ROSENTAKUMI AND GUILDENJINJIN ARE...

Hugtto! Pretty Cure

Episode 31 - My Own Review

ROSENTAKUMI AND GUILDENJINJIN ARE... WELL...

The main plot in this episode was of course Hana-centric, but I was more focused on the backstabbing between the cadres -Those Two Guys in the Paid Harem get their five minutes in the limelight!- and the rise of my queer OTP for this series (ie Emiru and Lulu) as celebrities!

Takumi and Jinjin's last chance.

Are you pondering what I'm pondering?

Well, there's Missis fawning over her brand new Grail...

GELOS: My preciousssssss...

... brought Emiru smiles and tears on their dark and gloomy days

Elsewhere, Emiru and Lulu are just sat together with their guitars. They know that has really been throwing Emiru off. The two talk about how their relationship brightens up their days.

Emilu put on a special performance

After that little chat, Emiru and Lulu arrive and play a song...

Gelos complained to George that she wanted to lay off her men, Takumi and Jinjin, which George has no objection towards. Dr Trauma gave Gelos an experimental time-stoppage flask for her to use; however Takumi and Jinjin stole the bottle and went on a rampage by freezing anyone in their path.

Takumi and Jinjin steal a powerful item

Over at Criasu HQ, Gelos’ lackeys – Takumi and Jinjin – overheard their boss saying that she wanted to fire them. Doctor Trauma also gives Gelos something, and the pair decide to steal it for themselves.

(Cue Blackadder opening theme as these two make their escape with the Cryasse "Grail" in hand!)


TAKE THE GRAIL AND RUN!!

Working switch on: makeup artists

Moving on, there is a cheer recital. ... the others go to,  However, they overhear that the makeup artists for the cheerleaders are running late – in fact, they have been waylaid by Criasu – so the others use the Future Pad to fill in.

Everyone those two guys come across freezes, from vehicle drivers to classmates of the Precures'...



which leads to the magical girl warrior equivalent of waging a land war in Russia (ie attacking their secondary school Monday through Friday).

Just then, the cheerleaders are frozen in time. The Future Crystals prevent the Cures from suffering the same fate, and they transform.




I think we overdid it; this Grail is a tad too powerful, isn't it?

Takumi and Jinjin are fused into a single being

The toge power of the item that Takumi and Jinjin goes out of control, fusing them into one entity. 

Gelos arrives and reveals that the item was not quite perfect. In fact, this was a ruse de guerre all along, having them swipe the faulty Grail in order for them to go out with a bang, falling in battle. She then orders them to serve her until the end.

Of course, things don't go well when the girls confronted the two of them and somehow the energy from the flask merged Takumi and Jinjin into a mindless twindividual theender (giving a new meaning to the saying "two-faced crook!"). But Gelos who appeared didn't care about what happened to them and ordered them to attack the Cures instead.

PreCures pin down the monster and give a speech about their bonds and how that allowed them to move forward. This awakens a new Future Crystal, and thus a new power.

As the title of this episode state, the girls' memories and feelings have reached the Future Pad and Hug-tan, which created the Cheerful Crystal and the Memorial Miracle Clock! 

With their new power, our Cures blast the fused Takumi and Jinjin with their new attack: Pretty Cure Cheerful Attack. Takumi and Jinjin resign, and time returns for all those who were frozen.

With the new powers, they used their new team attack-Precure Cheerful Attack and purified Takumi and Jinjin again...





And Gelos retreats, as usual.

With that, the Cures gained a new form, the mid-season upgrade of this continuity, and Hug-tan is getting healthier every day and the girls remember this day with a photo together...

Lulu and Emiru also joined in and even sing a song...

When the girls heard that the make-up artist has yet to arrive, (due to Takumi and Jinjin's rampage), they used the future pad to become make-up artists.

To be honest, this should be a two-parter. Firstly, Takumi and Jinjin's twindividual theender form was a pushover since all five girls pinned it easily and the girls just speak out the encounters they have for the past few weeks and the Future Pad just acknowledged like that. Does anyone think it was too simple and there was no serious stakes involved? Sure, many people got frozen in time but it was not a big deal since defeating the twindividual restored everything back to normal.


Back at Beauty Harry, they decide to take a group picture of everyone. There isn’t a particular reason for it, but it is a moment that will only happen once.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:

These two guys are not only a Paid Harem of ikemen to serve as arm candy for the baroness and eye candy for us across the fourth wall. Honestly, Takumi and Jinjin have wrested the spotlight from the leading cast this week, enjoying a short, sharp, shocking instant in the limelight ere they fall victim to a backstabbing worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy.

Another thing I was disappointed about was how Takumi and Jinjin ended up being the sacrificial lambs for the sake of the power up. It’s not that I wanted Gelos to be the one to be on the chopping block (that would have been even worse), I just wished they had been able to get the power up without needing to sacrifice another one (in this case, two) of Criasu’s people. It has been a consistent problem throughout the show, where the villains are being sacrificed without even being given the chance to establish their characters, and it has gotten worse ever since. I would feel more happy about them being saved if we knew more about their stories (which ironically, is a theme that the plot revolves around). They thought they were ‘friends’ with Gelos, but when did we ever get the chance to see Takumi’s and Jinjin’s relationship with her? That flashback of taking care of her while she’s asleep doesn’t cut it. Also Gelos deciding to fire them because they haven’t been helpful to her… Geez, Lady you haven’t done much yourself!

And while we are on the subject of villain’s stories: they have been foreshadowing how Gelos certainly has a tale of her own… but will they actually deliver it to us? Frankly speaking, I am cautiously optimistic about it. Up until now, there has been little reason for me to have faith they will spend time on it, when they have yet to tell us any of their villains’ tales. Among all the villains, I would say Papple’s unrequited love story was probably one of the better villain’s stories that have been presented to us. At least we got to see her spend time in George’s room, visit him, talk with him, and ultimately watch her heart be broken when she realizes she was never special a person to him to begin with. Everyone else, their stories were so forgettable, I don’t even remember the details. However, with about twenty episodes left, it does concern me about how and when we will finally be able to learn Dr. Trauma’s story with Lulu, Gelos’ desire for eternal youth, Bishin’s obsession with Harry, and have a better understanding of where George’s ambitions of robbing everyone’s future comes from.

Of course while the episode had it’s downfalls (including the animation in the first half of the episode) there were also some good things.  FIrst of all, Takumi and Jinjin going off on a rampage with Dr. Trauma’s new weapon was FREAKING HILARIOUS, mainly because of their crazy looks on their faces, and how they were actually causing true chaos in villainous fashion. 

Pretty Cure Cheerful Style and Pretty Cure Cheerful Attack are spectacular new additions to PreCure’s arsenal, though Cure Ma Chérie and Cure Amour’s Twin Love Rock Beat remains my favourite attack from this season.
This is a bit of speculation from me here, but Hugtan joining in with the Cheerful Style and Cheerful Attack might just be hinting that she could be a sixth Cure. We’ll just have to wait and see whether my speculation is correct or not, though.

Changing gears: as for Emiru and Lulu and their rise to stardom, they have already become prefecture-wide celebrities, about to top the national charts. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, and that saying is also true when it comes to showbiz.

IN EPISODE 32:

Look at all the pretty jellies and fishies in the ocean...

Homare surprised upon noticing her tailfin...

Next episode, the girls ended up in fairy tales with Homare playing the Little Mermaid and Harry as the prince (well, as a ginger in scarlet, he reminds me of a certain real-life royal namesake of his)!? (Does that mean Gelos is the mer-witch and Bishin is crosscast as the princess bride - or is this the Disneyfied version where the princess bride is actually the mer-witch in disguise?) This is going to be a whale of a tail... eh, tale! --PS. I rather see Homare as Belle and Harry as the Beast, so this has been a pleasant surprise to change gears-- Until then, see you in the next post!