Raise your hand if you expected to see a pink wombat say “O, Sole mio!” this season.

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love! knows exactly what it’s doing.  That’s been apparent for a while, but what was implicit in last week’s storyline – that this is a sendup of mahou shoujo where the content is merely an excuse to get to the form – was acknowledged explicitly in the first three minutes of this episode.”These monsters just seem to show up when we start talking about them.”  Well – as long as you get the transformation sequence, does it really matter?

So really, this series is an elaborately choreographed dance posing (rather deftly) as disorganized chaos.  There is some random stuff in here, to be sure – for example Goura-san.  He actually pops up before the last 30 seconds this time (though he does own his usual spot at the end of the episode) in one of the funniest gags this week, where his brother’s friends point out that it makes no sense that a natural onsen would require constant wood-chopping.  So why, exactly, is An-chan chopping wood all day?  Those furtive eyes suggest a thoroughly baka answer.  We’re going somewhere with this character – all of this almost has to be building up to something (more) ridiculous.

As for this week’s pretense (“plot” just sounds a little too grand) it’s all about screwing.  It starts off with a truly hilarious bit when Yumoto asks why screws are called screws, and Ryuu helpfully offers that it’s “because you screw them in”.  Yumoto is more than satisfied with this answer to the riddle that’s “plagued him since third grade”, which should give you an idea of why he’s not going to be much use with the crisis of the week.  To wit: the club must beat the school average on their exams or the club will be disbanded (new rule, made up just for them).  And thinking ambitiously, Gero-san launches a clever Plan B – he gets the Student Council to offer to pay Io to join as the treasurer, effectively robbing the EDC of the fifth member they need to stay solvent.

Adding the whip cream on the idiot cake is this week’s star seiyuu guest shot, F.O.T (Friend of Takamatsu) Suzumura Kenichi as Itusmo Ichiban (“Always Number One”), the patsy de jour for Caerula Adamas.  He’s pissed that people think he’s weird (he is) and especially that Io-kun aces him out for the #1 rank on the exams, so he turns into a giant screw on wheels.  His attacks seem to consist of saying “Screw” and tickling, but the latter proves quite effective against Ryuu-kun.  That’s enough to prompt Io – who’d just quit the club – to tardily engage his transformation and come to his friend’s rescue.  So kudos to Zandar for actually undermining Gero’s plan and saving the EDC.

Also, Wombat flashing “Peace” in the eyecatch.  And facial pixilation.  And that smile from Kinosaki – the damn goldfish is up to something…