My Own Review
CIEL ET MIEL
(Ciel and Honey)
Once more, our episode begins chez Ciel...
...with a lot of mass media staff in place.
Enter Ciel with a silver-domed assiette.
CIEL (doing her usual left-handed V sign): Bonjour!!
Cameras flash in response.
Then, she proceeds to uncover the assiette.
CIEL: Un... deux... trois!! (At three, she uncovers the assiette)
Voilà!
All these people with cameras have to do is gasp.
CAMERAWOMAN: Suteki!!
CAMERAMAN: Ciel Kirahoshi is every bit as amazing as usual!!REPORTER THAT LOOKS LIKE JAMES POTTER: Yet another work of art is born!!
CIEL: Of course! Mes créations sont parfaites! (She does the V sign with both her left and right hand at the same time in front of her face).
GREENGROCER: Himari! Go ask her a question!
HIMARI: W-w-what?! R-r-right now?!
Himari's still the reporter for the show within the show and she's still got some stage fright... then, why didn't she swap roles with Aoi, who is far more of an extrovert (like yours truly)?
AOI: Reporting is all yours, Himarin!!
Well, because Aoi's encouraging her... still, I don't know how much of that encouragement an introvert like that can take without feeling bothered.
This scene pretty much establishes Ciel's public status as a celeb teenage prodigy.
In the meantime, we see the highschoolers outside Chez Ciel. I mean... why can't the series focus a little more on our OTP?
AKIRA: Huh?
YUKARI: Well, well, well...
Back inside the café, Ciel takes her leave of the media.
CIEL: C'était tout pour aujourd'hui! Salut!!
****Cue opening credits****
We begin the episode proper with Bilberry on a park bench, flustered with the summer heat.
BILBERRY (wiping off her brow): Aw... It's way too sunny out...
Nearby, on another bench, a young couple is reading a magazine.
YOUNG WOMAN: Suteki!!
BILBERRY: What the...?
YOUNG MAN: Really amazing (sugoi)!
YOUNG WOMAN: I'd love to try them! The sweets made by the Pâtissière Prodigy, Ciel Kirahoshi, look so good!
BILBERRY (visibly annoyed): Ciel Kirahoshi? (She snatches the magazine from the young couple's hands)
YOUNG MAN: Er... Hey!!
BILBERRY (skimming the magazine): This girl again!? So lame...
YOUNG WOMAN: Excuse me!
IRU: But her kirakiraru is really the best...
In the meantime, the greengrocer has recruited the secondary-school Cures to follow Ciel for a day while filming her.
HIMARI: For local PR to Ichigozaka, a day long interview with Ciel...
AOI: He's imposing way too much on us.
Once more, Aoi is being sarcastic as usual.
Quand on parle de Ciel, on voit sa blonde chevelure...
CIEL: Salut à tous!!
With that empty glass jar in her bag, we can only wonder where she is heading...
CIEL: I'm going to get some delicious (oishii) honey.
AOI: And we'll be covering you all day round!!
CIEL: That's fine...
SECONDARY-SCHOOL CURES: Huh?
And so, off they go, into the woods, into the woods... (MUST RESIST URGE TO SING THAT SONG, SINCE THIS IS NOT AN AOI-CENTRIC EPISODE!)
CIEL: The beekeepers live on the other side of Mount Ichigo. Don't get lost now!
Yet, quite unexpectedly, she lets out this gasp...
AOI: Huh??!!
Yes, Himari and Aoi have been left behind. So we're going to follow Ciel instead.
So this is what walnut blossoms look like... I've never seen them live myself.
CIEL: Autumn is so wonderful... Those are walnut flowers. Later, in autumn, they'll grow delicious (oishii) nuts! Always keep your eyes open! Let's move on, then... Allons-y! (She sets off at breakneck speed)
One stop here to gather fresh raspberries...
...there for fresh spearmint...
...a little over there for fresh blueberries...
CIEL (snacking on a blueberry): Bon!!
There seems to be in Japan, as there is in Sweden, the right of all people to pick berries in nature (as long as they are not poisonous or endangered).
The basket is soon full of spearmint, raspberries, and blueberries in separate little bags... but the honey jar is still empty.
CIEL: This mountain woodland is full of delicious (oishii) little treasures! It hasn't changed one bit!
This immediately raises the question if Ciel has ever lived in Ichigozaka before.
CIEL: Uh? I... um... something over there smells wonderful!! (Off she darts, as usual)
After getting lost, and at the foot of a tall tree, she obviously remains resourceful.
CIEL; I guess we wandered a little off the trail... mais non, non! No need to panic! You just need to...
Up the trunk she hops, like an expert traceuse!
And soon she has effortlessly reached a sturdy tree branch...
The whole town of Ichigozaka, and the ocean beyond, can be seen from this tree branch.
CIEL: We don't seem so lost anymore, do we? This woodland really is beautiful. And I want to keep on making sweets that sparkle like that ocean!!
CIEL: This world is full of delicious (oishii) ingredients! And I want to use their power to create the best sweets ever!!
CIEL: The power of ingredients? That's right. They provide all kinds of ideas. And their selection is an important part of being a pâtissière.
Looking over her shoulder, the girl takes a glance at Mount Ichigo.
CIEL: Someday, right here...
CIEL: Yes, right here, if I can make the best sweets ever...
CIEL: I'm sure the Legendary Pâtissières will...
Then, quite suddenly, she comes to her senses.
CIEL (picking up her bag): Oh my! (Darting off): I must have drifted off there!
The scene switches to this picturesque rustic log cabin, revealed to be the apiary farmhouse.
CIEL (doing her usual V sign tic): Bonjour!!
BEEKEEPER FATHER (a goateed, sunburned man in his thirties): Ah, Ciel! We've been expecting you!
BEEKEEPER FATHER: Sure.
HIMARI: We looked the place up and went on ahead!
AOI (drinking): SLURRRP...
Ciel really is amazing (sugoi). She's so light on her feet, like some kind of fairy (yosei)...
(FORESHADOWING THAT CIEL IS A YOSEI ONCE MORE!)
Enter the beekeepers' boy, a kid in his preschool years, with his storybook in hand.
It's not Goldilocks, but at least it has some plot points in common.
"Three little bears walking through the woods,
felt at all not good,
had spoonfuls of honey,
big smiles all so sunny!"
So it's basically a nursery rhyme illustrated.
But still, for such a young child to be reading such a complex storybook, he must read a lot!
LITTLE BOY: Yes I do! Mum and dad are too busy with the bees, so I read when I'm waiting for them... Hey, doesn't the honey in the pictures look yummy?
(You know, my boy, I love reading when I wait as well)
Meanwhile in the beehives...
WORKER BEE: Bzzzzzz...
BEEKEEPER MOTHER (30-ish young woman with auburn ponytail): Thank you for your patience! I've brought some of our fresh honey.
She is giving Ciel a saucerful of golden honey and a cup of tea, as well as a teaspoon.
BEEKEEPER MOTHER: Here you are!
CIEL: Wow! Merci! Merci beaucoup!
CIEL (sniffing the honey): This aroma... this must be acacia honey, right?
Convinced of her supposition, she puts a full teaspoon to her lips, and ommm...
CIEL (after swallowing her spoonful): Oishii! C'est bon!!
BEEKEEPER MOTHER: Thank you very much indeed!
CIEL: Even the aftertaste is distinct, but the taste is truly refined!
CIEL: Wow, pancakes... that's a great idea!! I'll make pancakes for everyone!
BEEKEEPER FATHER: For real?
BEEKEEPER MOTHER: Wonderful! (Ureshii!)
CIEL: Looks like everyone's swept up in the power of ingredients!And, of course, this cookoff ensues. And I focus mainly on Ciel's entry...
Ingredients? Berries, spearmint, honey, eggs, flour... it's all there.
Also, frying pan and measuring jug ready.
The whites in one bowl...
...and the yolks in another...
SPECTATORS (unison): Gasp!!!
Next up, Ciel whips the meringue quickly and deftly, so that it looks like snow...
Now she's mixed in the yolks, keeping the same steady pace.
Besides, anyone else noticed that she is right-handed (qu'elle est droitière)?
SPECTATORS (unison): Gasp!!!
HIMARI: As soon as word got out that Ciel was cooking here, all kinds of people showed up.
Now... Can you spot a pair of highschoolers with distinctive hair colours in the crowd?
PEKORIN (in Akira's bag): Look at all the people!
AKIRA (cheering on): You can do it!! (Ganbatte!!)
YUKARI: Here's a chance to convince her!
Akira... Yukari...
But don't pay heed to them for long, since our prodigy steals the scene once more!
Ciel is really amazing, right?
Just look at how she swirls the pancake mix from the bowl into the frying pan using her ladle.
A perfect spiral, isn't it?
CIEL: Huh? What happened?
In the end, her soufflé pancakes are ready.
CIEL: D'accord!! Thank you for waiting, everyone! Bon appétit!!
Just look at all those assiettes...
AUDIENCE: Woooow!!
YOUNG MAN IN GREEN CAP: This honey-berry combination is the best!
BEEKEEPER FATHER: This is delicious (oishii e)!
BEEKEEPER MOTHER: I've never had such fluffy pancakes before!
Everyone in the audience is enjoying Ciel's scrumptious soufflé pancakes for a good reason.
Again, we see our token European as the Technician of this series (Ciel focuses on the technical aspects and visual presentations of making sweets, including the taste and combinations).
CIEL: An even greater power?
But of course, right now, ten minutes from the end of the episode, Bilberry had to pop up and the battle of the week to take place, right?
And there she is, prying the hearts of all the audience/tasters...
IRU: Excellent! All the kirakiraru we could ever want!
BILBERRY: Well, then... we'll help ourselves. For my beloved Master Noir's sake.
The star on Iru's hat shines, and everyone's pancakes are sapped dry of kirakiraru. Though we see no one fall unconscious.
And the Precures, as usual, are quick to pick on it.
AKIRA, YUKARI: Gasp!
CIEL (watching the kirakiraru leave her sweets): What's this?
Then, she looks up to see where all that kirakiraru is going.
It's gravitating towards that Elegant Gothic Lolita girl who acts like Harley Quinn...
BILBERRY: Hahahahahahaha!! (maniac laugh) Suck it all in!!
Really... has she only drained the plates and not the hearts? Let's see it after the Noir Filling stock footage...
BILBERRY (spinning around with arms outstretched and Iru in her hands, until she stops with the ragdoll right in front): Kirakiraru! I stain you in darkness!
BILBERRY: Noir Filling!
As she says these words, Iru's hat star glows and darkens all the kirakiraru; then he opens wide once more and breathes in, or swallows, all the darkened kirakiraru...
...making Iru's belly swell until it's spherical...
...then turning him into a daikaiju bee-Iru with a sticky honey mess on his shoulders.
CIEL: GIVE IT BACK!!
Fulfilling her command, the daikaiju swoops down and seizes the blonde in his fingerless plushie hands.
CIEL!!!
Right, when better than now to start the Transformation Sequence?
PRECURES: Cure à la Mode!! Decoration!!
...and she is lassoed with Cure Whip's kirakiraru...
And soon Bilberry's opened the black hole as usual.
No unconscious muggles for today; they pretty much stampede into safety, as many of us would do during a daikaiju attack.
BILBERRY (elated): Now let's bring this kirakiraru to Master Noir!!
CIEL: GIVE IT BACK!!
CIEL: Give back that kirakiraru!! It's from the sweets I love (daisuki)!!
Really, Ciel is furious.
BILBERRY (taunting): As if I would! (She sticks out her tongue) Iru, get her!
Fulfilling her command, the daikaiju swoops down and seizes the blonde in his fingerless plushie hands.
CIEL: Let me go!!!
Right, when better than now to start the Transformation Sequence?
PRECURES: Cure à la Mode!! Decoration!!
CIEL (struggling in Iru's grasp): Give it back!!
BILBERRY: You should be worried about yourself, not those sweets!
Suddenly, a joint attack involving Macaron and Chocolat strikes Iru in the chest, forcing him to throw Ciel away as he falls backwards...
...and she is lassoed with Cure Whip's kirakiraru...
...to land in a bridal carry that I would by far preferred with Cure Chocolat's stronger arms.
CIEL (all flustered): P-p-p-p-pre-pre-pre...
And they just reply... CIEL, YOUR EARNEST FEELINGS TOWARDS SWEETS... IT'S REALLY AMAZING.
CIEL (wondering): How do you all know my name?
CIEL (fangirling, scurrying to left and right): Er... Er... Are you the legendary Precures?
BILBERRY (getting impatient): Hey! I'm feeling left out here, right? Iru, GET THEM ALL!!
Besides, Iru falling backwards as he dropped Ciel nearly crushed Bilberry, who managed to somersault out of harm's way and land on her feet.
Just like that.
And now she's ready to counterattack...
Simply, this Iru spins around its own axis, turning its stinger into a massive driller.
(Again, worker honeybees DIE when they sting their victim because their gut is pulled out with the stinger. But again, this is a daikaiju.)
While Ciel runs off to safety, the Cures (sans the twit) leap forth to confront the Iru of the Week.
Still, Ciel finds no words for her joy upon having met the Precures themselves.
CIEL (elated): At last... at last I met you...
Taking cover behind a treetrunk, the fair-haired prodigy watches the fierce battle taking place.
The Cures have clearly arranged themselves in a circle around Iru. Nice strategy there!
They're all poised and ready -- I especially <3 Cure Chocolat's stance, it reminds me somewhat of Enjolras...
BILBERRY (to Iru): That's enough of that. Let's get out of here. Back to Master Noir's side...
CIEL IS AMAZING!!!
The way she treasures all her ingredients, her bravery in standing up to Bilberry...
SHE IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR TO DEFEND ALL HER FEELINGS!!!
An elated Ciel watches the tide of battle turn towards the Precures for good...
It's time for that Finishing Move!
SWEETS WONDERFUL À LA MODE!!
Once more, Iru is purified...
Still, only the right leg is injured.
Bilberry picks her ragdoll up by reflex...
...the kirakiraru returns to the sweets...
BILBERRY (annoyed): Hmpf. What is a Precure, anyhow? You think you'll stop me forever?!
EXIT BILBERRY, STAGE LEFT, TAKING A GIANT LEAP BACKWARDS INTO THE WOODS.
As usual, our idiot hero did something far less mature-looking and less fluffy.
In this case, she was inspired by those storybook bears...
Anyway, the creations that I always comment on during this arc are Ciel's for a good reason.
Still, it came as a pleasant surprise that the three stacked bearcakes had different facial expressions.
Look at this bear cloud!
As the sun sets, the peace, the calm returns anew to the apiary and, fortunately, no mass media recordings have been damaged.
LITTLE BOY: It's so yummy! (oishii!)
BEEKEEPER FATHER: Yes, delicious! (oishii!)
BEEKEEPER MOTHER: It really is wonderful! (oishii!)
Oh, and subbers... can't you agree on how to translate an arc word?
CIEL: No way... what's going on here..?!
She decides to taste the pancakes to see if she's done anything right, and...
CIEL (prying into the family's hearts): How can they possibly have this much kirakiraru?
She takes another bite of her pancakes and ponders...
They're all obviously enjoying their treats in the evening twilight, aren't they?
MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
The Goldilocks references in this episode came right out of the blue. I mean: a blonde girl comes to a woodland cottage where a family of three --father, mother, child-- live. Also, food and bears, and honey --the parents being beekeepers--. To hammer home the point, the human counterpart of Baby Bear is reading a vaguely Goldilocks-esque storybook.
The Zuka Cures got only a little screentime, but it was worth the pain (especially during the battle). Once more, we got the encouragement that Akira and Yukari needed as an OTP.
Again, Ciel's fancy skills and her eye for ingredients. Her assiette soufflé pancakes may not be bear-shaped, but I still definitely prefer them. Just look at all that honey, berries, a ball of ice cream... and that fluffy texture... om nom nom nom... Again, we see our token European as the Technician of this series (Ciel focuses on the technical aspects and visual presentations of making sweets, including the taste and combinations).
Again, Bilberry's faces. I love Perky Female Minions and Sissy Villains because they have this heart-upon-sleeve style of emotional expression.
As for Ciel's fangirling over the Precures... It's just like when I fangirl over Chocolat (and Uranus in SM Crystal season 3), for a good reason. She squees as much as the mass media squee over her. I'd like some Ciel-Akira interactions outside the battleground, by the way...
IN NEXT EPISODE (21):
Yukari's brought caresses, and Akira scrumptious treats,
that every little yousei lavishly touches and eats...
While Master Noir debuts and Giulio's soon in peril dire...
Furthermore, Ciel's true colours come to light, and we're on fire!!
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