I give credit to Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE! LOVE! for doing something a bit unexpected this season, and that’s messing with the formula. Whether to do that was always a bit of a delicate matter, because it’s the absurdity and the genre parodies that drive the series. But I think Takamatsu and Yokote were right in thinking there was a risk of things getting stale if the established pattern just kept repeating itself over and over.
In the last couple of episodes Binan Koukou has started out following the expected pattern, only to veer off-course on the way to an expected conclusion. This time around it’s New Year’s (which makes sense as last week was Christmas), which as anime watchers know is the most important holiday of the year in Japan. We actually get a bit of a twist early on in the episode with the reveal that VEPPer are from Andromeda (if this has been confirmed earlier I’ve forgotten it), and they seem to have gotten the way they are because of abandonment issues. That makes their obsession with Gora rather understandable (and human).
Basically, the Beppu seem to have no interest in ruling the world – they just want to bask in Gora-niisan’s love and hate Yumoto because he soaks up most of it. And Dadacha hasn’t really shown much interest in anything except cooking for them. So all in all, it’s hard to muster up much hostility for them even when they do mean things (which is pretty much all the time). One element of the formula that hasn’t changed is the guessing game about who the big-name seiyuu guest star is going to be, and this time around it’s Natsuki Hanae as Snowman Monster. He’s the poor 23 year-old Binan student (in Rinne the high schoolers die – here they just stay in school forever) who VEPPer entrap in their usual harebrained scheme to make trouble for the Bouei-bu.
Even by Binan standards this whole confrontation is pretty silly. The boys – and even Wom-san – have no interest in fighting on New Year’s Day. And really, all Snowman-chan does is make a mini-blizzard around Kurotama bath, which – let’s be honest – is sort of fun and nice. There’s just too much sunny optimism from Yumoto for VEPPer’s scheme to work, and even En-chan and Ryuu are happily skipping through the snow on their way to the konbini (about the only thing open in Japan on this day). It’s all too much for the Beppu twins to take in – in the end they go on tilt after the boys refuse to fight their snowman and then win him over with love, and confront the Earth Defense club with the truth. That should shake things up rather nicely as we head into the final four episodes.
Dop
August 27, 2016 at 12:58 pmI do love the way the last few episodes have been playing with the format, and that the VEPPers monsters are becoming more kind of pathetic each week. Which kind of reflects their personalities, I guess.
elianthos
August 31, 2016 at 4:29 pmNot as fun as last week but still enjoyable… and a very welcome mood lifter in my corner. Pitter-patter zing-zing feeling ahoy!
– I want a Dadacha in my life :,)
– You can always count on En-chan to spark conversations on whatever subject under the sun and vintage taste :,)
– Was that a jab at a certain male cheerleaders squad anime too? There can be only one squirrel left after all *cue Highlander Queen’s OST*
– I really really want a Dadacha in my life :,)
– That hairdryer scene! I finally pinged on my fondness for Ryu. Pink hair aside it’s the frilly headband. TL;DR : OUAT I was asked out by a rather moe (and young) friend’s acquaintance. On our date there he came, eyes sparkling, cheeks rosy and his long freshly shampooed strawberry blond locks poofiness barely tamed by a stretchy white lace headband allegedly stolen from his sister’s stash on the way out :DDDD
– Might have been the low budget but the gang was looking rather non-nonplussed to me after The Reveal at the end. And no I can’t recall any previos hints about the alien origin of the twins myself too although the ED (with the top of the Lyra constellation we see hanging) and their hair colour (Vega looks blue-white) were possibly meant as more robust clues than a generic star theme and imagery in hindsight.