“You need the example of a perfect physical specimen to inspire your recovery!” shouts Major Alex Louis Armstrong as he rips off his blue military uniform to reveal the glistening muscles underneath in the Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime series. The show's protagonist Edward Elric has just been seriously injured, and this hammy, burly bruiser somehow thinks showing off his chiseled bod will help speed along Ed's recovery. Armstrong may not be the best or most compelling character in the series, but it's impossible not to love him. He's emblematic of an anime trope that pops up in many series, one that we can all aspire to.

Ripped characters abound in anime. The care that animators put into drawing every muscle is an art form unto itself. Hence why Crunchyroll, the ultimate destination for anime fans worldwide and a streaming service with an estimated 13 million paid subscribers, opted for a cost-effective traffic builder at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2023 in July in the form of hour-long fitness classes inspired by iconic anime characters.

“Crunchyroll is always looking to engage fans in new and exciting ways,” says Brian Eley, vice president of communications at Crunchyroll. “Anime is a lifestyle and so is fitness. We wanted to bring the two together for a healthy start to a busy San Diego Comic-Con. We also wanted to produce an activation at SDCC that would break through with fans, get them excited, and spark their imagination of working out like some of their favorite anime characters.”

You'd be hard-pressed to pinpoint the most buff anime character of all time, especially since virtually every series features characters in their physical prime. Drawing an intimate connection between fan favorites and the fans themselves was the principal aim with Crunchyroll's Ultimate Anime Fitness Challenge.

Other than the miles walked every time con-goers attend SDCC, it's not exactly an event associated with fitness. The convention is more about celebrating all things nerdy, be it anime, superheroes, genre fiction, or something else. But that's just part of why the activation itself was that much more surprising — and successful.

Power-Up
“To nail the head-turning aspects of a great activation, Crunchyroll's Ultimate Anime Fitness Challenge leaned into the visually recognizable, but unspoken aspects of anime — shredded bodies,” the company wrote in its project description. The actual emphasis, however, was on “the personal growth that is achievable by anyone,” a universally relatable theme that is common to almost every anime out there.

Crunchyroll found the ideal collaborator in the form of Charles Thorp, a journalist, fitness expert, and anime fan Eley billed as “the perfect combination.” Thorp is a long-time contributor to “Men's Journal” where he profiles athletes, actors, and public figures. His body of work across nearly 1,500 articles focuses on sports, fitness, and tech. And he's also a certified fitness instructor with the abs to back it up.

“It's always refreshing when you see a company like Crunchyroll with a massive customer base being so experimental and adventurous in the ways it tries to connect with fans,” Thorp says. “Including that health and wellness aspect that's so prevalent in anime was really nice to see.”

Crunchyroll hosted four sessions curated by Thorp to “kick off everyone's mornings” at Hardcore Fitness in San Diego. The location is less than a mile from the San Diego Convention Center where Comic-Con is held, about a 20-minute walk, for those who wanted a little more exercise. In a way, the location was the perfect distance because fans had time to hit the showers before heading back to the show floor.


The space at Hardcore Fitness San Diego is mostly an open-concept with a variety of equipment to suit almost any fitness need. It also features cross training/bootcamp programs designed by certified personal trainers. Crunchyroll essentially rented out a space that was perfectly suited to just about any kind of fitness class imaginable.

More than 150 participants signed up for the four classes, and every class was completely booked only two hours after registration opened. The classes were constantly full and eager fans added their name to a wait list.

“I think we did a really good job of finding ways to challenge people who are showing up that were very high levels,” says Thorp. “I brought some of my friends who are Navy SEALs. I brought some friends who were professional athletes. Everybody was challenged, and there was a way to escalate it if we needed.” A major focus when programming these sessions was on making them as accessible as possible to all fitness levels. Thorp said that to develop the programs, he consulted with high-level performance coaches and professional athletes who also are anime fans.

“Fans have a deep love for iconic training montages and arcs in anime series and film,” Crunchyroll wrote. “To immerse them in that experience, the hour-long fitness challenge connected workouts to specific anime characters and series. For example, lessons included best practices for diamond, explosive, and knuckle pushups outlines, directly inspired by training routines employed by famous anime characters.”

Thorp developed a series of light, non-impact workouts inspired by various anime series in the Crunchyroll catalogue, namely Megalobox, My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Punch Man: World (based on the game), Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, God of High School, and Tower of God.

“Going to be hosting some workouts themed around your favorite Crunchyroll shows,” wrote Thorp in an Instagram post before the event, which included an image of Thorp drawn as an anime character that looks like some sort of grizzled cyborg.

His post listed Jujutsu Kaisen, Blue Lock, Naruto, Mashle: Magic and Muscles, and Dragon Ball Super as sources of inspiration available to stream on Crunchyroll. Thorp also gave a shoutout to My Hero Academia, Tower of God, and One-Punch Man in a post after the two-day activation concluded. Crunchyroll tried to emphasize a diversity of genres represented in the various anime series that inspired the workouts to broaden the appeal to the prospective audience. And to expand fan engagement, music from the various series was featured during the workouts.

In a video interview with Fandom, Thorp mentioned Goku, the primary protagonist from the iconic Dragon Ball franchise, as a major source of inspiration for any fitness-focused anime fan. Fittingly, the workouts included a primal Super Saiyan scream reminiscent of Goku, along with plenty of exercises inspired by the martial arts featured across various anime series.

A major focus in the promotional lead-up was on “putting bodies in motion for a unique training arc,” a sentiment that perfectly captures why people love anime. Sometimes it encourages fans to reconceptualize their own personal journeys.
“Each class showcased six to eight routines from such anime series,” says Crunchyroll's Eley. Classes included a diverse mix of weight training, self-defense, calisthenics, stretching, yoga, pilates, and a little bit of everything else. “During this fitness challenge, we wanted fans to get to know anime in a different sort of way. It was hot, it was sweaty, and it was in real life, not on screen! We all want to know how to train like our favorite characters, and with the challenge, fans got to learn how.”

Crunchyroll personalities Lauren Moore and Tim Lyu co-hosted the event. Energy drink company C4 Energy also helped sponsor it, providing beverages for attendees. And attendees walked away with fitness-oriented swag, including branded sweat towels, water bottles, yoga mats, and sweat headbands that they carried with them all weekend. Each session concluded with a complimentary smoothie. All of the above, even the smoothie, bore Crunchyroll's signature shade of orange, which itself is a highly marketable and instantly recognizable testament to the brand's role in the anime space.

Crunchyroll noted that a major challenge to the activation was curating a workout routine accessible to beginners that was also rewarding to longtime fitness enthusiasts. And by all accounts, Crunchyroll and Thorp delivered a solid workout program that could make anybody break a sweat. “I think they were excited to participate and some may have underestimated that the routine and classes were quite 'ultra,'” says Eley.

But the holistic approach to incorporating the anime theme resonated with hardcore fans regardless of their fitness levels, including jokes about the workout regimen of One-Punch Man protagonist Saitama.

Bulky Reception
“[This was a] brilliantly executed traffic builder campaign that successfully and strategically integrates the multi-faceted and diverse aspects and tenets of anime into a meaningful activation that resonated with attendees and generated a huge amount of buzz,” wrote one Sizzle Awards judge. What does anime really mean to its fans? By grappling with this very question in a novel way, Crunchyroll devised an ingenious way to engage with its fanbase while leveraging the activation as an opportunity to generate buzz around the brand by incorporating members of the press into the experience.

As a result, local CBS 8 News produced a pre-event segment, and ABC 10 San Diego KGTV aired three live hits. In addition to the aforementioned Fandom video segment, the event drew coverage from “San Diego Union-Tribune,” “Anime News Network,” “Men's Journal,” and many more publications. It helps that while the anime references may not have made sense to someone not familiar with the various series, the workout itself was still, by all accounts, a great exercise session. And planners showed respect to fans by scheduling it in the morning so that those who joined wouldn't miss all that much of Comic-Con.

“The media mentions alone paid off for Crunchyroll,” said one enthusiastic Sizzle Awards judge. “Getting their audience to go from digital interactions to IRL via workouts is clever and so well executed. It was a great idea to include San Diego fitness stars.”

Comic-Con welcomes a mix of fandoms from across genres not necessarily associated with physical activity. By making fitness sessions its central activation, Crunchyroll stood apart from the many events hosted by its myriad competitors all vying for Con-goers' attention.

Crunchyroll also hosted its “most advanced booth ever” on the SDCC show floor that activated with scenes and sounds from hit anime series. The booth also featured the Jujutsu Kaisen Experience where Con-goers who, according to Crunchyroll marketing materials, “longed for their own domain expansions” could “find themselves immersed in iconic moments” from the series. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero wristbands and posters for Solo Leveling and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, all hit series that year, were also available for fans to snap up at the booth.

It's perhaps no surprise that a streaming service would have a firm grasp on exactly which anime series are most popular to its fans, so by emphasizing the hot and new series at the forefront of the anime zeitgeist, Crunchyroll could easily capitalize on fan enthusiasm and momentum channeled by the Anime Fitness Challenge to continue to propel its brand.
“We can't say how many pounds were shed,” Eley says of the popular fitness event. “But we can say that the challenge garnered 11.8 million estimated media impressions across more than 20 articles and broadcast segments. We also had some great moments on social and the giveaways supplied lived on throughout the 'Con. Even MLS player Camden Riley showed up!”

In its popular annual breakdown of all the “winners and losers” at San Diego Comic-Con, The Wrap listed Crunchyroll as a bonafide winner in the 2023 iteration published shortly after the close of the event.

“Crunchyroll truly knocked it out of the park with its campaign,” said one Sizzle Awards judge. “The organization's ingenious integration of culture with health and wellness, strategic partnerships, and captivating visuals not only delighted fans, but also garnered significant attention from both the media and a wider audience. The seamlessly tied-in branded giveaway further reinforced the campaign's theme, and the activation resulted in an enormous number of earned impressions. The company's ability to stand out in such a crowded environment is truly commendable.”

In a late May 2024 social media post, Thorp revealed that the activation was a Gold Winner at the Telly Awards in the health category, and the awards just keep coming. “I am definitely looking forward to doing more collaborations with Crunchyroll like this. It's such a great company that really tries to push the fan base to enjoy what they're doing in a really holistic way,” said Thorp.

What's upcoming in the near future for the streaming service? The iconic “One-Punch Man” features lots of buff bods, and its third season should be available on Crunchyroll in the first half of 2025. But there's no dearth of rock-hard abs across anime regardless of the series, which means fans can expect plenty more to come in the future. And as for the workout series? “We hope the Crunchyroll Ultimate Anime Fitness Challenge returns. There is always a new anime series to showcase and break a sweat to!” Eley says. E