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The story
The poster stands 173cm tall — taller than the average Japanese man (around 170cm) — yet claims that whenever he walks around town, everyone else looks bigger than him, and the inferiority complex just won’t go away. Replies poured in, with some saying ‘people in central Tokyo or Osaka’s Minami district do seem to have bigger builds,’ while others countered that ‘the issue isn’t height — it’s psychological.’ The poster also revealed he’s bulked up from 55kg to 63kg over two years through weight training, and says he’s now aiming to break 100kg, though others pushed back that carrying that much muscle at his height just isn’t realistic.
What people said
In central Tokyo, I'm 177 and I feel pretty average
Not tall, not short
Guys in Osaka's Minami entertainment district feel like they average close to 180
There's been a huge surge of foreigners, which is pulling the average up
I wasn't even dissing short guys in the first place
Because I myself have a height complex
I'm lifting like crazy right now
I was 55kg two years ago, now I'm up to 63kg
How are guys shorter than that even holding onto their sanity?
Why are you even looking around that much?
Sounds like you're constantly glancing around nervously
Well, I don't have a girlfriend
And if that theory's right, isn't it weird that Japan's birth rate is dropping?
I'm seriously considering limb-lengthening surgery
If you're not scared of ending up disproportioned like a 'Zeong' (Gundam's legless mobile suit — slang for a lanky, out-of-proportion body after leg-lengthening surgery), go for it, I guess
Would 173cm even count as 'short and muscular'?
Guess you're still like that even past 22
I'm 34 this year
I know, it's bad
Let me ask you the opposite — why doesn't it bother you?
Well, 173 and 169 look about the same from a distance anyway, it's only a 4cm difference
I wish I were 190cm and 105kg
Can't do anything about my height, so I'm aiming for 100kg through lifting
I feel like people look down on me when I'm out in public
What exactly are you so afraid of?
I can't stand it when there are men stronger than me out in public
I'm talking physically
Money or jobs don't matter to me (I'm not even working)
I just want to get stronger, I don't want to be looked down on
Come on, the problem isn't your height
Did someone actually disrespect you?
if there were big thug-looking guys (DQN) around in public
I'd still be bothered by them no matter what
that's where the fear and dread comes from
that's what I really hate
I wish I'd been born 190cm and over 100kg
I get it, kind of
'Can't stop being bothered by them' → wrong
'Can't stop smirking with superiority' → correct
More like two steps in already
Seriously, I think you should see a psychiatrist
Both your natural muscle mass and the muscle you can build later correlate with height, so it's not happening — you'd just end up flabby
Getting anywhere near 100kg of lean body mass requires being at least 190cm
I've been watching a martial-arts YouTuber called YASU-do lately
https://youtube.com/shorts/3yXiMXIt5Cg?si=aT9IROk1O43hgjml
This guy
is apparently 173cm and over 100kg
That's my target for now
I'm still only in my 60kg range, so who knows how many years it'll take
Either way, before I die I want to be able to walk past delinquents and tough-looking guys on the street without it bothering me
100kg on a 193cm frame and 100kg on a 173cm frame have completely different body compositions, so you really shouldn't aim for 100kg
At that height it'll mostly be fat piling on, and it'll hurt your health too
Honestly even young salarymen are wearing platform soles now
Is that for real?
I'm gonna believe you
I saw somewhere that older guys are into them too
she asked me how tall I was
and when I said 173cm
she said 'Huh, I thought you were like 180. You're surprisingly small'
That still sticks with me
This was back when I worked at the Aeon in Hachioji
10 years ago
That's basically a compliment
It means you've got good proportions
You clearly love yourself, don't you
Women's guesses get way less accurate when the height gap with a guy is big
There was a foreign YouTuber who tested this by wearing secret shoes to be different heights
Background and Key Points of the Debate
According to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare statistics, the average height for men in their twenties is around 170–171cm, meaning the poster’s 173cm is already above average. What makes the thread interesting is how differently users interpreted his persistent sense of inferiority. Some pointed to environmental factors, arguing that ‘well-built guys are concentrated in places like central Tokyo or Osaka’s Minami district,’ while others offered a more psychological take, noting that ‘a tendency toward anxiety is just how the brain works — it’s not actually about height.’ On the subject of muscle mass, commenters pushed back that lean body mass has an upper limit proportional to height, suggesting the poster’s goal of ‘100kg at 173cm’ isn’t realistic from a technical standpoint. It’s also worth noting that the claim about ‘platform shoes becoming standard even among young salarymen’ was just one user’s personal impression in the thread, with no supporting data presented. Overall, the thread suggests that a height complex is really a matter of self-perception, one that doesn’t necessarily line up with objective body-size data.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyou G) thread “I’m 173cm, which is above average, but whenever I walk around I feel like everyone else is bigger than me and it’s seriously messing with my head”.
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