Satomi-sensei’s colleagues, Ms. Aina and Mrs. Kure, join the Silverman Gym. Hibiki goes on a field trip with her school.
Episode 8 – “What If We Get Lost?”
Hmm.
I’ve been waiting all season for Satomi’s colleagues to join the exercise model cast of Dumbbell, and they finally did! It was also efficient storytelling to properly introduce them before the field trip, just so we could see Aina-sensei and Kure-sensei offer material for all the jokes we could find for a bunch of students and teachers hiking up a mountain. It was good! I especially liked Aina-sensei’s character design, because it makes it look like she’s a former gyaru who would have lots in common with Hibiki. Their panicky scene after they got lost with Satomi made me smile so hard. The only complaint I had was the rushed feeling in putting all the teacher stars in the exercise tutorials because we might not have time for them again before the season ends. The epilogue treatment hints heavily at that.
There were still some fun things to notice, like Kure-sensei’s character employing the anime convention of someone keeping their eyes closed. It’s played to great effect to highlight a dramatic moment, a shocking revelation about the character, or even just to hide how special their eyes might look. The mysterious Kure-sensei, who dresses so traditionally, hints at being part of a clan with dark secrets. Her demon eyes and ogre strength play that up comedically too!
Another Japanese media convention is the tea cup cracking as a bad omen. Here, this got changed to clumping protein powder. It was a small scene for Machio, but there was a callback to it with an ironic “Happy End.” This bad omen joke just might have been about himself instead of dire circumstances on the girls’ field trip, since a Mysterious Foreign Macho Man is going to pay him a visit.
I got the sense there was one more anime plot device showing up, because it felt like the episode was trying to get in as much screen time with Aina-sensei and Kure-sensei as possible — introducing a dramatic arc right before the season ends. I’m really looking forward to seeing Arnold Dogegenchonegger in the anime flesh, finding out Machio’s back story, and even how Akemi’s older sister might be involved. All the elements have already been introduced, so it’s time to put them all together.
Heh.
Satomi is still hiding from her fellow teachers that she goes to the gym? Why? Is she hiding a boyfriend? Of course not! No way! So cruel… Well, they know she goes to the gym now. How did Satomi get into the gym and locker room without that card?
Rumika is correct here. Why keep the gym a secret when she suggested she try it? Satomi can’t say it’s because she needed to get in shape for her “almost-pornographic” hobby. And also because the high school students they teach are there too.
Kure-sensei is sensitive about her age. She’s scary!
Always the same ikemen joke when they first meet Macho Man. At least he got the exploding clothes gag out of the way quickly. Rumika has nothing wrong with her belly. Satomi’s straight line about Macho Man’s clothes exploding got a chuckle from me. Please, regular people, say something about this muscled magical mascot.
Exercise video on side bends. With Aina-sensei as the sexy exercise model! Somehow, I prefer the underboob version from the manga…
Side bends work the oblique abdominal muscles. Bicycle crunches do this too, but to make them bigger and stronger, you have to use dumbbells.
Cute! But why is Rumika pouting naked in a bed and what does this have to do with working the obliques? Did some Macho Man ditch her to go to the gym? That’s a bad Macho Man!
Good to know — high reps are for slimming, but as you get stronger, increase the weight. Kure-sensei is a beast! Or maybe a demon, after seeing those eyes. Or maybe she’s just really strong from lugging two kids around…
Aw. We won’t see the two teachers at this Silverman Gym very much since they live far away. But sometimes we will! Of course, Zina wants more bikini girls for the Muscle Gals.
Yay! Field trip to a haunted mountain! Lots of “probably’s” to describe this “safe” hike. Akemi and Zina are in great shape running up this hill, but the usual suspects are struggling. Aina-sensei too. Hibiki is just hungry, though. Why is Kure-sensei more pissed at Aina-sensei than Satomi? Oh. Because she said, “middle-aged” for a 34-year-old.
Fun. Kure-sensei leads the hiking tutorial. The main lesson is to treat walking up an incline like doing step-ups.
Uh oh. The slowpokes took a wrong turn.
Satomi freaked out, but the blondies freaked out worse. Death poetry? Last Will and Testament? That’s despair, right there. Naturally, Hibiki wrote about meat before she died.
Uh, okay. Tree climbing tutorial with Satomi Tarzan. Actually, it’s just rope climbing.
This is not effective tree climbing. They’re like cats hanging on a screen door. No! Aina-sensei, you’re going to scratch up your beautiful skin! But yes, strip, if you must. I can’t look away… You know how they say not to panic when you get lost? This is what panicking looks like.
Those girls are putting on a dinner show for the binocular set! That is some smexy tree climbing…
Macho Man had his own crisis — running out of his favorite flavor of protein powder. Meanwhile, the dramatic arc for the last few episodes gets established with a mystery man, weak dumbbells, and a trip to visit Macho Man. My guess — this is Dogegenchonegger. It just has to be!
The omake covers lunges, which are good counterpart exercises for step-ups.
