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Fiction usually depicts nerds and gamers in two extremes: a big dude inhaling burgers while lying on the couch, or a scrawny beanpole of a person with long hair and big glasses. Very unfortunately, I am the type who prefers lying around all day while munching on snacks. You can imagine the wonders that does to my figure. But never fear, fellow nerds and gamers who can’t be bothered to slot the Joy-Cons into the Ring Fit ring every day! Hatsune Miku and her Vocaloid friends are here to whip you into shape with some fitness boxing in Fitness Boxing feat Hatsune Miku, and she’s ready to throw hands.

For starters, something that you’ll notice when you boot up the game is that the Vocaloids all speak in their native Japanese. However, the instructor who coaches you through your exercises speaks in English. It personally is a little jarring to hear a Vocaloid’s synthetic voice chitter away at me in Japanese, followed by Lin, carefully enunciating every syllable, telling me (in English) to keep my back straight. It didn't take long for me to sort of tune it out while exercising, but it was a little distracting on the first day.

Fitness Boxing feat Hatsune Miku is pretty much what it says on the tin. An instructor tells you what to do or reminds you what proper form is. Meanwhile, a Vocaloid of your choice boxes with you while offering words of encouragement. They're nice even if you mess up your combo, and the positive atmosphere made it easy to keep going every day. Miku Exercise is the mode where you get to box to a Vocaloid song. I’m a fan of the selection, which features classics like “Melt” all the way to “The Vampire.” Other favorites include “Melancholic,” “World End Dancehall,” and “Romeo and Cinderella.” I’m hoping that DLC in the future will introduce some more songs and Vocaloid partners.

In Fitness Boxing, you have to punch and move while staying in rhythm. The action the game wants you to do appears on screen, like Beat Saber or a more violent version of Colorful Stage. You start out with simple jabs and straights, then move on to hooks and uppercuts, before finally adding in dodges like sways. So the more you play, the more variation you’ll get in your daily workout. Of course, you can also go straight to the Miku Exercise and jump past all the combo lessons if you’re confident in your skills.

When I first started fitness boxing, I thought that it wasn’t as useful as Ring Fit. The physical ring that you have to use, as well as all the different kinds of exercise you can do in that game, made it feel like I was getting a lot more out of my workout. But as I continued on my fitness boxing journey, certain stretches and moves became easier than they were when I first started. That was a great feeling. I don’t understand why I never get that satisfied sense of exhaustion I always felt after yoga or Ring Fit, but maybe my daily workouts need to be a lot longer than thirty to forty minutes per session.

Since I tossed my scale ages ago for mental health reasons, I don’t know the effect Fitness Boxing feat Hatsune Miku has on my weight or my waist line. I certainly feel better though! Compared to Ring Fit, it's way easier to boot up, so I'm less tempted to skip a day or two out of sheer laziness. Though my review ends here, my fitness journey has only just begun.

Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku is readily available on the Nintendo Switch.

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