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, with Funimation and Crunchyroll streaming it. A second season premiered on July 7, 2016. An anime film opened in Japan in January 2025. A new anime series titled ''Binan Kōkō Chikyū Bōei-bu Haikara!'' is set to premiere in July 2025.

The story follows the lives of five ordinary boys who gain nature-based powers given to them by a mysterious creature from outer space. Calling themselves the "Earth Defense Club", they fight against the "Earth Conquest Club", whose members seek to conquer Earth.

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 was released in Japan in February 2015.

Plot

One day, the Earth Defense Club at Binan High School, consisting of Yumoto Hakone, En Yufuin, Atsushi Kinugawa, Io Naruko, and Ryuu Zaou, who regularly attend a local bathhouse run by Yumoto's brother, meet a pink wombat-creature from another planet who tasks them with saving the world. Using a set of "Loveracelets" he gives them, the group transforms into , who use the power of love to combat those intent on spreading hate and discord. As they battle, they encounter the Earth Conquest Club, which has fallen under the influence of the green hedgehog-like creature Zundar. Kinshiro Kusatsu, Ibushi Arima and Akoya Gero, the members of the school's student council, become their enemies, being responsible for creating the monsters they fight.

Characters

Earth Defense Club

Originally an unofficial school club, the ''Earth Defense Club'' became semi-official because its members occupied a club room which had a sign reading "Earth Defense Club" on its door. After the student council orders them to formally register their club, it is later approved.

;
:
:A first-year student whose family owns a bathhouse called Kurotamayu. He is carefree and loves animals, cute things, and food. He transforms into the Sparkling Prince; Battle Lover . His color is red and his element is light. His love stick is called Lumiere of Love, which allows him to use the attacks Scarlet Lumiere and Love Sprinkle.

;
:
:A third-year student who is lazy and prefers to go at his own pace. He is somewhat vain, as, despite having recently turned 18, he is worried that his youthful appearance is fading. He transforms into the Flashing Prince; Battle Lover . His color is blue and his element is water. His love stick is called Purifying Aqua, which allows him to use the attack Cerulean Aqua.

;
:
:A third-year student and Kinshiro's childhood friend, who comes from a rich family and has good grades. He transforms into the Piercing Prince; Battle Lover . His color is green and his element is air. His love stick is called Gallant Hurricane, which allows him to use the attack Epinard Hurricane.

;
:
:A second year student who has made money through the stock market and believes that life is all about money. He is close to Ryuu and is implied to have romantic feelings for him. He transforms into the Roaring Prince; Battle Lover . His color is yellow and his element is earth. His love stick is called Raging Gaia, which allows him to use the attack Sulfur Gaia.

;
:
:A second year student who is popular with girls and best friends with Io. He transforms into the Thrilling Prince; Battle Lover . His color is pink and his element is fire. His love stick is called Blazing Ignit, which allows him to use the attack Vesta Ignit.

;
:
: A pink wombat-like creature from another planet who tasks the club's members with the mission of protecting Earth from evil and filling it with love. He has the ability to control En and Atsushi's homeroom teacher, Mr. Tawarayama, when he holds him.

Conquest Club

;
:
:A third year student and the president of the school's student council. He is childhood friends with Atsushi, but their relationship is distant and he dislikes that he hangs out with En and the club. He transforms into . At the end of season 1, he reconciles with Atsushi and they become friends again.

;
:
:A third year student and the vice-president of the school's student council, who serves as Kinshiro's assistant. He transforms into .

;
:
:A second year student who is in the same class as Io and Ryuu, but does not get along with Ryuu. He transforms into .

;
:
:A green hedgehog-like creature from another planet who came to conquer Earth. He ends his sentences with "dar".

Monsters

People with strong negative feelings who Caerula Adamas turns into monsters using Zundar's needles.

;
:
:An ordinary third-year high school student who does not stand out. He is turned into a chikuwabu monster.

;
:
:A high school student who is obsessed with order and rules. He is turned into a chopsticks monster.

;
:
:The advisor to the school's Ballet Club, who is obsessed with winning the school's pretty boy contest. He is turned into a black swan monster.

;
:
:A high school student who is known as a "guy with the face of a 50-year old" . He is turned into a bishōnen monster.

;
:
:A high-school student whose life is controlled by his father. He is turned into a remote control monster that resembles a squid.

;
:
:A third-year high-school student whose grades are "always No. 1". After his grade drops to No. 2 behind Io, his jealousy attracts Caerula Adamas and he is turned into a screw tank monster.

;
:
:A second-year high-school student who transferred to Binan High School at the end of his first year. After getting sick with the flu, he stopped coming to school and became a shut-in. He is turned into a hikikomori monster.

;
:
:An self-conscious high-school student who is turned into a melon monster.

;
:
:Yumoto's classmate and the manager of the baseball club, who enjoys the attention he gets from wearing glasses. After Yumoto's cold turns him into a meganedanshi as well, Rui's jealousy causes him to be turned into a dog-like baseball bat monster with glasses.

Others

;
:
:Yumoto's older brother, who helps run the bathhouse and chop wood for the baths. The finale of the first season reveals that he was the original Battle Lover.

;
:
:The president of the Binan High Press Society. He is often seen observing the Defense Club.

;
:
:The photographer for the Binan High Press Society. He is normally stoic, but passionate about photography.

;
:
:A mysterious talking goldfish that is involved with the Binan High Press Society. The finale of the first season reveals that he had been broadcasting a reality show about the Battle Lovers and Caerula Adamas throughout the universe.

;
:
:En and Atsushi's instructor, who is supposedly killed after tripping over Wombat and falls down a flight of stairs. While Wombat explains that he is not technically dead, he must remain near him to prevent him from suffering the effects of decomposition, using him as a cover to avoid appearing suspicious. While he later recovers, he is soon injured and falls into a coma again.

Season 2

Vepper

;
:
:A second year student and Haruhiko's twin brother, who, along with him, transforms into the twins shining in the heavens, .

;
:
:A second year student and Akihiko's twin brother, who, along with him, transforms into The twins shining in the heavens, .

;
:
A flying squirrel-like creature who is Zundar's brother.

Monsters

People who are overcome with jealousy and are turned into monsters by The Vepper through Dadacha.

;
:
:He is turned into an hourglass monster from his desire to return to the past. He has the earliest birthday among his classmates.

;
:
:A high school student who believes beauty is a sin, and is turned into a tofu monster.

;
:
:He is turned into a microphone monster from his desperation to steal the spotlight.

;
:
:An Italian exchange student who is turned into a chest hair monster for having a hairless chest, unlike his twin brother.

;
:
:He is turned into a volleyball monster.

;
:
:He is turned into a panda monster.

;
:
:He is turned into a reindeer monster due to his loneliness during Christmas.

;
:
:He is turned into a snowman monster.

;
:
:One of The Vepper's henchmen, who is turned into a merry-go-round monster.

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 by the Earth Defense Club (Kazutomi Yamamoto, Yuichiro Umehara, Kōtarō Nishiyama, Yusuke Shirai, and Toshiki Masuda), while the ending theme is by the Conquest Club (Hiroshi Kamiya, Jun Fukuyama, Takuma Terashima). The second season aired 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 by the Earth Defense Club (Kazutomi Yamamoto, Yuichiro Umehara, Kōtarō Nishiyama, Yusuke Shirai, and Toshiki Masuda), the ending theme is by the Vepper/ Beppu brothers Keisuke Koumoto and Yoshiki Murakami.

A new anime series, titled ''Binan Kōkō Chikyū Bōei-bu Haikara!'' (美男高校地球防衛部ハイカラ!), was announced on March 17, 2025. The series will be produced by Studio Deen and directed by Takamatsu, with Takashi Aoshima writing the scripts, Ayashi Murakami designing the characters, and yamazo composing the music. It is set to premiere on July 7, 2025, on Tokyo MX and BS NTV.

Manga

A parallel manga entitled ''Binan Kokou Chikyuu Seifuku-bu Love!'' (lit. 'Cute High Earth Conquest Club 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 Natsuko Takahashi and illustrated by Yumiko Hara was released in Japan on January 7, 2015, as a paperback novel.

OVA

A OVA titled ''Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boueibu LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!'' (美男高校地球防衛部LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!), subtitled The Graduation of Love and Youth! (愛と青春の卒業!, ''Ai to Seishun no Sotsugyou!'') 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 (永遠未来LOVE YOU ALL, Eien Mirai LOVE YOU ALL), while the ending is From Both Our Hearts (心と心で, Kokoro to Kokoro de). both by the Earth Defense Club.

Film

An anime film, titled '' Cute High Earth Defense Club Eternal Love!'', which serves as a sequel to the original series and celebrates its 10th anniversary, was released on January 24, 2025. The staff and cast members from the series are reprising their roles.

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''."

References

External links

*
*
*

{{Studio Deen

2015 Japanese television series endings
2015 comics endings
Anime with original screenplays
Diomedéa
Fictional wombats
Magical boy
Magical girl parodies
Parody anime and manga
Studio Deen
TV Tokyo original programming