Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		1.5

Wanna Be the Strongest in the World!: The Complete Series + OVAs Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 11, 2015

If someone were to craft a Venn Diagram detailing the intersection of those interested in such singing competition shows as American Idol and wrestling fare like that promulgated by such organizations as the WWE, would there be many, or indeed any, individuals within the overlap of the circles? Evidently someone thinks so, for the mostly ridiculous Wanna Be the Strongest in the World deals with such an unlikely mash up. Now there’s a certain irony to this “combo platter,” for both elements offer patently theatrical “competitions” where at least some elements appear to have been rather elaborately planned, despite protestations to the contrary which insist that everything is unfolding “naturally” and with no backstage manipulation. Some curmudgeons (ahem) may liken the melismatic squeals “singers” emit with predictable regularity on the singing competition shows to the screams of agony that wrestlers proffer while they’re in the ring, but other than these tangential connections, there’s frankly not much knitting singing and wrestling together. Luckily (?), Wanna Be the Strongest in the World doesn’t worry about such trivialities, and is instead content to saturate the viewer with some of the most ubiquitous fan service in recent memory. Those who couldn’t care less about such niceties as character and/or plot, and who are happy to simply luxuriate in endless crotch and boob shots may indeed find enough in Wanna Be the Strongest in the World to warrant checking it out. Everyone else might be better served by meditating on the image of a wannabe superstar belting out “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic whilst being pummeled by John Cena or Seth Rollins—but even that painful image may not be enough of a suitable “replacement” for some of the idiocy on display in this largely forgettable anime.

Logic isn’t merely thrown to the wind in Wanna Be the Strongest in the World, it’s virtually flung from the first moment, as the series begins in media res with the members of Sweet Diva performing on an American Idol type enterprise, when one of the group, a young woman named Elena Miyazawa, gets attacked by a member of a pro wrestling team called the Berserk Wrestlers. Already inquiring minds may be asking all sorts of pertinent questions, but Wanna Be the Strongest in the World is in absolutely no rush to ever answer any of them, instead focusing on elements like, well, jiggling boobs and panty shots.

Weirdly, Elena is not the initial connection between the singing and wrestling elements of Wanna Be the Strongest in the World. That plum assignment goes to Sakura Hagiwara, Elena’s “rival” in the singing competition (despite them both being members of Sweet Diva). Sakura ends up taking on Rio, one of the Berserk Wrestlers, and the game, such as it is, is on, with Sakura showing unexpected skill in the ring.

Even this patently bizarre set up might have worked, had Wanna Be the Strongest in the World spent time developing distinctive, unique characters. But at a baseline level, there’s no real difference between any of the girls on display here. Passing lip service is given to various quirks or characteristics, but the entire enterprise reeks of cookie cutter formulations, and it all seems to be in (fan) service of some over the top depictions of women being forced to “submit.” Routinely any given episode features girls twisted into shapes that would give a contortionist fits, shapes that simply allow the camera to linger on squished boobs or flailing legs that are invariably parted to reveal what lies between. Add to this the often slightly disturbing (and overtly sexual) grunts, groans and other vocalizations that the various combatants spew forth, and it’s not hard to see what the real focus of Wanna Be the Strongest in the World is.

Wanna Be the Strongest in the World!: The Complete Series + OVAs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wanna Be the Strongest in the World is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The anime tends to exploit visual clichés like contrast boosted sequences which tend to push highlights and add a gauzy layer of softness to the image, as can be seen in several of the screencaptures accompanying this review. When delivering a "normal" image, things are nicely crisp looking, with good, solid and precise line detail and a very appealing palette (see screenshot 1). The overall look of this series is a bit soft, even putting aside intentional tweaking, something that may surprise some, especially considering the anime's relatively recent provenance (it aired in 2013). Character designs, while not especially innovative, are appealing and easily differentiate the characters (in fact, the designs do a better job of differentiating than any actual writing in this show). There are some minor issues with banding in the very lightest gradients, something that tends to show up in the scenes with pushed highlights, as might be expected.

Wanna Be the Strongest in the World!: The Complete Series + OVAs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Wanna Be the Strongest in the World features an English dub in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and the original Japanese language track in Dolby TrueHD 2.0. The 5.1 mix significantly opens up the soundstage in both the musical elements as well as the wrestling scenes, with good, immersive placement of effects, not to mention the unbearable caterwauling of whoever is being "owned" in the ring. Dialogue (such as it is) is presented very cleanly and clearly. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is very wide on the 5.1 track, somewhat less so on the 2.0 track.

Wanna Be the Strongest in the World!: The Complete Series + OVAs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One:

• Episode 1 Commentary features Joel McDonald, Elizabeth Lewis and Martha Harms. A number of other voice actors show up in a mock competition of sorts where "fight anecdotes" are detailed and the main commentators need to choose who won in any given fight.


• Episode 7 Commentary features Joel McDonald, Leah Clarke and Lydia Mackey, again with other folks showing up with "fight stories."

Disc Two:

• OVAs (1080p; 23:59) offers six more short adventures featuring the girls.


• Textless Opening Song "Beautiful Dreamer" (1080p; 1:32)


• Textless Closing Song "Fan Fanfare!!!" (1080p; 1:32)


• U.S. Trailer (1080p; 1:00)

Wanna Be the Strongest in the World!: The Complete Series + OVAs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am way outside of any Venn Diagram detailing the intersection of interests including American Idol type singing competitions and WWE extravaganzas, and furthermore as a middle aged guy with nearly grown kids and a long marriage, I'm not exactly the right demographic for such blatant fan service, either. All of that said, my hunch is even the most rabid anime fan is going to struggle to find much to enjoy in Wanna Be the Strongest in the World. For those who do like the show, technical merits are generally strong, and FUNimation has tried to do something a little different with their typically raucous commentaries, which may add a little allure to the package.