#thank you toei (even tho u still suck at some things)

[muthaz-rapapa]

All Stars Memories’ powerful message and how it ties in with Hugtto

Still in the middle of typing up that review (ahaha, it’s long again~) but I really needed to get these thoughts out there on why this movie is so great, if not perhaps even THE BEST among all the Precure movies.

And that is all because of its antagonist, Miden.

Warning: SPOILERS & NO CUT

Miden is the spirit of a forgotten camera who’s been stored away somewhere cold and dark for a very long, long time. Originally having a purpose to help create memories (taking pictures of people’s happiest moments), Miden lost it when the film was removed from inside him, leaving him utterly empty and depressed.

Driven crazy by his loneliness and desire to be filled with happy feelings once more, he transformed into a frightening spirit and went out to steal the memories of others, namely Precure.

And of course, when they’re attacked, the Cures would naturally fight back.

But the solution to the problem, Miden’s problem, they’re facing is not by winning the fight at the end of the day like how it usually is with the opponents they faced before.

Unlike normal villains, Miden is not motivated by evil or any wish to cover the world in darkness.

He just wants to escape the darkness that covered his own heart.

And it took all of Hana’s development, strength and effort throughout the story - from realizing how important your memories are for yourself, questioning what it’s like to have absolutely no memories at all, reaching out to Miden in order to understand his suffering - to arrive at the place where Miden’s true self has been locked up by his own anger and sorrow.

Seeing him, standing alone under the cold, wet, never-ending rain, she comes to truly comprehend his actions.

Miden was in despair and he, too, was trying his best to overcome it.

But Miden knows what he did was wrong. He hurt people when he stole their memories and tried to make them his. He didn’t want to do that but he was just so sick of being sad and lonely that he couldn’t help but want the happiness of others.

And he abhors himself for acting on that selfishness.

But Hana doesn’t scold him. She hugs him and comforts him. 

She explains to Miden the right way to gain happiness, tells him “It’s never too late or impossible for you to start anew” and reassures him that from now on, he’ll never be alone again.

It’s these words from her that allows Miden to finally cry, to be able to release his pain, and for the rain to finally cease and the cage surrounding Miden’s heart to finally break.

The fighting stops immediately and most importantly, Miden is freed.

So what is this movie trying to tell us? What is it trying to tell remind us about Precure on its 15th anniversary?

I think everybody should know by now.

The answer is ultimately not violence but love.

Y’know, we as fans can always get so caught up in wanting to see epic overkill fight scenes and cheering for the Cures to completely annihilate the bad guys that we sometimes forget there’s another aspect, the stronger one, that makes Precure so great.

That’s why some of us give seasons or episodes that take the more peaceful direction such crap for not delivering the final killing blow that we wanted to see (ex. Heartcatch’s Mugen Silhouette's Straight Punch).

But when you think back on it, Toei has been attempting to do this several times already. Sure, they couldn’t take away the battles cuz that is what makes Precure so appealing but they have used many alternative ways to show us how fighting and beating things up cannot always be the go-to for everything.

There also needs to be forgiveness and acceptance (Setsuna and Ellen), strength to not let hatred consume you (Yuri), reconciliation (Aguri and Regina), acknowledgement of possible coexistence (Flora vs. Close/hope & despair), etc. And that’s just to name a few cuz let’s face it, it’s been 15 years and I can only remember so much in one sitting. :P

Point is, those are all forms of love.

Precure is extremely guilty of glorifying fighting and violence but it never forgets its main message. Love.

And 15 years of all that love culminates into Hugtto Precure, where, yes, there’s still fighting but also finishers that don’t leave the villains screaming in agony as they are purified.

Instead, they are encased in hearts and embraced by this giant, 50-something foot tall goddess-mother figure. And their thoughts and the expressions on their faces when this happens? 

A look of peace and relief from their inner turmoil.

A renewed hope to stand up and try their best again.

Just like how Miden is here when Yell thanks him for connecting all the Cures together and helping them remember the important things that got them through to where they are today. She told him that he was able to fulfill his original purpose after all. Making people happy by helping them recall their memories.

Knowing that, Miden can now move forward to make even more memories, ones that he can truly call his own because he has Hana’s help now and we all know, with confidence, she will never let him be alone ever again.

This is why I believe Hugtto is the embodiment of the quote “the answer to negativity is not positivity, it’s warmth”.

Sometimes when you’re being tortured by your demons and it feels like the world is crushing down on you and there’s nothing you can do to make it better, what you need is not for someone to push you beyond your current limits. It’s for someone to talk to you, to hold you as you give yourself a good cry, to support you and tell you “I love you, I’m here for you and I will never leave you when you need help the most”.

It’s from this that you will be able to find it in yourself to stand up and “fight” again. To “fight” the right way.

That is what Precure’s about.