With a decisive victory and some shocking (and embarrassing) revelations during Mahour Shoujo Ore, our heroes now look to defeat their next foe. It’s certainly more powerful than last week, so how will they fare?

Astral: I think both shows had a stronger episode this week than last. I’m not sure why, as Boueibu had relatively the same formula, but I think the absurd pettiness of the monster this week, combined with some of the prettiest visuals of the series so far made it a lot more interesting to watch. We also got some genuine character interactions, which was nice.

Aria: I think the monster this week finally crossed the line into “so petty, it’s stupid” territory, at least for me. I guess that boundary’s different for everyone though.

I do agree the visuals finally got put to work this week…those sunrise shots reminded me of Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu’s backgrounds (which is a real compliment to Boueibu), or to give you a comparison I know you’re more familiar with, YuruCamp’s. Speaking of YuruCamp, I almost thought they were going to outright parody it when I first read the Defence Club were going to go camping, but considering this tweet from director Shinji Takamatsu in January, which stated the April show [Boueibu HK] and the July show [Grand Blue] were “roughly progressing simultaneously”, that means all resemblances between the two are likely to be a coincidence, even if YuruCamp is based on a manga.

Astral: I’m not finished with Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu yet, but those beautiful sunrise shots do make a great match for those from Rakugo, as well as from Yuru Camp, a show which I absolutely adored last season. I think the fact that it strayed into the “so petty it’s stupid” territory was actually of benefit to the episode this week, as it added an element of ridiculous humor to the events. The monster stuck around for a while too, and wasn’t immediately defeated, which I think helped the resolution feel more satisfying.

Aria: (Rakugo’s great. There’s a reason it always tops my end of year lists, and it’s not just the backgrounds.) Hmm…I remember when the monster got his wish this week I also had a stupid smile on my face, so even if I did think he was too petty, yeah, that is a satisfying resolution.

Astral: There was just something really, inexplicably pleasing about this episode, I guess. There are times when you can feel that an animation team just had a ton of fun making an episode, and I think this might be one of them; it really shows.

Aria: If only the same could be said about what constituted “fanservice” this episode…it was all crammed together, and even though that seems to be the main joke, everything else that could be cited as “fanservice” was kinda sadistic and not my style at all. I can see it having an audience for people who like Wakura’s sadistic tendencies, though.

Astral: Yeah, he’s got a serious mean streak doesn’t he?

Aria: Well, at least someone noticed Manza’s angry streak for once. I thought that was going to go unnoticed for the rest of the show.

Astral: Seems each of the boys has a certain quirk/flaw what you might not notice at first glance.

Aria: In the original Boueibu, the boys’ quirks are kind of obvious – Yumoto’s a hyperactive cuddler, En’s sloth boy and so on – but you’re right in that Happy Kiss’s are a lot more multifaceted.

…was it just me, or did you feel a Madoka moment coming on when Ryoma asked Kyoutarou what his wish was?

Astral: You know, when he was asked that, I was expecting a really irresponsible wish to come out of that, but it really wasn’t bad at all.

Aria: Yeah, Kyoutarou does seem like a selfish guy at times, but his heart’s definitely in the right place in the end.

Astral: I guess maybe it goes to say that the thing he values even more than sleep… are his friends? That’s pretty touching actually.

Aria: Maybe, or an alternative take on that could just be that his desires often have enough allowance for his friends as well. That really does bring back the question of the season: why is Ata such an angry bean? In the previous case, it was because Kinshiro believed he was being rejected due to Atsushi going to the curry restaurant with En, but what are your thoughts now that we’re closer to the end of the season?

Astral: I dunno. He seems to have quite a few things that trigger him, like Umbrellas and Swimsuits. I would say he had some sort of childhood trauma, but I know the show isn’t that deep

Aria: Speaking of umbrellas, was Maasa – or whatever his name is (I got completely thrown by how the eyecatch called him “Martha”) – using a vinyl umbrella, which was condemned in a previous episode, or was that just me?

Astral: I thought they mentioned something in the umbrella episode about it being a specialty vinyl umbrella made for the British Royal Family, which he’s related to somehow?

Aria: I don’t think he said he was related to the British Royal Family. However, since I ducked back to look at the episode, it seems I was right in that he used a vinyl umbrella, but he didn’t condemn it.

…Oh well. If we’re going to talk about stuff that showed up previously that’s hard to notice, was that CGI on the student council’s plane and on the storm clouds? CGI is a rare occurrence in this show, since it’s only been in season 2 episode 10 so far prior to this.

Astral: Know what? I think it is, actually. That being said, it’s not too bad, and works pretty well for what they’re doing with it… is it possible they’re working on a lower budget than previous seasons, and are trying to save money with CGI and lots of filler content?

Aria: Well, the staff clearly had a tighter schedule than season 1 – there’s been some behind-the-scenes stuff found that corresponds to the planning stages of Boueibu season 1 (Battle Lacklusters, LOL) – but the filler is kind of a standard for this show, since if we’re still following the previous seasons’ structure, we cover about half a school year each anime season, with the OVA prior to Happy Kiss as the graduation ceremony of the previous iteration’s 3rd years.

Astral: Interesting. I’m not sure how I feel about such a repetitive structure, especially for a show that seems like it could potentially have quite a few more seasons ahead of it, if only to feed the fangirl frenzy.

Aria: Welp, it’s a comedy so in the end even if there is a set structure, you just never know what to expect from this show.

Astral: If i’m honest, the comedy of this show hasn’t managed to make me laugh nearly as much as that of Mahou Shoujo Ore. I guess MSO just has higher highs and lower lows, and much more of the unexpected, which tends to make it inherently funnier.

Aria: Comedy’s subjective as we’ve said before, so I think we can wrap up this post here. It’s time for this attack: Rainbow Refraction!

This attack uses the wind to gather rain clouds on a sunny day. The user then causes their enemies to repent on their flaws with a good shower, and subsequently dazzles them with a spectacular bow-shaped light show.

Aria: You must’ve thought I was ignoring you on this, but…happy birthday, Astral! Even if it is a few days late.

Astral: Aww, thank you, Aria! I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday surprise!

Aria: You’re welcome.

With that, the two of them detransformed and went for a break. Unfortunately, Aria’s really busy in the next week or so, so come back in 2 weeks for episodes 9 and 10.

<To Be Continued…In The Future…>

Thank you guys so much for reading, and for being patient with our busy busy schedules as we enter the crazy first few weeks of summer. Things should get back on track soon enough, but we hope you enjoyed this post as much as we enjoyed writing it!

Make sure to check out Aria’s post on Mahou Shoujo Ore Episode 9, and let us know how you’re enjoying these shows! Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you again next time!