equipment. People have this impression of strength training being painful and severe but the characters are always enjoying working out, plus you’ll discover that it’s surprisingly fine to eat normally, and that makes you want to give it a try.
Fairouz: It’s the kind of manga that motivates you more and more as you read it.
Amamiya: It does make you want to give it a shot.
The passion for muscles and gags is amazing!
Q: What do you think of your respective roles?
Fairouz: I actually auditioned for Gina, not Hibiki. When I read my lines I was told ‘let’s get you to read for Hibiki instead’. Gina’s a lot of fun obviously, but when I read the manga I thought to myself ‘I’m actually Hibiki though’ (laughs)
Amamiya: Ahahahaha.
Fairouz: Since I was thinking ‘Ah I’m definitely Hibiki’, I was really happy when I was selected. She’s a character I can really identify with. As for my approach towards the role, I tried to recall what kind of person I was in my high school days and ended up going to read my diary from that period of time.
And what I saw written was ‘I ate and drank too much today. Let’s start again from tomorrow’ and for the next entry ‘I’m pressing the reset button right now. I won’t do it again’, which means that I’d overeaten two days in a row (laughs). That’s how similar I am to Hibiki.
Hibiki’s the optimistic type who thinks ‘Well, I’ll just work it off in the gym’ and I’m like that too. We’re positive fools…also, Director Yamazaki instructed me, ‘Don’t forget she’s a Shibuya JK*!’ but I was like ‘I’m not a gyaru so how am I supposed to talk again?’. I ended up learning by watching a gyaru Youtuber’s videos and incorporating it into my acting.
*JK – jōshikōsei, high school girl
Amamiya: But it’s still difficult. Since she’s definitely not like the high school girls of today.
Fairouz: It’s tough ‘cos she’s not very girlish but she wants to be popular with the boys so she is cute in a way that fits her age. I express my character in an honest way and all my seniors…Sora-san included, along with Horie (Yui)-san and Ishigami (Shizuka)-san, adapt their acting to complement what I do, which makes it easy for me.
Q: Amamiya-san, having read the manga I thought you were perfect for the role. Do you share that view?
Amamiya: For some reason, going all out when I’m doing comedies really makes me feel like I’m alive….Akemi’s audition script included parts where she has heart-shaped irises in her eyes, the perfect example of a gag scene.
When I saw that and had read the manga, I understood that yes, she’s a pretty girl but she’s also a crazy kind of comic relief character so I really wanted to voice her! I did go all out for my audition and I was very happy when I got cast in the role. She does seem pretty refined at times but her unusual love and passion for her beloved muscles is amazing, and I have a lot of fun playing her.
Q: You really like comedic acting, don’t you?
Amamiya: I do love it. It feels like I’ve been set free (laughs). I’ve always loved gags and making people laugh so I had fun with this. I was wondering maybe I could go an extra mile, so I tried out stuff in the studio that I’d been doing at home. It was fun to bring out voices that go beyond what I normally do, and the Director was quite receptive to them as well. I found that a lot of what I wanted to do or had come up with got a good reception.
Fairouz: She’d also actively ask the Director questions and discuss her character – I was just watching from the side but I thought the enthusiasm you had for your role was amazing.
Amamiya: You’re embarrassing me! But if you say that, then Fai-chan’s always making notes in the empty pages of the script comparing parts from the manga and the anime, about which turns of phrase are better and writing down any questions you have. You’ll bring that and carefully ask your questions one by one. You love the original manga so much and read it from cover to cover, making use of that knowledge for recordings – I’ve got much to learn from you.
Q: The 2 of you do have so much passion for muscles and gags (laughs)
Fairouz: There’s another aspect I think Sora-san has in common with Akemi – the fact that they both look cool at first but once she opens up and starts talking about something she’s passionate about, she just doesn’t stop.
Amamiya: Ahahahahaha.
Fairouz: When she talks at such great speed I’m like ‘Ohhhhhh~Sora-san what’s happened to you~~~~?’
Q: That totally sounds like an otaku thing.
Fairouz: I can tell that she’s talking at a speed that only otaku could. On the other hand, I’m the same when it comes to muscles and I yap non-stop about ‘how this is effective and that is the best!!’ and it makes Sora-san flinch. We are similar in some ways.
We want women who are interested in fitness to watch this show!
Q: A gag anime from Director Yamazaki is an interesting proposition. You mentioned that she was receptive to improvisation, didn’t you?
Fairouz: She’s receptive and her instructions are precise and easy to understand. Last week, the Director mentioned how I was similar to Hibiki in a certain way so I took what she said and interpreted it in my own way and she was fine with what I did. There are times when I can get quite close to what the Director is looking for. And most importantly, she’s a kind person.
Amamiya: You can definitely tell that she’s taking great care with all the characters, giving each and every one of them the utmost attention.
Fairouz: She’s so thorough with all of the roles, giving equal treatment to every character whether they’re mobs or main roles.
Amamiya: Though we say that the Director is receptive to our ideas, it’s not a case of her saying ‘that’s great’ or ‘that’s no good’ – she’ll say ‘Hmm, so what shall we do about it?’ and we’ll brainstorm together. It gets me thinking about whether there’s a different way to approach something and to consider everything objectively – it inspires me to work harder!
Fairouz: Since this is a comedy it’s important to have good tempo but I’ll be honest – this is my first ever TV anime never mind my first time doing a comedy, so I didn’t have a good grasp of the gags or the timing at all. The Director would say things like ‘this is a part where she’s deliberately acting cute and fluffy and then there’ll be a huge shift in mood in the next scene’ – her instructions are all very precise and gives me a good idea of what comedy is about. It was a very valuable experience for me.
Q: Feels like the response to this series will be positive when it comes to its quality.
Fairouz: Yes yes yes. I want to see the anime as soon as possible!
Amamiya: There’s obviously a lot of passion going into this and I absolutely believe it’ll be an awesome show.
Fairouz: No compromises!
Amamiya: Yeah! There’s so much care going into every aspect – for the segment after the ending sequence where we teach strength training, one of the actors mentioned that the pace the characters were doing them at was too fast, so the Director took that on board and made the necessary corrections. We do want to make sure that people can actually pick up strength training from watching this show in addition to bringing out the comedy aspects well during the gag scenes – this series really is a labour of love.
Fairouz: I think the fact that the Director has started going to the gym herself also plays a big part (laughs). It’s kind of hard to give advice to actors when you don’t have the knowledge yourself so it’s great for us in this case.
Q: What it is like working with a female director?
Amamiya: The source material has quite a few risqué scenes but those change up a bit for the anime. In the manga there are parts where the characters get shy and cover up their bits but in the anime they’ll show off their bodies with confidence!
I think that’s the significance of having a female director. We want to spread the message that it’s okay to go and do strength training and that you’re amazing for doing it! It’s not vulgar at all and made in a way that’s easy for girls to watch it, which I think is something unique to a female director.
Q: After all, there are many women getting into fitness now.
Fairouz: So yeah, we want girls to watch this show too!
[Interview & Text: Tsukagoshi Junichi]
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