The most outrageous thing about Keijo!!!!!!!! is how touching it can be.
Make no mistake, Keijo is bonkers. But instead of simply filling the screen with butts doing battle, a lot of work has been put into the little things. We follow Nozomi, a somewhat typical protagonist, that is, a ridiculously arrogant yet free-spirited soul, as she attends Setouji Keijo Training School, an academy specifically for Keijo. However, what I was not expecting at all was how dedicated she is to improving - almost an entire episode was used to let her explore her weakness in the ring; pulling turnips with her hips to improve her speed.
This aspiration is not unique to her character alone, however. Put into Room 309 with the other expected-drop-outs, the four girls of the room, Sayaka, Non and Kazane, come together to beat the low expectations of them. The group use Kazane’s smartness but must overcome her shyness first, and it’s surprisingly human how they become friends and allow her to come out of her shell. But, unlike some shows where character development is for nought, Kazane continues to use what she’s learned throughout the rest of the show, most notably when she teams up with and leads a couple of Keijoers she doesn’t know to attempt to beat the school’s number 1 Keijo player.
The underlying use of subplots in this show is superb. Sayaka, who is undoubtedly the 2nd most important character of this show, is an ex-Judo champion, even having represented Japan. Quitting Judo to pursue Keijo, she has a lot of expectations to live up to, both internally and externally. Watching her overcome these was inspirational. Watching her father finally coming to understand her dreams conflict with his own and accepting that, was touching. Need I remind you this is a show about clashing butts?
The battles themselves are exceptionally creative. In fact, the reason I started watching this show was seeing a picture of Kazane’s “GATE OF BOOTYLON” power and giggling so much I simply had to get some context. Power moves are crazy fun, such as Kotone’s Cerberus-butt and “Titty Hypnosis”, and allow for constant surprises in the the tense fights. The use of crazy sounds such as machine guns, explosions, rubber-bands and high-pitched cringing slaps makes you feel the prominence of every attack - and it hurts.
Of the most impressive aspects of this show is the friendship. As each character of Setouji is pitted against each other, every time the will show veer you to root for a certain character, either through prior character development, underdog stories… you name it. But later, you will be rooting for the character you once wanted to see booted off the platform - simply because we’ve seen them change for the better. It’s inspiring, and a little awkward to have my heart tugged from side-to-side by the show’s strong writing, when it draws from women fighting with butts.
The most surprising thing about Keijo!!!!!!!? The fanservice isn’t even that prominent. The character designs are varied - such as their overweight former-champion for a teacher, the body-builder shapes, the overly-defined-hourglass curves and the more regular straight bodies with varying sizes of prominent features. Though, I must say, if you don't like muscley girls, you won't like the girls of Keijo. Perhaps the show lingers for too long looking at a certain angle, but it never feels particularly like camera-angles are decided by a pervert. They feel more like a sports show.
Because that's what it is. A ridiculously good sport show, with a crazy concept, a unique sense of friendship and a hilarious script that you're doing yourself a disservice not to watch. If only for the giggles.
