My Review
THE CHOCOLATE PRINCESS CONTEST
Thus, this episode opens one night in the female dorm of Noble Academy, with a council they hold at their headquarters, to try to brainstorm forth a way to find their estranged liege lord. However, Kirara is absent: as usual, she's got a job that keeps her busy until midnight.
WRITTEN IN THE STARS (or HOPE KINGDOM ASTROLOGY)
All of the Precures and their allies look down at the button.
HARUKA: This button... that means Kanata is in this dimension, right?
TOWA (concerned, picking up the button): My dear brother is here?
HARUKA (encouraging): He's here! I'm absolutely sure! Let's look for him!
MINAMI (sternly): Please calm down, Haruka. It's dark outside already. We won't find him easily if we search blindly.
The pet-servants rush to the window and look at the moonless night sky.
PUFF: Prince Kanata, where are you? (She suddenly has a eureka moment and turns around): Let's ask the stars!
MME. SHAMOUR: Star fortune-telling? Oui, c'est une très bonne idée.
MME. SHAMOUR (solemnly): "When you are lost, ask the stars." That's a famous saying in the Hope Kingdom.
Somehow, Haruka uses an app with a crystal ball on her tablet.
HARUKA: Tell us, stars. Where is Kanata?
The tablet irradiates a warm golden light, which soon floods the room and turns it into a planetary.
Everyone is surprised but Madame Shamour, who watches the movements of the stars.
MME. SHAMOUR (thinking, watching the stars): The prince is in... chocolate...
The Precures wonder about the meaning of the clue.
MME. SHAMOUR (serious): That's what the stars say.
Suddenly, the door opens and a familiar voice is heard.
KIRARA (offscreen, lively): I'm baaack!
YUI: Your work tonight must have been very tough, Kirara.
KIRARA (letting go of some paper bags she has been carrying): Oh. Everyone's here. Here's some refreshments.
TOWA (wondering): What is it?
KIRARA (digging into a paper bag, then producing a box of chocolate): I got some chocolates!
All of her teammates are astonished.
EVERYONE ELSE (shocked): EH!!!???
Kirara replies with one of her usual cheeky and kooky expressions that we fans adore.
KIRARA: Wh-What?
On the box, it is written (I translate from the Japanese):
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENTER THE PRINCESS CONTEST?
You may be able to meet the Prince."
MME. SHAMOUR (serious): This must be it.
KIRARA: Eh?
PUFF (nervous): It's the Prince! Kanata!
(Cue opening theme)
Puff and Aroma are nomming on the delicious chocolates Kirara brought.
KIRARA: I see. Since Haruharu predicted this, why doesn't she enter the contest?
At first, Haruharu appears to be reluctant, but then she decides, as determined as can be.
HARUKA: This is our only clue to finding Kanata, anyway.
TOWA: Do your best, Haruka.
Day has broken over Noble Academy.
In the cafeteria, Yui is reading the news aloud.
YUI: "Dear Haruka Haruno, we have the results of the first round of competition. You've passed!"
EVERYONE (excited): Yes!!!
YUI: The next round will be held at Yumegahama Hall.
MINAMI: Isn't that the auditory where Kirara had her last show?
(Flashback to Kirara on the runway)
YUI (to Haruka): You'll be walking on stage like a princess.
KIRARA: It means to walk down the runway like a model.
Of course Haruharu, being the moron audience surrogate, just has to suffer from stage fright.
TOWA (worried about Kanata): Brother...
KIRARA (confidently, clasping Haruka on the shoulder): Leave it to me! I'll give you special training so that you can walk on stage. Haruharu, you've always cheered me on. Now it's my turn. Then, let's start the lessons tomorrow. I'll work with you when I have a break from my job, 'kay? (She winks her left eye)
MY FAIR LOSER
At the Hall, the Cures watch Kirara confidently essaying a walk down the runway.
TOWA (smiling): As expected from a professional.
KIRARA: Now give it a try, Haruharu.
Haruharu marches forth like a soldier.
KIRARA: Relax! Just walk as you normally do! (Imperative, like a drill sergeant.) Raise your head! Straighten your posture! Your head, shoulders, and hips should form a straight line! Take wider steps!
MINAMI (calmly, watching): That's good advice. Her walk has gotten prettier.
Haruharu's walking has indeed improved.
KIRARA (still imperative): Et un... sourire! (In response, Haruka smiles.) That's the spirit, Haruharu!
KIRARA (giving Haruharu high-heeled pumps): Now try with these.
Of course her disciple staggers on high heels.
KIRARA: Those shoes allow you to walk easier. The more you practice, the better you will get.
Next lesson is make-up, and Haruharu shows at first having put on herself that hideous clown-like make-up we saw in the former episode.
MINAMI: You can't get good at it that quickly.
KIRARA (sighing): Oh dear. I'll help you out for the real deal. I have a photo shoot this morning. The timing will be tight (She applies some make-up to Haruka.) Look, Haruharu. The make-up is important. But what makes a girl really cute is her smile. No matter how good your make-up is, an unnatural smile won't be cute at all.
KIRARA (finishing the makeover).
Haruka looks at herself in the mirror and gasps in awe. Now she's so lovely that she even sparkles literally.
KIRARA (confidently): Okay!
KIRARA'S CYNDI LAUPER LOOK
Then, after helping her friend to be less gauche, Kirara takes to the streets for her photoshoot. Everything is ready!
PHOTOGRAPHER WHO LOOKS LIKE RENÉ DESCARTES: Try waving your hand!
Kirara waves, hops, pivots... as the camera shutter clicks time after time.
MAKE-UP ARTIST (thirtyish, with bob haircut): I'm adjusting her make-up! (She does the make-up around Kirara's eyes.)
PHOTOGRAPHER (serious): I want her necklace to stand out more!
MAKE-UP ARTIST (looking at Kirara's cherry-red bead necklace): I see. What should we do?
KIRARA (smiling): Don't worry about it.
She takes out another yellow bandanna from her pocket and ties it above her pigtails. The crew, watching astonished, gasps.
Now Kirara looks pretty 80s, like Cyndi Lauper or some other star of those days.
KIRARA: How about this?
PHOTOGRAPHER (cheerfully, thumbs up): Great!
When break time comes, Kirara literally lets down her hair.
KIRARA: Well, you run into all kinds of troubles during shows. For example, the shoe size is all off. Or you can't find something you've prepared. You have to somehow make things work. Don't worry! I'm with you. Leave it to me! That's why we gotta do our best tomorrow. (More serious, even stern) Once you step onto the stage, there's no turning back. Keep your head up, put on your best smile, and see things through to the end! We promised.
HOW MUCH SHE HAS CHANGED
A HOST OF WILD FANGIRLS appeared!
SCHOOLGIRLS (excited): Oh! Kirara!
The schoolgirls surround the media star, who appears not to be the least beleaguered.
SCHOOLGIRL 1 (excited): Please shake my hand!!
SCHOOLGIRL 2 (excited): I always read your magazines!
SCHOOLGIRL 3 (excited): Please give me your autograph!!
KIRARA (smiling): Please line up, then.
And she fulfils the requests of her fans, proudly and courteously.
At nightfall, Kirara's manager shuttles her home to Noble Academy.
MANAGER (giggles): He-he!
KIRARA (wondering): What?
MANAGER: Kirara, you're actually giving fans your autograph. You never did that before.
KIRARA (obstinate): I just felt like it. And...
MANAGER (smiling): And what?
KIRARA: I don't mind the support, I guess.
MANAGER (her glasses sparkle): Hmm... I guess it's due to those girls.
KIRARA (surprised): Eh?
MANAGER: Stella told me before that, ever since you made friends, you've gotten much cuter.
MANAGER: Stella told me before that, ever since you made friends, you've gotten much cuter.
KIRARA (surprised, blushing): What are you saying?
MANAGER: (giggles)
MEANWHILE, SHUT...
In the Dysdark fortress, Shut is still elated due to Madame Shamour's make-up.
Stop and Freeze are walking down a hallway when they hear a tenor voice humming a little cheerful song.
SHUT (singing): My makeup is perfect today, just like yesterday! For ever more!
(Kyou watashi no meiku [make] wa kandeki da! Itsudemo!)
I had the finesse to translate the song in verse so that you could sing it like Shut. Ain't I courteous?
Suddenly, our favourite mad hatter comes across the twindividuals. Recap: Stop is the March Hare and Freeze is the Dormouse. They're both female.
SHUT (excited): Oh! Stop and Freeze! Wouldn't you two like to try putting on some make-up? (Over the top, louder, his left hand on his heart and his right hand to the sky) You can get even more powered up!
Shut, ever so melodramatic. Never change at all!
STOP & FREEZE: (No comment. No reply.)
Anyway, make-up is wasted on the faceless, as Shut replies in a Voltairian retort:
SHUT (sarcastic): Well, both of you are always in those face-concealing helmets, so that's a bit...
Shut leaves the hall waltzing and twirling like a ballerina. And singing in praise of make-up once more.
SHUT (singing): La, la, la, la! Make-up is best! Make-up is best...
(Ra ra ra ran! Meiku [make] saigo! Sore de yo...)
However, he's given the twindividuals a great idea for the choice of victim of the week.
STOP: So make-up can power you up?
FREEZE: Power you up?
ANOTHER CHOCORELLA STORY
The next day is the big day. The day of the contest finale, the runway!
The Event Hall of Yumegahama is truly an impressive sight. Yui, Towa, and Minami are standing outside it. And they're obviously concerned with Haruharu's stage fright.
The ponytailed and boater-hatted silhouette of the prince in the logo looks so dashing, eh?
Thankfully, Yui has thought of that. And here she is with a pen and a black cardboard!
YUI (cheerful, holding the pen and the cardboard): Would you all like to write a few words?
Elsewhere in Yumegahama, the rain is pouring and the whole of Kirara's crew stands at the edge of the park, each one shouldering an umbrella.
RED-HAIRED MAGAZINE MANAGER (She was the victim of a previous week in summer!): Oh no, we can't film at the moment.
KIRARA (looking up into the leaden sky): What should I do? I can't make it like this...
RUN, KIRARA, RUN!
When the downpour has given way to sunshine, the photoshoot is resumed. Now Kirara is wearing denim overalls, but she looks as lovely and as attractive as always.
I mean, she looks dignified and she would do so even if dressed in sackcloth, with rumpled hair.
Kirara poses for a while in front of the camera.
PHOTOGRAPHER WHO LOOKS LIKE RENÉ DESCARTES: Okay!
RED-HAIRED MAGAZINE MANAGER: That's it for today! Kirara, would you like to have some tea with us?
KIRARA (handing her handbag over to the redhead in haste): Sorry! I have to go! Thank you very much indeed!
And off she storms towards the Event Hall.
KIRARA (determined): Wait for me, Haruharu!
Kirara even rushes past Stop and Freeze, who are walking at a slow and steady pace in the opposite direction. But then, she turns around... The hare girl and the dormouse girl? Cure Twinkle will soon be there!
At the photoshoot site, the make-up artist is rummaging her make-up case when Stop and Freeze pop up before her, obviously startling her. The twindividuals' eyes (have they got eyes?) fall upon the make-up case.
STOP: Make-up...
FREEZE: Yes, it's make-up.
MAKE-UP ARTIST (frightened): Wh-what do you want!?
STOP: Let us see...
FREEZE: ...your dream.
The trademark Dysdark peephole opens once more on the victim's chest.
"I want to make all the girls (josei) pretty!"
STOP: Stop!
FREEZE: Freeze!
STOP & FREEZE (unison): ...your dream!
Kirara, who has rushed back to the site of the photoshoot, has seen the whole thing take place.
It's Cure Twinkle time!
KIRARA (fretful): Jeez! (Mo!) I don't have time for this! Precure Princess Engage!
The pet-servants sense the Dysdark attack and inform Yui, Minami, and Towa of it.
In the meantime, Cure Twinkle is battling yet another member of her crew turned desporg, solo... until Cure Scarlet and Cure Mermaid step in as the cavalry.
But what is Little Miss Loser doing before her runway?
HARU HARU AND THE OVERSIZED PINAFORE
Inside the event hall, in her camerino, Haruka realizes, in the meantime, that her dress is too large. The size isn't right at all!
HALL CREW (twentyish woman with dark brown short hair): I'm sorry. That's the only size we have. (They call for her) I'm sorry.
She leaves in haste, leaving a bewildered Haru-Haru behind.
HARUKA (anxious): At this rate... Kirara! What should I do?
While the desporg battle takes place, Haruharu paces back and forth.
HARUKA: It's so late and she's still not here... I'm sure something happened to Kirara.
*Flashback to the previous morning's photoshoot*
KIRARA: Well, you run into all kinds of troubles during shows.
*End of flashback*
HARUKA (consternated): I have to figure something out myself.
HALL CREW (twentyish woman with dark brown short hair): Number 18, please come this way.
Number 18, who looks like a drag queen dressed as BatB Belle in her yellow ballgown and with the same dark hair, leaves the camerino.
HARUKA (anxious): It's almost my turn! What would Kirara do...?
Haruka thinks as hard as she can, then remembers Kirara doing her hair like Cyndi Lauper to raise it up, and has a eureka moment.
In a corner stands a box with scissors and masking tape.
(The sound of masking tape being torn is heard).
HARUKA: That's it for the dress... Then my make-up... (Looking at herself in the mirror) I have to do it myself.
HALL CREW (twentyish woman with dark brown short hair): Number 20, right this way.
A startled Haruka turns around. She's number 20, obviously.
HARUKA (startled): Oh no...
The other Cures continue to beat up the make-up artist desporg.
They manage to stop her for a while, Cure Scarlet firing Scarlet Spark at her opponent's chest.
And Cure Twinkle, whom the desporg was about to smash beneath her foot, sends the desporg away to the ground with Full Moon Humming.
ON THE RUNWAY...
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE: Next up is entry number 20! Haruka Haruno!
She comes walking down the runway in a puffier and shorter gown. I can see what she did...
HARUKA: I couldn't put on make-up in the end... (She turns her face towards Yui, who is sitting in the front row of the audience) Minami and Towa are both gone... I knew it, something happened!
YUI (holding up her cheering sign): Haruka!
Texts on the cheering sign:
Haruka Haruno, SMILE! (all of them)
I'm rooting for you. (Yui)
Go for it! (Aroma)
I'm looking forward to your performance. (Towa)
Minami's encouragement message is pretty longer...
HARUKA (her eyes widen): The smile is more important than make-up...
And thus, Haruka puts on her very best face as she confidently walks down the runway.
Upon reaching the end of the runway, she curtsies and gives her widest smile.
The judges look pleased, all four of them.
JUDGES (unison): Oh! --
Everyone inside the hall claps their hands at once.
Upon finishing her entry, Haruka storms away in haste, surprising the crew.
Let us go back to the front. Looks like our desporg du jour has got back up again.
CURE MERMAID: What a strong opponent.
CURE TWINKLE (irate): Jeez! I won't make it to the show now! Why today of all days!? Jeez!! (Mo!!)
She storms forwards towards the desporg.
CURE SCARLET: Cure Twinkle!
And effectively, a blast from the despair energy mascara pins the Princess of Twinkling Stars to the ground as she screams in agony. As she gets up again, she hears a familiar voice:
HARUKA: Cure Twinkle!
CURE TWINKLE (turning around): Haruharu?
Yes, it takes audience surrogate Cure Flora the Moron to purify this fricking desporg.
CURE TWINKLE: I'm sorry. I promised you...
CURE FLORA (smiling): Cure Twinkle, I stood on the stage! Lots of things happened, but I was able to walk to the very end!
CURE TWINKLE (smiling): I see.
CURE FLORA (doing Lis Tourbillon): I was able to do my best thanks to you. Thanks, Cure Twinkle.
CURE TWINKLE (smiling, surprised): Cure Flora...
In the end, the Cures purify the desporg with Éclat d'Espoir and everything is peachy.
Except for the Dysdark twindividuals, that is.
STOP: We couldn't stop the dream.
FREEZE: We couldn't freeze it.
STOP & FREEZE (nodding to one another, unison): But they despaired. (They retreat)
THE OUTCOME OF THE CONTEST
And the winner is... Number 18! (The Belle drag queen, remember)?
The other participants, Haruka included, clap their hands and admire the winners.
ANNOUNCER WHO LOOKS LIKE JAMES POTTER: Finally, we have the Audience Selection Award!
A spotlight shines on Haruka.
"JAMES POTTER": Haruka Haruno!
HARUKA (surprised): Eeeh!?
THE REST OF TEAM PRECURE (among the spectators, surprised): Ohhh!
"JAMES POTTER": A special bouquet of flowers from Prince Chocolate!
Prince Chocolate, the kawaii company mascot, comes walking down the runway.
Haruka receives the bouquet from the prince, a dark chocolate figure with white chocolate platinum hair, an Elizabethan collar, and a rapier.
TOWA (surprised): He is the prince!?
Yes indeed, Towa. You expected another prince, your brother. Like Gerda when she sought Kai at the royal palace of the clever princess. But Towa, you'll be rewarded as well.
And Kirara is proud of her Galatea's progress!
KIRARA: I always thought Haruharu was amazing, but she may be even more amazing. Beyond anything I could ever have imagined.
THE RETURN OF PRINCE GRAND KANATA
The show has come to an end, though there is still a rather relevant loose end to tie up.
AROMA: But, in the end, we couldn't find Prince Kanata.
MINAMI (reassuring): Things won't go so easily.
Suddenly, the Precures spot a lilac-haired stripling, modestly yet sharply dressed, in the crowd crossing the street before them...
Kanata? Kanata!?
He is their liege lord indeed.
- Kanata is back for the finale! Though this episode only showed a cameo at the coda and we'll have to wait for next episode to discover how his amnesia gets in between him and his loved ones.
- I mean, Kirara should have been the one to take part in the contest (or Minami or Towa, if they were more streetwise). But it's This-Loser-Is-You Haruharu who signs up, mainly because she is the moron viewer surrogate and the one who suffers from the most stage fright (if Kirara had been on that runway, it would be piece of cake for her, and thus, there would be no plot!). Kirara was given the mentorship as a fairy godmother role (comparable to Bonham-Carter's), however. And she is the STAR of this episode. I mean, Richelieu ruled France in the shade, so did Tywin Lannister in Westeros, and letting Kirara become the Yellow Eminence and the fulcrum of the episode is a wonderful choice. Not center stage on the runway, but in the episode.
- Kirara once more: The crew comment on how her personality has changed ever since she made friends at the start of the year (I myself, an only child of divorced parents and a devoted workaholic [though a student instead of a model]) sure know what it's like. No fairy godmother duties for me, to assist a less knowledgeable friend in the field of fashion (I simply don't believe in the stuff), but at least some gifts of jewelry.
- We also got to know that the manager (and possibly more members of the crew) are friends with or at least close to Stella, and thus aware of what her daughter is going through.
- As for Kirara being willing at last to sign her fans' autographs, this also shows some improvement of her character. Though she is not as stressed as Makoto Kenzaki, Onpu Segawa, or other anime media stars, this may be a sign of how much pressure she can cope with. Let's see how much pressure it takes to break Kirara, shall we?
- The Choco Prince reminds me of both Stay Puft and Mooby (other two cult kawaii mascots, even if those are parodies), and of Giffany, to be honest. And I LOVE this mascot's design.
- Kirara's 80s Cyndi Lauper look was yet another highlight. So is her tomboyish look in overalls. I mean, she looks dignified and she would do so even if dressed in sackcloth, with rumpled hair.
- There's something I didn't like, and it was Cure Scarlet's role here... the whole team plus The Ace Cure Scarlet and minus This-Loser-is-You Cure Flora being unable to best the desporg du jour. It's like: "We NEED the moron audience surrogate to ensure victory!" I don't identify with the moron in any series, being the cultured kind (no matter if some viewers are morons, NOT ALL viewers are morons!).
- Shut had today but a role slightly larger than Kanata's, so elated that he could not stop skipping and singing, while trying to mentor Close's Angels in the noble art of make-up, obviously in vain (those two faceless lasses are always emotionless...). At least he gave the March Hare and the Dormouse a cue to inspire the Monster of the Aesop du jour (from a make-up artist), and that's a lot. And at least Shut's praise of make-up may foreshadow the heel-face turn that he may do. Still the most die-hard Dysdark and the most sane of them all. You go, Shut!
- Kuroro went missing for the whole episode... but at least he now appears in the opening sequence (not as a hipster but in his yellow hood!) along with his mentor and guardian Madame Shamour:
IN NEXT EPISODE (35):
The Precures finally reunite with Kanata, dressed modestly yet sharply, who, however, has lost every episodic memory of his past as crown prince of the Hope Kingdom. And thus, obviously, they try to bring back his lost memories... Towa, his sister, foremostly among them by bringing the violin...
Kanata has amnesia. So typical. Kai in The Snow Queen, Perlino, Marcus in Erstwhile's Singing Springing Lark, Shinobu Ijuuin, Mamoru Chiba... every male love interest separated from his other half in romantic fairy tales is sure to have lost his memories... and to have found himself another lady (or the other lady has rather found him!). Maybe Kanata has also found himself another lady as well (given how much this story borrows from fairytales...).
My review's title is not yet confirmed, but it will be some kind of reference to the Duke of Norroway and other three nights tales...
What's more: Episode 36 is now confirmed to be Minami-centric and called The Tearful Heart...! The Thing Minami Wants to Protect! With such a title, it will surely imply the revelation of the so-called Kaido Mystery, that of Minami's and Wataru's parentage (is only their mother deceased, or both their parents?)... NO. CONFIRMED: BOTH MR. AND MRS. KAIDO ARE ALIVE AND WELL.
The Great Kaido Mystery of Go!Princess Precure has been solved!
NO. NOT AT ALL.
It is confirmed that it will feature a romantic play... the trope that I love the most to see in an episode!! It would be great to see the cast in period costumes!**** (Especially Kanata, Minami, Kirara, Towa, and maybe Shut!)**** My <3 is throbbing as if to breach my sternum!
The next episode, 38, will be titled 38 "A SUSPICIOUS TRAP...! THE LONELY PRINCESS!"
Does the title refer to Towa or to a fifth ranger, or to some other character?Will it be the end of Shut?
The Great Kaido Mystery of Go!Princess Precure has been solved!
Mr. and Mrs. Kaido are both of them alive and well, and their international company thrives!
There appears to be a significant age gap between both spouses (he looks sixtyish and she appears to be in her thirties), the result of either an arranged marriage or Mrs. Kaido's concern for her appearance.
Something tells me that Mr. and Mrs. Kaido will be the victims of the week...
So this is where Minami and Wataru got their good looks from...
In Episode 36, Minami will set sail with her family and the whole team, Kanata included. Maybe the sight of the Kaidos will make him remember his loved ones in the Hope Kingdom...
My review will be titled... THE MAGNIFICENT KAIDOS!
The next episode, 37, may (this is only a guess) introduce Kirara's father Ken, whom we know to be a film actor and a divorcé... (Will he have found himself a new partner? Will he reveal why he finished with Stella and left her and Kirara?)NO. NOT AT ALL.
It is confirmed that it will feature a romantic play... the trope that I love the most to see in an episode!! It would be great to see the cast in period costumes!**** (Especially Kanata, Minami, Kirara, Towa, and maybe Shut!)**** My <3 is throbbing as if to breach my sternum!
The next episode, 38, will be titled 38 "A SUSPICIOUS TRAP...! THE LONELY PRINCESS!"
Does the title refer to Towa or to a fifth ranger, or to some other character?Will it be the end of Shut?
We leave you with this picture of the cast as Wonderland characters, with Minami as the Mad Hatter, Kirara as the March Hare, and Towa as the Queen of Hearts. Still I would have preferred a Dysdark pic with the same premise (Shut as the Mad Hatter, Stop & Freeze as the March Hare & Dormouse, Close or Lock as the Cheshire Cat, Dyspear as the Queen of Hearts, and either Towa or Kuroro as Alice)...
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