Other than that time a group of five burly, hairy guys with beards ran around the last con you went to in miniskirts and tiaras, have you ever wondered what the Sailor Scouts would look like as boys?  No?  Well, too bad it’s happened and anime fans are flocking to this fledgling series, dubbed ‘Cute Earth Defense Club LOVE!’.  In QUITE the similar fashion to ‘Sailor Moon,’ these boys gain their power from magical jewelry– in this case, bracelets that they kiss to activate– and attain other magical devices like scepters to battle evil.  And like the Sailor Scouts, they are neatly color coded to differentiate them.

  • Yumoto Kakone/Prince Battle Lover Scarlet (Red) wields the power of Light.  He’s the baby of the group as the only Freshman at Binan High School.  He appears to be the Usagi/Sailor Moon of the group, since “It may sound insulting to say he’s an idiot but he is endlessly carefree.”
  • Ryu Zaou/Hearthrob Tokimeki Prince Vesta (Pink) is a Sophomore and possesses the power of Fire.  He’s also the resident catch, apparently as his description reads, “Requests to go on dates with him constantly pour into his smartphone.”
  • En Yufuin/Hiromeki Prince Battle Lover Cerulean (Blue) is a Junior and has the power of Water.  But unlike free-flowing water, it seems it’s hard to get this kid motivated.  “He’s a kid who can get the job done when put to the test, but the will to do something is hard to come by.”
  • Atsushi Kinugawa/Tsuranoki Prince Battle Lover Epinard (Green) is also a Junior and commands the power of Air.  Unfortunately he “Seems like a spoiled kid from a rich family.”
  • Io Naruko/Todoroki Prince Battle Lover Sulfur (Yellow) is the last of our team.  He is a Sophomore and has the power of Earth.  “His life’s motto is ‘It’s all about money’.”

These pretty boys switch from regular school boys into flamboyantly-dressed super heroes when danger arrives.  They do not change gender or cross dress, although their garments could very easily be described as dandy or even feminine.

Their chief antagonists as fellow students:

  • Kinshirou Kasatsu/Chevalier Orite (Gold), the student body president and the only student that makes higher marks than Atsushi Kinugawa, although the pair were apparently at one time best friends.
  • Ibushi Arima/Chevalier Argent (Silver), the student body vice president and Kasatu’s right hand man, or lackey rather.
  • Akoya Gero/Chevalier Perlite (Pearl/Pink), the sole girl among the cast is a Sophomore, she has a grudge against Ryu Zaou, possibly because he also has pink hair but is prettier than her.

The heroes are guided by a talking wombat who also possesses the body of one of their professors.

The concepts of gender, gender identity and sexuality have long been a factor in that nation’s output of animation and manga, even in works directed at children and teens.  As far back as 1972, the anime ‘Mazinger Z’ featured a character named Baron Ashura, who was half man, half woman (split right down the middle like Batman’s foe Two-Face) and ‘Gathchaman”s Berg Kattse, who could switch from being a man to a woman, to the 90s ‘Sailor Moon’, whose Sailors Uranus and Neptune, a lesbian couple, to the entire field of Hentai, what is often thought of comic book gay porn… but for teenage girls.

Episodes are free for viewing on CrunchyRoll but are first available to paying subscribers, then to non-paying subscribers a week later.  The first 2 episode are available to all at this point which you watch below.  So far, some reviews have been pretty dismissive of this being a ‘Sailor Moon’ knock-off.  (D’uh-huh.)  Others are celebrating the outrageousness of the entire concept while others insist you might need to be drunk or high to enjoy ‘Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!’ (Damn, that’s a mouthful… wait, wrong choice of words…)

I just can’t wait to start seeing some cosplayers rocking these boy sailor suits!  Heck I might even… ahem.

What do you think?  Is this too over the top?  Or does the idea intrigue you?

Sources: SailorMoonNews.com