Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE! LOVE! – 01

Binan Koukou 2 - 02 -1Summer 2016 is full of sequels to shows that were on my second 10 for 2015, and Binan Koukou is the third one to premiere (it just cracked the list).  This was a sequel of a type that’s become somewhat unusual in the modern era, in that it’s not a split cour or a predetermined second season – its existence was genuinely in doubt, and depended mostly on the commercial success of the first in the disc market.  Director Takamatsu Shinji was very open that he and writer Yokote Micihiko very much wanted to continue Binan Koukou but that it all depended on sales.  Happily they were good enough (I’m guessing just barely) and here we are.

Binan Koukou 2 - 02 -2The nice thing is that this is a series that’s ideally suited for multiple seasons, a silly romp without a huge amount of deep character arcs that require closure and (since it makes up its own rules) seemingly endless potential plot developments.  Takamtsu-sensei is the unchallenged master of satirizing anime about girls using the canvas of anime about boys, and Binan Koukou is pretty transparent about it.  Make no mistake, the Cute High Earth Defense Club is a flat-out mahou shounen parody of the mahou shoujo genre, unique in that it sells out nothing in committing to the premise.  Usually mahou shounen pull their punches in that either the satire or the shounen is tangential to the premise, but that’s not the case here – these guys even get full-on transformation sequences every bit as immodest as their female counterparts.

Binan Koukou 2 - 02 -3There’s no interruption of either the shamelessness or the lunacy, with the extended opening sequence featuring the CHEDC quintet at the bath – where they’re soon joined by former enemies, now allies, the Student Council.  The topic of Atsushi and Kinshirou’s long-dormant friendship is as front and center in the premiere as it was in the finale arc of the first season, and with the student council off to study in Europe the tsundere is on full display as it’s debated whether Atsushi will come see his osananajimi off at the airport.

Binan Koukou 2 - 02 -4Yumoto makes that decision for them (in his usual fashion) but there’s still the matter of evil to consider, and that gets in the way in the form of Hourglass Monster-san (Ishida Akira) (at last we have Fukuyama Jun and Fukushima Jun in the same series), who has the ability to freeze time but mostly seems to enjoy getting sand everywhere.  He manages to destroy the quintet’s loveraclets (and later Ryuu’s “Shounen Gunp“) but Goura-oniisan comes to the rescue in the nick of time.  That doesn’t stop Hourglass-san from picking things up the next day, but this time it’s no less than Wom-san himself who comes to the rescue – complete with a wardrobe upgrade (because this is season 2), a power-up and a dead teacher.

Binan Koukou 2 - 02 -5It seems the big bad this season is going to be twins Beppu Akihiko (Koumoto Keisuke) and Haruhiko (Murakami Yoshiki).  Or rather, the green squirrel who’s pulling their strings.  Really though, I think we can look forward to more of the same – which makes this a series that should lend itself fairly easily to audience judgment.  If you liked the first season you’ll probably like this one, and I don’t think it’s likely to go much beyond that.  This show is very silly, very shameless, and very fun – but it’s not everybody’s cup of tea.  As someone who likes Takamtsu’s style and thinks the mahou shoujo genre is as ripe for satire as any out there, I think Binan Koukou has managed to get the balance just right, ands I expect that to continue in the second season.

OP: “Futten Toppa☆LOVE IS POWER☆ (沸点突破☆LOVE IS POWER☆)” by Chikyuu Bouei-bu

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4 comments

  1. J

    Great premiere – pretty much continued everything I loved about the first season, and the budget actually seems a lot higher this time. It really is nice when a good show that’s not split gets a second season.

    Also, Fukushima? The monster was Akira Ishida, pretty sure, as a callback to the first monster in S1.

  2. s

    Yes, the monster was voiced by Akira Ishida. The credits and website list Yasumoto Hiroki (Zundar in the previous season) as Dadacha, the evil squirrel. http://boueibu.com/chara12.html

  3. e

    Teheheh those trademark sento conversations are back :,DDDD and the hourglass monster and the MotD theme carried a strong Jojo Dio flavour there (and to top the ref conga line all we get Gouran going at hourglass-Dio with hotblooded righteous fury). Mwahaha <3 .
    Well at least for the first epsode the baka power is back in full force and sillier and frillier (their fuku now remindes me an awful lot of maid cafès outfits btw :,D ) and more tongue-in-cheek than ever. Even the Love Shower and the Butt Plu— err Combined Love Skewer Sceptre got an upgrade on steroids. And the posing. And the OP (ED?) dance posing, and those Rimmel eyelashes! The only minus for me is seeing the Council trio away. I grew pretty fond of them and I'll miss their brand of hair porn. Those two evil albino twins better and the new furry green evil alien better be up to filling the gap and beyond…

  4. D

    Marvellous. The first series was one of my faves, because i do love a parody which rips merrily into genre tropes while remaining true to them. They’ve got a pink wombat, what’s not to like?

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