While listed as an OVA, it might be more accurate to describe LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! as an event anime, something we rarely see exported out of Japan. Originally screened at select theatres in August 2017, this just barely feature length final episode feels made for being watched in a room full of fellow LOVErs who know the songs, can quote the catch phrases & are probably just a wee bit drunk. But chances are you're not in a packed Japanese theatre, but sat at home, alone; hoping for one final adventure with the Battle Lovers. Does LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! provide this? Yes, but YMMV (oh &it's definitely not the place to start for newcomers).
Because to reach the feature length needed to get theatrical screenings, it's fair to say they cheated a bit. Opening with the Battle Lovers playing hack sack & then chatting in the Kurotama bathhouse, it looks as though their final episode will be spent mostly soaking in the tub while shooting the breeze.
Which would be fine, if what they talked about weren't the events of the previous two seasons. As the cast slowly gather at the bath, they reminisce about how they first met, then proceed to sing all (& I mean all) of their character songs one after the other. It is, as En glibly remarks, “that kind of episode,” consisting almost entirely of recycled footage & generally feeling like a glorified recap episode. Some of the new banter is fun, but unless you really like looped animations or were hoping for a karaoke session, it's bit of a tough watch.
But just as frustration might be about to boil over, the real episode begins. It's Springtime for Hit...I mean Binan High School, & that means it's graduation day for everyone in the Earth Defence Club but Yumoto. Naturally, things don't go smoothly, as Zundar & Dadacha create one last monster, which the VEPPers, Conquest Club & Earth Defence Club must team up to defeat – though not in the usual way. Then it's on to the goodbyes, as the graduation ceremony finishes & Wombat returns to his home planet – not dying on the way.
It's not the best episode of the series, but as a final goodbye to our favourite magical boys it's about as good as one could have expected, the only disappointments coming from PonyCam (who want you to know it's their 50th anniversary) not stumping up for a lavish production & the aforementioned slow, sing-along start.
But maybe you do know the songs. Or maybe you have a group of LOVErs who can gather with optional but recommended alcohol to see the boys off with a sing song. If that's the case, you will have a very good time with LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! If you're just looking for one final episode, you'll find it; but you might have to skip the first 30 minutes to get there.
Love Making!
Recommended
I cry a lot. I'm a very emotional person. However, this OVA didn't really bring me to the point of tears, which was baffling for me. Usually, anything related to graduation in animes usually makes me cry. I'm one of the stupid people that's cried watching Winnie the Pooh. Regardless of the fact that it didn't even bring me close to tears, this OVA made me sad, and mostly in a good way. The story was pretty good. The nice recap at the beginning was cute, especially with the songs (which I will talk about later). I also really loved the real 'episode' later withYumoto's reluctance towards his senpais' graduation and a real powerful monster for once.
The art, as always, was pretty, neat, and nice to look at. No complaints there! The illustrations during the end credits were also gorgeous.
Now the song-- this is where the songs come in. Each characters has a 'theme song' during which they recount some awesome shots of themselves over the past two seasons with hilarious lyrics to back it up. All the songs were relatable and made me laugh, making the first half of this OVA worth it, even if it did drag on a little bit. En's was hands-down the best one.
The characters weren't really developed here, but we got to see more feelings than we usually do with this show, which was pretty nice. We also got a little bit of development for Yumoto, though as the protagonist, the other characters probably needed more than he did.
Overall, I enjoyed this way too much.
I would recommend this if you: liked either of the first two seasons, like a little closing episode, like gag songs
I would NOT recommend this if you: didn't like the first two seasons
Have a great day everyone!
