REVIEW: ‘Love After World Domination,’ Episode 1 – “I Love You!”

Love After World Domination is a romantic comedy anime produced by Project No. 9. Fudou is the Red Gelato and leader of the Freezing Gelato 5. Along with the Yellow, Blue, Green, and Pink Gelatos, Fudou protects humanity from villainous organizations like Gekko, who seek to dominate the world. But when Gekko recruits a new agent in Desumi(Reaper Princess), Fudou finds himself instantly smitten by her. But can two people who must stand against each other for the fate of the world manage to also be in love without anyone knowing in Love After World Domination Episode 1?

The core elements of Love After World Domination deliver the sort of zany hijinks and over-the-top sappy moments one would likely expect from the narrative setup. Two awkward individuals who are far more comfortable performing bombastic super moves on the battlefield fumble their way through their first dates, while having to return to punching each other whenever anyone is looking.

Despite the fairly predictable narrative overall, Love After World Domination Episode 1 does deliver a couple of standout moments that show hope for the series writing moving forward. How Fudou gets “permission” from his boss, Professor Gelato, to ask Desumi out was particularly humorous.

My only significant worry about what this show brings in its inaugural outing lies with its starring duo. There are moments in this story where the whole awkward inexperienced couple gag is played a bit too heavy-handedly. That Desumi can have a veritable panic attack about holding Fudou’s hand on their third date when she regularly goes to battle dressed in something from Emma Frost‘s Hellfire Club years feels a bit too preposterous, even for comedic purposes.

This isn’t helped by the fact that this show is premiering scant weeks after My Dress-up Darling finished its season. A show which managed to balance the awkward and cute elements of its hapless romantic couple with a perfect, light touch. Hopefully, this series will allow its stars to move past the super-awkwardness and get them to a point where they can make eye contact without flinching.

Surrounding its star duo is a world that feels perfectly suited for this bizarre story of forbidden love. Drawing clear inspiration from classic Super Sentai. (The inspiration for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for those unfamiliar.) Goofy villains, the elaborate team poses, and overly dramatic transformations all fill this episode’s action sequences. The off-kilter tone of the world helps make the fact that Fudou is willing to look the other way on his girlfriend’s part in helping an evil organization conquer it much easier.

The visual design of the series does all it can to augment the silly tone of the story. The character designs are great, I particularly love the evil, oversized teddy bear that appears during one battle, and the animations for the Gelatos’ transformations were executed perfectly.

When all is said and done, Love After World Domination Episode 1 delivers a strong first outing as it establishes both its world and characters. If it can just find that perfect balance between cute and obnoxious where its leading duo is concerned this could be a wonderful comedic experience.

Love After World Domination Episode 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.