Episode 20 - My Own Review
TOUT POUR AMOUR, TOUT POUR MA CHÉRIE
This is my review of Hugtto Precure Ep 20 and how do you make two Prehearts out of one Preheart?
The previous episode ended with Emiru and Lulu saying that they wanted to work hard in order to become PreCures together. However, there is only one PreHeart (transformation trinket smartphone), which presents a bit of problem. It would take a miracle for both Lulu and Emiru to become PreCures.
As the girls learn from Harry that it is impossible to get another Preheart since it was created from the future,
As the girls learn from Harry that it is impossible to get another Preheart since it was created from the future,
...for Homare's comeback skating contest and Saaya's CM audition.
Homare takes Emiru ice skating
Homare and Saaya decide that they should cheer Emiru and Lulu up. Homare takes Emiru ice skating, and tells her that she once gave up on that. However, she got back into it after meeting Saaya.
It feels like I have wings when on the ice...
It feels like I have wings when on the ice...
Lulu accompanies Saaya whilst she practices for her audition
Lulu tells Saaya en tête-à-tête that she loves Emiru (ai? koi? suki?), but she doesn’t want to give up on her dream of becoming a PreCure with her. Saaya tells her that she shouldn’t give up on her dream, as that kind of feelings cannot be contained.
Homare brought Emiru onto the skating rink and she encouraged Emiru to believe in herself and a miracle might happen for the two girls. Saaya also did the same thing for Lulu as she proclaimed herself as Lulu's rival and encouraged Lulu to be true to her feelings.
I like the music that was played during these moments and how Homare and Saaya who once were at their weakest were able to convey their feelings to the two girls and to never give up for a miracle.
Harry and Homare went to Hugman Centre to get some necessities.
George retrieved Hug-Tan's toy and patted on Hug-Tan's head which, for a moment, Hug-Tan became quiet and looked at George with a strange look.
George retrieved Hug-Tan's toy and patted on Hug-Tan's head which, for a moment, Hug-Tan became quiet and looked at George with a strange look.
George even spoke an odd line:""Be good to your brother and sister." From the way Harry and Hug-Tan looked at George, it is certain that George has a mysterious connection (siblings all three, literally?) which we hope to see it in the future.
We shall see if this sibling theory literally becomes true...
MEANWHILE AT CRYASSE HQ...
We find Papple at the Cryasse HQ, chided by her superiors due to her incessant failures. Is she going to go last-stand one-winged baroness, be purified, and then replaced by Gelos?
Furthermore, did anyone notice that, when Kurai was furious with Papple's failures, Ristle was looking at Kurai in his monitor and keying something. Maybe Kurai might not be what everyone think he is...
Emiru receives concert tickets from her brother
Moving on, Emiru’s brother Masato shows that he has matured a little and gives Emiru a pair of concert tickets. He tells her to take Lulu to that hard rock venue.
Masato entered Emiru's room when she was playing with her guitar. She was about to be defensive when suddenly Masato gave her two live concert tickets to the latest hard rock venue and Masato accepted, and encouraged, her to play the electric guitar. He later made peace with Henri over his previous queerphobic comments and the fair Frenchman too forgave him.
It seems that Henri has had quite the positive influence on him.
(So, will Henrisato soon be canonised as well?)
There is definitely something more behind that icy façade of "unadulterated loathing..."
Emiru eagerly tells Lulu the good news
Emiru catches up with Lulu, and reveals the tickets. She also says that her brother no longer has any problem with her playing the electric guitar. Both girls can barely contain their feelings, and Emiru swears to protect Lulu’s smile.
That adorkable face Emi makes...
...and we finally see tears in a completely defrosted Lulu's eyes,
as they embrace.
Now that's both a solemn oath and a confession!
SQUEEE...!!!! (Taking my pulse)
But there's no time for fluffing anymore when a theender enters stage left...
Lulu and Emiru go to the concert, but it isn’t long before a theender attacks. The band wasn’t happy about not being able to play their own music, and that is something that Papple took advantage of. Everyone evacuates, except for Lulu and Emiru.
Papple was up to her old tricks and turned a band into a theender (again, a single monster from a group of people? When do we get at least a dual opponent for this continuity?) to wreck havoc during the live concert,
Homare and Saaya's chances to do what they like most.
(If you wonder, they ace their skating performance and their audition, respectively, at the end of the day. As Homare came in first place and Saaya got the starring role, Ranze Ichijo is not amused. Especially since she was relegated to a cameo for this episode!)
With Saaya and Homare off elsewhere pursuing their dreams, with Lulu and Emiru watching on.
As they watch, they cheer for a febrile Cure Yell and that awakens something.
It’s happening!
Lulu and Emiru both awaken Future Crystals from within their hearts.
However, there is still only one PreHeart, and Emiru insists that Lulu uses it. Lulu, however, remains determined to become a PreCure with Emiru.
I am not worthy, please, Lulu-oneesama... you have the right...
No, dearie; I want to become a Cure with you. And you are a real person, unlike me. We are a battle couple. We are one.
This heartwarming embrace of a confession, that sets our OTP Emilu in stone, summons a golden goddess...
A miracle
Notice how this goddess of light embraces both Lulu and Emiru. Even the powers that be support a match between these two girls!
A miracle happens, and the one PreHeart is made into two.
With both Lulu and Emiru now in possession of matching transformation trinkets, two halves of a whole, it is time for something that I have been eagerly anticipating.
BATTLE COSTUME NOTES
On Cure Ma Chérie (Emiru):
On Cure Amour (Lulu):
Introducing Cure Ma Chérie and Cure Amour, the PreCures of love
The transformation sequence is amazing, and probably my favourite from within the franchise. Lulu and Emiru finally became PreCures – Cure Amour and Cure Ma Chérie respectively.
"Loving everyone (Adoring everyone)! The Pretty Cure of Selfless Love! Cure Amour!"
みんな大好き！愛のプリキュア！キュアアムール！
Min'na Daisuki! Ai no Purikyua! Kyua Amūru!
"Loving everyone (Adoring everyone)! The Pretty Cure of Selfless Love! Cure Ma Chérie!"
みんな大好き！愛のプリキュア！キュアマシェリ！
Min'na Daisuki! Ai no Purikyua! Kyua Masheri!
As Amour and Ma Chérie fight, they sing a duet, which gives the battle a Symphogear vibe. They defeat the theender with their combined power.
With two Prehearts in hand, the two girls transformed into Cure Ma Chérie and Cure Amour! The two new Cures took down the theender with ease and finished off with their special attacks-Heart Circle and Heart Dance! (They even ended their finisher by saying Futari wa Precure!)
With the theender defeated, Papple retreats. Once she is gone, Hug-tan hugs both Amour and Ma Chérie, and that brings the episode to an end.
Cure Amour feeding Hug-tan
Cure Ma Chérie feeding Hug-tan
The two new Cures fed Hug-Tan with Asupower/Morrowpower...
All's well that end's well, especially queer OTPs confirmed!
What an amazing episode! This was well worth the wait, and it delivered. I’ve eagerly been awaiting the moment Lulu and Emiru would become PreCures, and this episode absolutely nails it.
Lulu and Emiru’s relationship is just the purest thing, and it just makes me so happy to see how much they care for each other.
It’s nice to see that Emiru’s brother has started to mellow out due to Henri’s influence (viva Henrisato!). That deserves some bonus points, but I just want to focus on the stars of this episode.
It finally happened. Cure Amour and Cure Ma Chérie debuted, and I love their transformation sequence. The battle against the theender was amazing as well – I’ll reiterate that it reminds me of Symphogear, not to mention Master and Commander (Lulu/Amour is the Master, Emiru/Ma Chérie is the Commander), with the most cathartic duet in Pretty Cure Herstory so far!
Lulu and Emiru are amazing characters, and the wait for them to become PreCures paid off very well in the end.
Hugtto! PreCure is a very strong contender for my favourite anime of this current season – and year if it is able to maintain the level of quality we’ve had during the Lulu arc/springtime cour.
What I think of this episode? I watched the two new Cures' transformation more than ten times and they are lovely as well. Did anyone think of Heartcatch Precure Transformation music when Cure Ma Chérie and Cure Amour transform? Because I did and I tried to sync with that particular scene with Heartcatch BGM and guess what, it worked! (Don't believe me? Try it out for yourself!)This episode is totally focusing on Lulu and Emiru's conflicts and resolutions. On one hand, Emiru and Masato finally make up with him accepting Emiru's love of guitar and apologizing to Henri. With only one Preheart, the two girls tried very hard not to hurt the other even to the point when both of them were granted their Future Crystals, both girls refuse to accept the Preheart if only one of them can become a Precure.
Which led to one of the more unexpected moment in this episode-The appearance of the Golden Lady in the opening! Somehow she appeared as a ghostly form and create another Preheart out of the sole Preheart. But who is she? Hug-Tan was even happy to see this Golden Lady! A possible connection?
Especially when George appeared in front of Harry, Homare and Hug-Tan. George does gave a strange vibe which even Hug-Tan could felt from his palms. As for his line- "Be good to your brother and sister" could have a double meaning which to me, the plot thickens!
There are two little grips about this episode. First was after introducing Gelos last week, she was nowhere to be found this week and it was Papple again to be the villain for the episode. So what's the point of introducing a new general when she only appeared in one episode and disappear in the next? Gelos should have been introduced perhaps after Papple's complete defeat to replace their forces.
The othe grip was how simple it was for Emiru and Lulu to get their Future Crystals. Homare overcame her trauma to get hers. Compared to Setsuna who died and revived as Cure Passion, Towa who overcame her guilt to become Cure Scarlet... Saaya, Emiru, and Lulu got it easy to get their Future Crystals.
Sure, the problem of having only one Preheart still resonated between the two girls and it was resolved by the power of (something more than) friendship but couldn't Toei make a better scenario so that the payoff will be more satisfying for Emiru and Lulu.
Other than that, Cure Ma Chérie and Cure Amour overall design and presentation was spot on. (Maybe an S.H. Figuarts line up? But Precure are the worst series to collect for S.H. Figuarts as most of them are exclusive and expensive like hell!) Maybe their finisher/Finishing Move was a bit simple but thanks to spoliers, the two girls are getting an upgrade pretty soon.
MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Lulu Amour, Emiru Aizaki; I now pronounce you wife and wife. Emiru, you may kiss the other bride.
That tête-à-tête with Saaya during the latter's acting practice has finally canonised the pairing by Word of Lulu herself; a Lulu Amour who now lives up to her surname and whose gradual defrosting has come to an end, when she explains these feelings and has finally fully thawed.
The fact that Masato now also plays matchmaker for his little sister and gives her two tickets to the concert, inviting her to take Lulu along, which also leads to this Henrisato moment we should talk about later...
And then, that irreverent sharing of the tickets with Emi on top of Lulu. Followed by that oath Emi makes to protect Lulu's smile. Now that's both a solemn oath and a confession!
The crowner being that embrace that summons the golden goddess. Emiru saying Lulu has the right to use the Preheart for being older and more mature; Lulu acknowledging that she cannot become a Precure without Emiru, canonising them as a battle couple, and that heartwarming embrace... SQUEEE... Is that a failure in the AC here at the UJI or am I just flustered to see them like this? And their transformation cannot be more exciting... PITTERPATTERPITTERPATTERPITTERPATTER!!!
Symbolism of the left and right halves of a whole
So, to crown the achievement of last year: we've got another Pretty Cure OTP consisting of a battle couple of foil characters, one of whom wears red as a theme colour and the other who wears lilac; the lilac one is at first ice-hearted but defrosts thanks to the warmer, more outspoken red one; and at least one of these two has unconditional love (ai/agape) for a quality they represent and defend; furthermore, their sheroic identities have matching French names (last season/continuity we had Cure Macaron and Cure Chocolat; now this year we have Cure Amour and Cure Ma Chérie)! And they play music and sing in battle as their Finishing Move! Definitely upping the ante for their canonisation; Lulu/Amour is the Master and Emiru/Ma Chérie is the Commander!
Furthermore, it struck me that both members of the battle couple have exactly the same battle cry introduction - instead of matching variations thereof. And first they mention daisuki (philia), followed by ai (agape). Those are different loves; for more information, see previous reviews of this series' episodes, which explain the concept of multiple loves in Japanese and Classical Greek, as studied by C.S. Lewis...
As for Henrisato... that's another queer OTP that gets spotlighted spot-on. Masato begs his pardon and Henri says it's all in the past. This looks like the beginning of a "beautiful friendship," to quote the coda of that old film. Surely, we have a Master and Commander as well as a King and Queen in this series, right? And it's still June, Pride month in Spain... <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Moving on to the buzz on Cryasse, Papple is definitely on her last leg, and desperate to prove her worth to her superiors after too many failures. This time, she obviously crashed that hard rock concert. The negative emotions du jour were that the members of the band were frustrated about not being allowed to play the songs they wanted (imagine if Rammstein at that concert in Badalona I attended got targeted by a Corrupter due to similar feelings... I only know their public personas, so I have not a clue about what those six Germans feel like). That restraint of artistic liberty is something that everyone in a creative profession is bound to be familiar with (just like Rita's creative block a few episodes ago).
The Hugman incident, and George mentioning kindness to siblings in front of Harry and Hug-tan, has furthermore sparked a new theory: the Sibling Theory, that hypothesises that all three of them are siblings (whether by blood or by adoption, it is left unclear).
Saaya and Homare are already scheduled to chase their dreams, who is left to save the day? Cure Amour and Cure Ma Chérie of course!
This week’s episode only made me appreciate Lulu’s and Emiru’s friendship even more. The two of them are absolutely selfless with each other, adamantly refusing to claim what was previously the only preheart and their convictions helped create a miracle. They are themed around Song and Dance, making it to so the two would perform while they fight. But cool as it is, I don’t think Cure Amour and Ma Chérie will be singing every time they fight… though it would make sense if they do. And I must say, the first thing I thought was when they started singing and fighting was Pichi Pichi Pitch! Man that brings back memories.
Cure Amour and Ma Chérie’s designs and transformations has to be one of the bests I have seen in a long time. The transformation sequence itself was absolutely stunning and fun to watch. I loved how it incorporated their friendship and highlighted what makes them special, together they are a pair, and one cannot be complete without the other. However I was a little bit sad that they didn’t end up sharing a Preheart, I thought that probably would have been really cool, but it was still neat to see a miracle did play out, where the Goddess responded to their wishes and created a fifth preheart. So as long as one has the convictions and the potential to draw out a Precure power, in theory, it seems it is entirely possible for anyone to become a precure, so as long as the Goddess receives their wish.
There is no doubt in my mind that George is the big bad. He subtly highlighted his scary side, and it was enough for both Harry and Hugtan to recognize something was amiss. If Hugtan drops her smile, you know something is wrong. Now that he has encountered her in person, it makes me wonder if this will influence how Cryasse will operate from here on out. Originally they were targeting the future crystals, and were working to defeat the precures, but it feels like if anything, George was able to confirm his suspicions, and we may see the enemy start to specifically target Hugtan— who that is undoubtedly far easier to find and obtain.
But there was also another thing that drew my attention, and that was the scene when the “CEO” was scolding Papple. It was hard to tell, but it almost looked as though their blue colleague (I don’t know his name) was in control/typing out exactly what the “CEO” was saying. I could be wrong, but he will surely turn out to be a very important character in the future. Another thing that crossed my mind, is the possibility Papple doesn’t realize that George *could be (yet to be officially confirmed) the CEO. That would be pretty awkward… Right now, I am under the impression Pupple might think he’s a writer of a sort. Well either way, we will probably gain some more information the next time we see her visit him.
However Homare grilled Harry a bit today by calling him out for keeping them in the dark. He says he isn’t doing anything of the sort, but in truth, Harry does have a lot of secrets, and he certainly doesn’t want anyone to know about it. Rather, it is likely he believes the less they know, the safer he and Hugtan will be. In fact, besides transforming into a Hamster, one has to wonder if Harry has (or had) any powers of his own.
Although the story has shifted to what is turning out to be Emiru’s and Lulu’s Character Arcs, Cryasse is also quietly planning their next move. With all the fluff in the air at the moment, I get the sense this phase is the calm before the storm. One of the most important things to notice is that Saaya and Homare didn’t have time to be a precure, both of them were busy making progress towards their dreams. Homare won her first competition since she has returned to the ice, and Saaya finally passed an audition.
And yooooooo!!! Did Henri give Emiru’s brother Masato concert tickets to give her as a way to help the two of them mend their relationship? If so, oh my god I love him even more. I am so relieved her brother finally got over his shitty attitude and is now officially supporting her dream as a hard rock musician and her love for the guitar. He has also softened up to Henri, no longer judging him for being different. No longer queerphobic; no, that feeling is NOT "unadulterated loathing," young Aizaki! It is a huge step in the right direction! I am just glad they put a close to that chapter!
Random Note of the Week: HAHAHA I SPOT HINOSE (Trumpet Player)! OOOOH WORRIED ABOUT HER. HAHA! THE OTHER GUY NOTICED. OH HE LIKES HER. IM SURE.
This guy knows what’s up.
IN NEXT EPISODE (21):
Ma Chérie a des doutes sur quel genre d'héroïne elle veut-être...
Overall, a new status quo as Cure Ma Chérie and Cure Amour joined the Hugtto Team! But we are just getting started since Emiru become full on obsessed to become a great Precure! Meanwhile, Lulu is trying to play the guitar!? Until then, see you in the next post!
Mais certainement ce n'est qu'une petite crise d'identité!
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario