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darkershining · 8 years ago

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DarkerShining’s thoughts on Pretty Cure: Mahou Tsukai Pretty Cure

Ah, it’s been a while since I did one of these. I’ve been looking forward to writing this one!

Last time, I talked about Go! Princess Pretty Cure. This time, I’ll be talking about Mahou Tsukai Pretty Cure, alternatively known as Maho Girls Precure.

One night, a young girl named Mirai Asahina sees something fall from the sky. It turns out to be a young magician named Riko, who has some trouble flying on her broom. The next day, Mirai decides to head out to search for the thing she saw fall from the sky, after her grandmother suggests it may have been a magician. Mirai brings along her teddybear, Mofurun, as well as putting on a necklace she found in her mother’s shop, which her mother doesn’t seem to recall seeing before.

As she searches in the park, Mirai ends up accidentally dropping Mofurun. Riko sees this and calls out to let Mirai know, which leads to the two girls meeting each other. Mirai is excited to meet a real magician, but Riko isn’t too interested in dealing with Mirai at first, as she is busy searching for something called the Linkle Stone Emerald. However, when Riko is too hungry to fly away, she and Mirai drop to the ground, only to discover that they both have similar pendants, which glow and soften their fall. After buying Riko a snack, the girls talk and Riko agrees to show Mirai some of her magic. It quickly becomes apparent that Riko is not all that great at magic, but Mirai is impressed anyways.

However, things suddenly take a different turn as a bat-like creature approaches the girls, having overheard Riko mentioning the Linkle Stone Emerald. As Riko tries to escape along with Mirai on her broom, she finds that she is somehow flying better than usual, but doesn’t have much time to dwell on it as Mofurun falls off. Riko falls off as well as she tries to retrieve Mofurun, but Mirai grabs hold of her hand, while holding onto the broom with the other hand.

Riko tries chanting a spell to make Batty and a monster he has created by fusing a crow’s feather and a truck with dark magic go away. Mirai eventually joins in, and as the two girls cry out the spell in unison, a powerful magic is released, and the two girls transform into the Magician Pretty Cure, as the gems on their pendants are revealed to be the Linkle Stone Diamond.

Batty retreats, and the girls discover that Mofurun somehow came to life when the girls became Pretty Cures. Riko decides to bring Mirai along to her homeworld, the Magic World, so they can try to find out more about what happened, and so, a new adventure begins in two worlds, the Magic World and the No-Magic World, where the rest of the mysterious Linkle Stones are hidden.

I guess that works as a summary for the first episode and the first half of the story. Spoilers for the rest of the series after the Read More. (previous parts can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)

Mirai Asahina/Cure Miracle

Our lead pink Cure for this season. A girl from the No-Magic World who is easily excited about most things, with a cheery and optimistic attitude that often helps placate her friends’ worries. Enjoys learning new things about the Magic World and meeting new friends, and seeing her friends from both worlds getting along on the occasions that they all come together. Very fond of her teddybear Mofurun, who has been with her since birth.

I really like Mirai, but one thing I find particularly odd about her is how little character development she receives compared to the other main characters. The other recurring characters in the show also tend to receive some good character development, which makes how little character development Mirai even more noticeable. She’s the lead pink Cure, so one would expect her to get more than this.

Still, Mirai serves well as sort of the character who helps bring everyone together, and help ease their worries when things get difficult. I like her character, I just feel that she could’ve been even more interesting with a little more character development, that’s all.

I haven’t seen the Mahou Tsukai Pretty Cure movie yet, so there might be something there for Mirai character development wise that I haven’t seen yet. I don’t know.

I also read that there were originally plans for Mirai to have been descended from magic users, but this was scrapped because they thought it was better to have Mirai just be a normal person. I don’t know if Mirai would’ve perhaps received more character development if they had kept this plan, but... it could’ve been interesting. I suppose I do understand the reasoning, though.

So, yeah. I really like her, her relationship with her friends and so on. Her design is really cute too.

Riko Izayoi

Well, I guess her name is actually spelled “Liko”, which matches the naming scheme of the rest of her family, but since I, like a lot of people, am used to spelling it as “Riko”, I’m just going to stick with that spelling.

Anyways, Riko is a young magician from the Magic World. She’s quite intelligent, but she hasn’t quite gotten the hang of using her magical abilities yet. Despite her failures, she still tries to keep a cool and collected image, often claiming that the results of her magical mishaps were all according to her calculations or that she meant to do it. After meeting Mirai, she is able to gradually improve her magic skills.

Riko is definitely my favorite out of the main characters in this season. Before the show began, I had for some reason expected her to be kind of a more cold and serious character. Of course, her first scene in the first episode proved me wrong, and when I saw it, I knew I was going to like her a lot. She gets a lot of character development, learning to not always overthink things and gaining more confidence in herself as her magic improves.

I like how she grows as a person and as a magician with Mirai’s help, although the fact that Riko receives so much character development again makes it especially noticeable how little of it Mirai receives in comparison, but I won’t get into that again. I also like how her family, her older sister and father in particular, also play important roles in the story. And Riko’s character design is cute too.

Haa-Chan/Kotoha Hanami/Cure Felice

A few episodes into the show, the Cures discover a mysterious glowing book, which turns out to be a magical item called the Linkle Smartome, which is somehow connected to the Linkle Stones the Cures are searching for. A cute, pink haired baby fairy emerges from the book, who gradually gets older as the Cures gather more of the Linkle Stones. They name the baby fairy Haa-Chan and raise her together.

In the first half of the show, Haa-Chan is basically the second fairy mascot on the team. She’s really adorable, and I love her relationships with the Cures and Mofurun. She’s essentially Mirai and Riko’s adopted daughter, while Mofurun is her older sister, and I really like that dynamic between them.

It eventually becomes apparent that Haa-Chan is much more powerful than she initially appeared to be, and once all the gold rimmed and silver rimmed Linkle Stones have been gathered, she disappears into the Smartome. When the Smartome is absorbed by Dokurokushe (along with the Linkle Stone Emerald) while Haa-Chan is still inside, Mirai and Riko fight hard to rescue her.

As her mothers’ feelings reach her, Haa-Chan is able to escape Dokurokushe’s body, allowing the Cures to defeat him. She then emerges from the Smartome, growing into a young girl about the same age as Mirai and Riko, and purifies what remains of Dokurokushe’s spirit, restoring Kushi’s spirit’s original human form. She then disappears to parts unknown, but Mofurun is certain they’ll meet again someday.

Later on, a now human Haa-Chan is seen wandering around in the No-Magic World, seeming lost. When she comes across Cure Miracle and Magical during one of their battles against Yamoh, she reveals that she still has the Smartome, and uses the Linkle Stone Emerald with it to become the third Pretty Cure, Cure Felice. After Cure Felice defeats the monster, Mirai and Riko recognize the young girl as Haa-Chan, who confirms her identity. She isn’t entirely sure herself where she had disappeared to or how she came back, but she faintly recalls a place she refers to as a sea of flowers.

The Cures bring her home to Mirai’s house, and explain the situation to Kochou, before asking Mirai’s mother if she can stay with them, claiming she’s another friend from Riko’s hometown. Haa-Chan gives herself the name Kotoha, with Riko adding Hanami as a surname when Mirai’s mother asks for her name. Kotoha explains she chose the name “Kotoha” because it is part of a word that means... “words”, and she felt it was fitting since Mirai, Riko and Mofurun had always shared such kind words with her. Kotoha is also shown to possess powerful magic, pulling off several feats thought to be impossible according to Riko.

Whether she’s a fairy or human, Kotoha is still just as adorable, and the family dynamic with her and her fellow Cures remains mostly the same, with it now feeling like Mirai and Riko are the parents to an excitable teenage girl. As a human, Kotoha doesn’t always seem to know when to make use of her magic and when it’s better not to, especially in the No-Magic World, although at least she does understand that she mustn’t be caught doing it by anyone from the No-Magic World. She means well, though.

What is especially fascinating about Kotoha’s character at this point is that she’s implied to be the reincarnation of someone, as she wonders if she saw at the sea of flowers before she met Mirai and Riko, even though she had just been born when she first met them, and the name of her finishing move is “Emerald Reincarnation”. It is eventually revealed that Kotoha is the reincarnation/successor to Mother Rapapa, a powerful magical entity that watched over the two worlds back when they were still a single world.

I sort of guessed that Kotoha in her past life had likely been a being like that, similar to other such beings from previous Pretty Cure series, like the Queen of the Garden of Light and other such characters. I guess Kotoha/Cure Felice reminds me a bit of Shiny Luminous from Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart in that aspect. Also, I’m really glad she’s a green Cure. There aren’t enough Pretty Cures who have green as their theme color.

With the Linkle Stone Emerald being this important plot point in the first half of the show, and some of the other most common theme colors for Pretty Cures already being covered by the alternate forms for Miracle and Magical, I always hoped that if the show got a third Cure, it’d be a green one. It certainly did not disappoint. I really like Cure Felice’s design. She’s so awesome. I also like the little flowers in her eyes in her fairy form and as Cure Felice. Sort of adds to the feeling that she’s a bit different from the other Cures.

Mofurun

The not-actually-a-fairy mascot of the series, who doubles as the transformation trinket of sorts for Cure Miracle and Cure Magical. She was originally just Mirai’s beloved teddybear, but somehow came to life when Mirai and Riko became Pretty Cures. She’s excited to be alive and share all her feelings with Mirai that she couldn’t convey back when she was just a regular teddybear. She also develops sort of a sisterly bond with Haa-Chan/Kotoha, and is fond of sweets, especially cookies.

I like Mofurun and her bond with the Cures. She’s really cute, and the concept of being the main character’s favorite toy brought to life is actually kind of a neat idea. I especially like her interactions with Haa-Chan back when she was a young fairy, I thought those were really cute. I’m glad they still have that bond after Kotoha became human. I really like how dedicated Mofurun is to the other girls, even willing at times to try and protect them even if she can’t actually do that much on her own. Still, the fact that she’s willing to try is pretty cool. There are also times when Mofurun comes across as surprisingly wise for a teddybear, which is also a side of her that I like.

And while I haven’t seen the movie yet, I do have to bring up one thing here, and I’m sure you can guess what that is. One of the plot points of the movie is that Mofurun temporarily becomes a Cure herself during it. And like some other people out there, this fact is what made me realize that Mofurun is in fact female. Up until this became known, I had been referring to Mofurun with male pronouns in my episode review posts. I guess it was kind of vague until that point what gender Mofurun identified as since there were only a few easily missed clues, but anyways...

I can’t help but wonder if the concept for the movie came from one of the writers wondering if Mofurun would feel left out after Kotoha became a Pretty Cure.

Well, all joking aside, it’s an interesting idea, although again, since I haven’t seen the movie, I can’t really go into much detail about Cure Mofurun at the moment.

The Villains

All right, let’s talk about the villains. I think the show did something a bit interesting this time around, something a Pretty Cure show hasn’t done in quite a while. This show obviously takes a lot of inspiration from the first few series in the franchise, but that’s something I’ll talk about more later.

Anyways, let’s begin by talking about the villains from the first half of the show, namely Dokurokushe and his followers.

The first villain introduced is Batty, a fairly standard first villain who looks like a humanoid bat. While sort of a generic starter villain at first, he gradually gets a bit more interesting in that he’s eventually the only one of the villains to question why they’re doing all this and what Dokurokushe wants, and if Dokurokushe is even really the one in charge, or if Yamoh is just interpreting Dokurokushe’s wishes in his own way for his own purposes. Even so, he remains loyal to Dokurokushe, and is eventually reverted to his original form, a regular bat, after making the rash decision of trying to grab the Linkle Stone Emerald, only to be exposed to it and the other Linkle Stones’ power.

When his humanoid form is later restored by Orba, he suffers an existential crisis since Dokurokushe is no longer around, and he’s rather depressed because he doesn’t feel like there’s really any purpose to his existence anymore. After learning how he and his fellow bad guys, including Dokurokushe himself, were all just unwitting pawns to help bring forth Deusmast’s revival, Batty ends up turning against the other villains, and uses the combined power of his teammates to take down a monster that Orba created.

Afterwards, Batty decides to give up on evil and flies off along with his teammates, being the only one of them to still be in a humanoid form. In the last episode, taking place a few years later, it is shown that he’s now attending Magic School, having been found by Riko who invited him to come there in hopes of helping him find a new purpose in life.

I considered Batty the least interesting of the first group of villains to begin with, but after his character development, I grew to like him a lot more and I’m glad he got a happy ending. I still do prefer the other members of the villain squad design and personality wise, though.

The second villain introduced, Sparda, a female humanoid spider, quickly establishes herself as one of the most savvy villains of the show by stealing Mirai’s pendant right away, preventing her from transforming. Luckily, the girls manage to get it back after obtaining the Ruby Linkle Stone, gaining the first of their alternate forms. Sparda continues to come across as the smartest of the villains, but she can also be rather arrogant and wanting to be the one who gets things done, which ultimately leads to her being the first of Dokurokushe’s followers to be reverted to her animal form.

When Orba later revives her, it’s revealed that Sparda (and the other animals) kept her personality even as a regular spider, and she still holds a grudge against the Cures. She also seems to have decided to become the new big bad, which she of course doesn’t get the chance to do, as she is once again reverted to spider form after turning against Orba. When we see her again a few years later, she’s still a regular spider... who wants the power to rule the worlds.

I thought Sparda was a pretty neat villain, proving herself to be quite genre savvy from the moment she appeared. It was kind of a shame that she was the first to go down, but she did let her desire to beat the Cures get the better of her. And I think her final fate, as a regular spider who still wants to the rule the two worlds is kind of funny. She certainly isn’t the type to give up easily.

The third villain, Gamett, a big turtle man, is my favorite of this group. He’s kind of like Kintolesky and Kumojacky, being this villain who is mostly looking for a good fight. I really like his design a lot too. I thought his final battle against the Cures during the first half of the show was probably the best of the final battles between the Cures and those bad guys in the first half of the show. He got a good fight, and had no regrets as he was purified. Much like the villains I mentioned that were similar to him, I thought it was a good moment for him.

Apparently, he still has his strength even as a regular turtle, as we see him in turtle form fighting a shark before Sparda scoops him up to have Orba revive him. Heh. Like Batty, he’s initially not that thrilled to be brought back, since he had already had his big final battle against the Cures. That is, until Sparda reveals to him that there’s a third Pretty Cure, at which point he decides he’ll have one more battle against Cure Felice. Unfortunately, he’s denied the chance to have a proper fight against her, since Orba has other plans. After the time skip, we see that regular turtle!Gamett still wants that battle. I wonder if he’ll ever get that chance. Unlike Sparda, I don’t think he’d be that much of a threat to the peace of the two worlds if he got his humanoid form back. Oh, well.

Anyways, I thought these three villains were okay. I liked how they were all transformed animals, and their designs were creative. I know most people prefer the second group of villains, but I liked these guys too.

There’s also a fourth member of this group, the humanoid gecko Yamoh, who is Dokurokushe’s right hand man. He’s very loyal to Dokurokushe, and wants to fulfill his wishes. Of course, since Dokurokushe spends most of the first half of the show barely doing anything, some of us viewers were led to believe that Yamoh was the real villain, much like how Gooyan was the true villain of Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star. Even Batty ends up speculating if this is the case, until it’s proven wrong, so the writers certainly did it on purpose, likely as a bit of a reference to said twist about the true villain of Splash Star.

When Dokurokushe finally obtains the Emerald and takes on a stronger form, Yamoh willingly lets himself be absorbed to give Dokurokushe more power. He loses part of his tail in the process, which Labut later finds and uses to resurrect him.

For the first few episodes of the second half of the show, Yamoh is upset and furious upon realizing Dokurokushe has been defeated, and tries to go after the Cures himself, using what remains of Dokurokushe to create new monsters to fight them. He also makes a doll in Dokurokushe’s likeness which he is often seen talking to.

... Yeah. Anyways, he seems to go after Kotoha/Cure Felice in particular, since she has the Emerald, which is what Dokurokushe was after. This leads to an episode where Kotoha runs away because she fears something will happen to her friends if Yamoh keeps going after her. Yamoh is eventually purified and reverted to his normal gecko form, his last words being, of course, “DOKUROKUSHE-SAMA!”

Even in gecko form, he stays by the side of the Dokurokushe doll, until Batty combines the powers of his animal friends to fight back against Orba, who had used them all for his own purposes, and when Batty takes them all away. He later returns and is restored to his humanoid form in the final episode, chasing after a fragment of Dokurokushe that is looking for sweets. After the Cures helps the doll-like fragment by healing a cavity, Yamoh parts with the Cures on peaceful terms, and is later seen meeting up again with Batty.

Yamoh is kind of an interesting character, I think. I preferred his second design after being revived by Labut over his original design, but both designs are okay. While his main defining trait is his devotion to Dokurokushe, we also see that he is quite clever and possesses some form of divination magic. He’s also the first of the villains to realize the significance of the Linkle Smartome in the Cures’ possession, which is why he orders them to prioritize obtaining it.

Finally, there’s Dokurokushe himself, a large skeleton wearing a robe. He spends most of the series on his throne, because the dark magic he’s been using has left his body on the verge of falling apart, and he needs the Emerald to keep it together, justifying his lack of action in the beginning. We eventually learn Dokurokushe’s backstory, which contains quite the irony.

Dokurokushe was originally a friend of Kochou, the headmaster of the Magic School. He wanted to find the Linkle Stone Emerald in order to ward off a great calamity. He came across several writings that Orba had left for someone to find, and started studying dark magic in hopes of stopping the calamity. But in doing so, Kushi gradually became corrupted, until he ended up in his current state, and ended up becoming a major threat to the two worlds himself. To make it even worse, it turns out his actions were all according to Orba’s plan to bring back Deusmast, so Kushi basically ended up as an unwitting pawn and his actions gradually led to the calamity that he sought to prevent. Ouch.

So, from what we learn about this guy from flashbacks and such, he seems like an interesting character who used to be a close friend of Kochou. After Dokurokushe’s defeat in the first half of the show, Kochou still misses his friend dearly. Even after his defeat, Kushi/Dokurokushe’s presence can still be felt that way, and I thought it was an interesting way to do it.

Another thing I like is how after the defeat of Dokurokushe and his minions, we learn that the threat to the Magic and No-Magic Worlds still hasn’t been averted, and another group of villains make their appearance, and we eventually learn about the true final boss of this show: Deusmast.

The Pretty Cure franchise hasn’t really done this kind of thing before, by having a different main villain in the second half of the show. We did have a different group of villains replace the original band of villains in the second half of Futari wa Pretty Cure, but those were still working for and trying to ressurrect the Dark King after his defeat in the first half of the series. Here on the other hand, Dokurokushe stays defeated and we learn the true big bad is somebody else. I just think it was pretty neat that they did this, mixing up the usual formula and doing something a bit different. The first group of villains eventually turning out to be part of the second group’s plan was also an interesting twist and it ties together pretty well.

Anyways, onto the second group of villains. I’ll start with the first of them to be introduced, Labut.

Labut, a big orange genie, appears shortly after the defeat of Dokurokushe. As he’s a bit of a lazy character, he brings back Yamoh and spends the first episodes of the second half of the show observing Yamoh’s battles against the Cures. Once Yamoh is defeated and Labut starts taking matter into his own hands, it turns out he’s actually quite powerful. In addition to being able to create stronger monsters than the previous group of villains, he himself manages to give the Cures quite the challenge when he decides to confront them directly. In the end, the Cures are able to defeat him after gaining the power of the Alexandrite Linkle Stone and unlock the new finishing move from the Rainbow Carriage, defeating him.

Labut is kind of interesting, with his lazy personality and preferring to just take it easy, seeming less interested in helping revive Deusmast than the rest of Deusmast’s followers. He mostly observes Yamoh out of curiousity to begin with, before deciding to let Yamoh keep doing his work for him. He also seems to have a bit of pride in his powers, and mainly confronts the Cures to prove his strength.

After Labut’s defeat, we are properly introduced to two of Deusmast’s other followers, who initially appear as shadows, eventually regaining their physical forms after they fully break free from the statues they were sealed in.

The first of these is Shakince. He’s sort of a stoic, serious type. He has green skin and wings, looking kind of like a tengu. The other one is Benigyo, a red skinned woman with a devil-ish look, who seems to have a bit more of an attitude.

... I can’t actually think of much to say about these two. Their designs are pretty neat, especially Benigyo’s. Aside from that, I can’t think of much else that makes them stand out. I’ve seen people complain about the first group of villains and how the second group are much more interesting, but I feel the first group stood out more personality wise than these two characters.

However, at least we have Orba, the sort of leader of the group. In a way, I’d consider Orba to be the true main villain of the show, since he’s the one who planned everything leading up to Deusmast’s revival.

Ah, Orba. Probably the most well-liked villains of this particular series, from what I can tell. His design is pretty neat, and he’s clearly the most intelligent villain in this series, doing his research on the Pretty Cures and as mentioned above, set the events of the series in motion by leaving behind the key to the dark magic as he was defeated, leading to Kushi’s corruption years later. He almost always keeps a calm and collected demeanour, and is capable of quickly adjusting his plans when something unexpected happens. Even when the Cures defeat him, he uses the last of his power to unseal the remainder of Deusmast’s still sealed away followers and speed up Deusmast’s revival.

Yeah, I definitely agree that this guy is probably the best villain in this series. He knows what he’s doing and takes the time to learn what he can about those who try to interfere with his plans. Even when he’s defeated, he manages to make the best of the situation by reviving the rest of Deusmast’s followers. On that note, his powered-up form for his final battle against the Cures looked really badass.

Finally, there’s our main villain itself, Deusmast. It is revealed that before the universe was created, only a world of chaos existed. When the universe was created, a fragment of chaos wasn’t properly reborn like the rest of it, which became Deusmast. Deusmast is the embodiment of chaos that wants to absorb both worlds. Deusmast was defeated by Mother Rapapa, who sealed it away into the sun.

Deusmast doesn’t have much of a personality to speak of, but I feel that this is a justified case, considering what Deusmast is. However, what is really interesting about Deusmast is how his presence affects the two worlds, the Magic World in particular, as the time for his return gradually comes closer. Due to his presence within the sun, certain plants in the Magic World don’t get enough sun to properly grow as they should. I thought that was a nice touch. And then there’s what happens to the two worlds the moment Deusmast is freed.

Mirai, Riko, Kotoha and Mofurun find that the two worlds have somehow been combined, with everyone they know from both worlds acting as if things have always been like that. Even Kochou and Lian’s memories seemed to have been affected, as they didn’t realize how far the chaos had already spread until the girls informed them. Thankfully, Mother Rapapa’s remaining power kept Deusmast from fully consuming the worlds, giving the Cures enough time to fight back.

So, Deusmast does make a good final threat for the Cures to defeat, even if he’s more of a powerful force of chaos rather than a character. With that and his followers seeming to make up part of him, I guess that’s another reason why I might consider Orba to be the true big bad, as I explained earlier.

Other Characters

Ah, as those of you familiar with me probably know by now, I really like the supporting characters of most Pretty Cure series, and this series certainly brings some great characters from both worlds.

In the No-Magic World, the first few characters we are introduced to aside from Mirai herself are Mirai’s mother and grandmother, with Mirai’s father being introduced later on.

Mirai’s grandmother, Kanoko Yuki, immediately comes across as an interesting character, as she seems to be aware of the existence of magic to some extent, believing Mirai when she calls home to let them know she’s visiting the Magic World and will be away for a little while. We eventually find out that Mirai’s grandmother once met Kochou when she was about Mirai’s age, an encounter she fondly remembers. She also seems to recognize Kochou when the two briefly meet again a couple of times during the Halloween episode.

While she never quite reaches the same level of badass as some of the other grandparent characters who are either implied to be aware of their granddaughters’ magical girl activities, or outright aware and part of their adventure, she’s still an interesting character who knows her granddaughter well and shares some of her wisdom. Kanoko was also the one who gave Mofurun to Mirai the day Mirai was born.

Mirai’s mother, Kyoko Asahina, runs a shop selling jewelry and is a nice woman who can be strict when she has to. When Mirai wants to look for the “shooting star” she saw, Kyoko refuses to let her head out since it is nighttime. When Mirai heads out to look for it the next day, she allows Mirai to pick out a pendant for good luck, leading Mirai to discover the mysterious pendant that Kyoko didn’t even know they had. She’s kind to Riko when she and Mirai return from the Magic World, and Riko has gotten lost after being separated from Mirai. When Mirai later returns home, she calls Mirai out on going away for a while without telling her, and that just telling her grandmother isn’t enough.

We soon meet Mirai’s father, Daikichi Asahina, a doting father who creates electronic devices for a living. He’s quite proud of the devices he makes, and will gladly explain how they work.

Mirai’s parents are both good parents to Mirai, and also treat Riko and Kotoha well when they come to live with them. I guess Mirai’s good relationship with her family is also meant to be a bit of a contrast to Riko’s relationship with her family members, which is a bit more complicated. I like these characters and their good relationship with Mirai and the other two girls.

Next, there’s a few of the girls’ classmates from the school in the No-Magic World.

First, there’s Souta, an athletic boy who plays soccer. He and Mirai have been classmates since primary school. He’s also captain of the soccer team, and in one episode, Kotoha helps him sort things out with his teammates. He’s sort of a typical male friend of the pink lead Cure, although the whole childhood friend aspect isn’t really touched upon as much. Still, he’s a nice boy. I particularly like how he helped out Yuuto, another one of their classmates, during the episode where Yuuto and Riko were running for student council president.

Speaking of Yuuto, he’s another of their friends. He’s sort of the quiet, intelligent type. He gets an episode focusing on him where he runs against Riko for student council president. During the episode, we see that he knows a lot about what goes on in the school and does what he can to help out, eventually leading to Riko deciding to withdraw from running for the position since she realizes that Yuuto is the better candidate. So yeah, he’s a really nice character. Yuuto and Souta don’t get as much focus and character development as the next two characters I’m about to talk about, though.

First up is Mayumi, a girl introduced as a friend of Mirai’s. A flashback shows how the two became friends after Mirai helped Mayumi find her missing hair pin. In later episodes, we also see Mayumi developing a closer friendship with Kana, another one of the classmates. She’s a mostly calm, polite and a supportive friend. I particularly liked how she and Kana eventually grew closer.

Speaking of Kana, she probably gets the most development out of these four classmates. Her first appearances put her as the subject of a running gag, where she keeps witnessing Mirai and Riko’s magic, but being unable to get anyone to believe her, and Mirai and Riko trying to think of excuses for what she saw. After a while, Kana eventually seems to evolve into a secret chaser, actively seeking proof of the existence of magicians.

During one episode, Mayumi eventually asks why Kana is so interested in finding proof that magicians exist, and Kana reveals that this isn’t the first time she’s had experiences like this. When she was younger, she also saw things like UFOs and such, but nobody would believe her when she told them. This led her to start doubting herself, even though she had been convinced of what she saw. She wants to find proof of the existence of the magicians she keeps seeing so she can believe in herself more. When she and Mayumi both see Mirai, Riko and Kotoha flying away on their brooms later that day, Mayumi says she saw them too and that Kana was right, much to her delight.

Then in the Christmas episode, Kana and Mayumi encounter the Cures when they get in trouble after running into Benigyo. After the Cures rescue them, Kana and Mayumi both agree to keep their existence a secret from others.

I really grew to like Kana, particularly once we learned her backstory and reason for growing so obsessed with magicians after repeatedly witnessing Mirai and Riko’s magic at work. Like I said earlier, I also really liked the close friendship she and Mayumi eventually developed. I thought it was really sweet that Kana was able to find a friend as supportive as her.

Next, I’ll talk about some of the recurring characters from the Magic World.

I’ll start with Kochou, the principal of the Magic School. He’s one of the few characters to know the identity of the Cures, and is actively seeking information about the villains threatening the two worlds and how to stop them with the help of Cassie the crystal ball. Most of the time, he looks like a typical pretty boy with long, white/silver hair, but no one is entirely sure how old he is. When he runs low on magic, he can’t retain this form and reverts to an old man.

As mentioned before, Kochou also has a history with Dokurokushe, as the two were close friends back when Dokurokushe was an ordinary magician named Kushi. In the first half of the show, it is mentioned that Kochou rarely uses his magic. It turns out this is because he’s been saving up as much as possible for his eventual confrontation with Dokurokushe. Kochou still thinks of Kushi as his friend, and misses him a lot.

I really like Kochou. His design, both his normally seen young form, and his older form seen when he is low on magic is pretty neat. I like the way he keeps trying to gather more info on what the villains are up to, and his bond with Kushi was really heartfelt and interesting, playing a big part in Kochou’s motivations.

Next, I think I’ll talk about Riko’s family. The first member of Riko’s family that we are introduced to is her older sister, Liz. Liz is a talented magician, and is working as a teacher at the Magic School. Riko has always looked up to Liz, her role model. However, Riko being unable to use magic as well as Liz seems to have caused a small rift between the two, as Riko doesn’t feel she can measure up to her. Liz has always believed in Riko, though, and has since Riko received her wand believed that Riko was destined for great things, which is also a reason she gave Riko her pendant, since it originally seemed to have been given to Liz.

I really like Liz. She’s a nice girl and seems to be a pretty good teacher, even if Riko doesn’t seem to have known at first how much Liz really believed in her. They soon manage to sort that out, and Liz later on tells Riko the story of how Riko received her wand as a baby when a shooting star hit the Wand Tree, and produced Riko’s wand. Despite the initial difficulties due to Riko’s problems with magic, it does seem like Liz is the family member Riko is closest to since their parents both seem to be busy with work much of the time. Liz’s design is nice too.

The second member of Riko’s family that we are properly introduced to is Riko’s family. We first see him outside of flashbacks in the second half of the series, where we find out that he is currently in the No-Magic World, doing research to help Kochou find out more about the villains and the connection between the two worlds. He later visits his daughter and informs her, Mirai and Kotoha of what he has been doing. Since he seems more interested in the Linkle Stones and his research rather than seeing his daughter, Riko is initially not too pleased. She and the other girls are also surprised to find out that Kochou had told Lian of their identities as Cures.

After a conversation with Mirai’s father and Kotoha, Lian considers how to sort things out with Riko, only for the villains to show up. Lian defends Riko, and Riko as Cure Magical fights to defend her father. The two talk things out before Lian leaves to continue his research elsewhere. He later visits again along with Liz and Lilia on Riko’s birthday.

I like Lian. His design is pretty neat, and I like his character. He is clearly quite invested in his research. While his work often keeps him from being able to see her all that often, he clearly cares a lot about Riko and is proud of her. She also cares about him, even if she doesn’t always find his work as interesting as he does.

And finally, there’s Riko’s mother, Lilia. She first appears outside of flashbacks when she comes for a surprise visit along with Lian and Liz on Riko’s birthday. Lilia is a talented cook, and even seems to have become the host of a cooking show in the No-Magic World. While visiting Riko and the others, she makes plenty of food for Riko’s birthday party, including making Riko’s favorite chocolate cake. She is also proud to see how much Riko has improved her magic skill when the two use magic to clean the dishes together. While Riko initially thinks her mother is going a bit overboard with everything on her birthday, she still appreciates it.

We don’t see as much of Lilia as we do with Liz and Lian, who have bigger roles in the plot, but we still get a pretty good look at her character. She’s clearly a nice woman who cares a lot about her family, and likes to make others happy with the food she makes.

Next up, I’d like to talk about the Cures’ classmates from the Magic World, namely Jun, Emily and Kei. We first meet and get to know these three characters as they attend supplementary classes along with Mirai and Riko.

Jun is a blue haired tomboy-ish character, who is actually quite skilled with magic, but had to take supplementary classes due to a low attendance. We later learn the reason for this is because she is fascinated by the No-Magic World, and would sneak away to visit it. She is interested in art and fashion, and wants to live in the No-Magic World when she gets older and work as an expert of culture and fashion.

I really like Jun a lot. Her character development went in a different direction than I initially expected, and I really like the route they took with her. She has already figured out what she wants to do with her life, and is working towards that goal.

Then there’s Emily, a blonde girl with glasses who seems to be easily frightened, with the main problem being her fear of heights preventing her from flying a broom properly. Throughout the series, she overcomes this, eventually becoming a really skilled flier and even gaining a liscence to fly a flying carpet. She also wants to be a hairdresser.

I think Emily is quite adorable, and it’s fun watching her character development as the other girls inspire her to overcome her fears, and she becomes more confident as time goes on.

And finally, there’s Kei (or Kay?), a girl with short, red hair who is quite forgetful, frequently forgetting to bring certain things needed for the different classes she attends with the other girls. After Mirai helps her out by writing a list of things she needed to remember for the final test they needed to pass their supplementary classes, Kei develops a habit of writing things down, helping her remember things. This leads her to discover that she likes writing down things she learns and wants to find some career where she can incorporate these skills.

Kei is cute too, and I like how Mirai helped her figure out how to remember things more easily by writing them down. With the interest she developed in talking to people and writing down the things she learned, I get the impression that Kei could possibly become a journalist or something in the future.

I really like these three girls and their friendships with Mirai, Riko, Mofurun and Kotoha. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wished they’d learn the Cures’ identities and maybe assist them in battle at some point. Still, watching how they gradually develop and grow as characters and learning more about them was a lot of fun, and they’re among my favorite recurring characters in this series.

There are also a few other recurring characters, such as a couple other members of the school staff and some of the people in the town, as well as some characters the girls meet during their tests early on.

We’ve got the vice-principal, who is sort of this strict teacher character. There’s also Isaac, one of the older teachers at the school, who frequently loses his dentures and seems to have trouble remembering exactly how many years he’s been working as a teacher at the school. These two aren’t all that important, but they do provide some funny moments here and there.

Among the people living in the Magic World’s town, the first person to come to mind is Francois, the owner of the clothing store. He’s a magician in touch with his feminine side, and does make a few of the items worn by our heroines, including Mirai’s school uniform for Magic School and the cute casual outfit Riko wears when she goes to the No-Magic World. He also provides some insight on magicians who secretly live in the No-Magic World in an episode when he joins Jun, Emily and Kei on a trip to the No-Magic World.

Then there’s Gustav, who runs the broom store. He helps repair Riko’s broom, helps pick one out for Mirai and even customizes the two brooms to match.

I like these two characters, particularly with how well they seem to know and understand Riko and how they friendly they are to her and Mirai. Flashbacks suggest they have known Riko since she was little, which is really sweet.

There’s also a young guy who runs a fruit stal,l and an old man who likes to tell old legends, notably telling the girls the legend that turned out to be connected to the Ruby Linkle Stone in episode 3.

Mirai and Riko also meet some interesting characters during their field trips during supplementary classes, namely the mermaids and the pegasi.

The first mermaid we are properly introduced is Loretta, a mermaid teacher who assists with one of the tests the girls have to pass in order to clear their supplementary classes. The girls soon also meet three young mermaids by the names of Dorothy, Nancy and Cissy, who are initially too shy to approach them, but are impressed when Riko accidentally turns a fruit into a firework.

The three young mermaids explain how they’ve never been on land before, and are fascinated by how Mirai and Riko are such good friends despite being from two different worlds. They show them a secret area in the Mermaid Village, which contains a giant shell that later opens up to reveal the Sapphire Linkle Stone. The Sapphire forms give Cure Miracle and Magical the ability to fly, similarly to how mermaids according to legend were said to be able to gain the ability to fly. The young mermaids are inspired by Mirai and Riko, and express an interest in seeing more of the world above the water someday.

I really like mermaids, so I was pleased to have some as recurring characters in this series. Loretta has a nice design, and those three young mermaids are adorable. Dorothy’s design reminded me a bit of Cure Echo, probably because of her hair decoration.

There’s also a particular pegasus and its foal that Mirai and Riko befriend in one episode. They end up having to rescue the mother pegasus after Sparda combines her with part of a plant for the Yokubaru of the week. The foal manages to reach out to its mother for a brief moment, and Cure Miracle uses the newly obtained Linkle Stone Pink Tourmalline (the only time she used it before it got passed on to Cure Felice in the second half of the series) to free her from the monster, separating her from the Yokubaru and thus allowing her and Cure Magical to finish the Yokubaru off without hurting the pegasus.

There’s not much else to say about the pegasi. Their designs are nice, and they do show up once in a while to help out our heroines, which is nice.

Finally, the last noteworthy character I should talk about is Chikurun, a bee-like fairy who is introduced working for Orba, although as his sub-plot goes on, it becomes clearer that Chikurun is mostly motivated by fear. Orba makes him spy on the Cures to gather information for him, but things get a little complicated once the Cures discover his presence. He manages to come up with a cover story to earn the girls’ sympathy, and starts getting closer to Mofurun, who he had identified as somehow important to the Cures. He’s surprised to learn that Mofurun is a living teddybear and not a fairy, and continues to get closer to her and the Cures while spying on them for Orba.

Of course, like most Pretty Cure villains who try to infiltrate the Cures’ group, Chikurun gradually starts to feel conflicted as he grows to appreciate the Cures’ kindness and finds himself growing closer to them, especially with Mofurun. Eventually, he agrees to steal the Linkle Stones and Smartome from the Cures so they can’t transform, on the condition that the other villains promise not to harm the Cures. However, after Shakince breaks this promise and exposes Chikurun’s position as a spy to the Cures, Chikurun ends up fully switching sides, retrieving the Topaz and Emerald Linkle Stones and the Smartome from Shakince.

The Cures don’t hold Chikurun’s actions as Orba’s spy against him, since he did put himself in danger to get the stolen items back and apologized for what he did. The girls are able to bring Chikurun back to the fairy village, where he’s able to make up with the Fairy Queen despite his earlier concerns of what she would do to him if she found out what he’d been up to. The girls also learn about the backstory of the two worlds and Mother Rapapa while in the fairy village, and promise to meet Chikurun again someday as they leave the village at the end of the episode.

I really like Chikurun and his little sub-plot. His friendship with Mofurun in particular was really sweet. He tends to be kind of grumpy and is a bit of a coward, but after spending some time getting to know the Cures, he was able to improve himself a little, defying the villains and confront the Fairy Queen.

So, yeah. I thought this series had a lot of great supporting characters in both worlds, and I enjoyed seeing their interactions with the Cures, as well as their own little sub-plots.

Overall Thoughts

I really enjoyed this series. I liked the magician and gem stone themes of this series, and of course, there’s a strong focus on the friendship between the characters from the two worlds. We get a lot of world building, and there’s some really creative ideas on the Magic World side of things in particular.

On that note, the various series in the Pretty Cure franchise usually do involve the Cures having to save two worlds. The other world is usually where the fairy mascots come from, with it also having become more common for at least one of the Cures on a team to be from this other world. In most series, we often get glimpses of the other world via flashbacks and episodes centering around the Cures and their fairies visiting the other world. In this series, Mirai and Riko regularly travel between the two worlds, which allows the viewers to build an even stronger connection to both worlds as the girls learn more about each other’s worlds.

There were some really interesting plot points that had me curious to learn more as the series progressed, particularly the mystery of Kotoha/Cure Felice’s past life in the second half of the show, and the sub-plot involving the Linkle Stone spirits and the magic circle within the Rainbow Carriage building up to the final battle against Deusmast. It held my interest and got me really excited to see what it would all build up to. There were some times during the second half of the show that I worried about the number of plot threads and such that would have to be resolved/explained and whether they’d have enough episodes to do it well. However, I figured the writers knew what they were doing, and they did manage to resolve most of it, so it turned out pretty well. I’ll give some more thoughts on the ending a bit later.

This show clearly takes a lot of influence from the first few Pretty Cure series, namely Futari wa Pretty Cure, Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart, and especially Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star. Aside from starting out with two Cures who need to be holding hands in order to transform, there are a lot of moments in the series that bring these first few series of the franchise to mind.

The first half of the show features the girls searching for something, in this case, the Linkle Stones, similarly to how Nagisa and Honoka’s mission in the first half of Futari wa Pretty Cure revolved around reclaiming and protecting the Prism Stones. There are also twelve Linkle Stones in total, while Max Heart had twelve Heartiels that the girls needed to find.

Mirai and Riko later gain a third member, just like Nagisa and Honoka did in Max Heart when Hikari joined them. In fact, earlier I compared Kotoha/Cure Felice to Hikari/Shiny Luminous. They are both reincarnations/aspects of a powerful being that protected their world, who fought against the big bad and ended up sacrificing themselves in some way. The scenes in episode 22 of the now human Kotoha in a forest, seemingly lost, reminded me a lot of the first few scenes we saw of Hikari in Max Heart, after she first appeared in the Garden of Rainbows after being split off from the Queen, unsure of her identity and purpose.

This series also did something a bit unusual for the Pretty Cure series by having Dokurokushe be defeated in episode 21, and stay defeated, with it turning out the true big bad is someone else as we are introduced to a new group of villains. This development is similar to the second half of Futari wa Pretty Cure, where a new trio of villains were introduced after Cure Black and Cure White had taken out all of the Dark King’s minions and the Dark King himself, although these villains were still connected to the Dark King as they were meant to resurrect him.

I like how this show did things by having Dokurokushe turn out not to be the big bad, giving the Cures an entirely different set of enemies for the second half of the show. I thought it was a nice twist. Of course, it turns out Dokurokushe and his followers were part of Orba’s plan to revive Deusmast, and I thought this was another neat twist that helped show how everything was connected.

Anyways, I also often got a Splash Star feel from this show, which probably led to some of the speculation relating to Dokurokushe and Yamoh’s connection being something like the plot twist of Splash Star, where it turned out that the apparent second-in-command Gooyan was the true big bad and Akudaikahn was just his pawn. Since Dokurokushe mostly just sat on his throne and didn’t speak for a while, some people suspected that this was a similar case, and that the true big bad was Yamoh. This even came up in the show itself when Batty began to wonder if this was the case.

Of course, as I mentioned earlier, it turned out there was an entirely different reason why Dokurokushe had been so quiet up until that point. I thought this subversion of expectations was a great little nod to Splash Star. The villain designs also seem a bit similar to the villain designs from Splash Star in some ways.

Also, in the last few episodes, Orba bringing back Batty, Sparda and Gamett is pretty similar to how Gooyan brought back the villains previously defeated by Cure Bloom and Cure Egret in the last few episodes of Splash Star.

Other aspects seen in both series is that they both feature a particular tree that is somehow important and seems to connect both worlds in some way. The Cures also have different forms in these series, with Splash Star being the first Pretty Cure series to introduce the concept of Cures having different forms when Saki and Mai gained the Cure Bright and Cure Windy forms.

The concept of different forms also returned in Happiness Charge Pretty Cure, but is seemed rather underused, with it usually just being used for one attack and there were only a few times we got to see more of what those alternate forms were capable of. Mahou Tsukai Pretty Cure also uses multiple forms by having four different gold rimmed Linkle Stones that Cure Miracle and Magical can use, alternating between them in each episode after getting them.

I really like what the series did with the alternate forms concept, giving each of Cure Miracle and Cure Magical’s different forms unique abilities. This allows for them to use the one that best fits their current situation. Each form has a different style, and I really love the visuals for the transformation sequences and how they even gave each sequence a different variation on the theme playing during it.

We start out with the Diamond form, the form Mirai and Riko obtain when they first become Cures. It has their color schemes, with Mirai dressed in pink and Riko in purple. It seems to be pretty average in strength, and allows the two of them to use the silver rimmed Linkle Stones for spells after obtaining them. The transformation sequence and theme is pretty basic. The Diamond Linkle Stones are the Linkle Stones of light.

I think their outfits are really cute, and Cure Magical’s in particular has some elements I’d expect from a typical witch outfit. Naturally, this form is also usually used during the important plot-related episodes, which is to be expected.

The second form, Ruby style, is obtained in episode 3. With a more dynamic fire-themed transformation sequence and theme, the girls change into their Ruby forms which grants them super strength. The Ruby Linkle Stone is the Linkle Stone of passion.

Again, the outfits are really cute. The fire and passion theme of the Ruby Linkle Stone might be a little nod to Cure Rouge from Yes! Pretty Cure 5, which is pretty neat.

The third form, the Sapphire style, is obtained in episode 7. With an elegant water-themed transformation sequence, the girls gain the ability to fly when in Sapphire form. The Sapphire Linkle Stone is the Linkle Stone of Calmness.

I think the Sapphire form outfits is my favorite of the alternate forms. Cure Miracle and Cure Magical both look good in blue, and I like how well it compliments their main color schemes (pink and white for Miracle, and purple and black for Magical) really well. I guess I just really like the aquatic style.

Finally, they obtain the Linkle Stone Topaz in episode 11, gaining the Topaz style. The transformation sequence is more whimsical in tone, and the Topaz forms themselves look a bit goofier than the other forms as well, with the candy themed accessories. When in Topaz form, the Cures each have two glowing orbs of energy hovering near them, which they can shape into anything they can imagine. The finishing move is electricity based. The Topaz Linkle Stone is the Linkle Stone of excitement.

The ability granted by the Topaz form is probably my favorite of the different powers granted by the different forms, simply due to how creative one can be with it. And we certainly do get some pretty creative moments in the battles where this form is used, although I feel they probably could’ve come up with even more interesting battle tricks with this power than we got to see in the show proper. Also, part of me can’t help but wonder if these forms, with the whole candy theme and all, may have helped inspire Kira Kira Pretty Cure A La Mode.

Cure Felice only has one form, the Emerald form. Her transformation sequence is quite amazing, and I like the battle theme associated with her. Her outfit is naturally more fairy-like compared to that of Miracle and Magical’s witch-like outfits.

Episode 31 has the feelings of the three Cures create an entirely new Linkle Stone, the Alexandrite, which gives all three Cures a new form, which is basically fancier versions of Cure Miracle and Magical’s Diamond forms and Cure Felice’s Emerald form. I really like these powered-up forms, especially how Cure Miracle and Cure Magical gets actual witch hats in this form instead of the cute little witch hat accessory.

So, yeah. I really like the visuals for all the transformations and finishing moves in this series. I think they’re all very nice.

Speaking of the Alexandrite, I mentioned the Rainbow Carriage earlier and how the sub-plot of the Linkle Stone spirits gradually entering the magic circle had me really excited for what kind of final power-up they were building up to. Well, I think it needs to be mentioned that the way the Cures obtain the Rainbow Carriage in the first place is without a doubt one of the strangest ways a Pretty Cure team has ever obtained one of their power-up items.

In most Pretty Cure series, the Cures usually go on some quest and/or must pass a test of some sorts to gain their power-up item. In this series, episode 29 has Mirai, Riko and Kotoha end up having the same dream (thanks to some magic from the Linkle Smartome) about being in the story of Cinderella, after having talked about Cinderella exists in both the No-Magic and the Magic Worlds, but the two versions of the story are a bit different, with the Magic World’s version featuring the Fairy Godmother as the protagonist rather than Cinderella.

Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and Smile Pretty Cure have previously each done an episode where the Cures in some way end up in the story of Cinderella, but the Mahou Tsukai Pretty Cure take on this plot takes the weirdness up a notch. For starters, Mirai isn’t the one who ends up in the role of Cinderella. Mofurun is.

I’ve already talked about this episode before, so I won’t talk about the whole thing here. Anyways, at the climax of the episode, Mirai, Riko and Kotoha try to get back to their own world, but their carriage and the bridge they’re on begins to fall apart. Mofurun comes to the rescue, using the magic of the glass shoes to become a magic user, who transforms their carriage into the Rainbow Carriage, creating a rainbow bridge for them to ride on. When Mirai, Riko and Kotoha wake up in the morning, they find that the Rainbow Carriage from their dream has mysteriously appeared in their room. Yeah. It was a strange episode.

While it was certainly a fun episode, I do hope the next series returns to the usual formula of the heroes having to go on a quest or pass some test in order to get the power-up item of the season. At least it took two more episodes for the heroines to actually activate the magic of the Rainbow Carriage, though, and they did have to deal with and overcome some worries in order to gain the Linkle Stone Alexandrite to go along with it, so at least that was pretty awesome.

Well, with that, I think I’ve covered most of the stuff I wanted to talk about so far, so I think it’s about time to talk about the last few episodes and the ending.

We get a lot of build-up for the last few episodes, with all the emphasis on the bond between the two worlds and how the travelling time between them has mysteriously gotten shorter, how friends still have a connection even as time goes by and they go separate ways, Lian’s research, the backstory reveals about Mother Rapapa and Cure Felice’s connection to her and Orba’s reveal of how he set everything up leading up to Deusmast’s revival.

Mirai, Riko and Kotoha continue to go about their everyday lives, enjoying the time they’re spending together now and not worrying too much about the future. However, with Deusmast’s revival at hand, the girls soon realize there’s not much time to relax. After one final battle against Benigyo, having joined forces with the other followers of Deusmast that were released by Orba, Deusmast himself fully revives. Suddenly waking up back in their own beds, Mirai, Riko, Kotoha and Mofurun discover that the two worlds have somehow merged together.

As they meet up with their friends from both the Magic and No-Magic Worlds, they’re surprised to find that they’re the only ones who have noticed anything unusual, with everybody else acting like this is how it has always been. The Cures quickly go to find Kochou and Lian at the magic school, informing them of what has happened. Kochou and Lian, also not having realized anything out of the ordinary had happened, realize that Deusmast’s chaos has already advanced further than expected at this point. However, Kotoha hears something through the Linkle Smartome, and reveals that part of Mother Rapapa’s spirit still exists within the Wand Tree, and is keeping the world from being completely consumed by chaos with her remaining power.

Kochou informs the girls that defeating Deusmast should return things to normal, but their two worlds may as a result get pushed so far apart that it may be uncertain if they’ll ever be able to see each other again. Even so, the Cures are still determined to face Deusmast, and Kochou delivers a message to the people of both worlds, telling them to believe in the Pretty Cures. After briefly reflecting on all the fun times they’ve had, the girls transform and prepare to begin the final battle. They refuse to let Deusmast absorb everything and reduce it all to chaos. Their determination to protect everyone causes the final two Linkle Stone spirits, representing the Diamond and Emerald Linkle Stones, to finally enter the magic circle within the Rainbow Carriage, completing it.

The final power-up usually grants a new form for either the pink Cure or the entire team, but this time, interestingly enough, the one who gets most of the power-up is Cure Felice, which I guess does make sense considering her role in the story. Cure Miracle and Magical still receive a power-boost for the final battle, while Cure Felice becomes a being similar to Mother Rapapa. Switching between all of their forms, Cure Miracle and Magical fight alongside a giant Cure Felice, and eventually defeat Deusmast.

After the final battle, Mirai and Riko find themselves still floating in space, as a giant Kotoha watches over the still merged worlds that are trying to return to how they were. She says she’ll do her best to return the two worlds to normal, and even if it may take a while, she’s certain all of them will be able to meet again someday before disappearing. As I mentioned in my thoughts on the episode itself, I got an UItimate Madoka vibe from this scene with Kotoha.

With their two worlds once again separated, Mirai and Riko must each return to their own worlds. Riko casts a spell in hopes that they’ll all meet again someday, similarly to something both Kotoha and Mirai had done earlier in the series. They eventually drift apart, floating back to their own worlds. Mirai loses her magic wand, while Mofurun reflects on how grateful she is to Riko for granting her the ability to speak to Mirai and all the fun times they’ve all had before reverting to a normal teddybear.

A few years go by, and we follow Mirai as she and her friends in the No-Magic World are now at college age, and Mirai seems to have some idea of what she wants to do with her life, wanting to explore more of the world. One night, when the moon is similar to how it was on the night Mirai and Riko first met, Mirai takes Mofurun with her to the park. As a branch falls out of a tree, Mirai picks it up and tries casting a spell with it as if it were her wand. After initially commenting on how silly of her it was to do such a thing, she picks it back up and tries a few more times in case her friends from the Magic World are also trying to reach her, calling out that she wants to see them again.

Suddenly, the branch turns into Mirai’s old wand as she floats up into the sky. The snail train from the Magic World suddenly appears, to her surprise. She drops Mofurun, but a familiar magician shows up to pick her up, the now grown-up Riko. Kochou, Jun, Emily and Kei watch from the train as Mirai and Riko finally reunite, with Mofurun returning to life as well. They are soon joined by Kotoha, who unlike the others hasn’t aged at all, and thus they’re all together again. D’aww!

So, yeah. Those episodes were pretty epic. It was awesome seeing Cure Miracle and Cure Magical switching between all their different forms during the final battle, and Cure Felice’s goddess form kind of reminded me of Shiny Luminous once again, and how she was restored to being the Queen of the Garden of Light during the final battle against the revived Dark King.

They could’ve ended it there, and the series would’ve ended in sort of a typical Pretty Cure way, but there’s one more episode, and I’m glad they did have one more episode so that we could find out a bit more about what went on in the Magic World during the time skip as well.

The final episode is mostly Mirai, Riko, Kotoha and Mofurun spending time together like the old times (with Kotoha demonstrating that her magic has gotten even stronger by making Mirai and Riko look like their fourteen year old selves, for some reason), finding out what’s been going on in the Magic World the past few years, and chasing after a fragment of Dokurokushe that seems to be looking for sweets. Yeah, according to Kochou, apparently Kushi had a sweet tooth.

Anyways, we find out that Riko has become a teacher at the magic school, and has made an effort to bring in even more different beings from the Magic World to learn at the school, including the three young mermaids, Dorothy, Nancy and Cissy, who are now teenagers. Nice seeing their older selves there, learning more about the surface. Cassie the crystal ball also implies that Riko may end up being the next principal of the school sometime in the future as well.

We also learn the fates of Batty and the other villains who worked for Dokurokushe, as I mentioned earlier. Batty is now at magic school, looking for a new purpose in life, Sparda still wants to take over both worlds despite being stuck as a regular spider, Gamett still wants that rematch against Cure Felice and Yamoh regains his humanoid form and parts with the Cures on peaceful terms after they help calm down the Dokurokushe fragment.

The Cures also reunite with Chikurun, who happened to get caught up in the chaos and managed to help them retrieve Kotoha’s wand. Nice seeing him again too. Sure was convenient that he happened to be there at that time. He stays with the Cures for the rest of the episode, while they’re handing out strawberry-melon bread to their friends from both worlds.

Perhaps the most surprising part of the final episode was the cameo of Ichika Usami/Cure Whip, who even ended up assisting Cure Miracle, Magical and Felice in stopping the Dokurokushe fragment. The various Pretty Cure series seem to take place in different continuities, only coming together during the All Stars crossover series of movies, so having the lead pink cure of the next upcoming series turn up was a bit of a surprise. Then again, aside from catching up to what everyone had been up to during the time skip, there was quite a bit of focus on sweets in this episode, so I guess having her show up did make sense.

So, yeah. It was a nice send-off episode, even if the main conflict was a bit of a strange one. Still, it was mostly nice seeing everyone again, friends reuniting, finding out what’s been going on with all these characters the past few years, and a glimpse of our next pink lead Cure.

Of course, the series does have some flaws, like Mirai’s lack of visible character development compared to the other Cures, and some of the fight scenes were a bit underwhelming and didn’t really use the different abilities of the Cures to their full potential. However, I still enjoyed this series a lot. It had a lot of call backs to and a similar feeling to the first few series in the franchise while still having its own distinct identity and style.

Well, I guess that’s about everything I have to say about this series. Once again, it’ll be a while before the next one, where I’ll talk about Kira Kira Pretty Cure A La Mode. So, expect that sometime next year after Kira Kira Pretty Cure A La Mode has concluded. In the meantime, I might do some more thoughts on the Pretty Cure movies, like I’ve so far done for the two Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart movies. We’ll see. :)

#darkershining's thoughts on pretty cure #long post #pretty cure #mahou tsukai precure

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