These stylish anime stretches are just the thing to beat that early morning lethargy!

“Radio calisthenics” (or rajio taisou) are a beloved staple of Japanese mornings: gentle stretches that limber up the muscles, and they’re easy enough that everyone from kids to grandparents can do them. The exercises are so ubiquitous in Japan that seeing a grandpa in a jogging suit, or hearing three strident piano chords, will call it to mind instantly.

▼ If you need a primer, here’s Takeshi “Beat” Kitano’s memorable radio calisthenics scene from Battle Royale.

But what if that’s not enough to get your blood pumping? Well, you could aim for a higher intensity level, like the exercises reportedly done by Japan’s Self Defense Force. If that still seems a little out of your comfort zone, there’s a video that’s guaranteed to give your morning stretches a super shonen shot of anime style.

That’s right – performing your morning exercises today is the cast of Hirohiko Araki’s decade-spanning anime/manga phenomenon, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure!

The video above was taken at the 2013 Basara Carnival, a cosplay dance festival held each December in Gifu. When the festival started it was primarily for traditional yosakoi dancers…

But nowadays it’s a huge costume festival, and this JoJo-themed troupe, Higashikata Jojomu, bring their own vivid and fashionable flair to the event every year.

▼ Here the team tackles 2016 smash hit “Love Dance”

While the featured video is nearly five years old at this point, it was recently reposted on Twitter and received a ton of attention.

▼ In the exercise video, colorful characters like Jolene, Narancia and Funny Valentine do dramatic poses to the classic piano music. Pay attention to Dio in yellow!

The group even brought their own narrator, who counts the exercises in the soothing, calm tones you’d expect of an NHK announcer – which makes it even more surprising when he suddenly tells the troupe “I reject my humanity!” in the same voice you might order “now stretch your arms out!”

▼ “WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!”

He calls out a number of other famous and perplexing quotes from the series, such as the infamous “MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!” and “German science is the greatest in the world!”

▼ “One, two, three… CEEEEAAAASAAAARRRRRRR!”

With enthusiastic theatrics at every bend and flex, the group pull off one last graceful group pose as the music draws to a close, and with that the performance is over. Thanks for dancing with us!

Due to the video being reposted recently on social media, Japanese netizens are using it as a great excuse to pummel each other with their favorite quotes and rate it as a practical morning exercise.

“This routine should get your body even more flexible than regular radio calisthenics, LOL.”
“When the guy said “I reject my humanity” my gut nearly burst from laughing so hard.”
“It’s kind of worrying when he calls out “let’s flip Joseph over!””
“I didn’t see anyone in this video except Dio.”

The troupe were also delighted to see it crop up again. They are a regular fixture at this event, so if you’re in Gifu when the festival rolls around make sure to strike a pose with them!

If you’re scratching your head at what exactly that narrator was calling out to all those gaudily clad, expertly coiffed gentlemen and ladies: don’t worry. Even in Japan, a lot of people are taken aback by the strange sounds of JoJo – to the extent there’s even a poll for the weirdest ones.

Source: Youtube/kaniemon0417, Twitter/@tibireusu via JIN
Featured image: Youtube/kaniemon0417