Love After World Domination – Episode 1

What’s it about? Himbo hero Fudo and dangerous villain Desumi are defineltely in love. Too bad that they’re mortal enemies and member of two opposing organizations: Fudo for the dynamic fighting force, the Gelato 5, and Desumie for the evil organization Gekko. But perhaps love can prevail… as long as it takes backseat to their real life responsibilities.

---

Are you in the market for a very low-stakes (at least, on the surface; who knows what this show will become in a few weeks) anime with heaps of time-honored, beloved tropes stuffed into each second of the show? Well, then Love After World Domination is where it’s at.

Episode 1 starts off with a lot of dissonance: we’re initially with a demon lord-like character and a dude in a Red Ranger outfit which boomerangs into an episode of Power Rangers before boomeranging into the past to give us context for the opening tidbits. And once things settle, it’s actually quite solid set-up, though let me caution you: if you’re expecting this to be, say, groundbreaking, then maybe leave those expectations at the digital door. This is leaning hard into tropes well-established by the rom-com genre, and for better or for worse, outside of its quirky heroes-loving-villains plot, Love After World Domination is straightforward and rather WYSIWYG: what you see is what you get. But honestly…

…that’s not a bad thing, you know?

Does that mean that some of the plot elements are simultaneously breakneck and tired? Yes.

Does that mean that this show wants you to be really invested in it’s rom-com couple? Also yes.

But like… is that so bad? I certainly don’t think so, even if ultimately I have pretty tepid feelings about this premiere. There’s comfort in knowing what you’re going to get from a series, and it’s comforting enough that I feel perfectly fine with my watch, though I’ll fully admit I didn’t do my customary “Watch it twice” because my thoughts were also quite straightforward. There is, in a strange way, a kind of joy from a show that shows its hand immediately. 

Also: there’s a lot of joy in the fact that the heroes are the Gelato 5, and dang if the show don’t lean into this. It’s so funny, and definitely is what’s going to keep me on the hook as I attempt to find Fudo and Desumi (that’s our Red Ranger/Red Gelato/Hero and the Reaper Princess/Villain respectively) engaging enough to stan a brand new OTP. And perhaps I will: I think letting go of expectations and just enjoying the spoofs, goofs, and romance will really open folks up to this being a solid show this season, even if this show isn’t deep and is just a generally cute rom-com about one himbo’s quest to love the villainess.

Overall, Love After World Domination is pretty okay. It’s very watchable, has some solid BGM, and is a perfectly pleasant premiere. It’s kind of the Pringles of premieres: for me, it wasn’t necessarily comedic gold, nor was it breaking (nor remixing) that good, good rom-com formula. Instead, it’s a perfectly fine treat that hits just right with solid enough animation, perfectly fine characters, and enough gags that folks looking for a very low-stakes romance with the world’s most promising couple will find themselves at home in one of my favorite genres once a week for the next few months. I’m definitely on board for this, especially as a connoisseur of low-stakes fare: fully expect to see me vibing to this every Friday on Twitter.