Iwakakeru!: Sport Climbing Girls (Episode 3) – The Anti-Monkey Rock

It’s two months until the next tournament so the team is focused on getting Konomi ready. That means a lot of training and it’s not just her body, but her mind that needs some work. She needs to work on the fear!

What happened?

Konomi discovers that even the Sport Climbing team runs laps, but then they are a competitive group so that makes sense. If only laps were the worst thing on the horizon. At the moment, Konomi is the weak link in the team, but she has potential, so they focus on rebuilding her body to increase her functional muscles. There’s no point bulking up as that means extra weight to carry around. No, she needs to be lean and ripped. Looks like we’ve got some way to go.

There is another element that Konomi isn’t quite prepared for and it’s one of those lessons you have to experience. Indoor climbing takes away the fear of falling to an extent as you aren’t as likely to get hurt, so the team head to the great outdoors and to a rock called The Anti-Monkey Rock. Konomi learns first hand what it’s like to not have complete faith in your body. If you don’t think you can keep going, your body will freeze up and make you go back. If you can overcome that and then harness it in competition, you should be able to go beyond.

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What did you think?

I’m getting some major flashbacks from this series. This episode made me think about all the times that I’d climbed so high that the fear kicks in. It’s that moment when you realise that if you fall from here it’s not going to be pretty. Looking back at it, it’s quite exciting. In the moment, however, it’s something else and you either realise that you can’t make it and come back down or that if you just push a little further there’s a hold where you can rest. It makes me happy that this series seems to have been put together by people that understand the sport. I am absolutely itching to get back to it now and am making notes on all of the exercise routines their doing so that I can get a headstart.

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What have you learnt?

I mentioned after watching the last episode that I was getting some Harukana Receive vibes from the show, well this week I’m seeing comparisons to How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? This is great news as I loved both of those shows and am already loving this one. It’s a relatively simple concept, but they’re doing everything right so far. We’re focused mostly on the sport at this stage and slowly developing the characters. I feel like there will be a shift towards the middle of the season as the group bond and then it will swing back to the sport as we approach the final tournament. I’m just having a great time watching this.

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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

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