My Own Review
IT WON'T COST MUCH - JUST YOUR VOICE!
Homare is perusing Andersen's original Little Mermaid, which is more well-known among the mainstream in Japan, where it is called Ningyo-hime (人魚姫) and seen as far more canon than the Disneyfied happy ending versions.
This episode is about Homare who has feelings for Harry and after winning her comeback competition, she looked for inspiration and read the Little Mermaid story. Of course, when Bishin used powers to trap both Cure Étoile and Harry, things really got crazy.
It actually happens really early on in the episode, and ends up sending Cure Étoile and Harry to a virtual world created from their hearts (kokoro, ie their psyches/inner worlds).
Bishin is not happy about capturing Étoile as well
So she swam about among the beams and planks which strewed the surface, forgetting that the debris, carried by the violent current, could crush her to pieces. Then she plunged deeply under the dark waters, rising and falling with the waves, till at length, in the light of a flash of lightning, she managed to reach the young prince, who was fast losing the power of swimming in that storm and those currents. His limbs were failing him, his beautiful eyes were closed, and he was at the end of his strength, ready to surrender to the deep; he would have died had not the little mermaid come to his assistance. She clasped him gently, held his head above the water, so that he might breathe, and let the waves drift them toward the nearest shore. But the prince kept always his eyes shut.
At sunrise the storm had ceased; but of the shipwreck not a single fragment could be seen. The horizon lightened, announcing the return of a sun that rose up red and glowing from the water, and its rays brought back the hue of health to the prince’s cheeks; but his eyes remained closed. The little mermaid kissed his high, smooth forehead, and stroked back his wet hair; he seemed to her like the marble statue in her little garden, and she kissed him again, and wished that he might live. Yet, in spite of that maiden kiss, the prince remained deeply unconscious.
Then bells sounded in the large white building, and a number of young girls came into the garden. Seeing them approach, the little mermaid swam out farther from the shore and placed herself between some high rocks that rose out of the water; then she covered her head and neck and bosom with the foam of the waves so that her little face might not be seen, and watched to see what would become of the poor prince.
She did not wait long before she saw a young girl approach the spot where he lay. That one of the maidens, who appeared to be the leader of her companions, detached herself from the group, while picking seashells, and marched right towards the prince, whom she did not see at first.
Suddenly, she noticed him.
She seemed frightened at first, but only for a moment; her first movement of fight-or-flight response soon gave way to sweet pity. She approached him, sweetly and frightened at the same time, then, realising that the young man was bereft of consciousness, she knelt down beside him and gave him first aid, pushing the water ouf of his lungs.
The prince blinked his eyes, caught a glimpse of the young maiden, and then shut them again, as if the single effort of blinking his eyes had already left him exhausted. Once more he blinked, but, for that second time, they shut as well.
Thus, seeing that her efforts were powerless, and understanding that both of them needed the aid of science, the young maiden left his side, and then she fetched a number of people, and the mermaid saw that the prince came to life again, and smiled upon those who stood round him. But to her he sent no smile; he knew not that she had saved him. This made her very unhappy, and when he was led away into the great building, she dived down sorrowfully into the water, and returned to her father’s castle. She had always been silent and thoughtful and reserved, and now she was more so than ever.
She is given the draught that will turn her into a human maiden at the cost of her voice (the loveliest singing voice in the seven seas), not by the mer-witch in the midnight zone as in canon, but by her own friends and sisters at the coral palace (with the mer-king himself is conspicuously absent: surely too busy with affairs of state, mirroring Homare's dad in real life!). In the original Andersen tale, this was a quite fishy potion, maybe a drug:
'Twas in that hideous sanctuary that the sorceress sat enthroned: she called the longest and the most viscous of her serpents her favourite, and she let that water-snake wrap around her neck and play upon her bosom. She was allowing said favourite pet, which she had wrapped around her neck like a living feather boa, to eat from her own mouth, feeding the serpent from her own lips absolutely like one of us human maidens would feed a lump of sugar to her little pet canary.
Other large, fat water-snakes were rolling in the mire, and showing their ugly, drab-coloured bellies, marbled with stains in sickly yellow, livid white, and brownish black.
Other large, fat water-snakes were rolling in the mire, and showing their ugly, drab-coloured bellies, marbled with stains in sickly yellow, livid white, and brownish black.
Upon entering, the little mermaid princess raised her head; she was ready to speak, but the old sorcerous crone did not even give her the time to begin.
“I know what you want,” said the mer-witch; “it would be no use for you to tell me; and besides it is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, and it will bring you to sorrow, my pretty princess. You want to get rid of your tail-fin, and exchange it for two supports, like those human beings have to walk on land, instead, so that the young prince may fall in love with you, and that you may for his sake have an immortal soul.” And then the witch cackled so loudly and so disgustingly, that her favourite pet fell off the shoulder to the ground, and lay there wriggling and writhing about; and that the other serpents, frightened, retreated.
“You are but just in time,” said the witch; “for after sunrise tomorrow I should not be able to help you till the end of another year. I will prepare a draught for you, with which you must swim to land tomorrow before sunrise, and sit down on the shore and drink it. Your tail-fin will then disappear, and be cloven into what humankind calls legs, and you will feel great pain, as if a sword were passing through you. But all who see you will say that you are the prettiest little human child they ever saw. The legs I give you will be the most shapely that ever were seen on land, having been a creation of mine. You will still have the same floating gracefulness of movement, and no ballerina will ever tread so lightly as you; but at every step you take it will feel as if you were treading upon sharp knives or shattered glass, and as if your blood must flow, even though not a drop will stain your wake. If you will bear all this, I will help you.”
“Yes, I will,” said the little mer-princess in a trembling voice, as she thought of the prince and the immortal soul.
“But think again,” said the witch; “for when once your shape has become like a human maiden's, you can no more be a mermaid. You will nevermore return through the water to your sisters or to your palace again; and if you do not win the love of the prince, so that he is willing to forget his father and mother for your sake, and to love you with his whole heart and soul, to surrender his whole heart and soul to you, and allow a priest to join your hands that you two may be husband and wife, then you will never have an immortal soul. The first day after he marries another, at sunrise, your heart will break, and you will be turned to foam on the crest of the waves.”
“I will do it,” said the little mermaid, and she became pale as death.
“But I must be paid also,” said the witch, “and it is not a trifle that I ask. You have the sweetest voice of any who dwell here in the depths of the seven seas, and you believe that you will be able to charm the prince with it also, but this voice you must give to me; the best thing you possess will I have for the price of my draught. My own heart's blood must be mixed with the draught that shall cleave your tail-fin, that it may be as sharp as a two-edged sword.”
“But if you take away my voice,” said the little mermaid, “what is left for me?”
“Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes; surely with these you can enchain a human’s heart and make his head swim! Well, have you lost your courage? Once you quaff the draught, it will sear your throat and cut it off as my payment; then you shall have my powerful, precious draught.”
“It shall be,” said the little mermaid.
Then the witch placed her cauldron on the fires of an undersea volcano, to prepare the enchanted draught.
“Cleanliness is next to goodness!” quoth she, scouring the vessel with water-snakes, which she had tied together in a large knot like a broomstick; then she pricked herself in the chest, in between the breasts, and let her own black blood drop into it. Since the cauldron was red hot, those drops of mer-witch blood quickly evaporated; the steam that rose formed itself into such strange, horrible shapes that no one could look at them without fear. Then the sorceress threw in some plants that only grow deep in the midnight zone of the ocean, added other ingredients still completely unknown to human science... Every moment the witch threw something else into the vessel, and when it began to boil, the sound was like a crying crocodile. When at last the magic draught was ready, it was impossible to the naked eye to tell the difference from it and the the clearest water that ever had surged from a rock spring. “There it is for you,” said the witch as she handed over the enchanted liquor and her client took the flask in hand; and then, as the mermaid princess was a dozen tail-flicks away from her domain, “If the anemones should seize hold of you as you return through the 'woods', throw over them a few drops of the potion, a single drop anywhere on each anemone, and their fingers will be torn into a thousand pieces as they detach from you.” But the little mermaid had no occasion to do this, for in her wake the anemones sprang back in terror when they caught sight of the glittering draught, which shone in her hand like a twinkling star.
So she passed quickly through the 'woods' and the marsh of the midnight zone, and between the rushing whirlpools. She saw that in her father’s palace the torches in the ballroom were extinguished, and all within asleep; but she did not venture to go in to them, for now she was going to leave them forever, she felt as if her heart would break. She stole into the garden, took a flower from the flower-beds of each of her sisters, kissed her hand a thousand times towards the palace, and then rose up through the dark blue waters, and surfaced.
The sun had not risen when she came in sight of the prince’s palace, and approached the beautiful marble steps, but the full moon shone clear and bright. Wobbling like a seal, she got up on the first flights of the marble steps that proceeded from the entrance stairs down into the ocean.
The little mermaid turned towards the balcony where she had so often seen her prince appear, she muttered in the lowest voice her three last words, "I love you!" that she could not say any louder, and then she swallowed the burning sharp, enchanted liquor; and it seemed as if a two-edged sword went through her delicate body: she fell into a swoon, and lay like one dead.
When the sun arose and shone over sea and shore, dazzling like a flaming eye, she recovered, and felt a sharp pain; but just before her stood the handsome young prince. He fixed his coal-black eyes upon her so earnestly that she cast down her own, and then became aware that her tail-fin was gone, and that she had as pretty a pair of white legs and tiny feet as any little human maiden could have; but she had no clothes, so she wrapped herself in her long, thick hair. The prince asked her who she was, and where she came from, and she looked at him mildly and sorrowfully with her deep blue eyes; but she could not speak. Every step she took was as the witch had said it would be, she felt as if treading upon the points of needles or sharp knives or shattered glass (having been accustomed to swim all her life, walking was a harsh new experience to her); but she bore it willingly, and stepped as lightly by the prince’s side as a soap-bubble, so that he and all who saw her wondered at her graceful-swaying movements.
(Here, however, Harry takes Homare up in a bridal carry and brings her a négligée... waow...!)
She was very soon arrayed in costly silks and muslin, and was the most beautiful creature in the palace; but she was mute, and could neither speak nor sing.
Whilst Homare is stuck doing that in the virtual world, the other Cures are outside attempting to save her.
the other Cures, dressing them as various fairytale characters.
Red Riding Lulu
Emialice
Saayarella
The court ballerine next performed some pretty fairy-like dances, to the sound of beautiful music. Then the little maid raised her lovely white arms, stood on the tips of her toes, and glided over the floor, and danced as no one yet had been able to dance. At each moment her beauty became more revealed, and her expressive eyes appealed more directly to the heart than the songs of the operas.
Every one was enchanted, especially the prince, who called her his little castaway; and she danced again quite readily, to please him, though each time her foot touched the floor it seemed as if she trod on sharp knives or shattered glass (again, remember that until now she had a tailfin, instead of feet!).
Back to Homare and Harry, the two dance together at a ball but then Bishin shows up, along with the person who was first in Harry’s heart.
So, in the original Andersen tale, the prince has to accept this marriage of state to a foreign princess he has not even received a portrait of - and he loves the little ex-mermaid more as a friend or a little sister, and does not even think for once of having her to wife; being in star-crossed love with the novice he thinks saved him from the shipwreck:
"Yes, you are dear to me, for you have the best heart, and you are the most devoted to me; you are like a young maiden whom I once or twice saw, but whom I shall never meet again. When my ship wrecked on my coming of age trip... I came to on a foreign shore near a convent, where several young maidens performed the service, with one such novice by my side. The youngest, the loveliest of them had found me on the shore, and saved my life. She found me unconscious on the shore, and, with utmost care, she brought me back to my senses. I saw her but as in a dream, for my eyes opened merely to shut within an instant. What ever happened to her? I know nothing. I saw her but twice, and yet she is the one and only one in this world whom I could love and whom I would ever love; but you are like her, and you have almost driven her image out of my mind. She belongs to the holy of holies, and my good fortune has sent you to me instead of her; you are in my heart the reflection of her image, and thus we will nevermore part. She is consecrated, and you resemble her to an astonishing degree; your image makes hers almost grow pale within my heart. Now they want me to marry this princess, a complete stranger to me, but they will never be able to force me. I will only love the novice who saved my life, and whose features you make me recall. Alas, she cannot leave the cloister; and a kind destiny must have rather sent you to take her place by my side. I would rather marry you, my little castaway with eyes that speak louder than words..."
And the (ex-mer-)maiden is all right ("he has me all the time, and she will never leave the cloister - "Ah, he knows not that it was I who saved his life; he ignores that I was the one who, raising his head above the water, carried him to the coast where the convent stands; I sat beneath the foam, and watched till those human females came to help him. That I saw the convent, that I saw the young maiden who left it and that I was hidden, jealous, behind a rock, as the one whom he prefers tried in vain to bring him back to the life that I had preserved within him. I saw the pretty maiden that he loves better than he loves me;” and the little mermaid sighed deeply, but she could not shed tears. “He says this maiden is consecrated and belongs to the cloister, therefore she will never return to the outside world. They will meet nevermore again, while I am by his side all the time, and see him every day. I will take care of him, and love him, and give up my life for his sake").
The church bells were ringing, and from the high towers sounded a flourish of trumpets; and soldiers, with flying colours and glittering bayonets, lined the fortresses through which they passed, as the prince reviewed each regiment. Every day was a festival; balls and soirées and other entertainments followed one another.
But the princess bride had not yet arrived. People said that she was being brought up and educated in a religious house; for the accomplishment of a vow her crowned mother had sworn while expecting her. There, in that convent on a distant shore, she had been learning all the social graces and every royal virtue. At last she came. Then the little maid, who was very anxious to see whether she was really beautiful, was obliged to acknowledge that she had never seen a more perfect vision of beauty, such a fine and agreeable figure. Her translucent skin was delicately fair, and beneath her long dark eye-lashes her laughing blue eyes shone with truth and purity.
No sooner had the little maiden seen the bride that her knees buckled and, with a heavy sigh, she collapsed in tears upon the pier. She had just recognised the novice who, on the day after the tempest, had brought first aid to the unconscious prince.
As for the prince himself, he did not even hesitate for an instant.
“It was you,” quoth he, running towards her with open arms, “it was you who saved my life when I lay as if dead on the beach,” and she recognised him as well, and he clasped his blushing bride in his arms, pressing her to his heart.
Everything was, thus, the best everyone could wish, and thus, according to the oath between both houses, the royal engagement was announced with much pomp and circumstance.
Everything was, thus, the best everyone could wish, and thus, according to the oath between both houses, the royal engagement was announced with much pomp and circumstance.
“Oh, I am too happy,” said he to the little maid; “my fondest hopes are all fulfilled. You will rejoice at my happiness; for your devotion to me is great and sincere.” And each of his words was a dagger tearing at her heart: "If I were to die now, 'twere to be most happy! What I did desired the most in this life, what I never dared to hope for, what seemed too impossible, has finally become real. Rejoice in my fortune, my little mute castaway, for, among all others who surround me, you are the one who love me, who is attached to me the most!"
The little maid kissed her right hand with a smile, and beneath that smile she felt as if her heart were already broken. His wedding morning would bring death to her, and she would change into foam.
The young prince had proclaimed out loud his decision to take that princess for his lawful wedded wife. And thus, all the church bells pealed, all the fanfares rang, all the drummers drummed, and all the regiments formed even more loudly than on the day of her landing.
All the church bells rung, and the heralds rode about the streets of every town proclaiming the betrothal. Perfumed oils were burning in costly silver lamps on each and every altar. The priests waved the censers, while the bride and bridegroom joined their hands and received the blessing that pronounced them husband and wife. The little bridesmaid (who had once been a mermaid), dressed in silks and gold brocade, held up the bride’s train; but her ears heard nothing of the festive music, and her eyes saw not the holy ceremony; she thought of the night of death which was coming to her, and of all she had lost in the world.
On the same evening that they had received the nuptial blessing, the royal bride and groom boarded their honeymoon ship; the cannons along the coast were roaring, all flags on board the other vessels were waving, and in the centre of the ship a costly tent of crimson and gold brocade had been erected. It contained elegant couches, for the reception of the young bridal pair during the night. The captain gave the order, the breeze filled the sails, and the ship, with swelling sails and a favorable wind, glided away smoothly and lightly over the calm ocean, so serene that one could hardly realise that one was no longer on terra firma.
When it grew dark a number of colored lamps were lit, and the sailors danced merrily on the deck. The little bridesmaid could not help thinking of her first surfacing, when she had seen similar revels and joys; and she joined in the dance, poised herself in the air as a swallow in pursuit of her prey, and all present cheered her with wonder. She had never danced so elegantly before. Her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives or shattered glass, but she cared not for it; a sharper pang had pierced through her heart. She knew this was the last evening she should ever see the prince, for whom she had forsaken her kindred and her home; she had given up her beautiful voice, and suffered unheard-of pain daily for him, while he knew nothing of it. This was the last evening that she would breathe the same air with him, or gaze on the starry sky and the deep blue sea; an eternal night, without a thought or a dream, awaited her: she had no soul and now she could never win one. All was joy and gaiety on board till long after midnight; she laughed and danced with the rest, while the thoughts of death were in her heart. The prince kissed his beautiful bride, while she played with his raven hair, till they went arm-in-arm to rest in the splendid tent.
Then all became still on board; the helmsman, one of the two alone awake, stood at the helm and kept watch. The little bridesmaid, the other one awake on deck, leaned her white arms on the railing at the edge of the vessel, and looked towards the east for the first blush of the morn, for that first ray of dawn that would bring her death.
There’s some speculation about this being Hugtan’s true form…
Bishin tells Homare that Harry never had eyes for her, and continues to taunt her until she falls into despair. Bishin is not surprised to see who the person is – it is someone that Harry has loved and lost, a Lost Lenore, but they remain firmly in his heart.
The best thing is that unlike Disney's kid friendly Little Mermaid story, this version follows more closer to the original Andersen fairy tale, in which the Little Mermaid became foam after finding out the prince loved someone else. In this case, when Homare saw Harry running to an unknown lady covered in a bridal veil (who looked suspiciously like an older Hug-tan), she fell into despair and was dragged into the ocean by her trio of mermaid sisters.
In the original tale, it went something like this:
When it grew dark a number of colored lamps were lit, and the sailors danced merrily on the deck. The little bridesmaid could not help thinking of her first surfacing, when she had seen similar revels and joys; and she joined in the dance, poised herself in the air as a swallow in pursuit of her prey, and all present cheered her with wonder. She had never danced so elegantly before. Her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives or shattered glass, but she cared not for it; a sharper pang had pierced through her heart. She knew this was the last evening she should ever see the prince, for whom she had forsaken her kindred and her home; she had given up her beautiful voice, and suffered unheard-of pain daily for him, while he knew nothing of it. This was the last evening that she would breathe the same air with him, or gaze on the starry sky and the deep blue sea; an eternal night, without a thought or a dream, awaited her: she had no soul and now she could never win one. All was joy and gaiety on board till long after midnight; she laughed and danced with the rest, while the thoughts of death were in her heart. The prince embraced and kissed his beautiful bride, while she played with his soft raven hair, till they went arm-in-arm, leaning upon one another, towards the bed of rest that awaited them in the splendid tent.
Then all became still on board; the helmsman, one of the two alone awake, stood at the helm and kept watch. The little bridesmaid, the other one awake on deck, leaned her white arms on the railing at the edge of the vessel, and looked towards the east for the first blush of the morn, for that first ray of dawn that would bring her death.
She saw her sisters rising out of the surface: they were as pale as herself; but their long beautiful hair waved no more in the wind, and had been cut off into a crew-cut. The eldest held a very sharp dagger in hand, and offered it to the youngest:
“We have given our hair to the mer-witch,” said they, “in exchange, to obtain help for you, that you may not die tonight. She has given us this knife: here it is, see it is very sharp, how pointed and how cutting it is. Before the sun rises this morning, you must plunge it into the heart of the prince; when the warm blood of your beloved falls upon your feet they will fuse together again, and give way to a tail-fin, and your gills will open as well, you will be once more a mermaid, plunge back into the ocean for your life, and return to us to live out your three hundred years' lifespan, like us, before you die and dissolve into the salty foam; instead of dying and liquifying within a single hour. Haste, then; either he or you must die before sunrise. Kill the prince and come back to us; hasten: do you not see the first red streaks in the sky? In a few minutes the sun will rise, and you must die.”
And then, throwing the mer-witch's dagger on deck at their sister's feet, they sighed deeply and mournfully, a strange sigh it was, and sank down beneath the waves.
The little bridesmaid drew back the crimson curtain of the tent, and beheld the fair bride with her head resting on the prince’s chest. She bent down over the couple, that seemed to be made of marble, and kissed his fair brow, then looked at the sky on which the rosy-fingered dawn grew brighter and brighter; then she glanced at the sharp knife, and again fixed her eyes on the prince, who whispered the name of his bride in his dreams. She was in his thoughts, and the knife trembled in the hand of the little bridesmaid: then she flung it far away from her into the waves; the water turned red where it fell, and the drops that spurted up looked like blood. She cast one more lingering, half-fainting glance at the dashing young man, who, in his dreams, whispered the name of his newlywed wife, then left the tent and threw herself from the ship overboard, and thought her body was dissolving into foam. The sun rose above the waves, and his warm rays fell on the cold foam of the little mermaid, who did not feel as if she were dying. Strange thing, she did not lose consciousness at all, and she did not experience anything that a dying person is supposed to experience. To her the sun remained bright, the air mild, the water transparent.
She saw the bright sun, and above her, between the seas and the skies, all around her floated what had remained unseen to her merperson, and then to her human, eyes: hundreds of transparent beautiful humanoid beings with white wings; she could see through them the clipper with all its masts and white sails, the vapours rising from the ocean, and the reddish clouds fluttering in the dawning sky; their speech was melodious, but in a frequency too ethereal to be heard by mortal ears, as they were also unseen by mortal eyes. They hovered in the air without it being nearly necessary to flap their wings, because of their own lightness.
The little mermaid perceived that, from her own evaporating foam-form, she was forming into a transparent body like theirs, and that she continued to rise higher and higher out of the foam. Wings were growing on her shoulder-blades, and she was driven to rise up into the skies. “Where am I?” asked she, for she could speak once more, and her voice sounded ethereal, as the voice of those lovely creatures who were with her; no earthly music could imitate it.
The little mermaid perceived that, from her own evaporating foam-form, she was forming into a transparent body like theirs, and that she continued to rise higher and higher out of the foam. Wings were growing on her shoulder-blades, and she was driven to rise up into the skies. “Where am I?” asked she, for she could speak once more, and her voice sounded ethereal, as the voice of those lovely creatures who were with her; no earthly music could imitate it.
“Born in the water, hailing from the land, we welcome you among the children of the air,” answered one of them. “The children of the water have not an immortal soul, nor can they obtain one unless they win the passionate love of a human being. On the power of another person hangs their eternal destiny. But we children of the air, although we do not possess an immortal soul, can, by our own good deeds, procure one for ourselves. Our destiny hangs on ourselves, and not on others, which gives us an advantage over the water-folk, like whom we live for at least three centuries. You may have not found love or happiness on land, but you have found sacrifice, and suffering uplifts even more than good luck. You have suffered, you have surrendered yourself, and thus you have been allowed to rise up to us. We carry the perfume of the flowers to spread health and restoration. After we have striven for three hundred years to all the good in our power, we receive an immortal soul and take part in the happiness of humankind. You, poor little mermaid, have tried with your whole heart to do as we are doing; you have suffered and endured and raised yourself to the spirit-world by your good deeds, your passage on dry land having been a time of trials; and now, as one of us, by striving for three hundred years in the same way, you may obtain an immortal soul.”
The little mermaid lifted her glorified eyes towards the sun, and felt them, for the first time, filling with tears. On the ship, in which she had left the prince, there were life and noise; unseen by crew and passengers, she looked down and saw him and his beautiful bride searching for her; sorrowfully they gazed at the white pearly foam, as if they knew she had thrown herself into the waves. Thus invisible, she kissed the forehead of the bride, ruffling the locks of the young spouse, and fanned the prince with the tip of her wings, and then, after that last goodbye, mounted with the other children of the air to the rosy clouds that floated through the aether, disappearing into the atmosphere.
“After three hundred years, thus shall we float into the kingdom of heaven,” said she.
Thankfully, this retelling will not have such a bittersweet ending as the source text...
Homare is in the depths of despair, but she hears the voices of her friends (nakama) and is able to leap out of them and confront Bishin.
But her friends (nakama) who are outside calling out to her, who tell her that she still has a goal in her ice-skating career to "leap over" which woke Homare to stand up again. Although if you notice, Bishin seemed to know who the lady in the veil is and was ready to murder the bride in cold blood before Homare/Étoile came back. So it is possible that the lady could be Hug-tan, the Golden Lady or someone completely different from Harry's future.
Bishin fights Étoile
Bishin and Étoile fight, at least until Étoile is able to smash Bishin’s goggles and thus escape from the virtual world.
Back in the real world, PreCures finish off, and Bishin returns to Criasu.
Back in the real world, PreCures finish off, and Bishin returns to Criasu.
After the battle, Bishin was crying alone when Ristle appeared in front of her and surprise, Ristle is also a hamster! (WTF?) It could also mean that Harry might know Ristle too since he did mentioned of taking care of Bishin and some other hamsters in the future. (So Ristle was their guardian...)
Awwww--- that hug in such a parent-child tone...
Definitely, the time travel theory goes down the drain.
This definitely debunks the time-travel theory --that the cadres in general were recruited from various historical eras of the past-- and explains that they actually belong to Harry's Species and were given human form and powers (By whom? George, Dr. Trauma...?).
Most surely, all of these were experimented upon by the Cryasse higher-ups. We also get to know that Ristle, the vice-leader, was the guardian to all the others, their team dad. Responsible for them... so most surely he struck a deal with George and/or the Doc to provide a better future for himself and his younger kin.
This episode reveals not just Bishin’s yousei (pixie) form, but Listol’s as well. (I myself would not say yousei/pixie as much as Harry's-species, given that they are from a dystopian future!) Didn’t see that coming (unless you saw ep 25 and paid heed to Harry's flashbacks).
Well, apparently Hugtto!‘s creator has gone on the record to say that Bishin is actually male. So that’s a thing.
As for this episode, it did present some interesting things – Bishin and Listol’s true forms, and a glimpse into Harry’s past. Of course, mermaid Homare was also a highlight – all in all, a decent episode. Whilst you care or don’t really care for Homarry, this was still a fairly solid episode.
Overall, a pretty all right episode since Homare now knows that Harry has someone else in his heart and decided to get over it. Although I am suspecting that there could be more of it between Harry and the mysterious lady.
MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Even though I see Homarry as Beauty and the Beast, the Andersen Little Mermaid / 人魚姫 scenario in this AU draws upon a fear of the friendzone that all young people in romantic love (eros / koi) have always experienced.
As a ginger in scarlet, Harry Harryham is reminiscent of a namesake prince of his who tied the knot recently, right?
Granted, this episode was like having a ball for me. The source text, for once, is not the Disneyfied Little Mermaid that we have gotten used to as European 90s kids, but the bittersweet Andersenian source text. Which starts out pretty much like the version we are used to, mer-queen grandmother and plucky heroine in a man's costume aside, but has a pretty different ending: the prince has to accept this marriage of state to a foreign princess he has not even received a portrait of - and he loves the little ex-mermaid more as a friend or a little sister, and does not even think for once of having her to wife; being in star-crossed love with the novice he thinks saved him from the shipwreck:
"Yes, you are dear to me, for you have the best heart, and you are the most devoted to me; you are like a young maiden whom I once or twice saw, but whom I shall never meet again. When my ship wrecked on my coming of age trip... I came to on a foreign shore near a convent, where several young maidens performed the service, with one such novice by my side. The youngest, the loveliest of them had found me on the shore, and saved my life. She found me unconscious on the shore, and, with utmost care, she brought me back to my senses. I saw her but as in a dream, for my eyes opened merely to shut within an instant. What ever happened to her? I know nothing. I saw her but twice, and yet she is the one and only one in this world whom I could love and whom I would ever love; but you are like her, and you have almost driven her image out of my mind. She belongs to the holy of holies, and my good fortune has sent you to me instead of her; you are in my heart the reflection of her image, and thus we will nevermore part. She is consecrated, and you resemble her to an astonishing degree; your image makes hers almost grow pale within my heart... Now they want me to marry this princess, a complete stranger to me, but they will never be able to force me. I will only love the novice who saved my life, and whose features you make me recall. Alas, she cannot leave the cloister; and a kind destiny must have rather sent you to take her place by my side. I would rather marry you, my little castaway with eyes that speak louder than words..."
And the (ex-mer-)maiden is all right ("he has me all the time, and she will never leave the cloister - "Ah, he knows not that it was I who saved his life; that I was the one who, raising his head above the water, carried him to the coast where the convent stands; I sat beneath the foam, and watched till those human females came to help him. That I saw the convent, that I saw the young maiden who left it and that I was hidden, jealous, behind a rock, as the one whom he prefers tried in vain to bring him back to the life that I had preserved within him. I saw the pretty maiden that he loves better than he loves me;” and the little mermaid sighed deeply, but she could not shed tears. “He says this maiden is consecrated and belongs to the cloister, therefore she will never return to the outside world. They will meet nevermore again, while I am by his side all the time, and see him every day. I will take care of him, and love him, and give up my life for his sake").
Until finally, after much waiting, the bride (of whom it is only known at first, as a rumour, that she was raised in a nunnery on a distant shore, where she has learned all the virtues and skills of royalty) comes to port for her wedding, and, upon her landing, WHAM! Coup de théâtre! She turns out to be the same person the prince thought had saved her from drowning; raised in that nunnery, where she has learned all the virtues and skills of royalty while being away from court (in the Andersen version, for unspecified reasons - in the Dumas version, the queen her mum had made a vow, while expecting her, to give the child she expected a cloistered education). So it was a perfectly arranged marriage all along... Not only have the two lovebirds found one another for evermore, and not only is this a more mature young lady with whom the prince can indulge in conversation; there is a grand royal wedding with much pomp and circumstance, with flying colours and glittering bayonets and the ex-mermaid as a bridesmaid - but she's putting on a brave face, jealousy tearing her to shreds on the inside. The mer-witch had told her that, if her prince gave his heart to another one, her own heart would shatter and her body dissolve into foam!
So, the next day, the young royal newlyweds set sail on their honeymoon, and they take the brokenhearted maiden on board with them - that night, while the two of them are in the same bed, the maiden knows that she will die and dissolve into foam at sunrise, and that this is the last farewell... So she stands on deck, wondering on what to do, when her sisters the six other mermaid princesses surreptitiously surface; all of them with crewcut haircuts, the eldest wielding a dagger in hand. In exchange for their hair, the mer-witch has given them this very sharp blade: the bridesmaid has to stab the prince through the heart and let his life-blood fall upon her feet to regain her tailfin, her gills, and her voice, and return to her childhood life beneath the ocean. But of course - how would his newlywed wife and both realms react if she did so?
"[···] In a few minutes the sun will rise, and you must die.” And then they sighed deeply and mournfully, and sank down beneath the waves.
The little bridesmaid drew back the crimson curtain of the tent, and beheld the fair bride with her head resting on the prince’s chest. She bent down over the couple, that seemed to be made of marble, and kissed his fair brow, then looked at the sky on which the rosy-fingered dawn grew brighter and brighter; then she glanced at the sharp knife, and again fixed her eyes on the prince, who whispered the name of his bride in his dreams. She was in his thoughts, and the knife trembled in the hand of the little bridesmaid: then she flung it far away from her into the waves; the water turned red where it fell, and the drops that spurted up looked like blood. She cast one more lingering, half-fainting glance at the dashing young man, who, in his dreams, whispered the name of his newlywed wife, then left the tent and threw herself from the ship overboard, and thought her body was dissolving into foam. The sun rose above the waves, and his warm rays fell on the cold foam of the little mermaid, who did not feel as if she were dying. Strange thing, she did not lose consciousness at all, and she did not experience anything that a dying person is supposed to experience. To her the sun remained bright, the air mild, the water transparent.
She saw the bright sun, and above her, between the seas and the skies, all around her floated what had remained unseen to her merperson, and then to her human, eyes: hundreds of transparent beautiful humanoid beings with white wings; she could see through them the clipper with all its masts and white sails, the vapours rising from the ocean, and the reddish clouds fluttering in the dawning sky; their speech was melodious, but in a frequency too ethereal to be heard by mortal ears, as they were also unseen by mortal eyes. They hovered in the air without it being nearly necessary to flap their wings, because of their own lightness.
The little mermaid perceived that, from her own evaporating foam-form, she was forming into a transparent body like theirs, and that she continued to rise higher and higher out of the foam. Wings were growing on her shoulder-blades, and she was driven to rise up into the skies. “Where am I?” asked she, for she could speak once more, and her voice sounded ethereal, as the voice of those lovely creatures who were with her; no earthly music could imitate it.
The little mermaid perceived that, from her own evaporating foam-form, she was forming into a transparent body like theirs, and that she continued to rise higher and higher out of the foam. Wings were growing on her shoulder-blades, and she was driven to rise up into the skies. “Where am I?” asked she, for she could speak once more, and her voice sounded ethereal, as the voice of those lovely creatures who were with her; no earthly music could imitate it.
“Born in the water, hailing from the land, we welcome you among the children of the air,” answered one of them. “The children of the water have not an immortal soul, nor can they obtain one unless they win the passionate love of a human being. On the power of another person hangs their eternal destiny. But we children of the air, although we do not possess an immortal soul, can, by our own good deeds, procure one for ourselves. Our destiny hangs on ourselves, and not on others, which gives us an advantage over the water-folk, like whom we live for at least three centuries. You may have not found love or happiness on land, but you have found sacrifice, and suffering uplifts even more than good luck. You have suffered, you have surrendered yourself, and thus you have been allowed to rise up to us. We carry the perfume of the flowers to spread health and restoration. After we have striven for three hundred years to all the good in our power, we receive an immortal soul and take part in the happiness of humankind. You, poor little mermaid, have tried with your whole heart to do as we are doing; you have suffered and endured and raised yourself to the spirit-world by your good deeds, your passage on dry land having been a time of trials; and now, as one of us, by striving for three hundred years in the same way, you may obtain an immortal soul.”
The little mermaid lifted her glorified eyes towards the sun, and felt them, for the first time, filling with tears. On the ship, in which she had left the prince, there were life and noise; unseen by crew and passengers, she looked down and saw him and his beautiful bride searching for her; sorrowfully they gazed at the white pearly foam, as if they knew she had thrown herself into the waves. Thus invisible, she kissed the forehead of the bride, ruffling the locks of the young spouse, and fanned the prince with the tip of her wings, and then, after that last goodbye, mounted with the other children of the air to the rosy clouds that floated through the aether, disappearing into the atmosphere.
“After three hundred years, thus shall we float into the kingdom of heaven,” said she.
Isn't this version quite unlike the Disneyfied happy ever after? Bittersweet, yes indeed, but there is catharsis in this bittersweetness, not unlike in Romeo and Juliet or Andersen's own Tin Soldier.And, in fact, the original Andersenian tale is more well-known among the mainstream in Japan, where it is called Ningyo-hime (人魚姫) and seen as far more canon than the Disneyfied happy ending versions.
Harry as the prince, Bishin as the mer-witch, and... The princess bride, whom we shall call Lenore (for Poe's sake) -always seen with her face covered in the bridal veil- was she Hug-tan as an adult? There is the headcanon that she is.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: (Bishin) Attempts to do this to Homare, first through attempted Mind Rape before breaking into a physical fight. He also tried to personally remove Harry's affection for the princess bride veiled in white from his heart, before getting interupted by Cure Étoile.
And, finally, we have notre Étoile herself. While Andersen's original little mermaid is an introvert, Homare is the polar opposite - even when the Andersenian heroine displays some pluck; as seen when she wears "en mandsdragt" ("a man's costume" in more modern translations, "a page's dress" in the more classic Victorian version by H.B. Paull, and "un costume d'homme" in the Dumas version; David Soldi has "un costume d'amazone", Louis Moland has "des habits d'homme", and Étienne Avenard translates "des vêtements d'homme", while most German versions have "ein Knabentracht") for riding on horseback alongside her prince charming. Consider the SurLaLune annotation for H.P. Paull:
34. He had a page’s dress made for her, that she might accompany him on horseback: While Mrs. Paull chose the word page's dress to describe the page's costume, the outfit ("mandsdragt") is really a uniform for a male page. The little maid is crossing gender lines by wearing men's clothing and going horseback riding with him (Tatar 2002, 302).
Maria Tatar's own translation has "a page's costume," and she provides the following annotation:
47. The prince had a page's costume made for her. Critics who bemoan the self-effacing nature of the mermaid often neglect to note that she is also more adventurous, spirited, and curious than most fairy-tale heroines. Cross-dressing is a sign of willingness to cross boundaries and to take risks in order to see the world.
While the FutureLearn course, which has "a man's costume" in the John Irons translation, states the following, from the mouth of Danish Andersen expert Jacob Böggild (and it is plain that this interpretation was written by a male):
"He brings her home and is not insensible to her beauty. He does notice that her eyes are eloquent, but [···] then he has a man’s costume sewn for her [···] We might say that in (the second of) three different ways he tries to protect himself from her. The prince loves a girl who looks like her, (but who is sworn to chastity)."
A Literary Translation course, that employs the Erik Haugaard translation which uses "men's clothes," has the following remark, on the same line:
the man's outfit created for her: desexualize the maid, friend zoned (however, since the "-dragt" is rendered as "outfit" - I think another source would have been Marte Hvam Hult, who renders "a man's outfit" in her translation.)
Definitely, as a feminist, I rather agree with Maria Tatar.
The absence of the mandsdragt or male outfit for the ever-skirted ginger Ariel in the musical film was one of the things that caught my eye the most when comparing the musical film to its source text. I also had an inkling of a wish for a cross-dressing Homare in this adaptation, but, unfortunately, it was as close to the Disney film in matters of skirts vs. breeches.
PS. On the other hand, Rhoda Zuk sees the page's dress (per Paull translation of "a page's dress") as a marker not of gender issues, but of social inferiority:
Even though the Little Mermaid is a princess, ie royalty, underwater, in the realm of the humans, she is treated as a servant. This becomes clear when the Little Mermaid starts to dance, as the only other people that seem to dance in the human society are performers. Moreover, the attitude of the prince towards the Little Mermaid reveals that he sees her as a servant when he allows her to sleep at his door, not his bedside, and that he has a page’s dress made for her so she can accompany him when he rides. The only social upward mobility that is available for the Little Mermaid lies in marriage, as through marriage shewould become the prince’s equal. However, tradition dictates that the prince should marry a royal princess and when the prince finally does marry, the Little Mermaid has no chance to become equal to the humans anymore. The Little Mermaid arguably loses the struggle against class boundaries and colonial power due to her inability to communicate: had she been able to tell the prince that she was, in fact, his rescuer, the ending of the tale would be rather different.Andersen’s fairy tale can therefore be said to defend class boundaries and insist on colonial values, arguing against mixing of race. The story shows the incompatibility of races through the problematic communication between the Little Mermaid and the prince, and the Little Mermaid’s failure to realize her projected marriage. Moreover, the story focusses on the inability to cross class boundaries by showing that the prince has no profound love interest inthe Little Mermaid, as he sees her as a servant, which makes her unsuitable for marriage. This makes the Little Mermaid’s ultimate goal, equality to humans by marrying the prince, unobtainable.
The other Cures as other fairytale characters (Red Riding Lulu, Emialice, and Saayarella): This actually provides more fodder for AUs -
The reveal about the identity of the Cryasse cadres: This definitely debunks the time-travel theory --that the cadres in general were recruited from various historical eras of the past-- and explains that they actually belong to Harry's Species and were given human form and powers (By whom? George, Dr. Trauma...?); as hinted in flashbacks in Ep. 25, when the time travel theory began to burst at the seams:
These colour schemes and hairstyles that gave me a sense of déjà-vu. Most surely, all of these were experimented upon by the Cryasse higher-ups.
We also get to know that Ristle, the vice-leader, was the guardian to all the others, their team dad. Responsible for them... so most surely he struck a deal with George and/or the Doc to provide a better future for himself and his younger kin.
*********************************************************
At long last, Homare finally gets a proper (and beautiful) episode devoted all to herself, but it is one one that ended with a heartbreak, and a sign that her first love is looking like it will be an unrequited one. And boy, I am relieved for Homare’s sake that Harry not only had an ‘amnesia’ during the event, but has no recollection what happened even after he woke up.
Of course this wouldn’t be the first time Precure done this, Happiness Charge‘s characters’ developments heavily revolved around love, and I absolutely loved the way they handled it, so I am curious to see how Hugtto! will tackle this kind of struggle.
And for quite some time now, I understood that Hugtan was someone irreplaceable and very dear to Harry, he absolutely loves her. In what way, I don’t know, I honestly can’t exactly say if he is romantically in love with her, or not, heck, we don’t even know if he has even confessed to her yet! Needless to say, the bond the two share is still a special one that not even Homare can compete with. When Prince Harry saw the girl, who is alluded to be Hugtan’s original form (she got the white heart, so it has to be her!), the look in his eyes killed me inside. It was full of love, it made my heart ache thinking about how hard it must be for him to not know when or if Hugtan would ever be able to magically turn back into who she was. Worst case scenario, she actually has to grow up at the same rate as everyone else all over again.
But I have to hand it to Homare. It was unfortunate she had to learn that Harry has someone else he loves in such an unfair way, yet so far, she is handling it like a champ. It’s only natural she will feel bitter and down about it, but out of respect for the secrets that is buried in Harry’s heart, she decided it would be best to pretend she has no memory of the experience. The only thing that will change though, is how she will cope with her feelings, and the heartache she will have to bear. On top of that, I wonder how this is going to affect her routine she was initially preparing for this week. While she is driven by her ambitions to compete on the international stage, one of the things that drew out her beauty in her performance was her feelings for Harry, so I do wonder if they are willing to take some time and showcase her unrequited love is going to change the overall atmosphere of her performance.
While she may try to hide her pain and try to move on from it, I am expecting Saaya to at least take notice of the change of mood. She has noticed Homare’s feelings and taken the initiatives to discreetly help her get some alone time with Harry.
Now that the one in Harry’s heart has been partially revealed, I am very curious about the direction the story is going to go with Listle finally taking on the proactive role. Not only did they shock us with his (potential) soft spot for Bishin (whose heart was broken seeing their suspicions were right on the mark), but they also revealed he is also a "hamster," (or member of Harry's Species) likely to have been a part of the family Harry had taken care of before they joined Criasu. The preview also shows Listle targeting Henri of all people, which caused me to freak about because PROTECT HENRI! AND DUDE, DON’T YOU DARE JOIN THE DARK SIDE!!!!!!! I am excited to see whether or not Henri will be playing a bigger role in the remaining quarter of the series, because I always wanted him to be involved in some way, and it make me sad for someone who knew about them being precures, wasn’t able to really be a part of their circle
(not that the writers made this into a believable circle of friends to begin with….) I am also wondering if Listle is targeting Henri as a way of getting back at the girls’ (or perhaps, specifically Homare because Bishin returned in tears) friend, and luring him to their side instead. Either way, I am all for more action related to the plot!
In all, this week was a really good episode! Actually, I would say this has to be one of my favourites in the recent months, I am excited to see what we are in store for the the remaining quarter of the series!
PS: Can we all appreciate how STUNNING Harry looked in the formal prince outfit?! Damn he looked fine!
NEXT EPISODE (33):
The spotlight falls on Henri - and also on our OTP of Master and Commander electric guitarrists - and the Cryasse higher-ups have targeted our Enjolras Targaryen queen of ikemen... Ristle decided to make his move and planned to recruit Henri into becoming a member of Crisis. Until then, see you in the next weekly post!
Resist, Henri... or will the dark side prove an offer that he cannot refuse?
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario