English Dub Review: SUPER HxEROS “Butterfly Effect”

Overview

After a tour of the place that included a group bath and a rage-powered solo take down of a mega Kiseichuu, Kirara is finally both on the team and in the house, meaning Retto now lives with the girl he loves, along with three other buxom babes. Her role as Hxe Yellow means joining the rest of the team on missions, like taking down lucky panty stealing butterfly Kiseichuu with Retto and Momoka, who’s the team’s Hxe Pink. Unfortunately, when it’s time to strike the final blow, Kirara is unable to rise to the occasion. Momoka can’t hide her disappointment (or anything else, after her Restless Peony move) and later scolds Kirara for not charging up her sexual energy every day. But why does Momoka care so much about Kirara wasting her erotic potential?

Our take

A mere flap of a butterfly Kiseichuu’s wings has created a storm of questions in my mind.

How many different types of Kiseichuu are there? So far we’ve seen varieties based on mantis, flies, wasps, and butterflies, but does the biodiversity of these bug aliens rival the insects they’re based on? And does their type determine how they feed on H-energy? The mantis seemed to be able to drain a pumped up crowd of their libido without even touching them, but these butterflies are making off with underwear, so like, can H-energy get stored in clothes? Is that why they explode off our HxEROS? And as far as the erotic energy needed to fight, is it all about the build up, or what? Do other team members have signature moves, or just Momoka? Is “Restless Peony” some sort of Georgia O’Keefe reference? Does anyone go to school besides Kirara and Retto?

We’re three episodes in and I’m really starting to wonder if any of this, literally any of it, will ever get explained. I know I’m probably expecting too much from a show that’s really more of a series of loosely related incidences that get us from one nude scene to the next, but there seems to be plenty of time to explore weird, intense interpersonal moments and body insecurities, so maybe just take a minute or two to explain just what the hell is going on in this particular universe?

I yearn for but a crumb of context, but still I am denied. But hey, dem boobs amirite?

Momoka getting a bit of character development backstory in this episode is a positive, even if it comes from her being jealous of Kirara’s breast size. Although I probably could’ve done without her misguided attempt at going up a cup by…soaking herself in soy milk? Phytoestrogens don’t work that way, folks! This is some “feminization via Impossible Whopper” level ridiculousness, although the humor gleaned from her weird excuse (“I was just drinking soy milk in the bath!”) and everyone commenting on the soy milk smell is worth a smirk.

The whole “need to charge their powers” aspect is potentially intriguing as well, since the fact that sometimes Kirara can summon her strength and other times falls flat is reminiscent of how the biologically produced electrical shocks work in The Power. Although there is a biological aspect to both sources of energy (a fictional organ called a skein in the literary work, and breasts in this silly harem show) HxEROS power seems to require another human, or at least that’s what’s implied by Momoka’s steamy encounter with Retto. Side note, is Kirara really the only one he loves? Is that a stupid question for a harem anime? Ok, I know the answer to that last one.

In the end, this episode is exactly the kind of ridiculousness I’ve come to expect from this series, although I’m still holding out hope that some of my questions will get answers in the near future.