Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! recently wrapped up the series after 12 episodes, which leaves the possibility for a second season as the Earth Defense and Conquest Clubs put their differences aside after learning the “horribly comedic” truth about their battles.
I never cared much for the theme of “magical girl,” but I loved the way that this anime series was set up. It was entertaining to see a series that mocks the “magical girl” franchise, but keeping friendly about it with the tongue-in-cheek approach. I had no idea what to expect when the series first aired, but I am glad that I watched it because it serves as great entertainment after watching a bunch of intense shows hours before.
To start things off, this anime series feels like the love child the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and Seinfeld.
STORYLINE
There’s really not much of a storyline behind the anime.
Thundar leads the Binan Academy Student Council on a plan to take over the world, but Wombat leads the Earth Defense Club members to being “protectors of the world” by spreading “love” all around. It really does a great job of poking fun at the magical girl genre.
You cannot approach this anime seriously if you want to get enjoyment out of it.
Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! is not meant to be taken seriously at all. If you try to take the story seriously, then you will be seriously disappointed. The story doesn’t take itself seriously at all, which is the entire point.
A majority of the battles take place on Binan Academy.
The Earth Defense Club members spend most of their time going back and forth between Binan Academy and the public bath house that is owned by Yumoto’s family. I laughed when the Earth Defense Club members are usually slackers with nothing better to do with their free time, but to sit around and do nothing in their club room.
They sit around and talk about the most trivial and useless s—t, which serves as foreshadowing of the “monster of the weak.”
Wombat, a wombat-like alien, arrives on Earth and forces the club members to become an actual Earth Defense Club.
CHARACTERS
The anime is ultimately character-driven because the plot isn’t the main concern of the series.
I found the characters to be un-heroic, which I found funny. Again, this is one of the point’s of the anime series.
Yumoto Hakone is the de facto leader of the group because he is usually the one delivering the “final blow” to the enemy. He is a male version of a lolita, who is often cheerful and hyperactive. It is obvious that he is a parody of Sailor Moon.
En Yufuin is vain and lazy, but is actually smart and perceptive. You would expect En to get nowhere in life, but he is actually one of the smartest students at Binan Academy.
Atsushi Kinugawa is the stereotypical smart kid with glasses and comes from a wealthy family. He is the stereotypical nerd, whose intelligence rivals that of En. It is obvious that he is En’s best friend and vice-versa.
Io Naruko is also a stereotypical smart kid, like Atsushi, coming from a wealthy family. He is superficial and doesn’t bother to do anything unless money is involved. Io is surprisingly smart with his money.
Ryuu Zaou is the “ladies man,” but the anime shows no female characters at all. I can guess that it is the intention to be tongue-in-cheek about the concept of “boys love.”
Wombat is the person responsible for giving the Earth Defense Club members their powers. He wants to learn more about the planet because he “loves it.” Wombat uses Mr. Tawarayama, their homeroom teacher, as his host. It leads to the comical suspicion that Mr. Tawarayama is dead, which is partially true.
He is often the victim of Yumoto’s cuddles because he is “cute and fluffy.”
OVERALL
This was a comedic way to approach the “magical girl” genre and poke fun at it in a tongue-in-cheek way. There is no serious storyline, where the main focus is on humor and fan service. I find the concept of no female characters to be interesting as it pokes fun at “yaoi.”
It feels like one big compounded gay joke.
