#i have to get back into precure . i need joy and friendship back in my life

[8n53]

hold on . the splash star girls are in the new adult precure show ? 🥺 and the terrible ikemen characters are nowhere to be seen ?? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

[merryfortune]

A blur of flaming crimson

Written for: 100ships On Dreamwdith

Prompt: #38 Crimson

Ship: Asuka/Yuriko

Fandom: Tropical Rouge PreCure

Word Count: 2,112

Rating: T

Warnings: No Warnings Apply

Tags: Not Canon Compliant, Canon Typical Violence, Belligerent Sexual Tension, Flirting, Minor or Implied Identity Porn

   Yuriko had bittersweet memories of her early friendship with Asuka. They were tainted now with how their relationship had twisted and soured but once they had been passably fond. Whenever she saw Asuka sashaying about, morning sunlight bouncing off the silky, shiny waves of her rust red hair, Yuriko was unmistakably reminded of what Asuka had once been like.

   Her hair had been shorter when they met. About the length to Asuka’s shoulders, rather than well past them like she presently wore it. They had been first years back then and back then, Shiratori Yuriko could say without a shadow of a doubt, Asuka’s charm point was not her hair.

   Asuka had been a tomboy up to that point. The tried and true reckless sort of tomboy who didn’t care much about her appearance. Asuka was still a tomboy but her attitudes towards her outward appearance had, however, changed and the catalyst for that change had been Yuriko.

   Asuka was all rough and tumble. The eldest sister to a couple of younger brothers and her mother wasn’t always around as closely as she needed to be due to her work so her father was her closer role model. As such, Asuka was a tomboy and she didn’t really care much for the finer notes of hair care, nail care, makeup or even the most simple of moisturising routines. 

   Everything was fine, in her opinion. So long as she looked like someone owned her, Asuka figured that she was doing fine. All that really mattered was that her hair was not matted, that it was brushed once or twice a day and her teeth were brushed morning and night. That’s all the effort she wanted to put into herself, at least on that note. When it came to conversations of bodybuilding and gym ratting, Asuka did change her tune ever so slightly. 

   She just wanted to get stronger but her workout hadn’t really solidified so she was just doing what she enjoyed. She ran laps of a morning and night, taking whatever route she found herself on in the spur of the moment. She did her pushups and she played on the monkey bar equipment, too, even if it was for elementary schoolers and she was a middle schooler now and slightly too tall for them already.

   But meeting Yuriko had changed that.

   She recalled how they introduced themselves to each other in the very first tennis club meeting. They had been paired off like all the others for some rally practice, first years with first years, second years with second years, and so forth, it had been luck of the draw but inevitable as these warm-ups changed every afternoon but still. Yuriko had been breathless when she saw how awestruck Asuka’s eyes were as she introduced herself and then blurted everything else out she was thinking too.

   “My name is Takizawa,” Asuka said, her hand had been extended, “and you are really pretty.”

   Yuriko blushed. She was pale and reddened easily out in the sun but the warmth of the sunlight on the courts could not be the blame for how puce she became upon hearing Asuka’s introduction of herself. And just like that, Asuka’s interest in beautifying herself swung the other way like a pendulum. She wanted hair that was as shiny and beautiful as Yuriko’s and Yuriko had, once upon a time, been more delighted to help.

   She helped Asuka cycle through various shampoos and conditioners and different routines until they finally found one that lifted her hair to life, making it the mane she was so widely renowned for today. Yuriko almost missed those moments in the dusk, when they were hot and sweaty but helping one another do each other’s hair before going home after club and all the other in between moments of bonding.

   Yuriko was somewhat on the pulse when it came to gossip due to her place as the president of the student council, she had to know what the issues were and the like and from what she heard, no one in the present cycle of students would ever guess that the beautiful and strong upperclassman, Takizawa Asuka, had been anything less than that. Beautiful and strong. It sickened Yuriko to some degree. It made her bitter, made her jealous. They might have a contentious relationship at best in the present but Yuriko was still responsible in how she had helped to mould Asuka into her current self. She was the type to desire - and to give - credit where credit was due, after all, for better or for worse.

   But aside from the usual idle gossip that made it to her desk in various forms, sometimes as official reports and sometimes as chat that she exchanged with her fellow council members, there was something else cropping up in the stream of consciousness of the Aozora Middle School’s student body. Something that concerned Yuriko rather severely. There were rumours of monsters on the school grounds.

   Previously this year, there had been a craze of telling ghost stories that featured some mermaid in lieu of a more common, spectral ghoul but they seemed to have eased off now. Thank goodness. But in their place, there were other monsters being sighted and seen around town including Aozora Middle School.

   Rather desperately, Yuriko would admit, she wanted to believe that these stories were the mere results of unknown agents running movie or commercial sets without telling anyone but that seemed unrealistic. Or they were tricks of the light or mirages but Yuriko knew there was something awry. She sensed as such very deeply within her intuition.

   Though, her intuition was duller than she thought it was given how she polished it. As she was doing work in the student council room alone, the most peculiar thing happened. She heard a deep and guttural roar from the quadrangle. She stood up to investigate, to merely turn her back around and look outside her window but she was felled by a wave of nausea or vertigo.

   And then an even stranger thing happened. Some sort of magical heroine warrior was thrown through the window. All Yuriko caught of such a swift projectile in the shape of a fanciful girl was a blur of flaming crimson. With just the barest seconds Yuriko’s afternoon went from ordinary to extraordinary.

   She turned her head, eyes stunned with disbelief, and watched as this girl get up. 

   She was familiar, Yuriko noted. Her teeth were gritted and her eyes were aflame with aggression - or maybe frustration. She groaned as she got up and shook off the damage that she had taken. She was flaked with debris from the partially destroyed wall behind her. There was a very her shaped impression in the ripples of the wall but she was walking it off like it was nothing, stretching her shoulders and winding up to get back out there into the fray.

   A cord of terror struck in Yuriko’s heart; she was worried for this clearly capable heroine. She had such a powerful stance, her fists were balled and her expression blazed with determination. Yuriko had seen it before - or something similar, in someone else, someone precious to her and someone who had been hurt by her. She swallowed.

   “Take care.” Yuriko said, her demeanour hiding a whimper, the terror that she felt for this young lady. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

   “I eat these things for breakfast.” the heroine replied.

   “I don’t doubt that,” Yuriko asserted and then frowned, “but don’t you dare wound this school any further. These damages will be costly and our resources are our pride and joy.”

   “I know, just don’t worry about it.” the heroine put on a brave smile.

   Yuriko hesitated, in her heart, but in her hand, it reached out. She did something she did not consider discourteous but she touched this stranger’s hair, running her fingers through it and freeing it off some of the dust. She pulled a piece of drywall from the warrior’s hair and flicked it away. The sensation of her hair, it was ethereal, like a silk but so, so warm, like it had been crowned by the sun. It took Yuriko’s breath away - and appeared to do the same to the girl with whom it belonged to. She blinked but it was just that. A blink, not a flinch.

   “Uh, thank you.” she said and with that, she returned to the battle.

   She sprang forward with superhuman litheness, it could almost be mistaken for flight but Yuriko saw it. How her knees had bent and how she had pushed herself into the air without wings. Yuriko observed from the shattered window, holding onto it and battling a bizarre wave of miasma of her own. She yawned and she weakened. It was as though Yuriko felt terribly bored by the whole thing, but she wasn’t. She would promise that she wasn’t, she found her attention raptured by the warrior and her company and how they fought for the school. And yet, Yuriko’s eyes glazed over and she succumbed to the energy that the monster produced.

   She awoke naturally goodness knows how many hours later but maybe it was less than Yuriko feared. She looked up and around and it was like nothing had ever happened. The window was not broken from having a magical heroine thrown through it and nor was the far wall cracked with having taken the impact of having a magical heroine thrown at it. Looking out to the quadrangle, there was no sign of a scuffle. Just students going home all the same as she, given how red the sunset was.

   Yuriko paused just to admire the sunset and just how red it was. Crimson, really. It was fierce on the eyes, he had to squint into it just to appreciate it. It was incredibly unusual for spring to have such a burning sunset, Yuriko thought. She took a breath and gathered her thoughts, dismissing most of them as a dream of some sort.

   Aside from gathering her thoughts, Yuriko gathered her things. Masami dropped by to check on her but Yuriko was a step ahead, relieving her. They parted ways shortly after that as Masami had one last duty she wanted to attend to before leaving herself. Yuriko told her not to dawdle but as she went down the stairs and out into the fresh air, she found herself doing the same thing.

   A surprised looking face greeted her just short of the gates, “Oh, hey, Yuriko…” Asuka said.

   She was acting remarkably awkward, Yuriko observed straight off the bracket. She found that odd and regarded Asuka warily as a result. But here, Yuriko refused not to be rude so she greeted Asuka back.

   “Good afternoon.” she said.

   “More… good evening right now.” Asuka joked, trying to diffuse the tension she felt as Yuriko glared at her as she was prone to do. “Have a good afternoon? It was pretty tame up at the Tropical Club, I’ll admit.”

   “It was… fine.” Yuriko tersely replied. “I actually had a strange daydream.” She found herself admitting as she had an even stranger feeling, about earlier and about Asuka.

   “What about? I’m going to hope it was about letting us Tropical Club members go about our school life and youth in peace.” Asuka mused but there was something of a backhanded snarl to her voice.

   “I daydreamed about a perfect stranger with red hair,” Yuriko said and she smiled enigmatically, “with red hair prettier than yours.” she teased.

   “Gee, thanks. Well when a handsome stranger with black hair turns up in my dreams, I’ll be sure to let you know that they were prettier than you.” Asuka growled.

   “Whatever you say,” Yuriko shrugged, “enjoy the rest of your evening then, as it were.”

   “Thanks.” Asuka mumbled.

   Asuka figured that was enough for a parting farewell as she left it at that. She turned around and her swished around her. Yuriko was entranced by how it shone in the light of the setting sun so she did it again. She reached out and she touched that gorgeous, illuminated red hair. 

   Asuka squeaked in surprise and glanced back at Yuriko. She giggled darkly and brought the strands of Asuka’s hair to her lips. She kissed more the skin of her knuckles than the silken strands of Asuka’s hair but it was still quite shocking for Asuka. She was dumbfounded and embarrassed by it yet a smile managed to crack through that befuddled combination regardless.

   “Farewell, Asuka. See you tomorrow at school.” Yuriko teased her and she let go of Asuka’s hair.

[analyzingadventure]

Catching up with Psi!

Episodes 37-41!

Episode 37, MIMI CHAN WARS, LET’S GOO

Tailmon is so intense about protecting Hiari... I love it... Patamon just wants to play... Agumon is helping with the food...

I love the wholesome interactions like these... I love them...

Sora?? WHY JUMP IN??

Dumbasses just fucking evolve Piyomon and- ah fuck it’s too late

YEAH IF YOU HAD JUST EVOLVED THIS WOULD’VE BEEN AVOIDED

And now the kids are all alone! (I mean Tailmon will protect them, I’m sure, but still) (Oh yeah Koushirou is with them too) (But Koushirou is also a baby so)

Hell yeah Mimi! Bring the justice in and save those Digimon!!

The stone castle reminds me of Vamdemon’s castle a bit...

Mimi says Capitalism Bad!! Hell yeah!!!

I like Golemon, Golemon’s a buddy :) (Please don’t kill him Psi)

I mean to be fair Greymon’s already evolved and can kick the Goblimon’s ass easily so

Mimi, what the hell are planning to do with these gems. I just. What’re you planning

IS IT BLASTMON??

XROS WARS RIGHTS?? PLEASE?

Nope, not Blastmon, woe is me ;_;

OH JESUS GOLEMON’S IN PIECES??? JESUS??

Oh god I though Mimi wanted Lilimon to eat the diamond dfkgjhsdfkghsjk

Ah, the sunset colors are super pretty, this is so nice and pretty

NEXT EPISODE, 38, BLAZING BLUE FRIENDSHIP

Oh is this the Gabumon crucification episode?

OH IT IS LMAO

Yamato how are you not dead yet

JYOU HAS FINALLY ESCAPED THE SPRING

WHERE ARE HIS CLOTHES??? JESUS

Mephismon is very cool, I love his vibes lmao

Jyou, I know how to solve this situation, you ust need a sutra-

WHY DIDN’T EVOLVE GARURUMON TO WEREGARURU???

Jyou is so happy I love him

dsfksjdfsdfgfxcjhvjxv

Awww, the divorce is still canon in Psi...

DO WE FINALLY HEAR THE BACKSTORY TO HOW YAMATO AND GABUMON MET

Yamato this is so unnececarily dangerous

BABY!!!

TSUNOMON!!! YOU ARE SO CUTE

TSUNOMON!! I am fighting my instinct to screencap every frame of him becase he is so freaking cute but oh my god... Baby...

Sassy baby...

Okay but the question is, how long ago did Yamato meet Gabumon? Was it like weeks before this entire thing began, or was it like 5 minutes before Taichi entered the Network??

This sparks joy

Honestly this whole climbing thing is so dangerous I want to argue that it would’ve been safer Zudomon had thrown his hammer at the mountain and Yamato had just rode it there

JDKFHSJKDJDF YEAH JYOU, CHANT!! DO IT!! USE THE POWER OF YOUR BIG BRAIN!!!

You’re both dumbasses ;_; <3

Oh Yamato... you lonely baby...

This is so cute y’all

OH THEY FOUND EACH OTHER TOO! NICE

Time for the POTATO HELL (episode 39)

Tailmon is CUTE ;w; <3

Yeees give me more cute Digimon hanging out

IS BURGAMON VOICED BY MOFURUN (MAHO TSUKAI PRECURE) (YES, IT IS THE SAME VOICE ACTRESS, I’M SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW)

“Since fries are hard to grab” You’d think the Digimon would make bigger, easy-to-grab potatos by default then, but Gomamon’s point is valid jdfhsdg

Lunamon helps by washing Digimon, that’s so silly I love it

THERE’S A TANKMON

Are you sure this is Potato Hell? Jyou seems like he’s in Potato Heaven

IS POTAMON VOICED BY DOKAMON OH FUCK THEY ARE

I’M SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW this combo of voice actors is so fucking cute I’m dying thank you so much Psi I’m in heaven

Potamon is Jyou’s Digisona jdskfhkjghdfg

This is so stupid and cute

Potamon is gonna dark evolve into Done Devimonsdjh WAIT I WAS JOKING I DIDN’T EVEN GET TO FINISH THAT SENTENCE

This episode is so fucking dumb I love it

PUSURIMON GOT TO DEBUT IN THIS EPISODE! :D (I mean like, animation debut)

This is so silly omg

YEAH JYOU, USE THAT FUCKING HAMMERDFIDHSFJDFGKLJ

This episode was dumb as balls, I loved it, 10/10

OH NEW ENDING!

Oh that was cute :3

EPISODE 40!

THEY’RE PLAYING SOCCER?! THANKS I LOVE IT

THEY’RE EVEN USING IKKAKUMON FOR THIS GAME?!

Poor Tailmon, getting stranded on the other goal... jdhfkjsdhfg

Oh that’s just a floating island, nothing unusual

Y’all really should’ve taken some cover from the stuff falling down

asdfdfgdfsgdf

Agumon how were you planning on getting the extra fruit without getting a lift from Birdramon (or did you assume you’d get a lift anyways??)

A FRIDGE

But is it filled with eggs?

oH MY GOD BABY TAICHI AND SORA WERE SO CUTE OH GOD

POMUMON! THE NEW BABY!

Turned into fruits and eaten?? I mean some Digimon just cannibalize others the way they are so IDK why they need to be turned into fruits before eaten but okay I guess

I love how the promise of juice swayed Yamato lmao

Pomumon is such a baby ;w;

WAIT DID TAICHI ALSO GET FRUITIFRIED

TAICHI HAS BEDFJSJKDFHDFGHJS HE’S A FRUIT NOW DJKFHSKJH

Pomumon, I love you, you absolute baby

Garudamon is so fucking cool in this episode y’all

Imagine having a giant bird monster tell you you’re cool

NEXT EPISODE!

Last one I can watch rn v_v 41 Mon-Mon Park in the Fog!

MONZAEMON! So the park is kinda like if they mashed the Toy Town and the random ass amusement park from Server together

OPOSSUMON!! Oh man, being reminded of Hunters is now reminding me of... him...

Man imagine if they also put references to that amusement park into this episode? That’d be wild, a true smorgasbord of references

"Land of Dreams” of fuck off don’t you tease me!!

GABUMON’S READY TO DRAG YAMATO FOR BEING AFRAID OF THE HAUNTED HAUSE JDSFHLSGHKJDFG

This is cute y’all

XIAOMON?! BABY!!? ;A;

Never gonna get tired of Pegasmon... Love the hoarse

bAKEMON?! MY BELOVED GHOST!

I call BS on Opossumon being a faster flyer than Pegasmon, c’mon dude

WARUMONZAEMON! :D

Angemon’s back yaaay

This episode wasn���t as good as the previous two but okay

Episode preview!

Nothing interesting except but Garbemon (long time no see!) and Raremon! (Last seen in Xros Wars but was redesigned, so fun to see the original design back!)

Yeah so, out of these five episodes I did enjoy 3 a lot but, yeah, the filler isn’t particularly thrilling or anything. But I had fun! And as per my previous post concerning episode 43 spoilers, while I’m not particularly excited about the next episode, I SURE AS FUCK AM FOR EPISODE 43

So I’ll see y’all either next week or two weeks from now (I might not be excited enough to watch episode 42 right when it becomes available so I might wait until 43)

[venus-says]

Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star Episodes 38-49 + Movie

So this is what I've been missing for all these years???

It has taken me 10 years of being a Precure fan for me to finally watch Splash Star from beginning to end, and I feel like a fool becAUSE I'VE BEEN MISSING SO MUCH, HOW COULD'VE I SPENT TEN YEARS WITHOUT WATCHING THIS??????? This series is so good, THIS ENDING IS SO GOOD!!!!!!! I've finished watching it yesterday and I'm still in awe. Gosh, I love this show.

But before I can talk about the ending, allow me to dedicate a small paragraph to comment on the movie. Originally I thought about making a separate post for the movie, but I don't have much to say about it so I'm adding this extra portion here (thank god I watched the movie before this was posted so I can add this beforehand). This movie is very lackluster, I got excited from the first scenes, watching it in HD and not DVD quality really brings way much more life to the screen and I was pretty impressed, but then Saki and Mai started to fight before their performance and all the joy went down because it immediately started to feel like Friends of the Snow Sky but worse because Saki and Mai were never this "hostile" against each other before so their fight doesn't seem true to their characters especially considering what originated this argument to begin with.

The movie exclusive characters are good, sadly they don't get that much time on screen and they also don't get a lot to do so they're not used to their full potential and they end up being just flat. In fact, I believe this is a good way to describe this movie, interesting concepts that aren't used fully because they wanna focus on this fight that makes no sense and that is something they've already done before. I don't know if this has to do with the weird duration of the movie, it's not even one hour long, or if it's just the script that is weak, but I really didn't enjoy this movie all that much. 😕

But now let's talk about the good stuff, let's talk about the ending of the season.

I have so many feels I don't even know where to begin with. Well to begin with, in the title of this post it says this is a review of episodes 38 to 49 but that's actually a lie since episodes 38 and 39 are just fillers that don't add much so I have nothing to comment on. But from episode 40 onward the show picks itself up and it just goes all out to wrap up this story in a very beautiful, exciting, and emotional way.

I admit I was a bit afraid of how this final stretch would go when I saw that the final Dark Fall general was defeated in episode 40, but they managed to wrap up this ending in a very clever way. Bringing back the defeated generals at first felt like a cheap way to do it, but the fact that the villains weren't back for just a single episode and considering there was no monster of the week, all the fights were against the generals themselves, it really enhanced the experience, it was like in the Mega Man games where you'll fight all the Robot Masters again in one of the Wily stages. It was also great that they came back WAY STRONGER and the girls really had to give their best to win those fights, I especially like that they lost right away when the villains came back because it's not always that we see precure losing so it was great to see just how much more difficult it would be for them to win in the end.

The final twist of Gohyan being the actual final villain wasn't all that much surprising, I mean he's the character who's always plotting something I knew he would betray Akudaikan at some point, and in normal circumstances, I'd wouldn't be pleased with this fake-out, but because Gohyan is a character we've seen since the beginning and he has been active, either plotting against his comrades or actually going against the precure, it worked. I kinda wish they had kept him in his "elderly" form, I think he works better that way, but seeing how great the action was for that final fight I'm more than okay with it.

If I had to say one thing that I completely disliked about this ending it's that, aside of the Christmas episode that once again had the pink try to deal with her feelings for a guy who doesn't look at them on a romantic way, having a four-part ending didn't really feel necessary. I think they could've made it in a way where episodes 46, 47, and 48, where focused in the actual fight, like episode 46 is the raid at Dark Fall, the fight against Akudaikan goes from Part B of 46 and Part A of 47, and then the final battle against Gohyan goes from Part B of 47 and lasts the entirety of episode 48, and then we have episode 49 focused for the aftermath and the epilogue. But that's just a minor thing because they hit the nail in the head in the important stuff so it's all good.

And speaking of action, THEY NAILED IT IN THIS PORTION OF THE STORY. I complained a lot about hoe the fights during the season weren't as good as they could've been, but if they were saving so much just so this ending could be so action-heavy and look so damn good as it was I feel like it was a good trade. Of course, the repeated shots of Bright and (especially) Windy using her powers are still here, but it's incorporated a lot better here and they do some actual creative stuff with it.

But the greatest thing of this finale was seeing Michiru and Kaoru finally being back, again I was reluctant about bringing them back so soon, but they knew what they're doing and they managed to do so much with them in this short amount of time. And I think it only works so well because they did an excellent job with them in their first arc so we as an audience can feel for them and we can also share the feelings Saki and Mai were having because we care about these characters just as much as they do. And I also like that they were brought back and they served a purpose, they weren't just extensions of Saki and Mai, they had their own concerns, they had their own issues so it wasn't like they were there to do just a single thing and they were able to conclude their arcs in a very satisfactory way. They've become really complex characters and I was always excited about seeing them on screen because I knew something great would come out of it every time, that being either them in their fighting scenes or while they were doing mundane stuff like Michiru enjoying helping at Pan Paka Pan or Kaoru spending time with Minori. Kaoru and Michiru's story was everything Kiriya's story wanted to be and more and this is definitely one of the strongest points of this show.

Our protagonists were probably the less worked during this arc, they sort of became an entity rather than two distinctive characters, but it somehow works? I think that because Saki ad Mai are such a great duo, they have so much chemistry, and the show seems to balance pretty well the spotlight they give to each girl, that deciding to focus more on these two as a duo rather than individually doesn't backfire. Their arc is more about solidifying their friendship more and more each time and spreading that out to Kaoru and Michiru, and they do a pretty good job at that. I feel like a lot of people don't have high opinions on them because of that, but I honestly didn't leave the show with the feeling that something was missing in regards to this matter so as far as I'm concerned they're great characters.

Before I wrap up I wanna talk about the ending in specific. It was the perfect pay off that this show needed. After everything Saki, Mai, Kaoru, and Michiru had gone through seeing they fight the big final boss together on an amazing showdown was incredibly awesome, when they lost their powers and the remaining of the spirits still living on Earth gathered together to bring not just Bloom and Egret but also Bright and Windy personified in Kaoru and Michiru felt rewarding as hell. It's pretty sad Kaoru and Michiru aren't considered official Cures because this final battle wouldn't have been the same without them.

If you read my Kamen Rider reviews you know I don't like it when characters come back from the dead immediately after they die. That wasn't the case here, in fact actually cried during that scene. We've said goodbye to them once and it hurt, seeing that they would go disappear again was like having my chest crushed, especially after everything that went down during this final arc and their speech in the fight about not giving up on the future they want to build with Saki and Mai. I knew precure is a kids show so they wouldn't kill them, but I expected they would go back to the Fountain of the Sky to live with Moop and Food there, but the show allowed the girls to stay with their friends in the Land of Greenery and that made me feel all fuzzy and warm inside.

And that montage at the end, with the four together, Kaoru joining Mai in the Art Club so she can learn how to draw so she can spend more time with Minori, Saki teaching Michiru how to bake, gosh, very few things made me as happy as that little montage did. Even seeing that Flappy finally confessed to Choppy and now they're officially a couple I believe was very endearing to see. And this is pretty much why I wanted the epilogue to be it's own separated episode because these are all things I'd love to watch as they were happening. It was still good, don't get me wrong, I have the dumbest smile in my face from just remembering it, but I wish we had more, GIVE ME AN OVA TOEI!!!!!

I'm not sure if I said everything I had to say, a lot of what I enjoyed from Splash Star was how the show touched me with emotional moments centered around characters I've grown to love throughout these 49 episodes and sadly my vocabulary isn't so vast so I can put out all these feelings here without sounding more repetitive than I already do. Splash Star is a really wonderful season, it had a slow start but as soon as they found their identity they really shined brightly, this season definitely shouldn't be so overlooked. So if you never watched it, give it a chance, and if you have watched it already, please do it again, appreciate the show for what it is and spread the love that this season and its characters deserve.

Three seasons of Precure down, thirteen more to go. Thank you so much for reading this far, please share the love for Splash Star in the comments. I'll see you soon for Yes! Pretty Cure 5!

P.S.: I was revising the post and I realized I didn't mention Kintolesky and Shitataare became a couple in the Christmas episode and it makes me really sad that these villains came back to being dust because I'd love to see this relationship. XD Again, GIVE ME AN OVA TOEI (and come up with a dumb excuse for why they're alive like humans and tell us how they've become regulars at Pan Paka Pan and how Kintolesky and Saki's father became the bestest friends ever).

[precuredaily]

Precure Bonus Day: “Futari wa" Era Overview

Across the last year and 4 months, I rewatched all of the Futari wa Precure branded shows that ran from 2004-2007. These three shows form the foundation of the Pretty Cure franchise that currently spans 16 television series, 27 movies, and multiple stage shows. The end of the FW era marks the beginning of a shift away from the franchise’s roots, so before I dive into Yes! Precure 5 and beyond, I want to take the time to reflect and analyze the past three seasons as a whole. What did they have in common? What aspects did they change? Where did each show succeed and fail, and what common threads are there between these successes and failures?

Hopefully it goes without saying that there will be spoilers, but just in case, I will be discussing each of these series in their entireity, including plot twists and details about their finales.

Futari wa Precure (2004)

Obviously, this is the show that kicked it all off. Toei made this two years after their highly popular Ojamajo Doremi series ended, with the gap year 2003 being filled with a non-magical girl shoujo anime called Ashita no Nadja. I don’t think they meant to start a franchise, and honestly I don’t think they even meant to make it a year-long show. The plot wraps up pretty nicely in episode 26: Nagisa and Honoka have defeated all the henchmen and the main villain and they can return to their normal lives, having become great friends along the way. However, it was popular and the merchandise sold well, so they continued it. At least that’s my theory, maybe it really was meant to be an annual show, but the back half feels extremely stagnant and not particularly connected to the first half. They changed the objective, changed the villains, and the animation quality went down the toilet.

Nonetheless, it established important concepts for this era: most obviously, the two-girl team. It’s in the title: “We Two are Pretty Cure” (there’s a reason you don’t see it translated much, lol) The two girls also come from different walks of life, and would probably not have much reason to interact if it weren’t for being Precure. This first season in particular establishes something of a yin-yang theme with the two. Short hair and long hair, sporty and scientific, middle class and upper class, black and white. While less prominent, this idea of girls from diverse backgrounds coming together will remain a theme well beyond the FW era, to the point where the current (as of this writing) team consists of two space aliens. A key element of the two-girl teams is that they have to transform together. They cannot operate as individuals; they are a pair and they are strongest when they work together. From a writing standpoint, this is an excellent idea that allows for a lot of scenarios that can test and strengthen their partnership.

Another big aspect of FWPC is the supporting cast that flesh out the world. Nagisa and Honoka have friends other than each other, who sometimes have their own story arcs despite not being the main characters. Shiho stands out from this series, as we saw her develop and explore an interest in theater, but possibly the unexpected breakout character was Odajima Yuka. I’m getting ahead of myself, because she didn’t really click with me until her single appearance in Max Heart, but that wouldn’t have been meaningful without her sporadic presence in this show. There are also a half dozen other characters who get a focus episode and then recur in the background throughout the show, and I love the consistency. The girls have love interests and we get to see them wrestle with their feelings. It all makes the girls feel more ordinary, despite their secret lives as superheroes. They have normal lives with normal problems. The girls aren’t the center of the universe, they just happen to be the focus of the show, and there are lots of other people that also inhabit it, going about their lives, whose paths sometimes cross with the main characters’.

FWPC established a bit of a trend for the villain faction: they were fronted by a big, giant monster of literal darkness and each of the subordinate generals has a portion of the macguffin. Each general had a gimmick in how they plotted and attacked, be it brute force, overwrought scheming, subterfuge, or infiltration. The inevitable result of this was that some villains felt more interesting than each other, of course. Pisard and Gekidrago were nothing but archetypes. Poisony had a personality, because she played off of her brother Kiriya, and he had his own arc where he learned to appreciate the good side of humanity. Ilkubo combines aspects of several of them, being extremely powerful and basically the Dark King’s right hand, but for all his gesturing he doesn’t amount to much. The Three Seeds of Darkness from the second half of the show have less going for them. They have personality quirks but they’re not particularly memorable as characters. A lot of their time was spent sitting around saying “We need to find the macguffin.” Their most interesting moment was when they realized that they would be consumed by the Dark King, and tried to betray him (unsuccessfully), otherwise they were just kind of there to pad out the series.

Aside from the down-to-earth nature of the characters and the world, the other biggest element that FW gives us, which the series became famous for, is the fighting. The show’s director, Nishio Daisuke, had recently come off of work on the Dragon Ball series, and he went into Precure with the mindset that “girls like action too.” The combat is physical, the girls kick and punch the monsters rather than fighting with magic wands or special attacks, except for the finisher. This set Precure apart from the crowd and I honestly think it was a big contributor to its early success. It offered little girls something they didn’t often get without branching out into the other Sunday morning offerings, which were targeted at boys. Nishio was good at directing action and he made the fights entertaining to watch.

The major failures of FWPC are some truncated character arcs. Kiriya deserved better than to be forgotten halfway through the series, only to come back as something of a guiding spirit at the end and then die an unsatisfying death. Yumiko (the lacrosse captain) was completely forgettable despite the show trying to make her a notable recurring character. Some of the early guest characters of the week had really lame reasons to exist, like Mayu (the girl who looked like Nagisa). The Seeds of Darkness were utterly lame villains so the second half of the show feels less compelling than the first half. Also, the ending is just kind of strange. Mipple, Mepple, and Porun go to sleep seemingly forever, and Nagisa and Honoka’s graduation feels bittersweet when they think about that and see a boy that looks like Kiriya. I’m still not sure if the ending was so sad because they knew the sequel was coming or despite it, so if it’s the former, it’s a strange choice that only kinda works if they knew that the audience knew that Max Heart would be starting the next week and all the sad stuff would be undone. If it’s the latter, then it’s a bold choice to have a downer ending that was undercut by the show’s own popularity. Either way, I don’t think it was effective given the direction Max Heart took. Without Max Heart I’d consider it strong, but I can’t ignore the effect of the sequel. Art doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

Futari wa Precure Max Heart (2005)

Max Heart is an interesting animal. As the sequel to a fairly closed-ended series, it has to invent a reason to exist and uh.... it doesn’t do that very well. The Dark King apparently attacked the Queen of Light before his defeat, and now a few months later she dies and splits into her life, heart, and 12 wills, each of which are marketable in their own way. It essentially turns into another Macguffin quest, but the girls aren’t even actively seeking out the Heartiels, they just come to them. And unlike FWPC’s quest which wrapped up in the first half of that show, they stretch this one out for the entire season, so it gets tiring. That’s my big criticism of MH, but it’s not all bad.

Nagisa and Honoka were enjoyable characters in the first season and I am beyond delighted to get to spend another year with them. This season sees them deepening their friendship as they deal with their new leadership positions in their clubs, offering advice to underclassmen who are struggling with issues they dealt with in the first season, and further exploring Nagisa’s romantic feelings. She finally confesses to Fuji-P at the end of the show, even if he doesn’t actually hear her and consequently nothing comes from it. Season 1 Nagisa would never have gotten that far. Honoka’s development is rather subdued. She learns how to be a good club leader, and in episode 17 she helps push the club out of safe territory for the sake of their passion, but there’s really not much else to be said. She acts as Nagisa’s life coach sometimes when she has anxiety about her future, and helps her confess to Fuji-P, but she really does take a backseat this season next to Hikari. With that said, let’s talk about Hikari!

Hikari is, of course, a new character for this show, and thus her character arc is the most prominent of the trio. She also has more room to grow, since she starts out as basically an empty shell. Even if she is the Queen’s Life, she fully develops into her own person with her own life, friends, interests, and personality. Her overall kindness is probably a side effect of the Queen but she’s still not the Queen. She goes to school, makes friends, gets a job, builds a family, and generally discovers the joy of life. She’s a really enjoyable character to follow, because her journey isn’t just friendship like Nagisa and Honoka’s was, but becoming human. The tragic irony of her character is that the more of an individual person she becomes, the closer the Queen’s resurrection is, which means losing Hikari, and by rights this should form the backbone of the show’s conflict, but they don’t really seem to get this until the last quarter. They raise the question periodically but they don’t give it the discussion it deserves, and that’s a major weakness of the series. They ignore the problem until they can’t anymore. If they had given the audience the sense that this was intentional, that they were actively ignoring the matter, then it could have been interesting. Unfortunately, we never get the sense that Nagisa and Honoka were deliberately ignoring the inevitable question, and it seemed more like they just didn’t care.

As Shiny Luminous, Hikari somewhat changes the team dynamic, but she’s also not just a third fighter like Black and White. She is less combative, except when she has to be, and instead her abilities are more support-oriented. She stays back and activates barriers, slows down the enemy’s movements, and powers up Black and White. Her lack of combat skills means that sometimes Black and White have to protect or save her during fights, which interrupts the flow of battle and can make the fights a bit more drawn out than in the first season. I appreciate what they were trying to do by adding Luminous, and I am not in any way calling her a bad addition to the team, but her particular skills aren’t a very good fit for the style of fights that this show was built on. A lot of times she hides away from fights instead of transforming, making her more vulnerable. It seems like the staff wrote themselves into a corner with that aspect of her, and weren’t sure how to properly utilize her abilities.

The villains in Max Heart are an odd bunch. They’re slightly more memorable than the Seeds of Darkness, but no more competent. Their fights are meaningless, because Baldez is the only one who understands what’s going on with Hikari and Hikaru and the Dark King’s resurrection, and he doesn’t explain anything to the other three, so sometimes they just straight up defy his orders because he hasn’t told them what their objective is. I’m fine with villain infighting but I want there to be a good reason, a clash of ideals or something, not just straight up lack of communication. They have personalities, but that doesn’t play into their fighting styles in any meaningful way. The most interesting thing about them is how they form a family around Hikaru, and try to nurture and protect him while he grows. It brings out the soft side in some of them at home, and causes them to lash out in anger if he comes in contact with the girls somehow. Watching how Hikaru grows and parallels Hikari’s growth was a nice subplot. I’ve never been certain if the audience was supposed to recognize that he was the Dark King’s life before they reveal it in the series, but I really hope they were. Hikaru goes from a carefree kid content with living in the manor to wanting to get out of the house and see more of the world, which leads him into contact with Hikari on a few occasions, spiking each of their innate powers. Since he’s younger, though, he never reaches Hikari’s level of emotional maturity, which actually makes him a little more tragic because he’s just a little kid who unknowingly hosts this great evil. He just wants to do his own thing. Fortunately, in the end he is able to have a life with Hikari and Akane, even after the Dark King is destroyed. Which brings me to.....

Baldez. The final arc where Baldez revives the Dark King and then reveals that he himself now has the power of the Dark King is a neat subversion on expectations. He was always the most mysterious villain of the bunch, he was absent for half of the series and when he was around he played his cards close to his chest. He encouraged Hikaru’s growth by stoking Hikari’s development, and got in the way of Uraganos, Circulas, and Viblis when they tried to defeat her outright. He was a large threat to the girls whenever he did appear, and in a lot of aspects he seems like a precursor to Gohyaan. Ultimately though I can’t say he left a big impression. Most of the time he sat around the mansion saying “They’re developing nicely, the Dark King’s revival is soon....” and rarely set foot on the battlefield. He had no personality to speak of, and didn’t answer to anybody, so he was just flat and boring.

The next thing I want to discuss about Max Heart are some continuing storylines. I discussed the evolution of Nagisa and Honoka’s characters, but their friends get some further development as well. Shiho comes to mind, of course. In the first season she flexed her creative muscles by directing the action version of Romeo and Juliet for the cultural festival. In the sequel she goes a step further, deciding that she wants to be a Hollywood movie director, and chooses to incorporate special effects into their school play. It’s not a lot, but since not a lot of the side characters even get a character arc, it sticks out. However, there’s one character from the first series who didn’t get much to work with who suddenly is a lot more interesting when she recurs in this season, and that is Odajima Yuka, which is especially surprising since she only appeared in one episode, but due to it, all her past appearances suddenly make more sense. This is the episode where she, as a high schooler, joins the middle school science and lacrosse teams on their annual retreat, and ends up challenging Nagisa in a game. She gets out there, works her hardest at a sport she’s never played, and goes toe to toe with the team’s star player. They never outright say this, but what Yuka needed was to be challenged, to compete against somebody at her level. In all of her encounters, Nagisa is the only person who can outrun her. Nagisa may be clumsy at times, but she excels at athletics and gives Yuka the challenge she craves. In fact I think Yuka even envied Nagisa’s laid-back lifestyle. It is remarkable to me that the writers brought her back for Max Heart at all, and saw fit to conclude her story. She was never an important character, but she was memorable, largely because of this season. Later seasons with more main characters tend to sideline their supporting cast, so it’s nice that a minor character gets this kind of focus.

Lastly, there was some attempt to develop Akane early on. There was a three episode arc where a man from her old job stopped by and the girls all thought he was trying to pull her back into an office job. In the end, she declined his offer but he was still interested in dating her. She seemed to take to the idea, and there had been some hints that she wanted to get married and have kids someday, but after this arc, her potential suitor was never seen again and nothing more ever came out of it, beyond her effectively adopting Hikari and Hikaru as her children. It would be interesting to see adult romance play out, even in the background. The first season had Ms. Yoshimi getting married but we never saw any of her life outside the classroom, so giving Akane a little bit more spotlight would have been nice. Sadly, this was not the direction the show took.

Max Heart also got the theatrical treatment, and the movies were honestly very good. Famously, it’s the only series to get two movies, because the first film was originally intended to be just a FWPC film. They share a premise of whisking the girls off to a different land to resolve a problem that the locals are having, and they have their friendship tested along the way before coming out as better and stronger friends than before, acquiring exclusive new forms to defeat the villains. These would become signature elements of all Precure movies.

As I said earlier, the ending to FWPC was very finite, and that was strange juxtaposed to the fact that there was an imminent second season. There’s some strange irony, then, that the finale to Max Heart, the final series that will ever follow this cast of characters, feels a lot more open. It ties off loose ends, of course, and Nagisa and Honoka graduate from middle school, but while it’s implied that Mepple and Mipple go to sleep again, and Hikari is gone after reviving the Queen, less than two minutes pass for the viewer before they find out she and Hikaru are living with Akane, and that all their fairies are awake and as energetic as ever. Even though there ultimately weren’t any shows with these characters, there is room for more. Could they have known what the franchise would become? Could they have had any idea that these characters would still be popular 15 years later?

Futari wa Precure Splash Star (2006)

Splash Star is of course the first full reboot. I don’t know why, maybe they didn’t think they could continue the story of Nagisa and Honoka into high school. Could’ve been neat, but I’ll save the “what ifs” for another time. It rebooted the series, and that set a precedent for shows to follow. It keeps the two girl dynamic of course, and the visual similarities are hard to ignore, but those are fairly superficial, and it manages to find its own identity while improving on the ideas of the prior shows. The theme of the show changes from yin and yang to nature, and that affects everything: the aesthetics of the heroines and villains, the objectives they fight for, and most especially the combat style.

Once again, one girl is athletic while the other has a more academic hobby. Saki has two major friends on the softball team where Nagisa had two major friends on the lacrosse team, but Mai’s companion in the art club is less notable than Yuriko was to Honoka. This time they attend a coed school, and their circle of friends includes a couple of boys, as well as another girl who isn’t a member of either of their teams. Splash Star does the best job at managing its recurring and ensemble cast out of these three seasons. Characters are introduced, have their focus episode, and continue to make notable appearances, often hanging out with the main characters. Kenta even helped Miyasako find a hobby outside of being a class representative. They keep the number of recurring characters lower than FW/MH, use them in better roles, and the result is that they’re better developed and remembered. The romance plots are less fleshed out than in FW, but that’s about the only drawback. Also, Saki and Mai’s relationship with each other is much more immediate. Nagisa and Honoka took a few episodes to warm up to each other and only really cemented their friendship after a big fight, but Saki and Mai are fast friends by the second episode, and all attempts by the villains to introduce discord just backfire because they have absolute trust in each other. 

The villains are also extremely fun and memorable. Whether you like them or not, they leave a distinct impression, much like the generals in the first half of FW. They have unique designs, quirky personalities, and at the end of the series we get to see them interact with each other. Karehaan was fairly straight-laced and I don’t like him much. Moerumba has a spicy personality, his problem is his short-sightedness. Dorodoron gets a laugh from me for being so timid. He might have been boring on his own, but he got to spitball with the Kiryuus, which helped him a lot. Miss Shitataare is powerful and cocky but completely inept. Kintolesky was easily my favorite of the lot, being honorable and straightforward and impeccably muscular. Aside from Karehaan’s overall blandness their biggest problem is not having enough cross talk with each other, with that being saved for their revival arc. Later shows do this a lot more often and better, thankfully.

Speaking of villains, however, Gohyaan stands out. He kind of serves multiple roles as both the comic relief of the villains, like the Zakenna Butlers, and as the right hand to the big bad. He spends most of his time sucking up to Akudaikaan, but occasionally he does go out on the field and demonstrates how powerful he actually is. His memorable personality and the twist where he reveals he’s the mastermind all make him a welcome addition. And just to reiterate, that twist had very minimal foreshadowing! Akudaikaan himself was the opposite, very not memorable, he’s blander than the Dark King, and that’s no easy feat. The most interesting thing about him is his physical design, as rather than being an amorphous blob like the Dark King, he has a defined face and a robe. His head resembles a Samurai helmet and a demon mask, and he has fire in his eyes. It’s a shame this theme didn’t really amount to anything.

Michiru and Kaoru’s redemption arc has to be the highlight of the show. The writers took some cues from Kiriya’s similar storyline in the first show but they gave the sisters a lot more time in the limelight, which allowed their characters to be better fleshed out. Over the course of the second quarter of the show, we get to see these girls go from a faux friendship with Saki and Mai into a legitimate one, because they actually listened and learned about the beauty of the natural world. They start to understand what it means to be cared for, to be appreciated for who you are, and not have your value be dependent on what you can provide for someone else. If more villains would take the time to see things from the perspective of the people they’re trying to defeat, they might also understand this, and truly some of them do. We’ll explore several types of redeemed villains in the shows to come, and I look forward to comparing and contrasting them with this. The biggest problem I have with the Kiryuus is that they were absent between episodes 25 and 41, and barely mentioned. Mai and Saki worried for them, and Miss Shitataare gave them hints that they were still alive, but it was sad to see them shoved aside for half the show with no particular explanation being given about what Gohyaan was doing with them. That’s my only major strike against Splash Star.

The fighting in the series is still punchy, but this time the spirits spice things up. There’s bursts of spirit energy whenever they kick and punch, they can concentrate the spirit power in certain parts of their bodies to jump farther, punch harder, and block attacks. As Bright and Windy they have elemental attacks using the light and wind. It’s an evolution of what the first series started, and I enjoy it. Finally, the victories feel meaningful, because every battle they get the reward of a Miracle Drop. Every seven episodes or so they collect enough drops to revive a fountain, and Princess Filia grows more and more complete. There is constant progress throughout the series, so even the slow parts of the show feel meaningful.

Of course, the series got a movie, and it was very similar to the prior two in overall plot: Tension arises between the two, they’re thrust into another world before they can resolve their feelings, the villain takes advantage of their personal conflict to overpower them, they get separated, then they make up with each other and come together stronger to defeat the villain. The closes they get to a movie form in this one is a glowing outline surrounded by the spirits of the zodiac, somewhat bucking the trend, but it’s an excellent movie. That really isn’t something I can say about all of them, so I’m grateful that these early films are so strong.

Splash Star has been described as the perfection of the Futari wa formula, and overall I have to agree. Of the three shows, it is the most consistent in all regards. There’s constant progression, character growth, meaningful supporting characters who you really sympathize with, and a fun and enjoyable cast of both heroes and villains. The first half of FWPC may be more fun, but the second half drags it down. Max Heart as a whole isn’t really sure where it wants to go. Splash Star sets a destination and arrives there at the right time, with some twists and turns along the way. I strongly recommend it to anyone trying to get into the series for the first time.

Unfortunately, despite Splash Star being arguably the best of the three seasons (both Eastern and Western fans ranked it above Max Heart), it tanked in sales after its first quarter, so it was decided that, if the franchise was going to continue, they needed a new look. Thus, they turned to the most enduringly popular magical girl series around for inspiration for their next season. But that’s a story for later.

Analysis

The most obvious shared elements between the three shows is the two-girl team, which they each used slightly differently. In FWPC, it’s the two of them against the world. That’s it. Max Heart switches things up with a third hero, who is not combative, but supports them, and they have to protect her at times, sidetracking their fights. Splash Star goes as far as to introduce two more fighters whose power stems from the darkness but they use it for good. They help the Cures out and the Cures help them out, but it’s Bloom and Egret at the core. The key aspect of this period of Precure is that the duo are regular girls who can only transform when they’re together, and that their powers become stronger when their feelings are in harmony. The shows each explore the pros and cons of this setup, concluding that their teamwork is the most powerful force in the word, and this is quite possibly the best thing to come out of this period of the series. The thing I especially like, however, is that being Pretty Cures means that the protagonists have an especially close bond with each other, moreso than their other friends. Since they have to transform and work together, they more intimately understand each other, and they share experiences their other friends will never know about. They look out for each other in every aspect of their daily lives, they have absolute trust in each other, and they will go through hell to protect each other. Pretty Cure’s most powerful weapon is friendship.

As far as their individual personalities go, Saki tends to be more optimistic than her counterpart. Nagisa is lovable and relatable as all heck, but she had kind of a pessimistic view of the world at times. It’s evident even in their catchphrases: Nagisa always says “I can’t believe this!” while Saki proclaims she’s “In top form!” Neither of them would ever hesitate to help a friend, and especially their partner, but during the daily grind Nagisa is more likely to be upset at her circumstances. Meanwhile, Honoka and Mai are even more dissimilar to each other. Honoka has a scientific mind, she’s very astute and good at picking up details. She kind of struggles with making friends but she tries to help people out, always, especially when they don’t want to help themselves. She puts up with a lot of crap but she will chew you out in the name of making you a better person. Mai, however, is observant but she tends to hyperfocus on one thing while drawing and space out a lot. She is a little timid but not afraid to express when she’s upset. Both Mai and Honoka serve to temper and balance out their more energetic partner, serving as the voice of reason when they get heated, and in general keeping them grounded. I love how, despite the differences in their friendships, both sets of partners help to round each other out and make each other better people. It’s a testament to what a good friend can do for you, and of course the central motif of the shows.

Consequently, other friendships form a big part of these shows, too. The small cast means that the girls have friends besides each other, and in each series we see how the protagonists influence their friends, their friends influence them, and we even get to see Hikari make new friends of her own. Again, all the shows handle this well, and it’s something that will be missed next season, since the larger team size means their friendships are more insular. Having friends outside the team grounds the shows in relatable situations as the protagonists go about their daily lives, hanging out with their friends who become beloved characters and get story arcs of their own. Shiho, Rina, Yuriko, Nao, Miu, Hitomi, Yuuko, Kenta, Miyasako, and Kayo are all memorable and important pillars of the shows. They encourage the leads when necessary, get into hijinks with them, explore their own interests, hang out, and have fun together. This also allows conflicts to be resolved without the Precure. In most superhero media the central conflict of the episode is between people’s feelings or beliefs rather than a physical altercation, but the fight usually resolves things somehow, while in Precure, since the combatants are often not the ones with a disagreement, it instead helps them figure out how to help their friends resolve their troubles.

Since these are the stories of regular girls dealing with regular adolescent issues, love is not a strange subject. Nagisa and Saki each had crushes on slightly older boys in their shows, and they handle it remarkably similarly. They get flustered, embarrassed, and have trouble even speaking to their partner about it. However, Honoka is shrewd enough to discern Nagisa’s feelings, while Mai never learns that Saki has a crush on her brother. The writers even approach their romances differently. Nagisa tends to be more proactive in exploring her feelings. She makes active efforts to make gifts for Fuji-P and confess her love to him, ultimately culminating in that fateful Max Heart Christmas episode where she yells it for all the world (but him) to hear. Meanwhile, Saki tended to just admire Kazuya from a distance, except when he came to her. She got jealous when it appeared he had a girlfriend, but she never acted on her affections in a direct way. I theorized that Fuji-P might actually suspect Nagisa’s feelings, and possibly share them, but he wants her to be ready to tell him. Meanwhile, as far as we can tell, while Kazuya finds Saki interesting, he doesn’t really see her as anything more than a friend. I like these different representations of young love, they show how much or how little of a priority it can have in someone’s life.

Famously, Honoka also got a brief pseudo-romance with Kiriya. She helped him grow as a person, he challenged some of her overbearing ways, but they clearly respected each other. She was distraught when he was taken back to the Dusk Zone, and that was one of the most heartfelt episodes in the entire series so far. There were echoes of his impact on her in the rest of the first series, but I never felt like they explored that story to its full potential, and he was not even mentioned in Max Heart. Mai never got a corresponding love interest, and Hikari’s love was more familial: for Nagisa and Honoka as her partners, for Akane as her guardian, and for Hikaru as the only person who could possibly understand her existential crisis. She learned about romantic love but never experienced it herself, which is fine. Girl has enough to worry about as it is.

The physical fighting pioneered in FWPC set the groundwork for the rest of the series, and you can see it slightly evolve over the course of these three shows. While FW is pure punching and kicking except for finishing moves, Max Heart introduces a character with support spells to help the team, and Splash Star gives the combat a bit of flair and style with the spirit trails and elemental attacks. Each show has carved out its own little niche, and I really think that’s one of the fascinating elements of the series. YPC5 will usher in special weapons, which are a genre staple that the original trilogy avoided. That will become standard for all series going forward, so these three shows with their almost entirely unarmed battles are a true highlight of early Precure to me. They manage to keep the fights interesting, always, it’s not just straightforward sparring. The girls do a lot of jumping around, flipping, fighting in sync with each other or tag-teaming. They always have to find weaknesses in monsters that are designed specifically to be hard to beat. Sometimes they’re fast, other times armored, or they’re heavily offensive, they have special abilities of their own, or the commander is threatening someone else. Always, the heroines find an innovative way to defeat their opponent and save the day in a visually exciting manner.

When it’s not showcasing awesome girls fighting for friendship and love, Precure is about selling toys. Bandai has a long history of designing toys to coincide with Toei’s Sunday morning shows, and they put their experience to work here. Nonetheless, they had some difficulty with the rather nondescript themes of the early shows, so the toys sometimes come across as very out-of-place. The transformation toys are generally cutesy enough to pass, the powerup braces stand out, the mid-season fairy’s compact forms are extremely gaudy (ESPECIALLY the Splash Commune, it’s literally just a computer in a show about nature), and the macguffin storage object of each show (Prism Hopish, Queen Chairect, Fairy Carafe) starts a proud Precure tradition of being a large, expensive toy first and a sacred artifact later. Additionally, there’s at least one object in each show that is Precure-branded merch in the real world which has no combat use and is forced into the plot of one episode before being quickly forgotten. As the years go on, the toys will be more unified with the theme of the show, and we’ll see some new patterns emerge.

One last element I realize that I forgot to bring up before now, but that becomes a franchise trend, is a trademark food and a restaurant of sorts. In FWPC and Max Heart, of course, their food of choice is takoyaki from Akane’s Tako Stand, where Hikari winds up working in Max Heart. Splash Star’s restaurant is Panpaka PAN, the Hyuuga family bakery, and their signature food is chocolate coronets. The restaurant or food stand is always a recurring location, where the girls and their friends often meet to talk and hang out and eat some delicious food. This is certainly not exclusive to Precure, or even the magical girl genre, as having recurring locations saves on the budget, both in animation and live-action, and food is an easy way to get people to congregate. Nonetheless, it’s sort of brought up in Precure All Stars, and there’s some truly great food ahead of us, so I wanted to point out that the trend goes all the way to the start of the series.

Obviously, 2004′s Futari wa Precure wasn’t intended to kick off a franchise, so when it got popular they stuck to what they knew for the second season. I’m not sure why they didn’t take the Doremi approach and keep aging them up a year for more seasons, but perhaps they thought they had exhausted the storytelling potential of the original cast and realized that it had franchise potential if they followed the annual reboot model of other superhero shows. The biggest issues with the first two shows are pacing, which is fixed in Splash Star, and you can see them tweaking and refining the formula in other ways through the three shows as well. If I had to describe this era in a word, relative to the overall franchise, it would be innovative. While the two-girl partnership would take a break for a few years after this, these shows laid the foundation for plot structure, villain organization, toy integration, and combat that would be utilized and enhanced by the rest of the franchise, so it’s cool to trace the roots of many Precure conventions back to their origins. What began as a humble action show for girls meant to sell some toys got popular, and continued past its intended conclusion. It was even referenced in other pop culture of the time.

Powerpuff Girls Z (2006)

The series had gotten the attention of the masses and was a proven success. We got five memorable and lovable heroines, a bunch of beloved supporting characters, some wonderful villains, and even some welcoming food stands. Of course, there were bumps in the road. The series was still finding its footing during this period, and will continue to do so as we head into Yes 5, but without these three shows laying the groundwork for the franchise, I might not be here talking about it.

That’s my ode to the Futari Wa era of Precure, I hope you enjoyed it, I’m sorry that it took so long to get out. Look forward to Yes! Precure 5 reviews coming your way shortly, and remember:

Your best! My best! Ups and downs! Together We are Pretty Cure!

[seaside-roleplays]

Wishlist

Hiya ♡ Just a terribly bored girl who likes to spend her free time writing out the lives of fictional characters! You can find me using discord more than anything, as I can use it wherever. If you didn’t already see, I’m 21 and a Female. That matters for some people, for example, I won’t write out mature topics with people under 18.

I double, triple, and enjoy F//, M// and M/F. Fandom and original are both fun! I have a list of fandoms further down that I am happy to discuss or rp ♡ As far as fandoms go, I am OC friendly, and will absolutely play your desired love interest ♡

If you find yourself wanting to write together, shoot me a message! It is the fastest way to catch my attention! please include what plot/pairing you are looking to do rather than just ‘hey, are you looking for an rp?’ 

Ideas

- Kingdom Hearts, I finished playing 3 and really want to roleplay with someone. Oc/Canon or Canon/Canon if I ship it. I can play your character's love interest if you can play mine ^^ My first girl can be paired with Saix, or Axel if that is an easier character to play. My second girl has Demyx as her love interest. I would be happy to tell you more about them if doubling up is something you want to do. I have played all of the games //or at least watched all the cut scenes hehe// So I have confidence in playing most characters. Shipping wise feel free to ask and I can tell you. It's faster than me listing them.

-  A Love Live School Idol Festival Themed rp, we make our own unit of school idols and roleplay their adventures, highs and lows, could be a F// or completely platonic! also open to a M/F romance between 2 idols of different units //ex.Starlight Four vs Phantom Five//

- Miraculous , I want to do something with my girl who is a ballerina with a swan Kwammi, who has Marinette/Ladybug as her love interest. Can play Adrien/Cat Noir for you, otherwise I'm not as confident with the other canons. Could also just use Oc's and do our own thing. I just REALLY want to play my favorite black cat superhero. Chances are I will 100% make a pinterest board or something for the roleplay *-* I do have a couple ideas in mind regarding some villans // Jellyfish and Monarch Butterfly??//

-  Something with an animal cafe, where the workers there have animal like traits, a maid/butler has a crush on a human patron or fellow worker. A cute magical slice of life. A slow burn romance, that can play out as the seasons come and go

- Something like "A Simple Favor" . 2 single mothers meet each other through their children wanting a playdate. One being very bubbly and cheery, the type to make beautiful home cooked meals, do arts and crafts and run a blog. The second a chic business woman who lives a life of lavish events and the finest clothes money can buy. These two women over time fall in love, despite their different worlds. Sharing their passions with one another and watching their children grow. A sweet F// really 

-  F// spy or partners in crime kinda plot! need help building this one!

-  A witch curses a princess so that no man will ever fall in love with her! This backfires when the princess thanks her, as she is actually very into women. A cute F// rp

- A Fire Emblem rp with oc's? Basically build our own world? this one would be a lot of work. I do also have one Nohrian Cleric who I would love to use, fairly open minded about who I pair her with, so you don't have to worry about me claiming anyone. Happy to double!

- Something based off the mangas Beasts of Abigaile , the Case Study of Vanitas or Mermaid Boys I am very into these recently and am happy to do oc's or canons. or, build something similar of our own.

-  Magical girl stuff. Sailor Moon, Winx Club, Shugo Chara, Pretty cure, etc. I would love to do something akin to a second gen or using various anime as an inspiration to the rp!

- A Marvel rp, specifically with the Thor universe. I would like to do an rp with Loki x Oc, where I play as Loki, since I miss playing him. I saw Thor Ragnarok and didn't know I needed to see Loki in a suit. Prefer that your character had a faceclaim, and not picking on if they are male or female really, like I said, I just really want to play Loki and have him fall in love, and yes, I have seen infinity war

- Adding to the Marvel fandom, I am also happy to play spiderman/Peter Parker for your oc, or Venom/Eddie Brock for your oc. I'm looking to get some experience playing as them, so I would not be expecting us to double, as I don't have an oc of my own that could fit with them.

- Black Butler, I really got back into this and am dying to do something with oc's or canons //maybe even a good canon x oc?// I want to use my oc who would be a maid, similar to Seb, a demon who also has a thing for ciel, not so much romantically. Happy to play Alois, Sebby, undertaker, ciel, or claude for you. 

-  A cute slice of life rp? a pinch of magic? Maybe a young wizard and witch? one from big city the other from a small town in the country?

-  Peter Pan based rp, I had a few pairings and ideas in mind, the 2 I most crave are Captain Hook//TinkerBell and Captain Hook//Peter Pan. I just want to play a captain hook using Hugh Jackman as Hook's FC. BxB or BxG is fine by me, I'm just looking to have the roles reversed, where Hook is the good guy, taking in the lost boys who peter intends to 'thin out' when they start to grow up, and having them join his crew for refuge. He tries to save as many as he can, but sometimes he shows up too late or things get in his way //peter's trusty pet croc?// I like the idea of having there be a routine of Peter collecting a new 'Wendy' Perhaps as a sacrifice to keep him young and keep neverland's magic? Plot with me?

- Very much wanna do a Red Riding Hood style rp, can be cute and fluffy or dark and eerie! The cuter plot would be an academy that teaches two entirely different crowds, the first being the Red Hoods, a class made up of boys and girls who will go into the world and become protectors to ordinary folk. While the other class is the wolves, those either willing to learn to control their gifts, and those thrown into the academy in fear of them running loose with no supervision. Dark and eerie plot could be more historical fantasy, again, there being a group of Red Hood's, who protect their villages and towns from the werewolves that stalk the borders, ready to pick up one weak and foolish enough to stray from home. A red goes hunting in the woods, as they are the only ones experienced enough to fight back, and finds a trapped wolf, and chooses to help them. The wolf then taking shape into a human thanks the Red Hood and promises they won't forget the kindness. This could also be swapped, where a Red has harmed them self and can't get back to the village, and a wolf assists them. Can be F// M// or F/M. I prefer to play the wolf if I can, but am just as happy to play a Red Hood. ^^ we could do multiple pairings for this as well

- Something inspired by ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ with the seasons and times of day each having a court/kingdom? 

Genres

- Fantasy stuff! Give me your zodiac based rp's, take me to lands where princes and princesses are made to wed, throw all your wizarding and witchy worlds my way. These are what I want! I want to be able to do something that will be imaginative and exciting! Elves, fairies, royalty, fairytales [modern and historical], werewolves, vampires, I love it all!

- Horror, I love me a good scary plot! I've gotten in to playing corpse party again, and would love to see something under the genres of haunted school, a town with a murderer on the loose, dealing with supernatural creatures with morbid tendencies, and ghots with traumatizing pasts and violent deaths. I love me some gore and horror.

- Romance, give me a rp where there is drama, heartbreak, love and friendship. I love love love romance based roleplay's. High school based ones with angtsy teens, day to day living, coffe shop romance, I will take it if it has a compelling plot and a character I can fall for!

- Harvest Moon, I mean, it could be pokemon based, or just straight up village living, I crave that simple life kinda roleplay, it's a game series I do adore, and will always find joy playing

Fandoms!

Marvel~Overwatch~Kingdom Hearts~Love Live~Miraculous~Fire Emblem~Case Study of Vanitas~Mermaid Boys~Sailor moon~Winx Club~Shugo Chara~Precure~Kuroshitsuji~Aikatsu~Corpse party~Final fantasy~Harvest Moon~Rune factory~Persona~Pokemon~Tokyo Ghoul

[firebirdsdaughter]

Onward!...

... To the O-T subs of Zi-O 21! Yay!

Also, fair warning, this will probably include spoilers for Ryuki. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet and doesn’t want anything spoiled.

In no order:

Still sad we didn’t get to see Geiz coming home. :(

Sworz and Herue’s family moment is still kinda sweet, despite them being who they are.

This, too, is Decade’s fault.

I LOVE THE ZI-OT3 INVESTIGATING!

Like I said in an earlier post today, I think I understand why it’s Ryuga and not Ryuki. Bc at the end of Ryuki, everything was reset and the events of the series never happened. Shinji didn’t just forget he was a Kamen Rider, he never was one in the first place. But just bc it didn’t happen doesn’t mean that somewhere, some place, the Mirror World ever went away completely. Maybe it somehow preserved Ryuga, and he’s just been hanging out, hiding in the new Shinji’s reflection? Waiting for something like this...

Poor Shinji. Given his reaction later, I’m wondering if he considers himself responsible--which raises my question of if he was actually trying to kill himself bc he thought that might stop the attacks, or if he was just so terrified he covered up everything and accidentally sealed himself in in a panic.

Hands, who thinks Kido is an idiot? ... Goddamnit, Ron.

I love the Zi-Ot3 having planning sessions, too.

Sou Okuno remains adorable and it is so unfair.

Like I said. Geiz is one of those people where if punching it doesn’t work, you just punch harder--and if you break your arm doing it? So be it.

He starts the sentence neutral, then switches to first person. Just... Decides it’s gonna be him. Bc he’s the soldier, and fighting with his life is the only thing he’s ever done.

Sougo clearly doesn’t quite understand the seriousness of the situation, clearly thinks they’re still brainstorming, (honestly don’t blame him--most people wouldn’t be expecting someone to actually be meaning to go through w/ that), but Tsukuyomi is clearly well aware of the fact that Geiz will absolutely do this, and she’s not happy.

Junichiro does the only acceptable impression of Kuro Woz ever.

WAS THE LEAF PILE MOVING IMPORTANT?

Shinji doesn’t just have no memory of it, he has double no memory of it! (that may have been a reference to that)

Kuro Woz begins to, well, Woz, and Sougo walks away. I LOVE THIS. Force the manipulative jerk to walk after you!

KWoz remains incapable of picking up on tacit cues. Seriously, dude, even I am clear on how uncomfortable Sougo is w/ this. And I am awful at tacit cues.

ELBOW HIM IN THE STOMACH SOUGO!

Okay... This seems a little more like they’re talking about something e don’t know about... But he’s still noting it might kill him, so my other comments do still hold. But other than some protectiveness that he’s in denial about, why does he think it has to be him? Did Shiro Woz do something? Was there more to that vision than we saw?

Well, maybe Tsukuyomi doesn’t know? She’s pretty against it.

The little face twitch after she reminds him Sougo didn’t like the idea either. I think he’s secretly touched Sougo cares, but too Tsundere to admit it.

No, we weren’t waiting. We just knew if we stood still for five minutes, you’d be somewhere in the scenery, creepily dropping eves.

WAGA KYUURANGERS.

I can never hear that the same again.

I am still extremely uncomfortable w/ this phrasing. I’ve seen people connecting it to PreCure, where it’s the villain’s goal? And while I don’t watch PreCure, I absolutely agree. That’s not a normal way of referring to a peaceful era. It’s suspicious. Makes me think that either time literally is stopped, or that it’s ‘peaceful’ bc it’s all controlled by the future Nooks or something.

My hope for this is that they make a third timeline, and the point of the story is that we forge our own destinies, and sometimes not knowing exactly what the future holds is a good thing. Not everything is predetermined, that freedom is more important than martially imposed ‘peace’--and that even if things are apparently doomed to end w/ you murdering half the world, there’s always something you can do to change things. In a world where a lot of young people are suffering under the exacting expectations of others (and this is not saying Japan specifically, this is a thing everywhere), I feel like that would be a great message for kids. Wow. Okay. Got a bit mushy there.

Hm... Honestly, this translation makes Geiz sound more suspicious of it than anything--though given the flashback, I do think that the ‘peace’ part sounds good to them. However... Well, I have some other things to say on this subject, but we can get to that lower down.

THAT’S NOT THE FACE OF A PERSON I TRUST.

Poor Shinji, he’s so scared! He’s gotta have been seeing his reflection be like ‘hey, you wanna go murder this guy right, I’m gonna do it!’ so much he can’t even bear to look at it... Oh, sweetie... Ron! Come get Shinji he’s making me cry!

Need I remind anyone that I hate Shiro Woz?

Not you, Keisuke, you’re an angel and I’m thrilled you’re here.

WAGA KYUURANGERS.

Ahem. Okay, anyway. This is another reason why I’m confused as to whether or not Toei wants me to think Geiz is actually going to switch ‘sides’ or something or not. He jumps in to defend Shinji w/out a single hesitation, and I really think there’s meant to be parallels between this and his initial stance towards Sougo. Like, that one scene w/ the flashback to Goggles (WHO IN TIME IS GOGGLES THE DEAD PERSON?) seemed to be meant to indicate that he was starting to believe Shiro Woz--but here? It’s coming across as the opposite. WHICH IS IT TOEI?

I will continue to believe that they will not do that to my precious tsundere baby until they actually do. And when/if (please dear gods I hope it doesn’t) that happens... Tea and shirts? I’ll make cookies?

G T F O Shiro Woz. No one wants your approval at all, esp not Geiz.

No! Poor Shinji... Ron, come help Shinji! Ron! ... What’s that? Not until the special? But that’s in March! We’ll be in another arc by then! Goddamnit, Ron.

I’m making a dumb joke, I have no clue if Ren is gonna be back in the special. I would be excited if he was, though.

Don’t listen to him, Shinji. You Rider Kicked him in the face in another... Another... A timeline twice removed? Or maybe once? Maybe they just never altered the Ryuki timeline since it did that one it’s own?

Ah, sweet justice.

Can’t believe I’m cheering for this asshole. But I just really dislike Shiro Woz.

Okay, Heure, you jerking Shiro Woz around is valid, but that dig at Geiz was unnecessary.

Also, even though there’s (well, was?) a ‘justifiable’ reason for what Shiro Woz was doing, Geiz remains unhappy about it.

... Okay, why did we get a ‘gasp’ reaction from Shiro Woz to that? What exactly happened on your ‘Day of Ouma,’ you snake? Oh what am I saying. Like he’d give me a straight answer.

Goddamit, Geiz. DX

We knew you were gonna do this, though.

Sougo finally arrives, and actually understands that Geiz has no chill whatsoever and will absolutely do this shit.

But it seriously kinda does feel like Geiz’s mentality is ‘I’m a soldier, I have to be willing to fight to the death’ sort of thing. Or maybe even ‘I’m the soldier so I’m more expendable’ (which the angst part of me kinda wants to be something that comes up--‘I’m the fighter, I’m the one who dies’ sort of thing; and then the other two smack him for it).

I just love Geiz as the ‘protector’ part of the triangle. Like, I feel like he’s starting to fall into it? Like, willing to protect the other two w/ his life (not that they don’t all protect each other, but... Do you know what I mean?).

Friendship moments are hard for Geiz, but this is still a good one. He’s literally getting forced to face the fact that Sougo cares about him and doesn’t want him to kamikaze attack.

I love this, though. Before, we saw that Sougo was uncomfortable w/ the Zi-O II Ride Watch, and its implications for his future. But he’d rather use an item that may very well be either a step or even a lock into him becoming the Demon King he was so disturbed and upset by before, than let Geiz die. Might be bad news for the world, but...

Makes me wonder if there’s gonna be a ‘I won’t let you turn into Ouma Zi-O even if I die’ thing, except it’s not ‘fight you to the death’ thing and more ‘I’ll keep trying to keep you good even if it gets me killed/I have to sacrifice myself.’

Oh my god. Like if there’s a way to keep Sougo from becoming Ouma Zi-O (like, w/out killing him), but it was, like, fatal. Geiz would absolutely do it. Or try to. Hell, maybe even both him or Tsukuyomi. Or they’d both try to do it, but also try to protect each other from it... Like she tries to stun him so he can’t, and he tries to beat here there, or something... There I go.

THE TRIUMPHANT MUSIC! And you just know it’s gonna cut out. XD

My guess is that it failed bc Sougo was secretly doubting his future. Like, he’s wholeheartedly ready to use it bc he doesn’t want Geiz sacrificing himself, but he’s still scared it’ll turn him into Ouma Zi-O? And maybe he has to be confident in his abilities before it will work? Me make sense? Who would do that.

Well, one thing I’ll say for him. Another Ryuga is cool.

Okay, okay. Here’s the last thing, I swear. If they’re trying to imply that Geiz is gonna turn on Sougo... No one told Gaku before he voiced those two ‘Zi-O!’s. That sounded way too frightened and concerned for someone you’re starting to doubt.

I swear, I’ve heard that music somewhere...

I loved how everyone’s reactions to this sequence was literally ‘well, I assume they’re showing us everything is backwards, but I couldn’t read kanji to begin w/, so...’ ^^ XD

Wow, nice on the signs O-T! How much harder was it to do the subtitles backwards?

Mirror¡Sougo is bouncy like bunny!

Mirror¡Sougo tries to be creepy, but regular Sougo doesn’t even register it. This kid would be both a joy and a risk in a horror situation.

I love the way Sougo dodges the ‘eye blocks’ when Mirror¡Sougo transforms, and Mirror¡Sougo hits one back w/ his sword when Sougo transforms... It’s cool.

Preview: Oh, yeah. Geiz dies next week. Now where’s my new favourite picture... XD I will love it if there’s a situation where Sougo is able to see out of the Mirror World and sees what’s happening. I mean, Another Ryuga can look out, why not Sougo? Maybe that’ll be what finally seals the deal on him actually using the Watch?

See, this ‘opening’ ‘creating ‘cutting open’ the future stuff rings to me like the goal is that thing I mentioned above. About choosing one’s own destiny, no matter hat tries to shape you.

Anyway, I like the Zi-O II suit. Excited for ep 22. ^^

That’s all, folks! (wonder how long it’ll be before I get sued for that XD). Virtual red velvet cupcakes for anyone who read all of that. And if you don’t like those, then... Well, pick your favourite flavour! ^^ And if you don’t like cupcakes, then pick a sweet you do like.

Anyway, I’m having a good time and enjoying this. I love the Zi-Ot3, in case that wasn’t clear, and atm I’m looking forward to 22. Of course, things could always turn out... Unfortunately, but I still have tea and shirts on standby.

... Now I want read velvet cupcakes again...

(If you count the number of bolded words in this post, you get a hardy handshake!)

[stickystarspectrumtroll-ocs]

warning, this post contains Heartcatch Precure spoilers

So. That part late in the series when Cure Blossom, Cure Marine, Cure Sunshine, and Cure Moonlight have to take the Final Test, where they’re split up and each of them has to face off with a double of themselves that’s a personification of the darker parts of them with all their flaws and insecurities and fears and each cure has to not only show how much they’ve overcome but also accept their dark sides as parts of themselves to embrace (figuratively and literally).

Well...upon recently watching that (which was AMAZINGBALLZTASTICAL by the way!!!!!!!), I ended up imagining how it would go if Cure Fable, Cure Song, Cure Riddle, and Cure Poem had to take this test. A.K.A. Allets, Jewel, Luna, and Eliote in the precure AU I’ve made for them.

The first to succeed would be either Luna or Jewel. 

Jewel’s dark side double would be going on about how the world and society are confusing and scary and she should've stayed at her old house out in the woods forever. Jewel would end up having to say that yes, the world and society with people in it ARE confusing and scary, but there are wonderful things to be found in it too that she wouldn't have found all by herself way out in the woods. Like her friends.

Luna's dark self would be talking about how no people are ever going to accept her and really she's better off alone. Luna would have to tell her that while she DOES work pretty great by herself, the friendship she's found with Jewel and Allets and Eliote proves that there are people who CAN accept her, and it's worth giving them a chance.

Eliote would be third to pass the test. Kind of like Cure Moonlight, given she was also the last to join the team, and the one with the angstiest backstory. Her dark self would of course bring up the traumatic loss of her home and parents. Eliote would have to show she's coming to terms with the loss of her parents, saying she can't let that one bad thing define and ruin her life anymore, and she has a place with these friends she's made now, she wants to lean on them and their support and kindness, keep growing and enjoying her friendship with them, she wants to let herself have that and let herself be happy. Her clone might argue that she shouldn't let herself get close to people because she can just as easily lose them and if she's let them in it'll just hurt more. She'd argue back that losing people does hurt, but that doesn't mean it's not worth all the joy of the time spent with them and the lasting positive impact they have on her, which is something she shouldn't keep denying herself of.

And Allets... Allets is the Tsubomi in this scenario. She's the one for whom learning to accept herself is her whole character arc. She's made some serious progress already by now with the help of her friends, but she still finds it hard not to waver when her dark self stands there talking about how she's a disappointment and embarrassment and disgrace to her parents, how she'll never truly be able to please them no matter how hard she tries, how she'll never be able to keep down all these things about herself that they'll never approve of, and how if they knew she was out here in this ridiculous outfit, fighting monsters, villains, etc. which isn't ladylike at all instead of doing any of these things they want her to do, they'd disown her and throw her out of the house. She struggles against her dark self for quite some time, almost spiraling into a breakdown (possibly while the others fight a giant monster of evil outside that they can't fully defeat without her). But eventually, finally, she recalls the things her friends have told her and finally manages to say that her parents are SUPPOSED to love and accept her for who she is, she shouldn't HAVE to live in a constant struggle to please them, she shouldn't HAVE to suppress everything about herself and try to be someone she's not for them, their love and acceptance should be a given, not an unreachable goal she's forced to constantly fight as hard as she can to get to. And yes, it hurts that her parents aren't going to accept her for who she is, but now she has an amazing group of friends who do. And her being a Precure is something incredibly important to her and important for the world whether her parents approve or not. If constantly trying so hard to win her parents' approval is going to be like this, well, she doesn't need it.

...Whewwww, this feels like a lot deeper than I usually go with my OC posts. Got me all emotional first typing it out. So proud of these girls, y’all. TvT <3 !!!!

[setsunameioh]

Prompt! Yui becomes a Precure!

Finally getting around to another prompt that has been sitting in my inbox for forever- I was going to get a bit more into it, but decided against it because then I’d feel obliged to actually design a Cure form for Yui before I got any further. I may still do that someday, but not today!(It’s also on AO3)

"Something like that is your dream? Hilarious!"

There was something about those callous words that outright incised her. Though she wasn't the type to usually get that angry, today seemed to be something of an exception. After all, if there was one thing that she couldn't abide by, it was the mocking of someone else's dream- and judging from the way her new roommate had been acting before, this wouldn't have been the first time she had such a thing happen to her.

Yui didn't know if Haruka could actually hear them from within the cage that she had been trapped inside- nor even quite what the deal with that was. But one thing was crystal clear to her- that whoever this person was, they needed to shut their mouth, at once.

"Haruno-san's dream isn't something to laugh at!" She had to admit, she was afraid, standing up against someone like this, someone who clearly wasn't human. Not to mention, they had even gone so far as to summon something that looked as if it were a monster- one with a glittering princess dress, as if it's very existence served to mock Haruka's dream.

If someone had told her that her first day at Noble Academy would have involved dealing with a mysterious, badly dressed stranger and her new roommate being trapped in some kind of dream cage, she probably wouldn't have believed them. That wasn't even touching on the talking dog and parrot that she had met just minutes earlier- though they claimed that they were actually some kind of fairies.

In fact, there were any number of things going on today that Yui, quite frankly, did not understand. But she didn't understand to know that she couldn't just sit idly by and allow something like this to happen- even if she wasn't sure what she could do to stop it.

"What's hilarious is hilarious!" Narrowing his eyes, the mysterious person, simply scoffed at her words. "Or are you saying that you're going to do something about it, little miss?"

"I-!" Opening up her mouth and shutting it again, Yui clenched her fists. Even if she wanted to do something about it, what exactly could she do? It wasn't as if she had it in her to be one of the legendary warriors that Aroma and Puff had told her about. The best she could do was give this person's words right back to him.

But that wouldn't be enough to save Haruka. They might have only just met, but she could already sense that there was friendship growing between the two of them. She had been so excited to see what kind of person her roommate would be- and nervous as well. What if they were someone that she wouldn't be able to get along with?

But Haruka, she thought, she could get along with just fine. And that was she couldn't stand the idea of someone trampling all over her dream like this.

"I will!" Yui declared, taking a step forward. "I'll do something about this!"

As if those words served as some kind of trigger, a bright light seemed to burst forward from behind her. Pivoting on her heel, Yui's eyes went wide, watching as the chest that Aroma had been put in charged with seemed to open by itself, one of the Princess Perfumes that had been stowed away inside glowing with a bright green light. As if it had been called forth by her words, it floated towards her.

There was a warmth that spread through her body as she took it in her hands, her eyes filled with wonder. It couldn't possibly be-?

Or maybe it was. Faintly making out the sound of Aroma's voice, a tone of joy to it, Yui turned on her heel, pulling the key that she had picked up earlier, the one that the strange parrot had been bothering her so much about handing over. She didn't fully understand, but she got the feeling that the key and the perfume linked together- and with them, she could do something for Haruka's sake.

"Oi, you couldn't be-?!"

"Exactly!" Yui declared, this time, fully leveling her gaze with Close. Her words might be filled with confidence, but she couldn't deny that there was some self doubt yet left in her- someone like her, able to become a legendary warrior? That must have been some kind of mistake!

But even it was, she would use it to save her friend, and to protect her precious dream, with everything that she had in her.

"Precure Princess Engage!"_______________________________________________________________

Later, after the truth had come out, Yui took the chance to ask Miss Shamour a single question- whether or not Haruka could participate in their princess lessons alongside them. Without her, things could have gone much worse during their battle against Close, and if she was keeping their secret for them, it was only fair that she get to join in with everyone.

Miss Shamour, to her delight, readily agreed.

Perhaps no one was more delighted than Haruka, though, whose smile in that moment briefly made Yui wonder if it were perhaps a bit more than just simple friendship that she felt for the other girl.

[x-queen-of-disaster-x]

Watch Me (A Fresh PreCure / Eas Fanfic)

Title: "Watch Me" Series / Fandom: Fresh Pretty Cure Date Penned: June 2014 Main Character: Eas (Setsuna Higashi)

Setting: Anywhere between episodes 19-22. Summary:  A look into a slowly crumbling mind.

She has no idea what she’s talking about. Who does that fool think she is?!

Lonely? Me? I am not lonely!

I‘m just not some weak minded simpleton who buys into all that idealistic garbage about love and friendship. What a complete and utter moron that girl is.

Love Momozono. Cure Peach. How I hate her.

What gives her the right to psychoanalyze me? She has no idea who I am. She knows nothing.

She doesn’t even realize she has opened herself right up to me and let her enemy into her life. Idiot.

Love Momozono. Cure Peach. How I want to crush her.

No, I don’t want to just crush her. I want to destroy her. I want to make her cry. I want her to fall down onto her knees and scream out in despair as I rip her pathetic little dreams to shreds.  

I want her sorrowful cries alone to fill up the rest of the Fuko Gage.

Then, for sure, Lord Moebius would notice me. He would tell me just how proud he is of me.

Eas, you’ve done an amazing job. It’s thanks to you and you alone that we will now find Infinity and I will realize my goals. I will rule all the parallel worlds with you by my side, my daughter.

Daughter...

Exactly what am I to Lord Moebius? Does he consider me his daughter? Are we truly related?

I have no memory of anyone else in my life except Lord Moebius. I’ve always been with him. I don’t recall having a family of any sort. Surely I must be related to him by blood somehow.

I can only hope...

Lord Moebius, I am your loyal servant. So please, watch me. Just watch me. I will surely fulfill all of your wishes, so just watch me. Please.

Watch me, need me, love me...

I want so badly for you to tell me how much I mean to you. I want to be able to one day kneel before you in person. I want to stand by your side in all of your victories.

But most of all, I want you to tell me you love me...

That’s why I cannot let Pretty Cure win. They will not hinder Lord Moebius any longer. I must make them fall.

Especially you, Cure Peach. You need to disappear.

No, you need to be obliterated.

Who do you think you are? Telling me I’m lonely, telling me I look sad, making me feel things.

You’re making me feel awful, selfish things. You’re making me feel love, joy, and friendship. I am not supposed to feel those things.

I am no weak human.

I am a strong and proud denizen of Labyrinth.

I am a faithful servant to Lord Moebius.

When you call me by that stupid fake name, I want to barf. But at the same time, I want to smile. And it’s horrifying me.

Setsuna, hey! I haven’t seen you in a few weeks, where have you been? Are you ok? Nothing’s wrong, right? Right? If there is, you know you can always talk to me. We’re best friends, after all. I worry about you sometimes. You just seem so lonely. I don’t want you to be sad.

Damnit, get out of my head!

Stop toying with my mind. Stop being so nice. No one is truly that nice and selfless. Humans are all the same.

You’re all selfish, weak beasts who only care for themselves. On the outside they act concerned for their fellow man, but inside all they think of is their own needs.

You are a liar, your feelings are not true!

You’ve figured out who I truly am, right? And now you’re trying to lead me into some kind of trap by breaking me, aren’t you?

You want me to become weak like you. You want me to cry. You want me to feel. You want to fill my heart with that fake, selfish love of yours.

You truly want me to become the fake, weak Setsuna I’ve been pretending to be.

Well, you’re not going to break me. I am not Setsuna.

I am Eas, I am a proud servant of Lord Moebius.

I am no weak human being.

I don’t need you to pity me. I don’t need your friendship. I don’t need your love. I don’t care about you!

You hear me, Cure Peach?! I DON’T CARE!!!

Yet, when those words cross my mind, it hurts. It makes me feel like something inside of me is being ripped apart.

Even now, I am clutching my chest in pain and wanting to take it back.

My eyes are filling with tears now. What is going on?!

You’re destroying me. You’re making me feel love and happiness. You’re changing my mind. You’re making me care. Stop it.

STOP IT!!!

I am not Setsuna. I am not your friend.

I am Eas. I am the one who will drown you in sorrow, Cure Peach.

I will break you before you can break me. You will suffer for causing me so much pain. Yes, you will suffer.

I do not need you. I only need Lord Moebius. Everything is for him.

That is why I must bury these accursed feelings of love and friendship, for the sake of Lord Moebius. I must destroy you. I must fill the world with sorrow. I must find Infinity.

Even if I don’t want to...  

It is for Lord Moebius. I am his servant. I must fulfill his will.  Even if it hurts me, I will. Even if I must die for Lord Moebius, I will.

Even if I really don’t want to die...

As long as he knows who I am. As long as I am his servant.

As long as he loves me...

I will crush Pretty Cure this time for sure, Lord Moebius. I will drown their pathetic little town in sorrow. I will make your wishes a reality.

So please, just watch me. Watch me, Lord Moebius. This is all for you. Just watch me.

Just watch me, please.

Wait for me, Lord Moebius.

And I beg of you, please, notice me.

Please love me...

[merryfortune]

eggshells

Un-Love You Challenge: Day 20. I hate you, you bitch.

Ship: Asuka/Yuriko

Fandom: Tropical Rouge PreCure

Word Count: 1.9k

Tags: Not Canon Compliant, Inspired by Revolutionary Girl Utena, Minor Animal death

Synopsis: Shrodinger’s bird is both dead and alive depending on whether its eggshell is broken. Asuka and Yuriko both wish that the bird is dead.

AN: As soon as I saw these two interact, I was instantly reminded of Juri and Shiori from RGU so I wanted to write a fic inspired by that.

   The first omen that their relationship was about to be broken beyond all repair was when the fleur-de-lis locket that Asuka had gotten for Yuriko broke. It came off the hinges unexpectedly with no forewarning. Through sheer force of will, Asuka had gotten it to click back into place but it was lopsided and as it was lopsided, Yuriko had little desire to wear it anymore. It sat awkwardly between her clavicles in a way it had never before.

   Especially not in the way Asuka had first adorned Yuriko with it. That moment of repose, in between torn gift wrapping and the intimacy, had meant a lot to them both. Asuka was delicate as the silver chain slipped into place against Yuriko’s skin. As she did so, she regaled an old wives’ tale that Yuriko hadn’t heard before about misplaced locks, whenever they went askew it meant someone was thinking of you and in the essence of that moment, Yuriko couldn’t help but sense that all Asuka was thinking about was her but… Yuriko was aware of other’s thoughts, too, as she was so damnably perceptive.

   The second omen that their relationship was about to be wounded beyond all healing was when that little black and brown sparrow had flown into the window and didn’t get up afterwards. Asuka had wanted to help it; Yuriko had wanted to allow nature to take its course. 

   They had been standing around the tennis club’s hangout, where they stored their sports gear and such, arguing or trying not to argue as they rallied around the obvious issue in the clubroom when they had heard the smack against the glass. Both had rushed outside as soon as it had happened, expecting a tennis ball. Not a bird. With Asuka taking it in her hands, against Yuriko’s harsh fussing, it was already too late. The skull was cracked, as was its beak and so all it could do was twitch in her hand with some imitation of life. Asuka’s expression was grim; Yuriko’s wasn’t even smug. Neither noticed the other, just assuming the other’s reaction.

   The third omen was that they couldn’t even look at one another. Things had become awkward. Stiff. They both knew they were headed for a brick wall but they were trying to overcome it anyway. Going through, going over, going under. Whatever it took but it was slowing down their game. They couldn’t win together as doubles with this hindered team work but they couldn’t even win either way if they were to go out as doubles. The other members of the tennis club could tell something had happened to them. Or, at the very least, something was happening between them.

   There wasn’t a fourth omen because the fourth unusual event was the end of it all. Their friendship, their love, their whatever their relationship was as more than just partners in tennis but a whole lot less than partners than lovers. After all, things tend to end at four. 

   Sometimes, they even died at four. 

   Unfortunately for Asuka and Yuriko, no matter how they wished for it, what they had didn’t die. And neither of them were the type to simply keel over and expire with their hearts in agony. So, what happened instead was some necrotic deterioration of their relationship and everything else in the way was mere canon fodder for what happened. Yuriko retreated to her own camp, finding a new tribe amongst the folk on the student representative council, and Asuka retreated to one at all, instead choosing to lick her wounds in private.

   Or at least that’s what Asuka had wanted to do. She wanted to sculpt herself as the cool girl. The loner. The girl who didn’t need anyone at all, even though it was no secret that doubles tennis was her passion - and so was any video game with co-op play, be it through multi-player or even A.I. controlled characters. And for a while it worked, she would hide out behind the school’s gymnasium or in the toilets, pretending she didn’t exist for the most part until she hit a collision with someone who was like the striking of the summer sun.

   Natsuumi Manatsu. What a girl. She was bright, bubbly, and she had an actual living mermaid living in some sort of watery genie bottle she kept in her bag - and that was to say nothing of what she could do with the ring on her finger. A ring which would soon have a sister which was gifted for Asuka and thus, Cure Flamingo was born and so was the Tropical Club and all aspirations and illusions that Asuka had of being of being a lone wolf were shattered because deep down, she liked to keep a flock of birds.

   Club President Takizawa Asuka did have a good sound to it, even if it really ought to be Manatsu. She was the central and driving force who had connected together a handful of scattered students who wouldn’t have interacted otherwise but no, no, she had humbly given up the role for Asuka. Seeing something in those bright eyes of her’s that Asuka didn’t even see in herself.

   She was thankful but it was unfortunate but she supposed her underclassmen were cute enough so she’d do anything to protect them. Beat up bullies, beat up underwater bad guys, and of course put herself in the crosshairs time and time again of the worst of the worst: young ladies like Kakuta Masami and, of course, Shiratori Yuriko.

   For so long, Asuka had managed to avoid the hawk-eyed ire of the council president. She hadn’t escaped it completely but she had minimised it but thanks to the Tropical Club, Asuka was once again the subject of that cold, hardened gaze. When it could be sustained at least.

   No matter the lecture, it did become apparent here and there within Yuriko’s behaviour that she was avoiding Asuka’s own, fierce gaze. She had all the power of fluttering wings and mermaid magic, she could handle one ex...something. Friend, girlfriend, partner. It didn’t matter; it hadn’t mattered because they felt like it would last forever so there was no need to label it. What rot that was. Now look at them. Going to war each time they gimpsed one another. Asuka could handle how Yuriko’s avian, yellow eyes slitted around her and how she had mastered the effect of looking closely, directly whilst actually not. 

   And so began their newest foray into being foes. The battleground might have changed but the battle itself hadn’t. The to and fro was far too familiar to them both as tennis pros. The rally and the volley. It was all the same to them: all a racket. Thus leading to their latest confrontation in Yuriko’s council room. 

   When it was all to themselves, like right now, they were free to get as downright nasty as they pleased: even if it was under the veneer of rather hushed voices. As much as they wanted to squawk at each other like duelling carrion birds, this was still a school so they had to keep their composure and their voices down. Besides, there were plenty more ways to pierce than just being ear-piercingly shrill in their voices.

   “You’re doing this on purpose,” Asuka insisted brusquely, “random inventory checks by the Disciplinary Committee aren’t so random if they’re only being held on the Tropical Club.”

   Yuriko shrugged, her face just a degree off from fully facing Asuka, her arms were folded in front of her, “I do not control the personal actions and decisions of Kakuta-san,” Yuriko murmured, “I merely suggest that the time is right at pure arbitrary of my own whims as they come and go between the paperwork and other scheduling that I do.”

   The dangling of the conspiracy infuriated Asuka. She growled, her hand balling into a fist by her side and in the thick of that raw noise in her throat, she hissed, “I hate you, you bitch.” Asuka knew she was right and Yuriko knew it too but was keeping it so locked and guarded and yet so out in the open just to bait Asuka. The rage that it caused seeped through and made Asuka seem redder - and madder - than her hair.

   “I hate you, too.” Yuriko smiled, oh so pleasant, her eyes crinkling in the corner with genuine joy.

   Asuka gritted her teeth and she stormed forward. She grabbed Yuriko by the lapels and shook her. Yuriko went prone with the roughness, seemingly not caring one bit at how Asuka had accosted her. Her whole body was limp, without worry, without so much as a glimmer of harshness in her eyes as they were far, far away from this brutish conversation.

   “What the hell is wrong with you?” Asuka growled. “Target me all you want, I don’t care, I can take it but leave the other girls out of it. The Tropical Club has nothing to do with us-”

   A glint of silver caught Asuka’s eye and just that tiny flash was enough to halt her tirade completely. All her anger ceased in her mouth as she was so stunned by what she saw on the pale of Yuriko’s skin. It slinked and slithered on her clavicles, mostly hidden by the turquoise of her flapping collar: the locket.

   “Y-You're still wearing it?” Asuka asked and she let go of Yuriko gingerly.

   She huffed, sorted herself out and Asuka noticed that the clasp was askew. Right by her pencil-thin neck, right where Asuka had always dreamed to leave a bruise: be it from love or from wrath, it mattered not. Especially now that Yuriko had gone and fixed it up, moving the clasp to the back of her neck, the locket moving beneath the white of her sailor shirt.

   Yuriko bore an enigmatic expression as she looked up, done with her fussing. It was distant and playful. And she reached out to Asuka, shocking her with the seeming kindness in her fingertips as they brushed past her temples, caressing her. Asuka winced and she was blinded. Yuriko’s fingers cupped her face in a way so that all she could see - and feel - was her hands. Her soft, supple hands and the spritz of a maturely scented perfume on her wrist. Asuka’s heart skipped a beat.

   Yuriko kissed her. It was a kiss that was like dry ice to Asuka’s searing mouth. It was a cold, clinical kiss that was fit to leave a blister on Asuka’s skin. She tried not to kiss back but all her soul wanted to. She had yearned to kiss Yuriko for so long, so why did this have to be the circumstance? When a kiss was not a kiss but a way in which to kill instead.

   Especially… Especially knowing the last time that Asuka could recall before this incident wherein she and Yuriko had locked eyes, firmly and strongly, for the last time. The event which had been foretold by the various omens of things breaking apart, getting wounded, and even dying. When Asuka had seen Yuriko kissing someone else through the crack of an ajar door at the tennis club room. The memory and recollection made Asuka sick and to think of it now, at such a pertinent moment, sullied the seconds that Yuriko spended on her, kissing her with such stringent luxury that it was calculated to the edge of her sigh on her sharp mouth.

   But in the darkness of her hands, that’s all Asuka could see and it all but killed her. She wished that it killed her.

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 134

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 36 - “What to Make? Mai’s Worries and the Cultural Festival” Date watched: 19 June 2019 Original air date: 15 October 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/wZe5V3H Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

I showed you my disguise please respond

I really like how this show has slowly been building up to the cultural festival ever since the girls returned to school. The first mention of it I can recall was way back in episode 31 when Kenta was scouting a partner for his manzai act, and it came up again in episode 34, when Saki gave Kazuya advice on his own school’s festival. Now it’s time to get into full swing, as we see the girls of Yuunagi Jr. High preparing for their own. The art club is in charge of designing a monument, while Saki’s class is preparing to put on a haunted house. Additionally, Kenta and Miyasako can be found practicing for their manzai show in their spare moments. Meanwhile in Dark Fall, Kintolesky is getting grilled for his repeated failures, and Akudaikaan tells him he needs to come up with a better strategy than his head-on assaults. He doesn’t like this advice very much, but he sets out to observe the students working and figure out a plan.

There’s a problem with all the prep, though: Mai has artist’s block, because she has trouble drawing to a theme, and there’s also a lot of pressure on her to design a good monument.

With only a week to go until the festival, she’s losing confidence in herself, but Saki cheers her up. A day later, she still doesn’t have anything, and when Saki comes to see her, Mai bursts into tears.

well she is a millennial, it’s very stressful situation

(Okay actually these are tears of joy/relief after Saki tells Mai that she’s always liked the drawings that Mai seemed to enjoy making and she should just draw what she likes for this)

Mai goes home that night and finally has a spark of inspiration. She presents her idea the next day and everyone loves it so she has the art club get to work bringing her vision to life. All the prep is going well and the festival is just a few days away, and Kintolesky continues observing them trying to come up with a strategy. After two days of contemplation he finally decides to set his master plan in motion: he steals Saki’s pumpkin head prop and sneaks up on Mai. Then he reveals himself to her and throws the head away, satisfied that he has accomplished his assignment, but he accidentally throws it right into the still under construction statue, damaging it.

He straight up apologizes for damaging the statue but Mai is still upset, and Saki shows up looking for her pumpkin head, and gets upset that he’s damaged both Mai’s statue and her mask. He urges them to transform so they do, and it’s a Bright and Windy type of day. This time, Kintolesky really ramps up his fighting style. He’s throwing trees, swinging on vines, coming at the girls from every direction. It’s a great battle and the duo are barely holding their own, even with their wind and light attacks. Kin creates an Uzainaa out of a bunch of tools that are lying around but he still does most of the fighting himself. He gets particularly upset when the girls reveal that they were preparing for a cultural festival, because in his view these are a waste of time, and he only values athletic festivals.

This doesn’t sit well with the heroines, who espouse how hard they and all their friends have worked on every aspect of this festival, and with the help of Moop and Foop making their only appearance in this entire episode, they power up with the Spiral Rings and dispel the villains. Kin quips that strategizing really isn’t for him and runs off.

That evening, the art club completes work on the statue and the whole class is admiring it. It really is lovely.

Mai explains that her feeling was that people can fly higher with the help of others than they can on their own, and that’s what she tried to convey with the statue. In particular, she admits that she designed the statue with her and Saki in mind, and you can definitely see how the two figures at the top resemble them. Mai says she feels that she can be the most at ease around Saki, so she can fly the highest when holding Saki’s hand. Saki returns the sentiment, and the two of them pose just like the statue, closing out the episode.

They’re too cute

Okay, there’s an elephant in this room that I need to address. The Art Club basically decided Mai would design the monument without asking her if she wanted to. She didn’t volunteer for it, not even tepidly, she was voluntold. They had a vote and decided she should do it.

LOOK AT HER FACE. She is so uncomfortable with this situation, and who could blame her? This is a tremendous amount of pressure that has just been placed on her shoulders without her consent. This lays the groundwork for the entire episode, and it’s the rare instance in Precure where I find myself actively hating the message they’re pushing, or at least they way they go about it. (off the top of my head, there’s another in Princess Precure where Haruka is losing sleep to make a dress) It doesn’t matter that the outcome was ultimately positive, you cannot just force someone into this situation. If they had at least showed her agreeing to try to design the monument, or being part of a group that was designing it, or shown her being unwilling but then she got encouragement from her friends and then volunteering, I would be fine. But they shoulder her with this burden and the episode plays off her stress without comment. I cannot stand that.

Ignoring that she was pretty much forced to do this, I like that they show her struggling, because seeing the support that her friends give her through her trial is nice, and the spark of inspiration being that very friendship is wonderful. The monument itself is beautifully designed and I would honestly love to see it in real life. Mai has come a long way from just drawing people and objects that catch her attention.

Kintolesky is being peak Kintolesky this go-round and it’s hilarious. After being tasked with coming up with an actual plan rather than just fighting the girls, after all that observation, the best he can do without compromising his morals is to sneak up on Mai. In the fight, he is in top form (sorry Saki), and it’s glorious. He gives the girls a run for their money and they give him one right back. There’s a lot of moving back and forth and striking and blocking, and the Uzainaa is almost pointless but hey, gotta get that miracle drop in. My favorite part is how he accidentally damages Mai’s still under construction statue and, without hesitation, apologizes for it. He was only trying to sneak up on her and declare a fight, he didn’t want to actually break her work. Saki shows up, angry, and he says again that he is sorry and didn’t intend for that to happen. When have you ever heard a villain apologize before in this show? It’s just more reasons why Kintolesky is the best.

Lastly, I like how they show everybody preparing for their roles in the cultural festival. The prep work we got in FW and MH was in the form of the class rehearsing for their play, we didn’t see any haunted houses or statues or maid cafes or whatever other staples of anime cultural festivals you can think of. So showing that effort was a welcome change.

Next time, we get to see what all the hard work was for! Or do we? Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 Zekkouchou Nari

Miracle Drop Count: 3