Training with Hinako

KiraRin Nov 1, 2009

4

StoryWhat do the words “otaku” and “geek” conjure to mind when thinking of a person? A spotty, overweight guy sitting in his mother’s basement? A scrawny hikikomori lounging in a computer chair? The modern world is constantly concerned with obesity and exercise, and these groups of people are amongst the most difficult to stimulate into physical exertion. But couch-potatoes be worried no longer, as Studio Hibari have the solution in the shapely form of Hinako and Isshoni Training! From a bewildering opening seeing a young girl sucked into a television, the comely female becomes an anime star who takes the viewer through a daily exercise routine in various states of undress. Rewarding perverted perseverance, Hinako completes numerous repetitions of squats and sit-ups, initially in sweatpants and a t-shirt. As the sweat starts to drip, the attire is soon stripped down to shorts and a vest (and anyone with a keen eye will notice the absence of mammary support). Those who have the stamina to go the whole way with the willing buxom babe will be rewarded with the sight of the same strenuous exercises performed in adorable, if not a little scant, underwear. Although questionable if Isshoni Training employs any plotline whatsoever, there is still plenty to keep the viewer engrossed. Marvel as Hinako successfully counts her training partner through each set of reps; gawk as the camera moves to various angles to best demonstrate how to perform successfully and breathe a sigh of relief as you finally fall to the bed: panting, exhausted and quite literally spent.AnimationBouncing breasts – this is pretty much the show's only outstanding spectacle. A barrage of numerous camera angles, various skimpy costumes and astounding gravity that somehow keeps the ample cleavage from spilling out is definitely eye-catching. How one scant strappy top can keep Hinako’s undulating chest from causing irreparable back problems is beyond me – then again, that's not what generally travels through the typical male's mind. Overlooking “the twins”, which is extremely difficult, the main character's wide-eyed innocence is flawless and accompanied by a pleasantly bright palette. Isshoni Training's only let down is the constant repetition of its movement – but seriously, what else can you expect from a glorified exercise video?SoundHinako is perky and spunky; her girlish, idol-like tones encouraging the viewer to keep pumping away in time with her tireless rhythm. Building up to an exciting climax, you can hear the strenuous stretches starting to tire out the female protagonist and her trembling puppies. Moaning and whimpering her way through each bend and stretch, her performance verges on seductively orgasmic. Although not the best voice acting in anime, she will certainly entertain her target audience.CharactersWith a one track mind, Hinako is looking for nothing but the opportunity to work up a good sweat and get out of breath during her 24 minute showcase. Do not expect any deep character development or engrossing storyline, as there is none. Just sit back and enjoy the view rather than the company.OverallIn all honesty, Isshoni Training should be saluted for attempting to bring physical stimulation to the anime community. Ultimately nothing but eye candy and fluff, the direction is essentially skewed away from a full body workout and more towards numerous repetitions of wrist exercise. I’m trying to avoid saying that this OVA is playing the ecchi anime card to get viewers, but it is. When more than 50% of the show features close-ups of Hinako's impressive rack, the show loses all credibility as a serious attempt to break the anime/exercise barrier. Just goes to prove, sex most definitely sells.

Tactician Apr 9, 2012

2

Story:The whole thing starts in the real world where Hinako randomly gets sucked into her television one night while watching it and from there the show is animated. Some time has passed for Hinako because when we next see her (in the shower) she is surprised to see a human. Hinako wants to do something with the viewer and suggests rock-paper-scissors. After one round she tells the viewer shes gotten fat and would like a partner to do push-ups, sit-ups and squats with her. That is pretty much what happens from that point until the end of the show. Animation:The animation is nice to look at, and there are multiple camera angles for each exercise, as well as a few different outfits for each set of repetitions Hinako does. There is a very high possibility that even the biggest Ecchi fan might be a little bored half way through this repetitive “BOINGathon”. Sound:One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve... aside from that, I really liked one of the melodies that was played when Hinako did some of her repetitions. Character:Hinako is portrayed as the innocent type of girl who would probably need about ten (10) years, if not longer to figure out that most of the male, as well as some of the female population who is “exercising” with her, is not really there because they want to “assist” her with her push-ups, sit-ups or squats by means of the buddy system. Overall:I can say I have never experienced an Anime quite like this, and the chances of there being another like it are very slim. I mean... come on! This is an Anime that tried to promote motion. That was demonstrated enough by the frequency of Hinako's boobs going “BOING”. There is no need to count any of the push-ups, sit-ups, or squats. As for how successful it was in causing other people to get up and do any of that motion... I am sure there was some, but something tells me that the kind of push-ups, sit-ups and squats that Hinako was doing are different then what most people are doing while watching. Hinako does help society with their counting to twelve in Japanese for sure, assuming the person could over look all that boinging.

thetickdickler Aug 12, 2019

5

In "Training with Hinako", Hinako was once a person, but somehow, she gets sucked into the TV and gets turned into an anime character. After noticing you watching her, she is surprised since she hasn't seen an actual person in a while. So she decides to interact with you, by calling you pudgy and saying that doing some training could help the both of you. Sitting through this, I didn't expect it to have some actual plot. I was expecting the anime to pretend that you were friends with the cute girl who would like someone to train with because she secretly has a crush on you as well as you having a crush on her, or it being a training video with the trainer being something to look at while you're using this as the laziest exercise video in existence. Instead, Training with Hinako has this weird meta story to explain it's existence. I guess it's something different, which is nice. After the first few minutes of introducing the character and the exercises that she, and what your supposed to do along with her if you're not just being lazy, will be doing the rest of the OVA. It also features Hinako wearing different clothing throughout the OVA, but all of them are worn very briefly (bah-dum-tish), and it doesn't actually show her changing it and out any of the clothing presumably because that would have been time consuming and would have gone over the meager budget, it will just cut to her wearing something different in the same shot. The fact that there is more than one set of clothing is a minor miracle, because I wasn't expecting her to appearing anything else to begin with. Also, in between the exercising, the OVA is broken up by joke credits, featuring scenes from a magical girl series featuring Hinako that doesn't exist. That's probably due to the fact that the DVD has some minor interactivity, allowing the viewer to rearrange scenes. Would I recommend "Training with Hinako"? Yeah. It's cute, but not annoyingly cute. Sure, it's not wank material, but I expect it to appeal to someone. It might not have the variety or quality of something like (Makura no Danshi ENG: Pillow Boys), but it's remarkably well put together for what it is, and seems to be earnestly trying to be enjoyable. It's not going to be for everyone, but I imagine someone getting something out of it.