“One for macho. Macho for all.” – Macho29 website.
Whether you’re into “chubby angels” or senior citizen pop singers, Japan has a musical group for you. But what about if you’re into mostly naked men with bulging muscles? Well, you’re in luck.
Composed entirely of finely sculpted muscular men (many of which have won bodybuilding competitions), Macho29 is a group that made its debut at an event held on June 10, 2015 at the Marui department store in Shibuya, Tokyo. There they performed their debut song: “Viva Macho” (see the music video below).
Aside from being an incredibly catchy and humorous song, “Viva Macho” offers a peek into the psyche and motivations of the Macho29 members (English subtitles available).
As serious as the Macho29 guys are about keeping their muscular bodies in peak condition, they never take themselves too seriously. As evidence of this, one need look no further than the group’s motto: “Making people across Japan smile through muscles.”
“Training Fighter” is Macho29’s second single. It is a fun rock song reminiscent of groups like 175R and Hi-Standard.
Macho29’s dedication to entertaining people though muscle-based humor is clear even in the group’s name. Although on first glance Macho29 seems to follow the naming convention established by the idol group AKB48 in which the number indicates how many members are in the group, in reality, the number 29 is a humorous reference to muscles. This is because the number two is ni in Japanese and the number nine can be pronounced ku. This means that 29 can be read as niku, which means “meat” in Japanese and makes up part of the Japanese word for “muscle” (kinniku). In other words, one could say that the group’s name is actually “Muscle Meat.”
“Kinnniku Ondo” (Muscle Folk Song) is Macho29’s third single. This one is inspired by Japanese folk music.
Despite their stedily growing catalog of music, Macho29 does not market itself as simply a music group. Instead, the group’s website and other promotional materials refer to Macho29 as an “entertainment group.” This appears to be out of a desire to emphasize the fact that Macho29 does a whole lot more than just sing and dance.
“Muki Muki Taisō” roughly translates to “Muscular Calisthenics and is Macho29’s take on rajio taisō (radio calisthenics).
Off-stage the Macho29 guys engage in all sorts of interesting events, including “Muscle Bus Tours” and pop up establishments, such as Macho Cafe (official website), which is a cafe run by the Macho29 guys featuring mach-themed items on the menu. For a full list of Macho29’s upcoming events you can check the calendar on the group’s official website. Unfortunately, it is only in Japanese.
“Kinniku Senshi yo Tachiagare” (Rise up! Muscle Warriors), is Macho29’s epic take on the Super Sentai (Power Rangers) series. The video shows the valiant men of Muscle Squadron Machonger taking on the forces of evil. It also features an appearance by the female “muscle idol” and pro-wrestler Reika Saiki.
If the music videos and information in this article are not enough to satisfy you, then you should check out the Macho29 official YouTube channel. There you’ll find both more music videos and a random collection of other videos starring the Macho29 guys.
“Fukking BOZO” is a hip hop/K-pop-style song. The word “fukking” is a a play on the Japanese word fukkin, which can mean either “abs” or “sit-ups.” Meanwhile, the word bōzō means something along the lines of “running wild,” thus the title of this song could be translated as “Abs Running Wild.” The song features amusing lyrics, such as “We are mother fukking BOZO, U are head banging guys.”
Source: Macho29 Official YouTube Channel, Macho29 Official Website
Image: 【公式】ビバ!マッチョ / マッチョ29
