IN WHICH MADOKA KAGUYA MAKES HER OWN CROSS

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 41
My Own Review
IN WHICH MADOKA KAGUYA MAKES HER OWN CROSS

The forty-first episode of Star ☆ Twinkle turns its attention to the Moon of Mihoshi Secondary School, Madoka Kaguya. Madoka’s future is a key point that is brought up in this episode.

Madoka steps down as student council president; she 'abdicates' in favour of her blond kismesis Sakurako in a grand secondary-school ceremony.

Madoka’s time as student council president has come to an end, and as such her father Fubuki wants her to focus on preparing to study abroad, in London town no less. Madoka isn’t so keen to pursue a future that her father has set out for her, though (all the while her mum remains neutral and keeping silence). After calling the old man out before the trophy cabinet, talking with Elena, and a clash with a sworn enemy, she will come to a decision.

Elena realises that something is bothering Madoka

The first half of this episode is pretty much spent on Madoka, as she struggles with what she wants to do with her future. It does lead to some lovely interactions between Elena and Madoka, especially when the latter discusses the '69 Moon landing (the Moon being essentially a ball of mirrors that reflects sunlight and gets trod on by astronauts vs. that 'giant leap for [hu]mankind' of the Eagle's crew) and decides that she is definitely fed up with following others (her elders, rules, society at large) and ready to take those first baby steps on her own two feet.
This follows on from an earlier episode when Elena told Madoka that she could rely on the others, and I am glad to see that that didn’t go forgotten. More Soluna stuff is certainly not going to go unappreciated by me.

Garuogre appears

The enemy for this episode is Garuogre, and just the big blue brute alone. Garuogre may have only fought the Cures on a couple of occasions, but they are certainly memorable. This time around is no exception to that rule.
For a start, this fight looks great.

Soleil and the others are wiped out at one fell swoop, leaving it all to a battered Selene.

Showing off his Erlang-style third eye (seen them on western ogres, but never on oni until now!!)

It may be treacherous, but Selene has no other choice than to shoot Garuogre in the back.

I really love that shot of Cure Selene ready to attack Garuogre from behind – perhaps because it invokes any shonen anime. Cure Star, Milkyway, Soleil, and Cosmos all get knocked out rather early into the fight, leaving it up to Selene (especially for Soleil's sake).
When the fight ends up being this level of quality, I kind of wish that we’d see more one-on-one cadre fights.

Selene responds to Garuogre’s attack; breaking that shield with an icy Aquarian shot she's definitely not throwing away (bonus for using my sign's star colour pen, and for Frozen 2 coming up soon!!)

I know that the PreCures’ finishing attack (Finishing Move or hissatsu) is a once-per-episode thing, but it really feels like padding this time around. I feel like there would have been a greater impact if Selene had defeated Garuogre on her own, but PrettyCure is gonna PrettyCure, I suppose.
This wonderful episode ends with Madoka figuring out what she wants to do, and a fair bit of focus on her bare feet. You know, just because. 

At the end of the day, she calls the old man out, before the trophy cabinet at the Kaguya estate, to turn down studying in the UK at least for the moment (maybe London University or Oxbridge when she is in her twenties?) A nice healthy argument ensues (any moment I worried Fuyuki might clutch his left arm, or the left side of his chest, and collapse like a ragdoll, breathing heavily, only for his wife or daughter to cradle him and loosen his clothes). Instead, that rant made Mr. Kaguya realise the error of his ways (before a heart condition, a stroke, or even before Madoka could snap and pull a Tyrion-on-Tywin on him?) while looking at his own reflection in the trophy cabinet, then at a family portrait (awwww, don't the three of them look adorable together?). Maybe having been the victim of last week also played a role in how Fuyuki's stern and stubborn demeanor was intensified at the start of this episode upon him deciding to send Madoka off to London so early on... like a mirror shard in The Snow Queen or Princess Tutu, or a hangover from a rea-ea-ea-eally altered state... and all it took was for her to call the old codger out, for the effect to wear off and for snapping out of it.

This is a small step for Madoka, but a leap of faith into the unknown for her friends and parents, and not only herself.

This episode was superb. Elena and Madoka bonding is always nice to see, the fight against Garuouga look great and PreCures have moved one step closer to achieving their goal.
These character-focused episodes which leads to each PreCure powering up have been fantastic. Yuni, Lala, and Madoka have had their turns, and I’m confident that Elena and Hikaru will do the same.
Talking of Elena, it is her turn to worry about her future in the next episode. She has smaller shoes to fill, but the lives of more people weighing down on her shoulders...

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Oui. As an only child of privilege with a beautiful mind, I can totally relate. Been there, done that. Graduate at the UJI, Master's at the UV, and now looking for a winter job. With an Education Papa who even looks like Fuyuki Kaguya hounding me in the Javert way.
Speaking of which: REAL TENSION between generations à propos that leaving for the UK. Mitsuka keeping silence and neutrality all the while, not wanting to upset either her husband or their daughter.
Of course the upper-class Cure has to deal with this kind of issues of leaving for foreign lands and/or following in her elders' footsteps during the climax of her arc (Minami Kaido's wish to be a marine vet tending to penguins in Antarctica; Yukari Kotozume's departure for the Ruritanian kingdom of Confetto; Saaya Yakushiji telling her stage mum that she wants to be a midwife instead of an actress).
One can also see Fuyuki is a bit of a control freak and a stick-in-the-mud and treats his family just like he treats his men-in-black underlings (Tywin vibes all over the place!). Everything must go according to plan... We just saw the calling-the-old-man-out moment take place before the Kaguyas' trophy cabinet for a good reason.
And the pluck she mustered... her afterthoughts on being the Moon who reflects sunlight and gets trod on by astronauts... and deciding that she is definitely fed up with this subordinate role... She does appreciate her parents and moirail for showing her the way, but now it's time for her to take the first steps on her own two feet! YOU GO, GIRL. MAKE YOUR OWN CROSS, DON'T SIT ON SOMEONE ELSE!!



PS. Upcoming Star*Twinkle AUs:
Tengu of the Opera: Soluna/Elenjou AU. Dark horse Elena gets to star in the latest production, which she didn't expect, due to her rival/senpai Sakurako losing her singing voice and a series of poison pen letters from the so-called Opera Tengu to the troupe's benefactor, Fuyuki Kaguya, whose only daughter is in ostensibly unrequited love with the new leading lady, to whom a raven-masked muse of inspiration appears in her dreams... Featuring Otokoyaku!Elena, Fuyuki having the heart condition I was thinking of throughout Madoka's rant in canon, a torture chamber, and my own Tenjou headcanons.
Rapunzel AU: Once upon a blue moon, a drop of blue moonlight fell to the ground... an ailing pregnant noblewoman had to drink it, but shortly after her newborn daughter was whisked away... Valjean-style Elena, AKA Nena, left orphaned, stole to survive and feed her younger siblings, and has spent a while institutionalised; she is on parole and a social outcast when she comes across a feudal-Japanese-castle-style tower and a lonely damsel with loooooong violet hair...