Cute High Earth Defense Club Love!


Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! is a 2015 magical boy anime television series created by Kurari Umatani and produced by Diomedéa. The series is directed by Shinji Takamatsu and written by Michiko Yokote. The series premiered on January 6, 2015. The anime is licensed by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand and by Ponycan USA in North America. Funimation and Crunchyroll are currently streaming the anime. A second season of the anime began airing on July 7, 2016.
The story focuses on the lives of five ordinary boys, each of them possessing an extraordinary nature-based power given to them by a mysterious creature from outer space. The group, calling themselves the "Earth Defense Club", must stop the enemies intent on conquering Earth known as the "Earth Conquest Club".
A spin-off manga titled Binan Kokou Chikyuu Seifuku-bu Love! started serialization in Pony Canyon's web comics magazine online, on October 16, 2014. A light novel was released on January 7, 2015 in Japan, with two additional light novels released in 2016. A game based on the series for Android and iOS devices has been released in Japan in February 2015.

Plot

The Earth Defense Club at Binan High School who regularly attend a local bathhouse run by Yumoto's brother, are approached by a strange pink wombat-like being from another planet who charges them with the task of saving the world. Using a set of "Loveracelets" he gives them, the group transforms into Battle Lovers, who use the power of love to combat foes intent on spreading hate and discord. As they battle, they encounter the Earth Conquest Club under the influence of a small green hedgehog-like creature named Zundar; student council members Kinshiro Kusatsu, Ibushi Arima and Akoya Gero become their enemies who are also responsible for creating the monsters the Lovers fight.

Characters

Earth Defense Club

Originally an unofficial school club, the Earth Defense Club became semi-official because its members occupied a club room that had "Earth Defense Club " on a sign hanging on its door. The student council repeatedly pester them to formally register their club. The club finally receives reluctant approval in season 1, episode 5.
;Yumoto Hakone
;En Yufuin
;Atsushi Kinugawa
;Io Naruko
;Ryuu Zaou
;Wombat

Conquest Club

;Kinshiro Kusatsu
;Ibushi Arima
;Akoya Gero
;Zundar

Monsters

People who have strong negative feelings that get turned into monsters by Caerula Adamas from Zundar's Needle. The names of the loveless foreshadow what kind of monster they become.
;Kazutake Chiku
;Wario Hashida
;Moteo Kurotori
;Oyaji Igarao
;Enkaku Sōsa
;Ichiban Itsumo
;Shō Komi
;Uriya Makuwa
;Rui Megawa

Others

;Gōra Hakone
;Kou Kinosaki
;Tazawa
;Hireashi
;Mr. Tawarayama

Season 2

Vepper

;Akihiko Beppu
;Haruhiko Beppu
;Dadacha
The twins' flying squirrel-like mascot who is Zundar's brother and serves the same purpose as him.

Monsters

People who are overcome with jealously and are turned into monsters by The Vepper by launching Dadacha at their victim, after which he latches himself to the victim's face and transforms the said victim into a loveless. The names of the loveless are puns on what kind of monster they become.
;Tomaru Tokiwa
;Tsukuna Ouso
;Tagaru Katari
;Alan Salvatore
;Shuzo Oka
;Kuroshiro Kumano
;Kazuto Hijiriya
;Shin Nito
;Entaro Meguriya

Media

Anime

The series, which was directed by Shinji Takamatsu at Diomedéa and written by Michiko Yokote, aired in Japan between January 6, 2015 and March 24, 2015 and was streamed by Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Viewster. The series is licensed in North America by Ponycan USA, who began releasing the series on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in August 2015. The first opening theme for season one is "Zettai Muteki☆Fallin'LOVE☆" by the Earth Defense Club, while the ending theme is "I Miss You no 3 Metre" by the Conquest Club. A second season has been The second season began airing in Japan titled Cute High Earth Defense Club Love! Love! from July 7, 2016 to September 27, 2016. The opening theme for Season two is "Futten Toppa☆LOVE IS POWER☆" by the Earth Defense Club, the ending theme is "Anata wa Haruka Ittousei" by the Vepper/ Beppu brothers Keisuke Koumoto and Yoshiki Murakami

Manga

A parallel manga entitled Binan Kokou Chikyuu Seifuku-bu Love! has finished its monthly serialization in Pony Canyon's web comics magazine, having started on October 16, 2014. The manga focuses more on the lives of the series' antagonists.

Light Novel

A light novel series written by Takahashi Natsuko and illustrated by Hara Yumiko was released in Japan on January 7, 2015 as a paperback novel.

OVA

A OVA titled Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boueibu LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!, subtitled The Graduation of Love and Youth! which aired in select theatres across Japan for a 3-week period in August and September 2017, starting on August 26. It was preceded by an all night season two screening/advance OVA screening on August 25, 2017, exclusive to the Ticket Pia booking system. The OVA is said to be the "concluding chapter" about the graduation of the 3rd years. The opening theme is Eternal Future LOVE YOU ALL, while the ending is From Both Our Hearts. both by the Earth Defense Club.

Reception

Reviews for the anime have been generally positive. Amy McNulty from Anime News Network gave the first three episodes of the series an "A" rating writing that: "Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! should make any anime fan laugh, although long-time fans of magical girl shows will get the jokes better by default. As a parody of a genre that can still entertain in its own right, this series walks the line of critiquing and venerating the magical girl genre with finesse. It's comedic, but it's not a gag-a-minute affair. Yes, it has over-the-top situations, but it's just slightly less believable than the typical magical girl show, so it works. We're not laughing at the show, we're laughing with it." When reviewing the ninth episode, to which she gave an A+ rating, McNulty later wrote that it: "demonstrates that the show entertains best when it's both a parody and a magical boy show in its own right. The fact that the boys are able to talk the melon monster down before they heal him with love is another fun twist on the give-speeches-about-justice-to-monster-then-heal-with-love formula. Overall, the viewers spend more time with this monster than any of the previous ones, paving the way for laughs aplenty."
Ian Wolf writing for Anime UK News gave the first two episodes a rating of 9 out of 10 saying: "Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! has so far proven itself to be a highly entertaining show, mainly because of the knowing parody it contains. The series mocks all of the normal magical girl tropes, whether it is the poses, the lines that are spouted, the transformations, or the attacks. The only real difference is the fact that you have male characters instead of female ones." He also stated comparisons to shows such as Ouran High School Host Club, a romantic comedy manga which also parodies romantic manga; and Free! in which he compares the similar fan-bases, namely fujoshi, saying: "Let's be honest, we all knew that as soon as the concept of five attractive boys akin to magical girls was revealed that every fujoshi and fudanshi was preparing to write quite a lot fan fiction."
In a review of the first three episodes Dan Barnett of UK-Anime Network gave the series 7 out of 10 claiming that: "Cute High Earth Defence Club Love is a series that has the potential to be a bit of a breakout hit if it plays its cards right. The series is undeniably hilarious as the characters take everything around them seriously, and sexual innuendo flies around so much that it's impossible to keep a straight face. The pains that Wombat must go through to try and avoid being cuddled by Yumoto are fantastically funny too! What might hold it back though is that three episodes in there's little evidence of a plot other than the bog standard 'bad guys make monster of the week' fare that's typical of the genre.... It's a tricky line to walk if the series wants to keep as wide an audience as possible, though there are certainly fans around who'll happily pick-up another pretty-boy series to fill the void left by Free."