Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!

Episode 4

It's Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! Babies time! This week, the producers behind the dryly comedic magical boy show reached into the trope lottery box and pulled out "turn the characters into cute little kids." Surprisingly, the main cast doesn't remain in kiddie form for as long as last week's preview seemed to indicate, and while the chibi-fied versions of the boys are cute, their transformation into children doesn't illicit as many jokes as previous episodes. (True to form though, the show does comment on its own inconsistencies when it comes to the size of the characters' clothes during the transformation.)

No one who's watched a typical magical girl show would expect a deviation from the monster-of-the-day formula or any major revelations this early on. However, as a (presumably) one-cour series, Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! doesn't have the luxury of wasting a single episode. After four straight weeks establishing the origin of the Battle Lovers and their enemies and following the same distraught-student-turns-into-monster routine, the show would be better served to start changing up the formula. Money-grubber Io and ladies' man Ryuu are still painfully one-note, even more so than the others. How about an episode devoted to them where we can see other sides of all these characters? How about giving the Conquest Club more time in the limelight?

At the very least, one major revelation made it into the episode: Atsushi and the Conquest Club leader/student council president Kinshiro were once childhood friends. Atsushi doesn't seem to miss his company, but the show leaves us wondering if there's a little more regret in Kinshiro's heart, or if he's simply as bent on world domination as he appears to be.

More than once, episode 4 lingers too long on fanservice. It's one thing when the characters have humorously analytical discussions in the public bath Yumoto's family owns, since the fanservice is intermingled with funny dialog. However, when the boys splash themselves with soap and water while posing in the buff one at a time, the segment drags. In the same vein, this week's episode serves as host to an unfunny, fanservice-laden tickle fight between the main characters, pink wombat included.

While there are a few clever commentaries on the magical girl genre, there's still plenty left to explore, and episode 4 missed some chances the series might have taken in earlier episodes. If the show is going to keep going with this monster-of-the-day routine, why not have someone point out that in true magical girl show form, the monsters only appear in one location? (Most magical girls at least battle monsters throughout an entire city. These magical boys only fight their fellow students-turned-magical-beasts during the school day.) As far as the humor goes, a few of the characters' references—both from other anime and Japanese pop culture—won't stick their landing as well with any but the most knowledgeable otaku, although the show can't necessarily be faulted for that. This episode could have, and should have, been more.

Rating: B-

Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Amy is a YA fantasy author who has loved anime for two decades.