#one last episode of futari wa precure then i sleep

[dallasoverdueessay]

just baked a massive batch of chocolate chip cookies

[tsuki-sennin]

Don! Don! The festival's back in town!

Zenryoku Zenkai! Don Momotaro Matsuri da ze! Momo Monday! It's a riotously good time, Don!-cha know? It's the Don! of a new era! Not just for our Donbura Dudes, but for our working relationship going forward! Hahahahahahahahahaha~!

Spoilers, I guess...

--Man... if only Momoi Tarou didn't have the most common names in the Japanese history. If he were any more of an every man, he'd probably be called John Q. Public Doe-Smith.

-Seems like Don Kaito's invested in Haruka.

-Don' forget to have a good time, eh?

-Ah, a fellow neurodivergent. I feel you already, Saruhara-san.

-Ah, a fellow skin-care expert. I get you already, Shinichi-kun.

-Mmmmm... dinner.

-Ah, a fellow NEET. I no longer envy you, Hakase.

-Uroleucon nigrotuberculatum...? ...isn't that goldenrod or something? Does that help with sleep?

-What kind of asshole just leaves their phone there?

-NEVER MIND THAT, WHAT KIND OF ASSHOLE STEALS LIGHTS

-Aw... poor kids.

-So, SaruBrother's good with kids. Monke power.

-Spring...

-Seems like Haruka's hit a block. I feel it.

-Fucking Momoi Tarou.

-Hello, creepy mailman!

-Ah, Yuriko's her auntie's name... it's a very lovely name, one I use for a very important OC for a project I'm making far in the future has that name as well. I see it pop up a lot in Japanese media, but never for like a main character, if that makes sense. Off the top of my head, there's a member of Honoka's science club in Futari wa PreCure, Dan Hibiki's sister in Street Fighter who parodies Yuri Sakazaki from Art of Fighting, the human disguise of Lilith in the first Shin Megami Tensei game, and the voice actress for Ritsuko Asagi from Evangelion. I know that last one isn't a character, but most of the ones I've found on Anime Characters Database are from eroge, and that's not exactly suitable for this liveblog series where I talk about children's tokusatsu programs and say a bunch of naughty curse words like fuck, shit, ass, dick, bitch, smurf, muffin, and hobknocker.

-Ah fuck, dishes. I hate doing the dishes.

-Oh screw you!

-Man, I wish my mailman would.

-Not Kurokuma. Shirokuma.

-Oh wow, a police person apologizing for doing something wrong under false pretenses? Now I know this is fiction.

-Hey, Tarou. You wanna do my dishes for me?

-I guess Kurokuma really likes lamps. Is he related to Lord Dona'tor?

-Why would he deliver to himself, Haruka?

-Polar Bear Man.

-"Uhhhh, okay."

-Man, this performance for Don Kaito is like night and day from Zenkai Kaito. Good job, Kiita Komagine, that takes insane talent.

-Funny Mailman Do Nice Thing.

-Ohhhhh, shooot, there's Kurokuma.

-I deliver darkness.

-Give me your fucking lamp.

-Oh... uh... you must be Sononi. You're uh... quite a gal. I hear your actress is part Burmese?

-...little personal space there.

-Haruka's having a rough day.

-Ohhhhh, creepy! Fuck those guys!

-OHHHHH Damn.

-Oh great, the guy on the couch is a King player in Tekken 7. Because of Tekken's generally great record with match-up balance, it's hard to tell you to get your ass stomped by a specific character, but I can say "I hope you get your ass beat by that doctor's kid from the Jackal Vistamp episode in Revice."

-Damn girl!

-She stronk.

-Yeah, we meet again.

-Guess he ain't chattin' Tarou Momoi.

-Delivery folk are truly treated terribly throughout the world. A certain egghead has tried to divert our attention from that...

-A symbolic revenge. I can dig that kind of storytelling. Hell yeah, Inoue.

-Fuckers took the lights. Can't have shit in Japan.

-OH MOMOI TAROU!

-"You never asked!"

-Guess Kurokuma noticed.

-Yo! Don Don Don!

-Traaaaaaain~!

-Jumping straight into action with nothing but a plan and your idealism at your train wheels. Right would be proud.

-OH JESUS HE CRASHED THE VAN HE COULDA KILLED SOMEONE LIKE THAT

-Deliveryman Power!

-This is your warning! The Kaitou-Ki is here to steal all light from the world! ...maybe the Keisatsu-Ki's screentime too, if he's feeling up to it.

-Holding off on the theatrics and playing the serious card.

-No palanquin. But he does need his Enya Rideon.

-Hahaha~!

-Sora, sora!

-Huh?

-Oh, we're fighting again.

-Honestly, I'm just in love with this idea that all of the Donbrothers are busy doing shit and Tarou just calls them in for a big fight. I imagine they're like "Oh, goddammit, we're fighting again today."

-Big monke.

-Ah, a Japanese macaque. I remember that time Danny Gonzalez tried to make me think he was at home in America instead of feeding one of those.

-Ass shot.

-Nahhhh, we had a yellow rabbit 10 years ago Professor! That's not nearly enough rabbit, but Beast Morphers filled my void a couple years ago. Gotta love Yoko Usami and Zoey Reeves. Anybody who becomes a bun is immediately worthy of praise. Arisa Komiya's also Dia Kurosawa of Aqours, Don!-cha know! Meanwhile Jacqueline Scislowski popped up in a pretty great little indie film this year called The Root of Perfection. I don't wanna spoil anything, but she does a great job as Caroline, if I say so myself.

-Oh, she jumpin'! I love bunnies!

-God, I love these guys' transformations.

-Avatar Change!

-The train is late!

-Stand behind the white line.

-Yeah okay, we'll finish 'em!

-Ara~!

-Oooooh, she got a knife!

-Two knives! That make a bow! Very cool!

-Ohhhhhhh, he dead!

-Looks like Don Kaito's freaking out.

-Ohhhhhh, Tarou. You're mad.

-Aaaaaaand he's out for revenge!

-Ah, yep! Good job, Haruka! You've finally got the right guy! It seems a little unlikely, but hopefully this funny little gesture can ease some of his tension.

-OH MY GOD HE KICKED HER

-SHE WENT FLYING!

-Jesus Christ, man! He crazy as hell!

-Oh, Tsuyoshi's narrating! And next episode's all about onigiri! Can't wait!

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 169

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 21 - “Milk the Apprentice Caregiver Appears!” Date watched: 5 January 2020 Original air date: 1 July 2007 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/3Lt6N6V Transformation Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/6k6SzS0 Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

I just want you to know it took me a couple hours to cut out the faces and then another hour of video editing to figure out this program I’ve never used before in order to make that 10 second clip, so I hope you appreciate it. THESE ARE THE THINGS I DO FOR ART.

Anyway, what can I say. The bitch Milk is here.

The Plot

On her way to school, Nozomi picks up a mysterious alien fairy lying on the ground, thinking it’s a stuffed animal. The leech fairy proceeds to eat Nozomi’s lunch during first period, pausing when she hears Kokoda teaching the class, as it reminds her of the Coco she used to know.

Nozomi is devastated to find her lunchbox empty, and when she gets to Natts House after school she declares how hungry she is, so Nuts offers her some mamedifuku. She goes to get some, but in the moment that she has her back turned, her secret passenger eats them all. Nozomi turns back around and sees her, and screams.

One shudders to imagine what inhuman thoughts lie behind those eyes... what dreams of chronic and sustained cruelty?

When Coco and Nuts show up with the other girls, there is a moment of shared recognition between the three as residents of Palmier Kingdom. Then the pest, who introduces herself as Milk, gushes that the two of them are the Princes of the Kingdom, which they brush off as not being important enough to bring up to the girls (but this will become important next season). She declares herself their Apprentice Caregiver, whatever that means, and is upset that the others are treating them so casually and that they’re doing labor themselves. Through further conversation, the parasite Milk explains how she got by by conning meals from, as she calls them, suckers. Suddenly, Nozomi realizes where her lunch went.

she takes it reasonably well

After some fuss, Milk shoos the girls out and they agree, having had enough excitement for the day. Then she tells Coco and Nuts that she will go purchase ingredients for dinner and runs out the door. They chase after her, because they’re concerned for her safety and she doesn’t know this town or anything about Nightmare. The princes end up in a park with Girinma, who has been dispatched to find them specifically, and he nearly kills them but for the triumphant return of Milk, who latches on like a facehugger, buying some time. Nozomi and the other girls appear, because they saw Coco and Nuts run out of the shop not long after their own departure and thought it was odd. They exposit to Girinma and Milk about how they’re going to revive the Palmier Kingdom with the Dream Collet and then transform into Precures.

Seeing his opportunity for revenge, Girinma turns a bench into a Kowaina to fight the girls. Dream jumps in and saves Milk from Girinma and places her safely off to the side before getting back into the fray. The team beats up on the monster, and at one point Girinma goes in for a killing blow on the fairies again but Dream and Lemonade stop him dead in his tracks.

Dream declares that they won’t let them cause Milk any more sadness, and everybody else chips in that she worked so hard and was extremely brave in getting to where she is now, in an unfamiliar world with dangerous enemies. Nozomi performs Dream Attack on the monster as Girinma flees and the park returns to normal.

Milk is sincerely amazed that these five are the legendary warriors..... but quickly catches herself and says she expected them to be more upstanding people. Nozomi tries to argue with her but the others shush her, pointing out that Milk has fallen asleep after exhausting herself that day, and we close on the pink devil’s sleeping face

The Analysis

You may have noticed a hint of animosity towards Milk. I just want to state that it’s only a joke, I don’t dislike her.

I actively dislike her! She is insufferable, rude, ungrateful, smug, and downright mean. The bar for new fairies isn’t exactly high, considering the first impressions of Porun, Lulun, and Moop & Foop, but Milk is in a league of her own. Get used to me calling her a bitch, because she’s a bitch. She is all tsun, no dere (for now). Yes, she’ll get better as the show progresses, but she’s extremely difficult to tolerate in her early episodes. Porun and Lulun were just whiny, she is mean, and a source of trouble and conflict for everyone around her.

She isn’t swayed by them being the legendary warriors, and thinks they should be more impressive. She feels that Coco and Nuts should be placed on a pedestal and worshipped for the princes they are, not respecting their apparently lack of interest in their titles or their penchant for hard work. However, of all the girls, Nozomi in particular seems to be the target of most of Milk’s ire. Milk doesn’t see her positive aspects, only her clumsiness, gullibility, and other weaknesses. As the superior being, Milk takes it upon herself to remind Nozomi of her place as often as possible. It may be because she was the first one they met and Nozomi is upset at her for constantly stealing food and acting high and mighty. They certainly got off on the wrong foot, but despite attempts to ease the tension, Milk just isn’t interested.

I do have to commend her for her bravery at the end. Jumping in front of danger when she’s easily the least powerful of the group is commendable. She tried to stop Girinma the only way she knew how. She wanted to protect Nuts and Coco, and the future of the Palmier Kingdom. Her heart is in the right place, and this is the seed for her character arc over the next season and a half.

but she also has acid blood

The fight scene is intense, with lots of fun dynamic action shots as usual. It feels a bit abbreviated compared to some we’ve had, but the focus is on keeping Coco, Nuts, and Milk safe. There’s a sequence where Dream and Rouge are diving around the Kowaina’s arms which lends to some great stills:

And then at the climax of the fight as Girinma goes in for the kill, he’s drawn in exceptional detail:

Unfortunately the shot that immediately follows this is terribly-drawn, surprisingly one of the few examples of that in this episode. It’s the shot where Dream and Lemonade catch his arms, which I postd earlier. That rapid switch in quality was really jarring and disappointing for an otherwise strong episode.

I didn’t cover this in the plot summary but Girinma seems to be on his last ropes at Nightmare. Bunbee comments that despite being the champion of the raid on Palmier Kindom, he hasn’t managed to beat the Precures, and is likely to be terminated soon. He offers some advice, as old friends, to fight the fairies since that’s what he’s good at. If he had actually stuck to this advice, not engaging in the fight when the girls showed up, he may have won. But as we’ve seen, he’s very proud and lets his pride get in the way a lot, such as the time he was literally holding the Dream Collet but stopped to fight the girls. I’m going to recount his character more in episode 24, it’s a bit of a turning point for him.

Most of the humor in this episode again comes from the friction between Nozomi and Milk, and you can find plentiful examples in the gallery. There’s also some great facial expressions like such:

And last of all, I’m certain I mentioned this more than once when I was writing about FWPC, but Milk is at least the third example within this series alone of a voice actress for a main character previously playing a part in another season. Sendai Eri, who voices Milk, was previously Nagisa’s excitable friend Kubota Shiho in Futari wa Precure and Max Heart!

When the All Stars series begins, this also makes Shiho one of the few side characters to sometimes get speaking lines, because her actress is already on hand to record for a fairy, and you know they gotta have the fairies.

Next time, Milk struggles to find her role, and runs away! Look forward to it! Pink Precure catchphrase count: 0 kettei!

[shameninja]

Precure Retrospective- Futari Wa Episode 2

So I assume that I’m going to run out of interesting things to say about Futari wa when we reach the halfway point or so, and this commentaries will become shells of their former selves.

But! That day is not today! I have quite a few things to say about this episode; not as much as about Episode 1... (Future Me: SHE WAS HORRIBLY WRONG)

Before we dive into it, one thing I think I should note here that I forgot to last time, is that the first three episodes of the show are scripted by Ryo Kawasaki himself! So not only is he responsible for how the story looks at the end of the day-By and part- but also how the show starts out. We’ll reflect on the quality of his attempts overall later on.

That said, let’s just dive into this one.

This episode opens with a neat spotlight effect, as while girls are taking ballots out of a box, Nagisa does some necessary exposition regarding what happened last time. Yeah, yeah, we just saw this stuff a week ago, but it’s a kid’s show. Gotta run with it.

I will say that it at least makes sense for Nagisa to still be ruminating over all that happened; this doesn’t necessarily feel forced, even if it is necessary. Anyway, while Nagisa is zoning out Honoka became the representative of their class, likely surprising no one. Were there any competitors, truly?

And it’s worth correcting something that wasn’t really worded well in the subs last episode, Honoka was in a different class last year. This year, they are in the same class together. It was also a bit unclear that they were at the start of the school year in Episode 1, while the class representative election and such does make that much clearer.

Anyway, Nagisa is startled to attention as everyone begins to applaud Honoka, and gives a few polite claps to her pseudo-teammate. As you might expect, she’s a team player.

Time passes, as time is wont to do, and we’re now in English, I’d assume. Nagisa has been entrusted to read a particular passage, and it’s actually a little interesting- she didn’t fall asleep in this class, and from the reaction of the rest of the class she’s doing an okay job. Whether she’s good at school remains to be seen, but math is probably her worst subject, I’d hypothesize.

Regardless, Nagisa’s fairy starts desperately trying to get her attention in the middle of class, and as they love to do, starts fucking things up. Her concentration completely thrown off, Nagisa turns to Honoka for aid, but the poor girl is completely oblivious to what is going on.

I wonder what’s happening? Surely Mepple isn’t doing something stupid in the middle of class, is he? No, even he can’t be that annoying.

Like, I get that the show is trying to use the fairies as, kind of, comedic relief, but they are just so irritating and petty and the scenes unfunny that it just drags them down and makes you wonder why Nagisa and Honoka would care about them at all.

After a bit more embarrassment, Nagisa turns to the camera and laments her situation. How will Nagisa get out of this wacky predicament!? Turn it after the OP to find out! (SPOILERS: we never find out.)

The OP rolls on, and then it’s time for Something Completely Different! We suddenly shift to Pisard’s perspective and see him talk to the Dark King at their hidden lair, known as, rather appropriatelyl, the Dark Zone.

Looks homely.

I like the aesthetic of the Dark Zone quite a bit. It’s effectively foreboding, the lack of other characters there merely emphasizing that fact. You don’t get that as much in a lot of the follow-up seasons, though I think being able to quickly learn about the villains and helping them build up a rapport manages to be a bigger advantage. I also kind of like the chains too- they’re a little creepy, especially how they almost look like they’re attached to nothing and are stylized a little differently, but show, rather than tell, that the Dark King (yes that is his name) is probably contained in some manner, and that involves the Prism Stones somehow.

Milord interrogates Pisard on why exactly if he found the Prism Stones (whatever they are) he does not appear to have them to give to him. Pisard tries to quickly explain that Team Futari Wa got in his way, but his liege is having none of it. The King quickly explains some things I’d honestly expect Pisard to know- there’s 7 Prism Stones, they currently have 5. The fairies managed to escape with the other two, and thus Pisard must get the stones from them, alive or dead. After he does so, the King will be able to rule the entire universe with their power. Pisard seems weirdly surprised at this, but also seems to be full of determination again, and goes to prepare a plan.

The whole scene is a little clunky, but at least the stakes are a lot clearer now (the very Universe itself is in Nagisa’s hands!), we get a broad sense of why the fairies came to Earth, and why Nagisa and Honoka can’t (sadly) feed them to the wolves now that the two are Pretty Cure.

Give them a break, give them a break, just give a Pisard a piece of a Kit-Kat bar?

Presumably after-class, Nagisa quickly goes outside school and interrogates Mepple. Well Mepple had the very good reason that Pisard is attacking!!! Nah I’m just fucking with you he just did it because he’s hungry and has no self-control.

Nagisa doesn’t take well to this, and when she demands that Mepple actually address her with respect, Nagisa gets even more frustrated by Mepple seeming to mock her. This kind of joke would work at least a little better if we had any real reason to care about Mepple the way we do Nagisa. But we don’t at all. We do know some things about them now, but very broad things, and their personality has been being brattish and constantly demanding. It’d also help if this was playful repartee, and not just Mepple being a dick.

Anyway, Nagisa eventually gives in and tries to figure out how she’s supposed to feed him. Mepple explains that the cards they have, aside from the one-a-piece they use to transform, help take care of the fairies. And there is a certain card that will give Mepple food. After enough pestering and Nagisa struggling to find the right card, she correctly selects Door Card #3, and, well... this happens.

This begs so many questions.

This whole idea of having things to take care of the fairies is a... kind of interesting concept that tends to pop up in seasons a lot. It’s a reasonable conceit- I mean fairies and whatnot need to be able to eat and drink, don’t they?

It’s best when it plays into the narrative (as in Princess, Fresh, Smile, etc.), and it does do so in this series in a few episodes, but honestly my main complaint is that with all the cards the two are given only a handful ever get used. It feels like wasted potential- given the quality of filler in this season, they could have replaced a few and maybe use those episodes to really flesh out Mepple and Mipple’s characters? (The joke is they barely have them.)

Well, tangent aside. Pisard appears above a street with a fuckload of pedestrians, and then says foreshadowy things about energy and a “gift” for Mr. Dark King, and then... prepares.

The story marches on, with Honoka and Nagisa having a little together-time; Nagisa comes into the Science Club, and Honoka tries to impress her with the hard candy machine she made with SCIENCE. Sadly, not all goes as planned, the machine breaks, and she will have to work on Candymaker Version 3.0. One has to wonder if she keeps trying to make this thing for SCIENCE’S SAKE or she just likes hard candy. (It’s totally both.)

Nagisa complains about how they keep talking during class, and Honoka is like “sis don’t you know ‘bout the sleep card?” and Nagisa is like “what?” and basically it turns about to be a different card that can be used to make them go night-night. Nagisa uses the card and puts the little demon to rest. They resolve to use it more in the future. (Though not often enough.)

This just raises even more questions!

Moving forward, Nagisa had come by to talk about Precure matters. She is heavily against ever doing Precure stuff again. Surpisingly, she proves to be the practical one, whereas Honoka is less grounded, talking about how she both believes that it’ll be “interesting”, and an opportunity that Fate had given them. While she could mean interesting in something more akin to a scientific endeavor, it kind of comes across as her thinking it would be really fun.

It’s just a bit of a role-reversal, I think- not necessarily in the content (though that too), but how they argue. Nagisa makes solid rather practical arguments, whereas instead of even really engaging much with them, Honoka doesn’t actually try and engage Nagisa’s practical concerns, and goes for more emotion-based arguments- arguing that it’s fun and exciting and that she believes it’s an opportunity given by Fate. It was kind of implied last episode in their conversation about the shooting stars, but Honoka does have a bit of a romantic side, and that really comes through here and gives the discussion a spin you might not expect just from surface-knowledge of the two characters.

As Nagisa comments on how they were attacked and nearly killed, a soccer ball crashes through a window and enters the room. In a nice touch the two instantly panic, before realizing that it was just the soccer club missing the mark by miles. Nagisa grabs the ball, pretty pissed off, and charges down to give them a piece of her mind. And she encounters... Fuji-p. Fuck.

If there was a character I hated more than Mepple and Mipple...

We’ll get more into why I hate him when he is more relevant (so basically we’ll never get into it.) Regardless, Fuji-p apologizes, Nagisa gives a flustered response and then slowly walks off, and Honoka, watching, is simply rather confused.

Pisard, meanwhile, is looking for a machine to corrupt and turn to evil, as you do. He then sees what appears to be a Japanese version of a Hoover and decides this is the one. So he shows the audience how to buy items well outside your price range in this economy- just hypnotize the clerk and steal it.

Nagisa ponders her reaction to Fuji-p for a moment, but after Mepple barges into the conversation we get to the far better topic of Nagisa needing to be a Pretty Cure, with her insisting that it isn’t Mepple’s choice to make for her, which is completely true. Mepple suddenly wants to talk about his home world, and while Nagisa first claims disinterest, she basically immediately caves when Mepple breaks out the puppy dog eyes, as is typical.

Basically, Mepple is from a place called the Field of Light, where everything was great. And then it all changed when the Dark Zone attacked. They basically wrecked the place and fearing that all would be lost, the King and Queen entrusted Mepple (the Guardian of the Field of Light) and Mipple (The Princess of Hope) with the Prism Stones and helped them escape. I don’t recall if those titles end up meaning much, but I don’t believe they do.

We then cut to Honoka and Mipple helps fill in the gaps. She explains that the stones are super important and valuable, but when Honoka starts to ask what the Prism Stones actually do, her grandmother interrupts the conversation, opening the screen door to her room and asks who Honoka is talking to. Honoka badly bluffs, and Grandma clearly thinks she’s full of shit but doesn’t press the matter. She then asks if Honoka has been in the storeroom recently for some reason; Honoka clearly lies again, and again, Grandma doesn’t press the issue and just leaves. Somehow I think something is up with her.

Sadly, if Honoka then asks for Mipple to explain what the Prism Stones do again, we don’t get to see it, because ENTER PISARD. He uses the vacuum he got at that handy Zakennas ‘R Us, and makes his next FEROCIOUS ABOMINATION. BEHOLD

idk I think this one is kinda cute too.

Like, I’m not sure if these things are supposed to genuinely be threatening, or if it’s intentional that honestly the Zakenna thus far are kinda adorable, in my opinion. I might buy plushies of them I don’t know. But maybe it is I who is weird.

Anyway, Pisard demands that the Zakenna suck up all the “energy” in the nearby area. Which actually appears to be electrical power; the streetlights go out, there’s power outages, etc.

As he did last time, Mepple senses Dark Zone Bad Times, but Nagisa shuts him down. She’s being consistent: she risked her life for this shit, someone else can handle it.

It’s not the Precure way to just abandon duties, but Nagisa doesn’t even want to be one right now. She just wants to be a girl with friends who lives a happy life and isn’t tasked with saving the world, and that’s totally reasonable; Nagisa’s reaction makes total sense and I’d be curious how they’re going to develop their character as a result of it.

On the other hand, you could also argue that Nagisa doesn’t think that she’s up to the task, that this is all too much for her- she has a line that explicitly states that they shouldn’t have “chosen an ordinary girl like her to do something so important”. I think this maybe fits Nagisa’s outward and perceived character a little less, but I think that the underlying fear that plays into my preferred take works here too- she’s scared and she didn’t sign up for this and she just can’t do it.

The way that the writing actually opens up a couple interpretations of what’s going on in Nagisa’s head is actually pretty well done. I think both these takes are really interesting, and one (or neither) may be more better supported by the rest of the series, but if it’s either it gives you some interesting launching pads for development.

Back to the show. Mepple pleads with Nagisa, and our heroine looks out the window and sees some rather strange electrical developments on her end of the woods too. A reporter on TV describes how the city is now in a panic, and then her television too becomes a victim of the Dark Zone and nefariously shuts off.

Mepple pushes her a little more and notes that Mipple (and thus Honoka) is likely to already be there, and Nagisa appears to, when told that on top of everything else, finally cave and runs out of her house to SAVE THE DAY... but is intercepted by her little brother.

I kind of like how, for the moment, her little brother is an actual character in the show? That does things???

It’s a short appearance, however, as she manages to her brother to concede, and then heads off to fulfill her duty. We then get a shot of a really huge fucking mall.

Like does that look unreasonably tall to anyone else?

However the Zakenna is fulfilling its DARK MISSION and sapping the mall of its electricity, and thus... an elevator being rode by several people is stopped mid-climb. And when Nagisa arrives she notices, to her dismay, that the people on it include Shiho and Rina!

I kind of like their inclusion in this subplot. Not only does it keep them relevant, but it kind of forces Nagisa’s hand. Nagisa cares about people and is a team player already, but these are her friends. People she cares deeply about, and that’s going to massively override her reservations. She has no choice but to put them completely aside for now and go give Pisard and the Zakenna a hardy “FUCK YOU!”

The two attempt to dash in and help everyone, but immediately bump into Pisard, who says he was expecting them. The Cures try to ignore him and continue forth, but Pisard blocks their attempt through having the Adorable Vacuum of Death strike at them; a blow that appears to miss but ALSO knocks both Cures off their feet and rolling into a nearby wall... so I don’t know what they were trying to depict there. A burst of air maybe?

At this point Nagisa is simply infuriated, and quickly teams up with Honoka to transform. Pisard simply watches, and confirms to himself that these two are the “legendary duo” from the Field of Light touched on earlier. I do like how so far, we kind of have a more-or-less stated excuse for him not attacking during the transformation sequence for both episodes.

He then orders Zakenna to essentially go all-out against them, and a battle commences. Both magical girls initially put all their efforts into dodging the attacks (which as you might guess, involve sucking in or blowing out air/wind) but when White is falling after getting caught in the Zakenna’s pull, she moves her hands in a circle for... unclear reasons. Honestly I feel the choreography for this fight isn’t really that great.

Black saves her and then storms into action, but the vacuum is ready for her, and through manipulating the direction of air flow, makes it so she ends up barely avoiding being thrown into Cute Vacuum Zakenna’s maw.

Clearly it’s just grumpy because it’s hungry. The true villain here is undernourishment. Feed your Zakenna at least twice a day, kids.

So anyway, Black is kind of in a seriously bad spot. Pisard says to destroy her and to do so the Zakenna... doesn’t try to eat her but instead flings Black forward, through a door, and out of the fight? Like I get why they DID this, but as I’ll get into later, it’s a bit of a plothole.

It’s also annoying because the first good moment of the fight is the genuinely tense situation Black is in here, and it feels like instead of having Black or White come up with a creative way to get her out of the situation she gets through it via writer fiat.

Regardless, the Zakenna then pulls White toward it, ties her up with cords, and then flings her through the same door- or the hole where the door was, rather. You would think the Zakenna would have done that earlier, since it’s such a nifty trick. But anyway.

The two end up tumbling down an elevator shaft, and they end up looking up at an incredibly amused Pisard. He then decides to teach them an important lesson about gravity by cutting the elevator cables with his magic and... send them falling to their deaths, as well as everyone in the elevator? ..Holy shit? Things just got really real?

As the elevator rapidly falls downward, the people in the elevator scream hysterically, as is appropriate. Black also begins panicking, not sure how to handle this situation, but White quickly composes herself and improvises, tying the two to the elevator with a ribbon, and having Nagisa hold her hands to connect the two of them, and then using the friction from their boots to attempt to slow the speed of the fall. It’s a good plan and though it almost looks like it isn’t going to work... the plan proves fruitful at the final hour, as the elevator touches the ground floor, and they all live!

Okay it’s Doctor Who but you can’t deny it’s appropriate.

It’s actually a really effective and tense sequence, both because you initially don’t have any idea how they’re going to get out of the situation, and even after protagonist comes up with a creative and potentially workable idea, it could easily fail, and seems to fail until the elevator hits the bottom. It’s a genuinely inspired scene.

It’s also worth noting that this is another bit where the two help one of them by working together. It’s Nagisa’s friends that are in danger specifically, but it’s through both of them combining their efforts that they’re saved, just as it saves the lives of the Cures. I think this is another example really showing that they can work fantastically as a team, whether Nagisa wants to or not.

Black and White are hardly amused by this attempt at mass murder, and move back up the elevator shaft to get some sweet revenge. Pisard, seeing that his attempt failed, tries to sic his Zakenna on them in a last ditch effort. Zakenna shoots... something from it’s mouth (I’m not sure what it is help), but the two unconsciously grip hands, and suddenly a shield surrounds the two, protecting them from this (probably?) very dangerous attack. The two then use Marble Screw, and after a kick from Black... that’s all she wrote for Adorable Vacuum-kun.

Now, to back up a second because I consider this important. The shield may feel like a deus ex machina, and it kinda is, but assuming that the Pretty Cure are strengthened by friendship and personal bonds, and this is something that gets established (And is fundamental to seasons like Suite), it totally makes sense that the Pretty Cure would get a boost when they get in danger.

The falling elevator was a situation where Nagisa had to rely on Honoka to survive and save her friends, and she did. She put her trust in Honoka, voicing no doubts, and through working together they saved the lives of several people, including Nagisa’s own friends. When all the chips were down she believed Honoka could come through. I think there clearly is starting to be growth in their relationship there, and the fact that the two held their hands together instinctively at the next moment of crisis really supports that imo.

To wrap things up, Pisard admits he underestimated them, and ponders if their power is the ‘”Power of Light”, whatever that means. We then bid him adieu for the episode.

The next day Nagisa’s friends are telling her about their experience on the elevator, and Nagisa rather understandably feels a little awkward. Things get a little more awkward when Shiho and Rini say they heard a voice above the elevator, aaaand Nagisa decides this is a good time to divert attention as quickly as possible, noting that they’ll probably be late to school- and all goes as Nagisa planned, as the other two immediately begin to panic and dash to school together, Nagisa pushing them along. The gang passes Honoka, but she just looks on, seemingly amused.

We suddenly shift perspectives for our final scene, which takes place at the shopping district where Pisard engaged in Grand Theft Vacuum. And we see that one of the vacuums being sold appears to have Cure Black’s bootprint! Dun.. dun... dun? (They also talk about the authorities looking into what happened yesterday, but I don’t remember anything coming of that so let’s just ignore it.)

So one thing I really liked about this episode is that between Pisard wanting to do something extra to help the bossman, heavily suspecting that the Pretty Cure were legendary heroes, creating a Zakenna who immediately is ordered to do something that is certain to get the Cures attention but does little to accomplish their primary goal, which also happens to be a hard counter to most of the Cures attacks, and which also can throw them through a door that leads to an elevator shaft that Pisard can easily drop and create a certain death they can’t Marble Screw out of, most of the plot of this episode was Pisard’s plan to murder the Pretty Cure in cold blood.

Which is really neat! You rarely see villains in this sort of anime jump to taking the heroes as a serious threat right off the bat, and it is genuinely a pretty good plan, really only foiled by Honoka’s amazing improv skills, and quite a bit of luck. It’s a great, intense sequence that works so well. I’m actually genuinely curious what Pisard’s next move will be.

The whole thing is slightly spoiled by the fact that I have no idea how he got Zakenna in on this plan, since otherwise Zakenna would have no reason to throw them through that door. So that hurts the whole deal for me, but far from ruins it.

And like... I feel like the first 10 minutes or so of the episode is pretty weak. I get we needed the exposition, but it largely feels like it drags since it’s mostly sitting and listening to people talk, with some tedious fairy bullshit thrown in. The story really picks up in the second half, but even then the battle choreography is weak, and the Zakenna fight is rather dull, largely one-sided, and does end in a deus ex machina. And between Mepple being terrible (when is Mipple going to get any character?) and the introduction of Fuji-P, a lot of it all adds up to irritation.  

But the character stuff in this episode is so good. There is just so much going on in this episode with Honoka and Nagisa and their relationship and Nagisa’s reticence to be a Pretty Cure. So much of it is cute and charming and fun and thoughtfully crafted. The way the minor characters play into the narrative is really interesting and well done too; it really felt like everyone got included and I like that. And so much of the second half, despite its short-comings, is really well done.

The episode has its weaknesses, but it has so many strengths to balance those out. It outshines Episode 1 by a long-shot, and if far more of the episodes were like this than I recall, I’ll end up thinking the season is far better than I thought.

God that was a lot of words. But anyway, I’m done here at Episode 2 Land, Episode 3 coming to a Tumblr Account Near You soon.

But for now, good night my friends, and may any elevators you ride in be in proper working order.

[ashitomarisu]

Cardcaptor Sakura: Day Six (HAD TO BREAK THAT RULE)

Before I reveal the next round of new cards, there is something I need to address:

I MUST FORFEIT THE ONE RULE I SET ON MYSELF!!! YES, THERE WILL BE MORE THAN ONE CURE WITH MULTIPLE CARDS!!!!! I CAN’T HELP IT!!! LET’S GO TO THE RESULTS!

Snow: *incoherent screaming* TWO FOR BEAUTY!!!

Voice: 

Third Suite cure to get a card: 

Lock: Of course, there is a former villain who knows a thing or two about locks.

Cloud: This is now the appropriate time to rejoice, Hugtto fans! No card fits Ange better than this one. :3

Dream: ...

HONEST TO GOD...ONCE I SAW THIS, I KNEW. I KNEW ONE OF THE Y!PC5 CURES WOULD GET TWO. Damn you, Nozomi.

Sand: So tempted to consider this an Earth-related card and give it to Mint, but...then again, Mint with three cards ain’t happening. So, I thought of the desert. Desert has sand and are dry and hot.

...*gives card to Sunny*

((I had the afterthought of Mermaid and sand, but no. Mermaid is strictly relevant to anything water.))

These last two have a specific reason as to the choices. Light and Dark are interesting topics, since one can’t exist without the other. This could have easily been Shiny Luminous since she is light, but, I’d rather not go this route.

Instead, I end up finishing the Heartcatch group; with one cure obtaining two and the other getting a card (finally).

Dark:

Light:

(Still debating whether Dark Precure will be added and take one of Moonlight’s cards. Stay tuned for an official, final draft of the Precure/card list.)

REMINDER

Futari wa Precure/Max Heart

Black: Power

White: Fight

Shiny Luminous: Time

Futari wa Precure Splash Star

Bloom: Return

Egret: Fly/Windy

Yes! Precure 5/GoGo

Dream: Sleep/Dream

Rouge: Firey

Lemonade: Glow

Mint: Wood

Aqua: Watery

Milky Rose: Maze

Fresh Precure

Peach: Move

Berry: Loop

Passion: Storm

Heartcatch Precure

Blossom: Create

Marine: Rain

Sunshine: Light

Moonlight: Shadow/Dark

Suite Precure

Melody: Voice

Rhythm: Sweet

Muse: Song

Smile Precure

Happy: Float

Sunny: Sand

Peace: Thunder

March: Dash

Beauty: Mirror/Snow

Dokidoki Precure

Rosetta: Shield

Sword: Sword

Ace: Shot

HappinessCharge Precure

Princess: Change

Go! Princess Precure

Flora: Flower

Mermaid: Mist

Twinkle: Big

Scarlet: Lock

Maho Tsukai Precure

Miracle: Erase

Magical: Illusion

Felice: Little

Kirakira Precure a La Mode

Whip: Jump

Gelato: Freeze

Macaron: Silent

Hugtto! Precure

Ange: Cloud

NOW, IT WILL BE TIME FOR THE MOVIE, but first, the last five episodes await in the second season. Although, I know what one of the next cards will be. I remember a “twin” card.

WELL THAT’S JUST GREAT. You’ll just have to wait until tomorrow for my decision. Until next time, here’s hoping Sakura can get through the trials, and also senpai notices you. Sending love, peace, and 

...Cure Beauty confirmed.

[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!

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 148

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 49 - “In Top Form! Forever Friends Under the Starry Sky!” Date watched: 29 July 2019 Original air date: 28 January 2007 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/LingrF5? Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

words don’t do this justice

note: I may revise this later if i look back and think of more to say. I probably will, bit i wanted to push this out now for personal reasons.

This is it. The finale. We finally made it! From November to now, Splash Star has been a long road plagued by personal difficulties and stubbornness and some lost sleep along the way, but I made it! And boy do we have a lot to discuss!

The Plot

When we left off, Saki, Mai, Michiru, and Kaoru, were infused with the power of spirits and transformed into Cures Bloom, Egret, Bright, and Windy. Gohyaan mocks their resolve and points out how all life is gone and there’s no light, no wind, nothing. It’s a world of ruin, except for the four of them, and he’s about to fix that. They battle, and as the girls again try to explain why they consider life so valuable, Gohyaan explains his backstory. He is an existence predating the universe, and he doesn’t like the commotion of life, so he wants to go back to the quiet. The girls won’t let that happen, because they have so much to live for. Gohyaan destroys the entire Earth, and thinks this is the end for them, but no! Saki explains how she needs to lead the softball team to victory. Michiru wants to try baking bread, because Saki’s is so delicious. Kaoru wants to draw with Minori and Mai, Choppi wants to live in the Land of Fountains, Flappi wants to confess his feelings, and Mai wants to keep drawing everyone’s smiles. They stand up, gather their power, and all together they perform a brand new four-person finishing attack: Precure Spiral Heart Splash Star!

This is too much for Gohyaan to handle and as the girls proclaim the strength of their hopes and futures, he is blown away.

The spirits of the various fountains and the Fairy Carafe reappear, and they restore everything to its original, beautiful state. We see all six fountains one final time, as the girls stand in front of the Sky Tree as they realize that it’s connected to the World Tree in the Land of Fountains. Princess Filia is fully restored to power, and Korone returns to being a normal, non-talking cat. However, Michiru and Kaoru have exhausted the last of their remaining energy, and they begin to fade away. Saki, Mai, Flaapi, Choppi, Moop, and Foop all cry deeply, not wanting to let their friends go, and even Filia seems sad but unable to do anything. However, a miracle occurs as the spirits of the Land of Greenery flow into the two, and Filia deduces that the spirits themselves want to live with the Michiru and Kaoru. They’re restored to life, and Princess Filia finally returns to her place in the Tree of Life.

At this point the first ending theme begins to play as we get a montage of events: All four girls visiting the Fountain of the Sky at long last, fulfilling that promise. Waving a tearful goodbye to their fairies. Mai and Kaoru drawing in school. The girls sitting on Gourd Rock in the spring. Saki and Michiru baking. And then, the softball tournament. Kaoru and Minori have drawn a picture to support Saki, while Michiru baked some bread in the shape of Saki’s head. Kaya, Miyasako, Kenta, Hitomi, Yuuko, and Mai are all in the stands anticipating the game. Saki looks into the stands and sees Izumida, the former captain, and suddenly gets nervous. She walks out of sight, and Mai walks up to her. They hold hands and Saki comments about how holding hands lets Mai’s energy flow through her, a callback to an earlier episode.

Then Saki walks out onto the field. Next thing we know, we’re treated to a few of Mai’s drawings: Saki holding the championship trophy, indicating they won. Everybody gathered together with Saki: Mai, Michiru, Kaoru, Kenta, Miyasako, Kaya, Hitomi, Yuuko, Izumida, Ms. Shinohara, Saki’s parents, Mai’s parents, Minori, Kazuyua, Korone, and all the fairies. Basically, every major character in the series. How nobody saw the fairies is not answered, and I have to assume it’s actually a photograph that Mai copied but details aside, it’s a great picture.

We zoom out to see Saki and Mai sitting beneath the Sky Tree, closing the sketchbook, and the real credits roll.

The Analysis

I absolutely love every minute of this. Even with the powers of all four spirits, Gohyaan is a formidable opponent, but the girls hold their own and manage to overcome him in the end. What is the power of destruction next to an indestructible will? He underestimates the power, the value, of life, and that is his ultimate undoing. He gets the peace and quiet he wants.... at the cost of his existence. And, indeed, this explains the Uzainaa’s name. It’s derived from “Urusai na”, which means “it’s annoying”. Gohyaan is an existence that predates the universe, and he doesn’t like the commotion created by life. It’s a darkly mundane reason to want to try to destroy everything, and frankly he should find a new hobby, but maybe in the end he learned that life is precious. Doesn’t seem like it, though. Honestly I don’t have much to say about the battle itself. There’s some good scenes, like this part where the cures all flip Gohyaan, but it’s more of an exchange of wills than a physical fight. Both are important aspects, as I’ve commented many times, I just want to note that the physical stuff was done last episode.

Let’s talk Michiru and Kaoru. Officially, they don’t get new designations even with the powers of Moon and Wind, because the idea at the time was still that Precures were only ordinary girls, but I think they deserve to be called Cure Bright and Cure Windy. Their journey is heartbreaking, even if their death was an inevitability and they were given a new lease on life very quickly. They never deserved what they got, but their tragedy is a part of this show I honestly forgot about, and I think it makes it more powerful. I knew Splash Star was an underrated gem but I had forgotten the depths of tragedy the Kiryuus were in, I kind of thought everything was pretty hunky-dory when they got back. Their journey escalates this show to a higher tier in my view, and I’ll have to remember that when making recommendations.

Obviously, they already had powers from being Dark Fall denizens, and getting Cure abilities doesn’t make them innately better, but it’s a great next step for them, epitomizing the journey they’ve undergone from mindless servants of Akudaikaan to friends and sisters who have a network of people who care about and support them, discovering their own interests, and getting to live life. They are every inch heroes in the way that Saki and Mai are and they have been done dirty by the franchise writ large.

The epilogue gives us a lot of things I really wanted. Michiru and Kaoru finally get some casual clothes, and they are really stylish.

Also, we fast forward to spring and see them in spring outfits and Michiru’s outfit is extremely similar to Nagisa’s spring clothes.

I’m happy to see them living normal lives, practicing baking and art and getting to experience life, finally. They seem so happy and I’m sure they have a bright future ahead of them and GOD DAMN IT TOEI WHY DO YOU IGNORE THEM. They were lucky to get Figuarts.

The softball championship game is something else I honestly forgot happened. I commented back in the last softball episode (35 I think) that we would never see Saki lead the team to victory the next year, because the show didn’t get a second season. Well, they took care of that here, and Saki did live up to her promise to Izumida by winning the championship.

In general it’s a lot of tying up loose ends that I really appreciate. Flappi finally confessed his feelings to Choppi and they’re a couple now, Kenta and Miyasako are still going strong as a manzai duo, Yuuko feels inspired by his encouragement even if they don’t seem to be a couple, and... well, the last closure we got on Saki and Kazuya was in the Christmas episode, but that’s just as well because Saki’s only love is Mai. For real though I love that the episode closes out on them being close, and you can choose to interpret their friendship any way you choose. It’s just perfect for this show.

Oh and there’s a little epilogue after the ending theme. On the TV broadcast it was probably a preview for Yes! 5, but we don’t get that here. Instead we get  , some stills of Saki and Mai thanking everybody for watching, and saying that Precure will continue for a long time! And boy, truer words were never spoken.

Next time on precure Daily, I’m going to revisit a little Splash Star something that I forgot to do sooner. After that, I’m going to try to push out a retrospective on the entire Futari wa era, before we change up the formula big time with Yes 5. My goal is to finish Yes 5 by the end of 2019, but if I’m really good I might even be able to start GoGo this year. I don’t want to drag another show out for 8 months, so we’ll see where we end up. I hope to see all of you again soon!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Zekkouchou Nari!, in the title of the episode.

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 115

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 17 - “The Broken Haniwa! What will Mai and Her Mother Do?” Date watched: 29 April 2019 Original air date: 28 May 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/9FC5Dnj Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Shakkoumon? Is that you?

(Okay I don’t know if I have any historians or archaeologists reading this but I want to clarify that I do (as of about 30 seconds ago) know the difference between shakoki dogu and haniwa figures, but I was struggling to come up with a witty picture/caption combo until this came to mind. To the ~10 other people out there who are fans of both Digimon and Precure, you’re welcome.)

What a great episode this is. It deepens the bond between Mai and her mother, Kanako, also giving us some more insight into Kanako’s career and interests. Along the way we bolster Saki to a degree, and even the Kiryuus are inspired enough by their observations to begin questioning what it is they’re fighting for. I really love it when one character’s growth spurns another’s, because it really emphasizes what a positive impact they’re having on the world around them, which is the epitome of a superhero show.

I’ll describe the plot briefly, but the meat of this episode is in the relationships at play here. The girls are at Mai’s place where Mai explains how she often has to cook for the family due to her parents’ busy schedules, when her mother stumbles out of her office with a stack of documents and artifacts, which she dumps on the table. She talks to Saki about what she does as an archaeologist, and Saki is a bit overwhelmed. After she leaves, Choppi is entranced by a Haniwa statue on the pile of work, because it resembles her, but as she goes to take a closer look she accidentally topples the pile and the Haniwa shatters on the floor. Mai apologizes to her mother, covering for Choppi, but despite her mother insisting that it’s alright, both Mai and Choppi feel guilty. She sulks over it all day in school the next day, and even gets in a squabble with Michiru and Kaoru about the sentimental value of objects. That night, Saki decides to practice her cooking, inspired by Mai the previous day, and Mai sets about trying to make a drawing for her mother to express her sorrow and somewhat replace the broken artifact. Choppi takes the chance to sneak out with Flappi and go digging by the Sky Tree, where the doll was originally found. After digging all night, she uncovers something..... Dorodoron! He tries to chase the fairies but at this point, the girls have noticed that their partners are missing and they show up at the tree in the nick of time. The villain turns the fragment of the doll that Choppi was using as a reference into a giant haniwa Uzainaa, which can fire missiles from its hips. The girls transform into Precure but struggle to beat it, and Dorodoron even interferes by webbing them up, but their strong convictions to overcome their shortcomings and for Mai to make up with her mother give them the strength to break free, and then they do away with the monster. Back at Mai’s place, Kanako sees the completed drawing that Mai made and compliments her highly. She explains that although the haniwa meant a lot to her, she can see through Mai’s art that she understands the importance of it, and she loves putting things back together. They all yawn and realize they’ve not had enough sleep, so Kanako insists all three of them go to sleep right then and wake up for lunch. Lunch is served by Saki, making omelets and she has improved on her previous attempts, so everybody is happy!

Also there’s a running gag where Kanako keeps tripping and dropping the tea tray.

So, as I said, relationships are the big one here. Mai’s relationships with Saki, Choppi, and her mother all influence Mai and the other party, and have positive impacts on each other. Saki isn’t as good at cooking as Mai, because she has less practice (but she’s no Nagisa, thankfully), but Mai encourages her by appealing to her stomach:

hit ‘em where it hurts

Saki takes this to heart, and she goes home with renewed vigor to practice. The following night, she stays up late trying to make omelets, going through a lot of eggs in the process. She leaves the mistakes for her folks to eat in the morning, as they’re still edible, and the next day after Mai has made peace with her mother, she cooks for everyone and they confirm that her omelets are much better than they were before.

Mai and Choppi have a lot to work through. Obviously, the fairy was the one at fault for breaking the artifact, but Mai takes the blame because she can’t let her mom know she’s a Precure. Choppi feels a lot of guilt over this, and tries to do whatever she can to help the situation. Ultimately this puts her in danger, and while this plot thread is never resolved to my satisfaction, Mai does stress that she isn’t upset at Choppi, and she’s more concerned with her safety and well-being.

Mai and her mother, Kanako, make up the biggest relationship hurdle this episode of course. We learn towards the end that this particular Haniwa was one that Kanako found when she herself was a child, and it inspired her interest in archaeology.

Naturally, it carries a lot of sentimental value to her, which is why Mai is so concerned. Despite saying she’s fine, Mai sees her mother trying to piece it back together and assumes this means she isn’t letting go, which is why she tries so hard to make some piece of art that can make up for the broken feelings. In the end, Mai’s art proves to her mother that she understands how important that haniwa was to her, and knowing that her daughter was able to recognize the sentiment well enough to capture it in her artwork means more to her than simply having it, although she does reveal that she’s managed to glue all the pieces back together as well.

Interestingly, Mai’s emotional troubles have a heavy impact on Michiru and Kaoru as well. Kaoru simply doesn’t understand emotional attachments to objects. She volunteers to get it fixed, as she knows someone who can make perfect clay copies (wink wink), but Mai explains that it’s her mother’s emotions that are broken, more than just the physical object. Kaoru insists that it’s a waste of time to even think about it if there’s nothing they can do, which really gets Mai upset and she insists that it was a one-of-a-kind object that was precious to her mother, and then turns around and asks how Kaoru would feel if something precious to her were to break.

The sisters and the Precures have to part ways before they can get a straight answer, but later that night, we find the Kiryuus standing on a rock, bathing in the moonlight, and discussing the earlier conversation. Kaoru points out that their objective of defeating Precure and reclaiming the fountain of the Sun is not precious to them, but to Akudaikaan, and wonders if they have anything truly precious to them. They also noted, prior to the rooftop conversation, that Precure’s power goes stronger when they’re emotionally invested in something. The puzzle pieces are slowly starting to fall into place, and this is the first episode where the Kaoru and Michiru start to question what it is that they’re after, as well as who, what, and why they’re fighting for. It won’t be the last...

Usually Michiru is the more talkative of the two sisters but Kaoru has more to say this time, especially as she starts to reconsider ideas that they were taking for granted about their purpose.

Now, the fight! Akudaikaan took a pretty pointed jab at Dorodoron in Dark Fall earlier in the episode, questioning his competence after three consecutive defeats:

yes

Now his pride is on the line, so you would think he would try harder in the fight. To his credit, he has had some good ideas in the past, trying to sabotage Saki’s self-confidence or just attacking her when she’s physically exhausted, but this go-round he just creates an Uzainaa and lets it go to town on the girls. Being made of clay, it resists their attacks at first, and it seems he has the upper hand, to the point where he even has Bloom and Egret wrapped up in web.

They take this moment to confer with Flappi and Choppi about why they ran off overnight, and they explain they were looking all night for a haniwa for Mai. Dorodoron is like “I don’t really care, can I just have those spirits?” which of course, upsets Bloom and Egret. Remember how Kaoru observed that they get stronger when they care about something? Well, you can put two and two together and the result is that the girls are inspired by their fairies’ efforts to help and angry at Dorodoron’s derision, so they power up, break out of the web, and kick some clay monster ass, sending the general back to Dark Fall cowering. Interestingly, Michiru and Kaoru were nowhere to be seen during or after this fight.

One more point of note is that the haniwa that Choppi broke looked somewhat like her.

Kanako states much later in the episode that it looks different from normal haniwa, and that her research suggests that the Sky Tree was very important to the ancient villagers of their town. If you’ll recall, the Sky Tree is also where Saki and Mai first met each other, where they first reunited as teenagers, and where they met Choppi and Flappi for the first time, not to mention that it’s where they always come out whenever they return from restoring a fountain. The tree definitely has some connection to the Land of Fountains, and we’re slowly learning what it is.

One last thing: I want to appreciate that they draw Mishou Kanako looking frazzled, as one would be after three days of hard work and little to no sleep.

However, her dishevelment is not used to make fun of her (her constant tripping and falling does that), and while it’s commented on that she looks a mess, nobody pays any less regard to what she has to say. She’s still an authority in her field, even when she doesn’t look her best, and I just think that’s neat.

Next time, the Kiryuus come to PanPaka Pan and further their character growth! 

Also congratulations to Japan for the imperial succession. The former emperor, Akihito, formally stepped down on Tuesday, ending his 30 year reign and the Heisei Era. His son, Naruhito, ascended to the throne on Wednesday, ushering in the Reiwa Era. This is the first succession in over 200 years to occur by abdication rather than by the death of the reigning emperor, which can be attributed to improvements in medical science. The next broadcast episode of Precure (Star Twinkle 14, at time of writing) will be the first episode of this new era. Not that that really means anything for the show, but hey. Benchmarks are benchmarks. Star Twinkle has the honor of being the first Precure to straddle eras and the first show to air outside of the Heisei Period. (it’s a particular topic of interest, don’t judge me)

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Zekkouchou Nari!

Miracle Drop Count: 4

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 117

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 19 - “What’s Important to You? Saki and Mai’s Wish” Date watched: 4 May 2019 Original air date: 11 June 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/HbpjSL5 Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

I’m in lesbians with you.

You kinda have to feel sorry for Michiru and Kaoru. Dark Fall has been their entire life, it’s everything they know, and it’s a bit of a hostile atmosphere. They finally branch out into the human world and experience kindness and compassion but they know that they have to destroy this world and the new friends they’ve made. They’re slowly undoing the brainwashing, but they’re afraid of what Akudaikaan will do to them if they betray him, so they repress their enjoyment and try to fulfill their assignment. They tell each other they believe fully in what they’re doing, but it sounds like they’re trying to convince themselves more than anybody. It’s essentially the struggle of unlearning an oppressive behavior, mixed with recognizing and escaping an abusive lifestyle. Deep stuff. So, what are the twins up to this time?

oh

They want to personally destroy the Precures as a sign of their conviction to Dark Fall, and they have recognized that the Precures grow immensely stronger when their hearts are as one, so they decide to try to break them apart first in order to defeat them. They do this in the most simple way possible, by vanishing objects of personal importance: Saki’s softball mitt and Mai’s sketchbook. They have realized that when people are missing something, finding that object becomes the only thing they can focus on, because people have single-track minds. As predicted, both Saki and Mai are distracted by looking for their missing possessions, and forget that they agreed to meet up with each other so Saki could show Mai a beautiful scenic spot she found. Michiru and Kaoru also nudge them in the wrong direction, telling each of them that the other went home already and will probably be disappointed that their friendship meant so little. It seems like a good idea no paper.

However, the plan backfires as both Saki and Mai feel remorseful for missing a promised meeting, and they write each other notes to apologize, and stick them in their pencil cases. While they sleep, the spirits work their magic and transform their cases into special stationery kits with the ability to transmit messages to each other. At school the next day, the girls attempt to reconcile but other commitments and general awkwardness get in the way. They separately discover their strange new pencil cases, and Flappi and Choppi advise them that the spirits must have responded to their strong feelings, so if they write a message on the special paper, the other person will surely receive it. Sure enough, each of them writes a note for the other and the spirits carry them away. The two run to talk to each other after school but Dorodoron, not willing to let the Kiryuus steal his thunder, interrupts by turning the water fountain into an Uzainaa.

Michiru and Kaoru say, screw it, he probably won’t win but let’s see what happens. Maybe we weakened Precure enough that he’ll be able to best them this time! So they watch. Mai and Saki transform, but rather than being weakened by having their bond damaged, they’re stronger than ever, because both of them felt bad about the previous day and just wanted to apologize and make up. They’re both surprised by how strong their spirit power is today and how easily they repel the monster’s attacks, which REALLY pisses off Dorodoron.

(The cement on his ears is a reflected attack from the uazainaa)

The heroines finish it off and Dorodoron flees. Afterwards, they discuss how odd it was that they were so powerful today when both of them thought the other was upset with them, but Flappi and Choppi encourage them to read the notes they wrote for each other: both of them essentially saying they hope their partner finds the thing they lost. They formally make up, while the Kiryuus (watching from afar, see cover pic) remark that they’re truly called the legendary warriors for a reason, and vow to go all-out on them the next time. Seeing no more need for the items they confiscated, they return them, and Mai later comments that it’s strange that they were in their club rooms, but no more is said on the topic.

That evening, Saki takes Mai to the scenic location finally, a lakeside garden of wildflowers surrounded by hills. The setting is cast in the orange glow of sunset and it looks absolutely gorgeous. I’ll let the picture do the talking.

They discuss their strong feelings for each other and that’s where the episode ends.

If you don’t ship SakiMai by now, I’m lowkey judging you, unless you just don’t do shipping at all, in which case, carry on. But wow this episode is pretty unsubtle with the shipping fuel. Saki finds a beautiful spot and her first thought is “I want to bring Mai here on a date so she can draw all the pretty flowers”. Things don’t work out and both of their minds immediately jump to “I have to make this up to her, I hope she forgives me!” And the episode is filled with them giving each other looks.

I love every part of this. MichiKao’s scheme is smart, they just underestimated how close the bond between the two is or how they would respond. Instead of driving a rift between them, their sympathy for each other and sincere regret for missing the meeting brings them closer, and therefore makes them even stronger.

These last few episodes, the villains have all been doing something I like: changing their strategy, and that’s a problem that a lot of Precure shows continue to have. Michiru and Kaoru themselves are trying to resist the allure of friendship, and there’s actually a scene right before they vanish the girls’ possessions that Michiru flashes back to the scene from last episode where Saki and Mai brought them pastries for helping at the sale. She tries to clear her mind of any lingering doubts, but every word they exchange makes you realize that they’re trying to convince themselves that Precure are bad and need to be destroyed. These aren’t the same two girls that met Saki and Mai in episode 14, they’ve grown, and they have more growing to do in the next few episodes. Brace yourselves, because it’s about to get intense.

One last note, this appears to be the final episode that Imai Yuka voices Kaoru. Her voice is notably different in the next episode, and the credits for SS20 confirm that she is voiced by Okamura Akemi.

Kaoru voiced by Imai Yuka (今井 由香) in episode 19

Kaoru voiced by Okamura Akemi ( 岡村 明美) in episode 20

According to the wiki, which cites a 2010 blog entry, Imai Yuka stepped down because she became pregnant and frequently had intense morning sickness, preventing her from being able to work reliably. She’ll be back to play a few other minor characters in other shows.

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Zekkouchou Nari!

Miracle Drop Count: 6

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 113

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 15 - “Softball is the Bond between Mother and Daughter” Date watched: 12 April 2019 Original air date: 14 May 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/6udeh4g Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Young Saki is always a win

Now that Michiru and Kaoru’s allegiance is known, we can see them truly playing their part as infiltrators. They spy on Saki's morning softball practice and comment on how silly and futile it seems. Gohyaan pops up and tells them to return to their fountain, but without even batting an eye they unanimously say “no” and walk off to class. During literature class, all of the softball players are dozing off, to the ire of the teacher, and an offhand comment from Mai that they’ll do well in the tournament tomorrow gets the sisters thinking.

[[evil thoughts]]

During the after school softball practice, they intercept Dorodoron before he can attack the Precures, and remind him that full-frontal assaults without a strategy are why Moerumba lost. They hint that the girls’ power as Precure seems to be connected to their moods and enjoyment, so Dorodoron decides to play coy and sticks a tiny pebble Uzainaa in her catcher’s mitt that will cause her pitches to go wildly off target. This works for a while and it really kills Saki’s spirit. That night at dinner, she has no appetite and goes to sleep early, until she has a nightmare about missing 100 pitches in a row and allowing the other team to win in a landslide.

She snaps awake at about 1 AM and realizes she’s hungry so she goes downstairs to grab something. Saki finds her mother in the kitchen, working on new confections for the store, and after some motherly prodding Saki unloads all her troubles. Mom reminds her that she didn’t start out great, and missed a lot when she was a child too. Her mother told her then that the most important things were to “Give it your all, try your hardest, and have fun!” and she reiterates that now. At the time Saki wanted to use her mom’s glove to see if it would help her, but of course she was much too small for it to fit her hand back then. Now, however, her hands are about the same size as her mother’s, and so Saori suggests her daughter try using her glove for the game tomorrow.

(as an aside, I realize I am very much underselling this scene, it’s a powerful moment, but in my effort to keep this concise I’m having to skimp on the details)

The next day Saki is feeling enthusiastic again after her mother’s pep talk and she eagerly chats with Mai on the trolley about getting to use her mom’s glove in the match. Dorodoron is riding on top of the train, somehow completely unnoticed, and overhears this, and he is not pleased. He intercepts the duo on a bridge and says that he’ll let them go and not fight them today if Saki agrees to use her own glove. This sets off some alarm bells in the girls’ heads and they go back and forth, trying to find out why he’s so adamant about this. Finally, when Saki refuses to use her own glove, he gets angry and releases the Uzainaa, growing it back to giant size, and then somewhat fusing with it (not pictured).

Saki and Mai transform into Pretty Cure and realize that this Uzainaa is what’s been throwing Saki off her game. Dordoron taunts her, assuming that her spirits will still be down and therefore Precure’s power will be lessened and he’ll have an easy fight. He didn’t count on his ruse being revealed, or the power boost they would get from their righteous anger at his foul play. The girls strike in unison, brushing aside his attacks and delivering strong counterattacks of their own, surprising the soft-spoken general. Bloom explains that, despite his efforts, she still has the support of her mom, Egret, and all of her friends and teammates, and the goal is to do your best and have fun, so she wouldn’t let him bring her down. The Cures perform Twin Stream Splash on the monster and Dorodoron beats a hasty retreat. After it’s gone, Bloom expresses her disgust at the underhanded tactic, and the camera pans up to show Michiru and Kaoru spying on them from above, looking disappointed.

possible symbolism: Bloom and Egret facing toward each other, while Michiru and Kaoru face away from each other

Michiru says that the Precure are unexpectedly strong, while Kaoru retorts that it’s more like Dorodoron is unexpectedly weak, but they both agree that Precure have powers they weren’t aware of and they’ll have to keep watching them.

At the game, Saki scores the winning strikeout on the opposing team and everybody celebrates. She goes hom and makes dinner for her family that night: a special omelette! Now, the usual trope for pink cures is that they can’t cook and their food tastes awful, so imagine my surprise when her whole family agrees that the dinner was really good! Happy ending!

Look at those Kiryuu sisters, they just arrived and they’re already changing the game. Kiriya spied on Black and White the same as Michiru and Kaoru are doing to Saki and Mai, but he did very little to help his sister in battle. On the flipside, Michiru and Kaoru are giving advice to Dorodoron about better strategies than just charging in and demanding the location of the Fountain of the Sun. Trying to throw Saki off her groove was actually quite clever, and it would have worked if he hadn’t been such a dunce about it. He could have easily hidden near the girls and had the Uzainaa jump from Saki’s glove to her mother’s, further wounding her pride and confidence, but instead he jumped out and made a very suspicious demand that led to his premature defeat. I feel justified in picking apart silly villain plans because, in this show and later shows, the villains can and have done better, even on the instances when they still ultimately lose, so it’s not just me being salty that the good guys always win because it’s a hero show. Certainly, Saki’s speech about being inspired by her mom and friends was powerful, but imagine how much more powerful it would have been if Dorodoron hadn’t played his hand so early. Then again, that he needed the Kiryuus to point him in the right direction says a lot about his competence as a villain as well.  M & K’s scheming is fun, though, and I look forward to seeing what else they come up with. (I’ve honestly forgotten)

Also, the Kiryuus are the subject of a lot of interesting camera work. There’s that high angle, which is also meant to include Dorodoron, and there’s a low angle from his point of view:

Earlier when Gohyaan showed up to say hello, there was an extreme closeup on Michiru’s face showing her just barely moving her eyes and nothing else to acknowledge his presence.

Dorodoron isn’t exempt from the fun, he gets this one distinct shot that I really like:

For someone so timid he’s surprisingly expressive.

Saki gets to be the subject of some creative mood lighting and beautiful sunset animation.

I guess I’m a sucker for sunsets. There’s also these shadows that symbolize her sadness when she feels like she’s lost her skill:

And then the next day after talking to her mother, she’s bright and well-lit again.

Now, I’m going to cheat a little bit here, because I love pointing out poor-quality animation when it pops up. This following shot was only visible for a single frame before dramatically zooming out, so the low quality makes sense for the distance, but the split second that it’s there as a closeup..... it’s bad.

But as I said, their fight has some great synchronized action and that gives us shots like this:

It feels a lot more interesting than some previous episodes of the show. Y’all know I didn’t give Karehaan the time of day, and even Moerumba got a bit tiring. The villains themselves are endemic of my larger issues with the show: it was good but it wasn’t really doing anything. Now, however, we’ve got some much-needed intrigue and that’s helped the show a lot in this episode. As I recall, it only gets better from here, so I hope you enjoy coming on this journey with me.

The last couple episodes haven’t had much in the way of Saki’s catchphrase, so this episode decided to make up for it in spades!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 3 Zekkouchou Nari (from Saki) Saki’s mom also gets in on the fun with a “Zekkouchou Nari” of her own, and.... Saki uses her anti-catchphrase, “I’m in bad form!” twice!

Miracle Drop Count: 2

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 068

Episode: Futari wa Precure Max Heart 18 - “Camping Ho! Just leave it to Dad?” Date watched: 20 August 2018, rewatched 24 September 2018 Original air date: 5 June 2005 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/Lx7i9YR

The new Scooby Doo show looks weird

First of all, hello again from another long, unplanned absence! Hopefully the last but at this point I make no promises. For a couple of reasons, such as preventing more hiatuses, most reviews going forward will be shorter and more concise. I’ll still quip and analyze things, but there will be less plot summary, so you may want to re-familiarize yourselves with the episodes on the wiki or something to better understand my rambling. Also, I’m writing this particular review in a bit of a rush because I did promise to get it out today and I’ve broken enough promises, so if it seems sloppy, it’s because I needed to get to sleep an hour ago.

This episode is about two main plots which go nowhere, and a small bit of progression or Hikaru. Very small. He stares out a window and doesn’t play with his toys, prompting the butlers to worry about him. The rest is about Nagisa and Honoka going camping with her family, a plot very reminiscent of FW15, and then they try to shoehorn a message about pollution into the episode. I wouldn’t mind this except that it comes from nowhere and is barely acknowledged after they beat the trash Zakenna.

Seriously most of the episode is humdrum camping antics with some gags about Nagisa’s sibling rivalry with Ryouta, Nagisa’s love of food, Intelligen being smart, and Mipple and Mepple having a chance to be alone(ish), and then suddenly Chuutaro detects Uraganos nearby and leads the girls to an illegal landfill. They give a little lipservice about not polluting but it doesn’t. Go. Anywhere.

Also the animation is consistently bad in this one. A select few moments of decent quality but mostly off-model monstrocities like I’ve capped before.

While i was at the convention I got to talking to some other fans I found waiting for a Precure panel (that wound up being cancelled) and a guy pointed out that a lot of Max Heart episodes are just recycled FW plots with some parts switched around. In fairness, Precure isn’t the only show to do this, but it’s sad that the excellent FW was followed up with the so-so MH. No wonder I’ve been struggling. At least Hikari, who showed up kind of out of nowhere because Akane JUST happened to be driving her truck out in the area and smelled food, gets some cute moments, and there’s some nice backing music during downtime scenes. Um.... that’s all I got. Tomorrow: MOVING

PINK PRECURE CATCHPHRASE COUNT: forgot to count my bad

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 074

Episode: Futari wa Precure Max Heart 24 - “Full-Throttle Youth! Yuka-Sempai and Nagisa’s Ultimate Battle!!” Date watched: 7 October 2018 Original air date: 7 August 2005 (I don’t know why they went two weeks without an episode) Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/W9YpYpJ

Hey guess who’s making a surprise guest appearance this episode? It’s Odajima Yuka! You might remember her from a few episodes of Futari wa where she was referred to as the Madonna of Verone Academy. She was a third year, and in this show she’s now a first year high schooler, but she decides to join the middle school on their summer trip on a whim. You see, Yuka has been lacking a certain something in her life, even she’s not entirely sure what, but she wants to revisit her old teammates. Now you may remember from the first season that Yuka was mentioned as being in the science club, tennis club, volleyball club, tea ceremoney club, English club, and ballet club, as well as being a flutist, so she was certainly keeping busy. Yuriko even comments that they rarely actually saw her because she was so busy with all of this. Well, you’d think she came here to spend a little time with the members of her former club but she ends up gravitating towards the lacrosse training. A talk with Hikari reveals that Nagisa has confessed to really admiring her, because being around Yuka gets her fired up, and with this in mind she gets roped into playing with the lacrosse team. Turns out she’s good at this too, despite never having played, but she gets really into it. She goes toe to toe with Nagisa and it brings out the best in both of them. They never outright say this in the episode but the implication is that Yuka needed to be challenged. This was touched on in the sports festival episode last season when Yuka was adamant about not losing to Nagisa in particular, and here it really comes to fruition. Unfortunately their practice is cut short, not by the Dusk Zone as you might expect, but by Nagisa passing out from exhaustion. Turns out she’d been losing a lot of sleep preparing the schedule for this trip. Yuka, Honoka, and Hikari tend to her for a bit but of course, this is a superhero show so the villains had to show up eventually, and they do right when Nagisa wakes up. The dark aura causes everybody who’s not blessed with the power of light to pass out, and the trio runs outside to discover Uraganos, who demands to know what happened to Baldez. Nagisa and Honoka transform while Hikari stays back, and after fighting the zakenna he made from their bus, Cure Black threatens Uraganos with their new power. Unfortunately she’s not sure how to summon it.

not like that

With some help from Seekun, the pair wish deeply for help from the power of nature and the power to create all things, and this summons the Sparkle Braces. They immediately attack with the Marble Screw Max, which Uraganos tries to block, but they turn it into the Spark and he quickly flees because he can tell he’s overpowered. The next morning, Yuka and Nagisa are bickering about oversleeping and who should have woken whom up, but it’s a friendly squabble. Yuka decides to go back home, having had her fill of excitement. Honoka comments that she probably just came to see Nagisa, which Nagisa doesn’t believe, but this is confirmed by the final lines of the episode:

I’ll be honest, the first time I watched Max Heart I didn’t remember Yuka at all from when I had watched Futari wa a year or two prior. I firmly believe that she was underused in the first season, and she would have been delightful to see more than just three or four times. That being said, this episode is the perfect conclusion to her character arc. When we first met her in FW16 she felt burdened by her reputation as the Madonna, and although she scolded Nagisa and Honoka for being childish by dancing with the chalk erasers, there was a subtle sense that she wanted to let loose like that, which was manifested in her zakenna clones. In FW34, she develops a one-sided rivalry with Nagisa. She’s shown briefly in FW49 but not in any way that adds to her development. Finally, in this episode, we get the payoff to that rivalry as she puts aside her reputation and challenges Nagisa in order to get some fulfillment. She feeds off of Nagisa’s enthusiasm and Nagisa does the same for Yuka. They really complement each other and this is why I’d like it if Yuka appeared more in the show. I may be wrong (I was certainly wrong about this in the FW16 review) but I think this is her last appearance, being as she’s a high schooler now with few opportunities to interact with the middle school cast, and now more than ever I truly feel like that’s a missed opportunity.... but hey, missed opportunities are what Max Heart is all about.

Come back next time for the best grandma in the universe!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Arienai

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 073

Episode: Futari wa Precure Max Heart 23 - “Repel the Power of Darkness! New Power gives Hope!!” Date watched: 6 October 2018 Original air date: 17 July 2005 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/cllELjq

You’re not seeing things, I did post the same picture twice

Following Intelligen’s advice, Nagisa, Honoka, and Hikari head back to the lake that they first found the Prism Hopeish. They look around a bit but it’s overcast so they can’t use the sun to help them find a mirrored spot. Intelligen pulls out some more clues about a “sleeping lion”, which turns out to be a rock formation, and while they’re atop that looking around the sun finally comes out and they follow the shadow of the lion rock to their true destination.

The girls, fairies, and Heartiels do some chanting that links the temple in the Garden of Light with this place, but before they can really do anything, the wind picks up, the water recedes, and a waterfall flows upward to reveal Baldez. After throwing the girls around a bit, he makes a telling remark that they haven’t even seen the limit of his power to destroy all things. (Remember who else had the power to destroy all things?) Luminous tries something that they haven’t yet, hitting him with Heartiel Action to freeze him, but although he’s hampered he manages to overpower his way out of it. Unlike Circulas before him, he’s still able to fight after doing this. Black and White are terrified but they can feel that the Earth itself is afraid of Baldez’s power, so they vow that there’s no way they’ll lose. This clearly strikes a chord with the Earth and the Prism Stones, as the girls are powered up with the Sparkle Braces. (I’m skipping some small details here, forgive me) Suddenly the tables are turned. Baldez finds himself on the losing end of the fight and he is FURIOUS. After giving him what for, the di-chromatic duo hit him with Marble Screw Max. He scoffs at this and blocks it, but with the power of the Earth and rainbows they upgrade the attack to Precure Marble Screw Max Sparkle. This is too much for Baldez to handle and he gets caught in a huge explosion that seemingly destroys him.

When the dust is cleared, Nagisa and Honoka ponder their new Power of Hope given to them by the Earth itself and Intelligen reminds them that they earned the power through their unending will to protect the world and refusal to give up, and then states her business is done and she’ll be returning to the Chairect. We close out on a beautiful sunset over the lake.

This episode was almost great. Almost. The only thing holding it back is the animation, which is okay but not as good as the show is capable of. Faces seem bland, proportions are slightly off, and the first half of the episode just seems a bit cheap. I have to assume this is compensation for the new stock footage of Black and White receiving the Sparkle Braces, which is very long and features a lot of superfluous arm spinning. And yes, as I referenced in the top caption and way back in my FW30 review, these are very much the same thing as the Rainbow Braces from last season. I mean sure they’re different designs but they’re still large chunky bracelets that they wear on their wrists which power them up and are available on store shelves at around this time. They have a bow this time, though, so that’s cool. Anyway I was extremely cynical of the Rainbow Braces last season so just assume most of my criticisms from there carry forward, and I’ll talk about the positive aspects instead. Due to the bow, these look a bit less jarring on their outfits. The way that they earn them is much more meaningful than in FW: the Earth itself cries out for help, and the girls can hear it. They vow to protect it and it’s through the combination of the Power to Create All Things stored within the Prism Stones and the power of all living things on the Earth that they receive the new power. Not to say that FW was bad, but just look at “the Earth granted us this power because we stood up to an immensely powerful enemy” compared to “We were losing and Porun was afraid so he tapped into power he didn’t know he had.”

If you needed a demonstration of how much more powerful the girls are now compared to last season, look at their foe: Baldez is so powerful that nature itself was afraid of him, and the girls were able to keep up with him before getting the braces, even if they lost. No enemy in the first season was capable of this level of menace. Then when they do get their powerup, they destroy Baldez completely. That’s strong!

Despite some silliness with trying to find their way, the journey is as important as the destination and the girls really worked hard to find this location and earn their new power. It’s not a trial by fire like Heartcatch, but it’s worth it in the end. The message about never giving up despite the odds is empowering and they truly live by it here. Sure, Nagisa gripes a little, but as I’ve said before, when push comes to shove she always pulls through, and Honoka is right there beside her to help show her the way.

Hikari is there but honestly she didn’t have much purpose to this episode. She gets her own powerup later in the series but given her abilities she doesn’t have a lot to contribute to this fight. Cure Black even has to push her out of harm’s way at one point because she’s not much of a fighter. The most she contributes to this battle is trying to stall Baldez with Heartiel Action, which doesn’t work. After Nagisa and Honoka power up she just stands off to the side commenting on the power of nature. I’ve said before that I like the idea of a differently abled team member but they took it too far with Luminous and it seems like the writers or directors didn’t know what to do with her a lot of the time. In Yes GoGo, Milky Rose has the opposite problem: she doesn’t seem any different from the Precures in terms of skillset. This might be why they dropped the idea of having non-cures on the teams, but I’d really like for them to revisit the idea and give a powerful ally a different role on the team without making them feel like dead weight half the time. But I’m not holding my breath.

That’s kind of a downer note to end on for an overall positive episode and I’m sorry, but I'm out of things to say so I’ll end it here. Next time: the return of an old friend!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: Uhhhhhhh I forgot to count. Maybe 1?

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 079

Episode: Futari wa Precure Max Heart 29 - “No way, Seriously!? The Great Porun Babysitting Plan” Date watched: 12 October 2018 Original air date: 11 September 2005 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/VhiuF3y

What just happened?

According to.... official sources, Hikari’s birthday was 9/9, two days before this episode aired. No in-show acknowledgement so I guess it’s just one of those things that was decided after the fact.

This episode is all about how Lulun is a little bitch who needs to go away Porun learns to put up with Lulun. Yeah she’s annoying, she clings to him and cries whenever he’s not around despite his clear misgivings about the situation. Yet somehow the takeaway of the episode is that he should be more of a big brother figure to her rather than her learning to leave him alone. It’s possible they actually are siblings, they never say this outright and the royal “family” of the Garden of Light is vague: Mipple is the Princess of Hope, Porun is the Prince of Light, and Lulun is the Princess of Light, while Mepple is just a warrior. But whether they’re related or not, she’s a thorn in his side and also mine. Porun got better, though, and so can Lulun. It’s just gonna take some time. I griped back in May about Porun during my FW reviews and Lulun is a lot of the same so I’ll try not to be too repetitive, even though the show itself is repetitive in that regard.

But I’ll still take jabs.

So, what actually happens? Porun is exhausted from putting up with Lulun constantly, so Nagisa and Honoka coax both of them into going to sleep and then take Lulun home while Porun stays with Hikari at Akane’s store during her shift. When she wakes up she doesn’t take this well. Meanwhile in the dark mansion, Circulas is trying to explain Lulun and her power to Urganos, but he doesn’t get it and in his anger he storms out of the mansion to figure it out himself. Back at the cafe, a boy and his younger sister remind Porun of himself and Lulun, and when the brother leaves her (to go find her toy), she’s sad and runs after him after a bit. Hikari chases after her but Uraganos finds her first and starts attacking her, assuming she’s the object he was told about. Lulun herself, detecting that Porun was in danger, quickly shows up (with Nagisa and Honoka in tow) to set the record straight. Uraganos turns a jungle gym into a zakenna and then turns his attention to Lulun, but she escapes to Luminous’s arms. Uraganos decides to just crush Luminous right then and there.

Lulun is scared for her life, scared for Porun, and scared for Hikari, and she yells out for him to stop. This activates a power inside of her as her chest emblem starts glowing, and Luminous’s brooch starts to glow as well. Uraganos lets go of her because the power emanating from her is too much, and as she lands the light fades, revealing that.... nothing has changed. Something is coming, next episode. Anyway the title duo defeats the Zakenna with Marble Screw Max Spark and then everybody makes their amends. Porun decides to act like a true big brother to Lulun, putting up with her clinginess to coach her into better behavior.

Of note, we see Lulun’s compact form for the first time, the Miracle Commune.

She looks similar to Porun’s Pretty Commune form from last season, at least in general shape. Where he was kind of a laptop computer she looks like more of a portable game system, and she has 12 buttons colored like the 12 Heartiels. ~Foreshadowing~

Not a whole lot really happens in this episode, but it does outright address Lulun’s personality and begin the road to her becoming better. It took a half dozen episodes for Porun to unlock his power while Lulun is doing so already. It’s a rehash concept but it’s not entirely bad. I just.... don’t have a lot to say that isn’t bashing Lulun, so I’ll leave it at this.

Next time: new powers for real!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 Arienai

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 049

Episode: Futari wa Precure 49 - “Believe in the Future! Believe in Tomorrow! You Can’t Make Us Say Goodbye!!” Date watched: 1 June 2018 Original air date: 30 January 2005 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/RuN2VIg

This is it. The end of the end. This is the culmination of the series and of the three-part finale. It’s just the Precures, the fairies, and the Dark King. They’ve beaten him once before, but now he has the Power of Creation, so this fight is on an all new level.

Before the fight really starts, Dark King casts a shadow over the world that I guess causes everybody to disappear? They seriously have never explained this phenomenon, sometimes people are asleep and sometimes entire populated areas are just vacant. For once, Nagisa questions it and the King responds that he’s simply setting the stage, if they want to restore everybody they’ll have to defeat him..... IF they can defeat him.

At first, the girls mostly get thrown around. They summon the Rainbow Braces but even the Rainbow Storm is nothing before the Dark King’s might. When all hope seems lost, Porun taps into his inner power and contacts the Garden of Light. The Queen tells him that the power inside of him has matured and if he wants to save the girls, he knows what he has to do. Porun steps up and faces the Dark King himself. The king attempts to squash him but Porun begins glowing like the sun and rays of light poke through the dark clouds, centering on him. He starts radiating a power that weakens the Dark King and reinvigorates the Precures to a level previously unseen. Porun collapses back into his laptop form, completely exhausted, and the cures come up and thank him for his help. They then perform the most powerful Rainbow Storm they’ve ever done, so strong that even the Dark King is unable to resist it. He tries, he fires the power of destruction at them, and for a moment it looks like he’ll overcome them, but the girls push back. He tells them that defeating him is impossible, and they respond with the most beautiful comeback: “Even if we know it’s impossible, when there’s something that must be done, we do it!”

They grip their hands tighter, they begin glowing with the power of light, and the Dark King is overcome by the power of the Rainbow Storm. With his last breath, he condemns the Queen before he is destroyed and the power of the Prism Stones scatters. The city returns to normal and nobody remembers what just happened. From his perch on a rooftop, Kiriya secretly thanks Nagisa and Honoka for showing him how the power of light can overcome any obstacle, and he also disappears into a puff of sparkles, as all darkness has been eradicated.

;_;

That night at Honoka’s house, the pair are discussing their journey when Honoka’s grandmother comes over to congratulate them on their achievement. They’re confused until she clarifies that she’s talking about them graduating to third years at school, but we know that she knows. After she walks away, Mepple and Mipple tell the girls that they’re getting tired and are going to go to sleep forever now, because they’ve chosen to stay in the Garden of Rainbows with their friends. Porun still hasn’t woken up from his ultimate powerup either, and now it looks like he never will. As the girls flash back to their first meetings with their partners, many tears are shed, both in and out of the show.

We skip forward to spring, it’s the commencement ceremony for Verone Academy. The third years are moving on to high school and the underclassmen are moving up a year. Honoka is chosen to read the valedictory speech, and she starts to read it, but puts it down and instead gives her own heartfelt speech about the importance of school, making friends, and all the memories they’ve made at the school with the help of those who are graduating. She thanks the graduating class for everything and congratulates them. All the while, a new insert song is playing: “Beautiful World” by Uchiyae Yuka, and it really is a beautiful song, I’ve linked to a YouTube copy of it right there so give it a listen, and if you want to read her entire speech I captured it in numerous screenshots in the gallery.

After their ceremony, Honoka and Nagisa are walking through the city when Honoka sees something that shocks her. Nagisa stops to look too, and it’s revealed that a boy that looks a lot like Kiriya is buying a drink from a stand a level below them. He has brown hair and brown eyes, but the resemblance is uncanny. He notices the girls staring at him and looks back. Everybody stares in silence for a while, before the boy shrugs it off and runs off to his parents. We’re left to wonder if this really is Kiriya’s reincarnation, or if it’s just a coincidence. The last spoken line of the episode is Nagisa reassuring Honoka that she and Kiriya will be able to meet again someday, and we close on a shot of the Prism Stones safe and sound in the Castle of Light.

That’s fine, I didn’t really need my heart anyway.

Also the next episode preview is a promo for Max Heart that shows Mepple and Mipple awake again, so that kind of undercuts the impact of them going to sleep forever.

This episode is great. Everything about it is great. From the cures’ declaration that they’ll never give up, the payoff to a half season of Porun’s character growth (remember how I hated him at the start?), the Dark King being destroyed for good, the heartfelt graduation speech Honoka gives, the genuine sadness at losing the mascots forever (even if you know it’s not forever, while I may have a heart of stone I’m not unmoving)... I could probably gush for hours about everything I like about this episode. And when I do the series write-up, I probably will. But for now let me say that this is the perfect finale, except for the lack of setup for Max Heart which has to do a little bit of retconning to make its setup work, but oh well. My understanding is that they were too far into production of the concluding episodes to rewrite them when they learned they were getting a sequel, which is why it ends how it does.

I don’t know how many ways I can say that I love this show. Is it perfect? No. I’ve documented a lot of flaws throughout the show, and that reminds me, here’s one more:

The Dark King’s CG model is awful. He looks like he was rendered in 240p, he’s very blurry and at one point I even saw the swirling effect on his “skin” reset. Like the animation was a loop but it didn’t loop back to where it started, it starts in one spot and ends in another and then restarts so the changeover is very obvious. His low-texture render has stuck out to me since the first episode he was in and I know I’ve pointed it out before but I really feel they dropped the ball on this one. I guess I’ll elaborate more in the overview.

I haven’t commented on the use of music in this series nearly enough, but I can’t think of much to say. There’s some really catchy themes that are used well but I’m not so good at analyzing that as I am at analyzing writing and animation.

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0. No “Arienai” that I remember, sadly.

Next time, I’m going to reflect on the entire series, what worked and what didn’t, everything I can think of, and then we’ll jump into the sequel!

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 029

Episode: Futari wa Precure 29 - “Stormy Summer Festival! The Thunder God is Super Scary!?” Date watched: 9 May 2018 Original air date: 22 August 2004 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/Swm5I6C

Dr. Definitely Not A Bad Guy at your service.

I’d snark that this is an episode that’s actually about something, but that would kind of downplay the importance of Sanae’s recollection last time. And you could also argue that this one is even more filler than that one, but at least it gives us a little bit of Nagisa and Fujipi, and of course Nagisa and Honoka if you’re into that.

So yeah the third Seed of Darkness sprouts and both Juna and Regine (I don’t remember their human names) notice. Meanwhile, Nagisa is at the mall with her friends, browsing for yukata to wear to the summer festival but she can’t afford any of them. Honoka shows up with her grandmother, looking to buy some material to make their own yukata apparently because Sanae is the best grandma. Honoka in turn offers to let Nagisa wear her yukata from last year.

At the festival they run into the boys, Fujipi and some of his friends whose names don’t matter. Nagisa is flustered by her crush and so falters at the games, but they go on a test of courage in boy-girl pairs and of course they’re paired together. Nothing really comes of them being together, just more Nagisa being embarrassed and Fujipi being oblivious. There’s a gag about a ghost at the top of the hill they’re climbing, and as they get there Porun (who was left behind because he was sleeping) calls out, freaking the pair out. As they descend back down the stairs, it begins to rain and Nagisa slips, Fujipi catches her but twists his ankle so they have to get him to a doctor. They flag down a car belonging to TOTALLY NOT EVIL DUDE (top pic) who says he was on his way to the hospital anyway. At the hospital it’s revealed that he’s actually the director, and while Fujipi is treated he makes his way to the roof to do TOTALLY NOT EVIL THINGS. Mipple and Mepple warn the girls of his presence so they go check it out. Belzei (name not given in the episode but who cares) is transformed and absorbing lightning from the storm.

Belzei Gertrude is a squat man with a muscular physique. His outfit is more gray compared to the blue-tinged suit of Juna, and he has his biceps partially exposed to show off his build. His hair stands completely on end, unlike Juna’s flat top and Regine’s curls.

He summons a Zakenna to deal with the Precures while he continues absorbing energy, and they struggle with it for a while before it ultimately slams into a wall, incapacitating itself, so they Marble Screw it. However, Belzei disappears before they can fight him. Down in the hospital lobby, Belzei in his human guise walks down a hallway and passes another doctor. A nurse rounds the corner and calls for the director, looking his way, but the other man responds and she forgets about Belzei, indicating that he was merely an impostor at the hospital. While Juna was implied to have been a sleeper agent, Belzei appears to have already awoken his consciousness before appearing at the hospital and merely needed to absorb energy. This leads me to the theory that he brainwashes people into believing he works there but I don’t know how to explain Juna, and we never saw Regine with any sort of job.

Anyway, the girls head home for the night and the three seeds meet in a ~creepy~ mansion that will become the new villain headquarters for the next season and a half, stating that they’ve all awoken now.

Of the three seeds, only Juna has gotten to actually fight the cures so far, so he’s the one we know the most about. Obviously the others will get their time in the limelight in the upcoming episodes but it’s interesting that they went a bit of a different direction with each of their awakenings. Considering how some other seasons handle powerups, hero OR villain, it’s a nice change of pace. 

Porun doesn’t have much to say in this episode, which makes it one of the better ones on that metric. Next episode focuses around him though. All told this one is a nice light romp that gives us lots of fun character moments to conclude the summer vacation arc. Fujipi still isn’t memorable. I believe Happiness Charge sets the example for how to have a male supporting character who contributes to the series in a meaningful way, and that’s 10 years off from this, so we’ve got a lot of ground to cover to see if I’m wrong. But before that I’ll see you next time with a new finishing move!