If Instagram is to be believed, everyone has a personal trainer these days and is obsessed with developing the perfect muscles.
In Korea, it’s called geongangmi (healthy beauty) and here in Japan it’s led by influencers who moonlight as models and trainers like Rose Melle or Kyoka, or female celebrities who show off their sporty bodies.
And if it’s sheer muscles you’re really into, Reika Saiki straddles the world of bodybuilding, gravure, and cosplay with serious aplomb.
But what about female otaku? Don’t they also want to build up their muscles in between pursuing their oshi (fandom)?
Apparently they do, hence there’s a market for this gym.
Clara has just opened its fifth branch and has a 120-strong waiting list for the counseling services. Its inaugural locations were, inevitably, in Ikebukuro and Akihabara, Tokyo, and its new one (opened April 10) is in Shinsaibashi, the most expensive retail area in Osaka.
The gyms themselves are filled with merch and oshi-related decoration.
Savvy marketing is also at play here. The gym deployed such promotional tactics as tie-ups with male voice actors to build up interest, and its publicity has put attractive female otaku front and center, including the gym’s roster of stunning male and female trainers with fashion model looks. Two examples are included below for your inspection.
Otaku are not known for taking care of their body and males are frequently on the chubby side. A service that encourages such people to do exercise and take an interest in their physique — and not just their oshi — can’t be a bad thing, even if the prospect of armies of muscular otaku walking around Tokyo and Osaka is also a little scary.
