Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
jaybird7
There's already been a few reviews saying how this show deserves a better rating, but I'll say it again: it deserves an 8 at the least. It was funny, clever, emotional, and thrilling. The plot twist at the end kinda fell a bit flat, but I couldn't have asked for a better ending scene. All of the characters were so beautifully written I was rooting for them and sympathizing with them, and yes, that includes the "enemies," i.e. the poor students feeling anger and hatred being manipulated. Zundar and Hireashi not included 'cause they were just weird little talking animals. I am so glad this has a second season (which for some reason, at the time I'm writing this, is only .12 higher and I'm sure with how much I absolutely loved this season I'll fall even more in love--haha, love--with the seco…
Read at the sourceTheBrainintheJar
I’m glad this exists, but not sure how I feel about it besides that.
We need an anime like this. Everyone talks about how the male point of view is dominant in media. Earth Defense Club provides plenty of fanservice for females. It’s a gloriously feminine anime, all hearts and hot boys. It also has a wink-wink satirical element, which often goes against it.
The attempt at being gloriously feminine is fantastic. It’s not even moe. The character design is useful to note the difference between male power fantasies, and females’ fantasies about guys. Ultra-mascular guys aren’t fanservice for females, but for males. The strength and endurance they show isn’t automatically sexually attractive, but something males wish for themselves.
The design of the guys here isn’t macho. It’s pretty in a d…
Read at the sourceSairasKR
I was excited to see this anime the first time I've heard of it, and honestly I wasn't disappointed. This isn't an anime that's supposed to be taken seriously, and to be honest I don't know why so many people reviewed this badly when all the anime does is to make fun of the cliches prevalent in anime, and that they could not see it.
It is a satirical parody of the magical girl genre. I get that parodies aren't for everyone, but for me, if well done, they are a hit for me, and I couldn't stop laughing watching this one. It contains a lot of in-jokes of the magical girl trope and if you don't really watch anime that much, it might not be as funny to you than it is to somebody who does. This show actually contains a fair share of black humor as well, which is surprising seeing how colorful a…
Read at the sourcewhiteteeth
I started watching this expecting a male version of the pretty cure series. I was in the humor for cliches and silly jokes, and a not very deep story... and i did get that, and so much more. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as i did.
This show isn't advertised as such, but no matter what they tell you it IS an spoof/parody of magical girl and shounen ai genres, and fanservice for ladies. That doesn't make it less enjoyable, it actually make it become really refreshing.
The five main characters are a bunch of highschoolers with different stereotypical genre personality traits (the cute one, the brains, the playboy, the richboy and the lazy one), that are chosen by an alien pink Wombat to save the world and give love to the loveless. The funny thing is that they actually couldn't c…
Read at the sourceLunalun
Binan - or Magical Boy anime - whatever name you may prefer, something where we can actually say it's "new"...kind of. Still Binan turned out to be very different from what I was initially expecting, which is a good thing.
Story: In the beginning it uses a "every week a new enemy/mission" style. Later there is more story development and it actually does get a little bit deeper. Also it uses parody elements, which you can already see in episode 1 (if you just want to try watching it)
Art: The art is...well...normal, I guess? It is nothing special but also not bad. The colours are simple and nice, while the backgrounds and everything is okay too, so really it is average...
Sound: It may just be my personal opinion but I really loved the soundtrack of Binan. Sometimes an OP or and ED is r…
Read at the sourcemayo134
I want to note that the humor used for the most part in this show, is meta humor a.k.a. meta-joke, it is not just a simple parody. Meta humor is a lot less known then a lot of other humor. These are either jokes and a joke or jokes within a joke. As it is less known and not as "mainstream", I can see why the jokes are under-appreciated. If you don't like the meta humor concept, then this shows humor may not appeal to you. As, it does seem to be self-referential and like a typical magical girl series with how color coded and the continues cycle of enemies. But if you can't understand what is meta about it, it may just seem like bland jokes to you. Personally, I am a big lover of meta humor, so this show was right up my alley.
Read at the sourceFerria
This was a masterpiece, simply put.. lol
The first episode left me gleefully giggling from one end to the other; the moment you see pretty boys transforming in fluffy frilly costumes with magical powers, sparkles and hearts, yes.. I just couldn't stop laughing.
12 Episodes was just perfect. A second season wouldn't be needed, each episode was put in flawlessly. This is not your typical mahou shoujo anime. Mahou shounen? It has a few cute fluffy moments with very minor shounen ai, but nothing intimate. Simply enjoyable.
It teaches quite a lot of morale values. Friendship, forgiveness etc, the whole package. So this is definitely something you could show your children. It teaches you not to hate others and be content with what you have and be confident in who you are.
The characters wer…
Read at the sourcedaidaiyu
Just as what everyone has said about Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE!, it is a parody of Mahou Shoujo or Majokko anime. However, if you think that you have already watch a lot of this things that you think Binan Koukou will only bore you out, chances are, you are very wrong.
Story:
The story has the normal plot that every Mahou Shoujo has, except that the "Magical Girls" that are acting it are actually boys. Every episode has the 'Typical life of the characters and introduction of enemy (+Fanservice)-Transformation-Battle-Conclusion' pattern, however this anime succeeds in letting the viewers be hooked until the end by well-thought-out enemies, series of successfully funny conversations and one-liners, and a bit of drama and lessons about friendship, love and youth here and there. The…
Read at the sourceP19Amber
I was really excited for this when it first came out. I expected way more from it.
It essentially followed the timeline of every magical girl anime. Regular day, bad guy appears, transformation scene, fight, follow up. The only underlying plot wasn't revealed until the last 2 episodes and I was shocked at how awful it was. A TV show? Really? Most of the monsters that appeared were just stupid as well.
The art overall was not bad, but it wasn't stellar either. The music was pretty catchy.
There was no character development except for Yumoto's brother. The background character that chops up wood every 2 episodes. The group itself has no development. They were all flat and boring characters. Might I add how annoying Yumoto is. Take Nagisa from free and X3 with a pinch of stupidity and bam…
Read at the source7sheryl7
First review! Thought I'd like to do this anime some justice :)
Story: 8/10
The story was fairly engaging and kept me hooked through all 12 episodes. Boueibu follows a general "Monster of the Week" kind of idea, no different from the 'stereotypical' type of mahou shoujo anime. Each episode and each monster defeated provides a lesson to be learnt by the audience.(Though it's a REAL STRETCH sometimes (the other characters point it out and all too)) However, it also has a running plot which i guess centers around the friendship they have with each other. Especially Kinshiro and Atsushi of course. So yeah, nothing too special about the story, yet it kept me interested so 8 points!
Art: 9/10
I REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoyed the transformation sequences! They were like upgraded and cooler Sailor…
Read at the sourceBanjoTheBear
(This has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)
Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE!, contrary to its name, showcases a lot of hate, or at the minimum, dislike. Be it those around you or a pair of chopsticks, the show demonstrates that people often have those aspects of life that somehow seem to rub us the wrong way. Personally speaking, I’m not too fond of the Beatles’ music. Their style just doesn’t do anything for me. But where negative emotions are found, there is always positive thinking just around the corner. That is, if nothing else, the show provides us with the message that “all you need is love.”
STORY
Earth Defense Club follows five high school guys – Yumoto Hakone, Atsushi Kinugawa, Io Naruko, En Yufuin, and Ryuu Zaou – who are one day visited by an alien…
Read at the sourceBAMitzEvil
Okay, so with this anime I had a lot of hype going in. I had seen many magical Girl animes, from Madoka Magica to Tokyo Mew Mew, so I was excited to see what they would bring with a magical boys twist.
I was extremely disappointed.
The story is a the same as any magical girl anime, they just change it to that they're boys and everyone freaks out saying it's revolutionary, which ticks me off a little as the writing is a side walk from Sailor Moon.
The characters were bland and mediocre and sure they would have their odd moment here and there, they never strayed too far away from their cardboard cut out counterparts.
The most I saw from this anime was yaoi innuendoes and that wasn't enough to keep me invested.
The art was nice. It was clear and bright, but nothing that no Magical an…
Read at the sourceallegrotime
The concept of this show is that it is a parody of the magical girl genre. To anime fans familiar with all of the common tropes found in the genre, this show really did an excellent job with its outlandish, wonderfully wacky and accurate satire. It proved to be very entertaining in a silly way, and the hilarious comedic delivery was great. If you aren't familiar with the tropes of magical girl shows I would skip this one, as the jokes and over-the-top occurrences may fall flat for some viewers. I think this show very successfully did what it set out to do- and that is to lovingly (yes, that's a pun there) make fun of magical girl shows… with guys! If you're expecting anything more from this show you'll be disappointed, but taking it for what it is is the best way to enjoy it! While viewing…
Read at the sourceBlobbertMcN
There are great anime, there are bad anime, and there is Binan. There are anime with great twists, anime with contrived plots, and there is Binan. There are anime with well developed characters, boring one dimensional characters, and there is Binan.
Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE! (Or Binan, if you haven't gotten that already) is an amazing anime. I don't mean amazing as in 'good', I mean amazing as in that you will be amazed. However this anime was possibly spawned, whatever stars aligned to get us here today, I am very VERY happy that I watched this. This is certainly a polarizing anime, everyone I've talked to have either hated it or loved it, but why? What is so special about Binan? Let me break it down:
~STORY~
So, you've seen magical girl shows right? Sailor moon, Tokyo Mew Mew,…
Read at the sourcerampao
I don't always write a review, but when I do, it's for THE Magical Boys anime, Binan Kokou Chikyuu Bouei-bu! Love! (Handsome High Earth Defense Club! Love!)
I first saw this anime as a recommendation to another anime that I've recently watched, and I was aghast upon seeing bishounens wearing frilly clothes and magic wands. Then my heart skipped a beat. Could it be? Yes! It is! Finally, a Mahou (Bi)Shounen anime! I quickly went to Youtube and searched for their transformations, and for the next few minutes, I found myself laughing and shaking my head at the ridiculous scene that followed.
At first, I was quite reluctant to watch it since it might feel awkward watching pretty boys undressing and magically transforming into magical warriors, but hey, I gave episode 1 a try, and from there,…
Read at the sourceCrez
Are you sick of the magical girls formula?
Have you asked the obvious questions like "Why doesn't anyone recognize them?" while watching Sailor moon?
If you have then THIS is the best possible anime you could watch!
(Something went wrong when I posted this and it cut off midway, this is the edited and completed version ^^)
Story:
5 fairly bored guys go to Binan high school and have club together called the "Earth defense club "lol"" where they do practically nothing. One day when two of the guys are taking a bath at a local bath house they regularly visit, when a pink fluffy animal that looks like a wombat drops down and ask them to help him protect the earth against monsters!
Together with the other guys in the club they become "Battle lovers" heirs to the throne of love! With frilly…
Read at the sourcechesudesu
Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! is a parody on the mahou shoujo genre. The elements it mocks are obvious and the characters actually acknowledge it - unlikely heroes flashily transforming into their ridiculous costumes with out-of-this-world powers battling monsters-of-the-week while upholding their valiant virtues of love and friendship. As a quirky deconstruction of the style, the series manages to pull it off with as few hitches as possible.
Even the construction of the episodes is a parody. It is all in the episodic nature of the monster-of-the-week ploy, leaving a few hints of the over-all plot until unveiling it, albeit slowly, in last few episodes, and, of course, the all-too-grand climatic final episode. It's not worth enjoying if it is taken too seriously. After all, Boueibu i…
Read at the sourceyuzu369
I tend to write a lot about series I loved but I'll try to keep it short as this one doesn't need a long review. It is truly a masterpiece.
The whole idea of making a magical girls parody by changing it into magical boys is magnificent! But this anime is more than I had ever imagined it to be.
At first I thought I was going to watch some random comedy show with handsome guys and went ahead to watch it only because of fanservice. And, to tell you the truth, I'm not into comedy at all - both anime and normal movies. And despite my usual lack of amusement when watching comedy, Binan Koukou's made me laugh almost all the time. And at the time I wasn't laughing, I was crying.
Now, for the whole story. It has its moments, sometimes you think you've predicted everything but then they just blo…
Read at the sourcesomaisbatman
I've noticed a trend with myanimelist. Works of anime that act as parodies of genres are often taken way too seriously and get poor overall ratings. Binan, which we will henceforth refer to as Magical Boys, suffered this treatment as well. Up until the final episode aired, this show was stuck with a 6.7 rating. Does it really deserve this little? Nope, it's actually one of the best things that aired this winter.
Story: 7/10
Magical Boys is very cyclical up until the very end, and I think that's why it turned a lot of people off initially. For the most part, it uses a fight-of-the-week setup, an obvious homage to the magical girl genre, but just like in those shows, this can lead to a predictable, repetitive show. However, each enemy is unique and the last episode throws a spectacular plot…
Read at the sourcePhantomL
I mostly started watching this show as it looked cute with the nice magical boys and I need something fun amongst some of the more serious shows I was watching that season.
The show was mostly great fun and almost 'parodied' the whole magical girl genre throughout due to fourth-wall breaking statements and running gags in the show. While it isn't a show with a great story, it is really good if you need something cute, fun and wacky
Story: 5
I gave it this as there isn't really much of a story. The story was mostly every week the 'battle lovers' would face a wacky villain which they would have to defeat, and the battle would usually carry some sort of moral. The last few episodes did a fine job of pulling everything together with a few unexpected twists, but this show isn't really one to w…
Read at the source