Iwakakeru!: Sport Climbing Girls (Episode 1) – Rocky Puzzle

Konomi has started high school and needs a club to join. She doesn’t fancy anything too academic and the sports teams are too intense, however, when she stumbles upon the sports climbing wall, something clicks!
What happened?
Konomi’s search for a club to join ended when she found the sport climbing wall. The bright colours of the grips and various paths they created caught her attention and her desire to solve puzzles. However, there was one thing standing in her way and that was fellow first-year student, Jun who had been a lifelong fan of climbing and took offence to Konomi’s “fun” attitude towards climbing. If she really wanted to join the club, she would have to beat Jun in a race, much to the frustration of the other two members of the club. Will Konomi be able to join the club? Of course, it wouldn’t be a very good series if she didn’t.

What did you think?
This was the one series that really stood out to me and is currently the only one I think I’ll be reviewing on a weekly basis. I may catch up with DanMachi 3 at some point, but until then it’s just me and these Climbing Girls. Fun fact that you might want to know about me – I love climbing. Always have and always will. As a kid, I would be up trees, walls, buildings. If it had a hold, I was up it. I’ve also done a fair amount of actual rock climbing and would love to get back to indoor climbing once the current pandemic is over. So, it probably goes without saying that I actually enjoyed this episode. It didn’t do anything too spectacular, but it’s made me want to climb, so I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.

What have you learnt?
I feel like there’s not going to be a lot to learn from this series. It’s already looking like it will follow the usual path of gifted athlete discovers sport, becomes obsessed with the new sport, and climbs to greatness (pun intended). I hope that it will do something new and interesting things, but I’m just here for the climbing, and some muscular climbing girls. I think this is just going to be a fun series to chill out and enjoy without having to get too analytical. Something may pop up and if it does, that will be a bonus.

Other reviews in the series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – Rocky Puzzle
- Episode 2 – Believe in Yourself
- Episode 3 – The Anti-Monkey Rock
- Episode 4 – Powerhouse Climbers
- Episode 5 – Hard Work and Talent
- Episode 6 – Unbelievable Ability
- Episode 7 – Failure of a Climber
- Episode 8 – Tears of Disappointment
- Episode 9 – The Princess of Climbing
- Episode 10 – Restart!
- Episode 11 – The 15 Second Wall
- Episode 12 – The Road to Best in Japan
Other shows I’m watching

Discounted and Free Books
