IN WHICH THE 13TH STAR PRINCESS REVEALS...

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 47
My Own Review - Series Finale
IN WHICH THE 13TH STAR PRINCESS REVEALS...

https://prettycure.fandom.com/wiki/STPC47/Image_Gallery INSERT ALL SHOTS OF THE STAR PRINCESSES AND AYEWAN/YUNI (AYUNI) INTERACTIONS FROM THIS EP IN THIS FINALE REVIEW



We’ve more or less come to the end of our time with Star ☆ Twinkle, as we have only two episodes left – and I’ll be writing a review for the show after the last one. Things tend to get pretty spectacular during the final few episodes of any season of PrettyCure, so lets see if Star ☆ Twinkle continues that trend.

Hikaru and company check on the KNotraiders

After taking Fuwa captive in the previous episode, the Ophiuchus Princess starts a ritual with the intent of destroying the universe. PreCures and the Starscape Alliance join forces with the KNotraiders in order to bring a halt to the thirteenth princess’ plans.
When they confront her, our sheroes discover that protecting the universe comes at a cost.

The Ophiuchus Princess

This episode is effectively made up of two parts. The first has the others interacting with the hospitalised KNotraiders, whereas the second is the confrontation against the Ophiuchus Princess.

Ayewan & Yuni

 I heard you stopped all of us 'raiders from going berserk...

 There's no need to thank you, Jo.

 Aún así, gracias, Nena. De todo corazón.

(¿Qué? ¿Por qué?)

On the front, Tenjou decides to help Soleil

We get some nice little moments between the KNotraiders and members of PreCure ensemble; each good counterpart with their respective evil counterpart. Elena’s chat with Tenjou is one moment that carries over nicely from their prior interactions, and we get even more Yuni & Ayewan (or Eye-wan, whatever you prefer) interactions. Lots of chemistry between good counterparts and their respective evil counterparts -- also Ayuni is the new Valvert, isn't it?

 Trying to get something to open

 Yuni judges Ayewan's taste in designing

HOW DARE YOU CRITICIZE ME?!

Yuni tells Ayewan there's a trick to opening that

Meow! (*wink*)

Ayewan blushes and looks away

Ayewan tells Cosmos that she won't lose this time

The newfound alliance with the KNotraiders is not something that people readily accept, but there isn’t really any other options due to the circumstances.

PreCures and allies heading straight towards the final battle

This episode of Star ☆ Twinkle is also one that is most certainly playing up its sci-fi aspect, and I can appreciate that. I’d say I something about expecting someone to pull out a lightsaber, but Kappard has that covered.

We get a few still frames of shots that perhaps could have been animated…

Don’t expect too much from the KNotraiders, by the way. All they’re doing is simply clearing a path to allow PreCures to get to the Ophiuchus Princess. Kind of a shame, but I guess someone has to take a hit with what part of this episode is providing.

PreCures ready to confront the Ophiuchus Princess

So yeah, quite a bit of this episode is actually just exposition delivered by the Ophiuchus Princess. She goes into the origin of Star Twinkle Imagination, and how the universe came to exist. Basically, the creation of the Star*Twinkleverse by its thirteen physical goddesses is delved upon in detail. Of course, her ultimate goal is also revealed as well. SO THERE IS MORE TO HER AGENDA???

Gemini and Cancer giving up their some of their power to create imagination in the universe

Apparently the 12 official Star Princesses, as they created this universe, they granted imagination as a gift to all its sapient species, hoping to see their creativity used in wonderful and prosperous ways. And, much like Zeus hated Prometheus for giving fire to us puny naked apes, Ophiuchus was against giving imagination, let alone cognitive thought, to living creations of her kin, expecting the worst outcomes instead of hoping for the best; in Ophiuchus' own words, believing that it could be misused and disturb the proper order that all thirteen had worked so hard/given their all (ganbare) to maintain; not to mention catastrophes as a consequence of free will.

AND WHAT WILL YOU TWELVE DO IF THEIR FREE WILL BECOMES TWISTED?

And, to be fair, she wasn't wrong, as the KNotraider cadres would later approve (viz, Kappard's species dying of thirst due to extravagant water expenditure - Ayewan living in squalour or want as a streetrat - Tenjou suffering discrimination due to not fitting into the beauty canon of her species).

Ophiuchus tells the Cures that the Star Princesses granted everyone imagination

Understandably, Ophiuchus wasn't convinced by what the other twelve were trying to sell, ie that those with pure imagination will purify those who are twisted - and, to right things out, they all decided to just seal her away.

Ophiuchus forced out of the Star Palace

So even if she did bring up some good arguments, Ophiuchus's twelve fellow deities didn't hear her out. Thus, the Star Princesses pretty much created their worst enemy in the process. Thus she has a body count of at least trillions if not much more. Like Nietzsche said, those who fight monsters become monsters themselves.

Fuwa makes a move when PreCures can’t

This exposition culminates in the Ophiuchus Princess revealing that a sacrifice will have to be made to put a halt to her plans. This shakes the others into inaction, so Fuwa takes it upon herself to actually get something done.

Our Little Pony, you see, contains the 50% of imagination the Star Princesses had left within themselves after they sent the other half to sapient species across the Star*Twinkle universe. And Ophiuchus needed all of that power within Fuwa to hard-reset the universe. Meanwhile, the dozen Princesses wanted to use Fuwa and the Twinkle Imagination to permanently defeat Ophiuchus next time - the Star Princesses are trying to erase her for the good of the universe. Doing so would get rid not only of the villainess, but of Fuwa as well in a mutual kill. No strange that the Cures waver in the face of sending their sacrificial unicorn to the slaughter; even though the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Fuwa’s decision results in… well, that’s something for the next episode. While everyone else is wavering, she uses the power of the Princesses to annihilate Darknest/Ophiuchus, but perishing herself in the process.

I feel that perhaps this episode could have been a little lighter on the exposition, perhaps give more chances for the KNotraiders to shine in battle.
Overall, though, I would say this was a good episode. PreCures, Starscape law enforcement, Star Princesses, and their former enemies charge into battle against a great evil to save Fuwa – it definitely sounds good when it is summed up. Gondor calls for aid, and Rohan replies. Even though Fuwa, like the One Ring, has to be reduced to nothing at the end of the day...

I believe the next episode is the final one, so I’ll have a review out for Star ☆ Twinkle, and I’ll have to think about where this season fits into my ranking of every season/continuity of Pretty Cure franchise.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:

At last we got to see what the thirteenth Star Princess's real game was, and I have to agree that all well-intentioned extremists who preach about the evils of free will are somehow right. Though, even if the WIE in question is lawful good, it calls to mind that, like Nietzsche said, those who fight monsters become monsters themselves.

The highlight of this episode was definitely the tale of the Star Princesses, told in flashback. I really adored the moral quandary that results from it - I like how, through the villains of this show, we've seen how free will can be used in the best and worst of ways, giving credence to their side. I wished I was a little more invested in said villains (the backstory I identified the most with was Tenjou's, having suffered from bullying in the flesh - but Kappard's or Ayewan's were a tad removed from personal experience).

A Clockwork Orange - the titular metaphor explained by Alistair Murden:
If a person is able only to do good, like Alex de Large post-brainwashing, they become like a clockwork orange: ostensibly a living fruit but inside full of cold metal, lifeless, unable to slake anyone's thirst - and a tin toy or timepiece that can only move upon being wound up by higher powers, be them gods or fates or the police state (the last being the case of Alex).

IN WHICH LORD DARKNEST STEALS CHRISTMAS

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure

Episode 44 - My Own Review

IN WHICH LORD DARKNEST STEALS CHRISTMAS


Christmas is approaching, and as such Star ☆ Twinkle is giving us a festive episode. The Cures are not alone in enjoying the wintry cheer, as a couple of new unexpected guests show up. One of them isn’t exactly getting into the festive spirit, though.

Lala and Yuni get to experience Christmas for the first time in forever

Christmas is upon us in this episode of Star ☆ Twinkle, which ends up with the Cures discovering the one responsible for delivering presents is an alien Jack Frost/Elvis impersonator. Thus the others end up helping to deliver presents, but an attack from the enemy threatens to cancel Christmas.

A Santanian

Whilst there is some nice stuff coming from PreCures delivering presents (as they do every continuity because the giftgiver --always Saint Nick, never the Seven Gods on a Boat of traditional Shinto lore!-- suffers an occupational hazard), I’d say that the main draw of this episode is something that comes up a little later on. Before getting to that, there are a few moments worth mentioning.

Christmas Cures

Of course, delivering presents means that the others have to dress up for the occasion. Hikaru’s twin Santa hat thing is interesting. For the most part, the present delivery goes unhindered – though there is a child or two or three who now believe that Santa Claus is a catgirl. That would be an improvement over the jolly old fat bloke, if you ask me. And to top it all, we musical and classic literature nerds are intending to watch Cats on silver screen as the icing on the Christmas cake!! Yuni would DEFINITELY also sign in on that plan...

Another Elena x Madoka moment (YEAH 4 MORE SOLUNA!!)

We get a nice little nod to Elena’s development over the past few episodes. Seems that she and Madoka could end up following similar paths; hopefully they’ll do so together.

Darknest attacks

The main event from this episode has to be Darknest actually fighting the Cures (another thing that happens every winterval in every continuity has to be the overlord finally getting off his throne!). He is after Fuwa, of course, but it does look a lot like he is just asking for a hug the way he reaches out…

PreCures vs. Darknest

For the first time in Star ☆ Twinkle, the main antagonist steps up to battle PreCures (ut supra, another thing that happens every winterval in every continuity has to be the overlord finally getting off his throne!). Got to give props to Cure Soleil for leading the attack on Darknest, even if it doesn’t go quite as she hoped.

Cure Star vs. Darknest

The fight against Darknest is pretty enjoyable, and the first part even foregoes the usual stock footage attacks. Not so much for the second part, though, where everyone gets to use one of their stock footage attacks, followed by the usual finishing move.
There is a surprise at the end of the battle, but all I say is that this particular fight is most likely a hint of things to come.

So the Christmas plot was your pretty typical PrettyCure festive episode, but things certainly took a turn for the interesting with Darknest just showing up. That resulted in an enjoyable battle.
So, overall, a good Christmas episode.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:

Ladies and gentlemen and adolescents of every gender and larvae of all stages of the jury, exhibit A. Lord Darknest wears a cowl themed after a cobra hood. As well as a pretty reptilian design on his belly, and fangs framing his overshadowed face.

This seems to confirm the well-thought-of theory that he might be the thirteenth and only male Star Prince, the one of Ophiuchus! You know, the serpent sign in between Scorpio and Sagittarius that got pruned off due to triskaidekaphobia and caused quite a stir last decade? Plus, Ophiuchus is known as "hebitsukai", literally "snake charmer," in Japanese, and what kind of reptiles do these performers use the most during their animal acts? (Cobras, of course!)

Ophiuchus in Zodiac Dancers, Star Darlings, and Romina Russell's Zodiac: of course in more than one Western Zodiac-themed franchise, the thirteenth sign had to pop up as the wild card. In the 12DP short story retelling "Zodiac Dancers," he is also the only male, thirteenth dancing prince, who seduces his sisters to entrap them in the underworld and have them wear out their shoesoles each and every night. In Star Darlings, albino Ophelia is a sixth... well, thirteenth ranger who replaces aloof punk-goth girl Scarlett (Scorpio) temporarily. In Romina Russell's Zodiac books, Ophiuchus or Ocus/Ochus for short is a major catalyst that underpins everything (NO spoilers here!!).

IN WHICH A BIG BLUE BRUTE IS BACK TO BASH

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 32

My Own Review

IN WHICH A BIG BLUE BRUTE IS BACK TO BASH

PreCures may have achieved one of their objectives, but it turns out that is only the first step in their mission. In the thirty-second episode, they discover what comes next.

Yuni takes it easy whilst the others fuss over Fuwa

Now that PreCures have gathered all twelve Princess Star Colour Pens and Fuwa has transformed, the Star Princesses give them their next mission: to find some MacGuffin called the Twinkle Imagination. A fight with a powerful adversary also leads to a new finishing technique.

Garuogre isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed (unsurprising for the Brute among the cadres)

Garuogre returns for a rematch in this episode, though not before grabbing Fuwa. Fortunately for PreCures, he (as the Brute of the KnotRaiders that he is) doesn’t recognise Fuwa in her new alicorn form and just throws away the opportunity to capture her.

PreCures vs. Garuogre

The main event in this episode is the fight between PreCures and Garuogre. Our Big Blue Brute isn’t exactly happy about what happened previously, so he uses the second chance that Darknest has granted him.

Those who had lost everything

Garuouga has a few choice words to say about PreCures’ desire to protect Fuwa, which gives us a bit of insight on the KNotraiders. Much like Yuni, it seems that Garuogre, Kappard, and Tenjou (and most surely Ayewan) had all lost their planets. When they were lost, Darknest appeared. The flashback to that event implies that some darkness drove them from their homes – and to that, I ask: is Darknest that darkness, or is there some other malevolent force out there?

Cure Star lands a solid hit

The battle banter is pretty typical PreCure stuff: Garuogre convinced that protecting something makes them weak, whilst PreCures are strong because they have something to protect. At least the fight is fun to watch, though – the ogre has a pretty good track record for his fights so far (all two of them).

Pretty Cure Star Twinkle Imagination

Garuogre is a tough opponent, but all PreCures and Fuwa putting their feelings together results in a new finishing move: Pretty Cure Star Twinkle Imagination. PreCures get some new outfits for the attack, and Fuwa participates as well.

Perhaps the first time that PreCures have seen Darknest

If I’m remembering correctly, PreCures also get their first sighting of Darknest in this episode. He calls Fuwa a “vessel”.

The Star Princesses give PreCures their next objective

One more impromptu trip to the Star Palace gives PreCures their next objective: to gather Twinkle Imagination. That’s all they have to say on the matter, though: it is up to Cure Star and the others to seek it out themselves.
This episode of Star ☆ Twinkle was a good one. The fight against Garuogre was decent, we got to learn a little more about the KNotraiders, and PreCures have powered up. Good stuff.
Next time, the quest to gather Twinkle Imagination begins! Or at least it would, it everyone wasn’t so busy…

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
ALL STAR PRINCESSES TOGETHER NOW!! Hadn't seen that since the springtime of this year, when Star*Twinkle began. WUUUIIII!!! >D OwO 

Fuwicorn: so, as we mentioned in last episode Fuwa evolved from jigglypuff to... alicorn? Maybe this is some brony bait, intentional or not, ... GARUOGRE, the Brute as he is, failed utterly to recognise an evolved Fuwa ( XD )

The conflict thickens:
KNotraider cadre backstory::: so Darknest created this black hole that swallowed up Planet Kappa, Planet Tengu, Planet Cyclops, and Planet Ogre, leaving a sole survivor from each world on purpose, so that, racked with trauma, survivor guilt, and lack of a purpose in life... they had no choice but to join the Ophiuchus Star Prince as his closest warriors, as soon as he coaxed them into him.
Is Fuwa a vessel... for what? Namely, His Overlordship's words

The Star Princesses have another quest: The Twinkle Imagination? (heheheheh...) Do these Japanese anime-makers have any idea of the innuendo the word "twinkle" carries in its native English? (I mean, to put another example, Mandibuzz's original name is Vulgina, which officially stands for "vulture regina", but the appearance of that pokémon does give off some unfortunate innuendo as well).

IN WHICH ALL 12 STAR COLOUR PENS ARE GATHERED

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 31
My Own Review
IN WHICH ALL 12 STAR COLOUR PENS ARE GATHERED

hallofanimefame
angryanimeb*tches


PreCures’ goal of obtaining all twelve Princess Star Colour Pens is in sight in the thirty-first episode of Star ☆ Twinkle, but obviously their enemies don’t intend to let that go unchallenged.

Some great expressions in this episode

In this episode, PreCures return to Earth, with General Topper from the Starscape Alliance in hot pursuit. He asks the girls to join the Starscape Alliance, but the response he gets is not something he expected.
The final Pisces Princess Star Colour Pen shows up, but they will have to fight Garuogre in order to get it.

Seems like Hikaru’s onigiri (filled rice ball) is really quite popular with extraterrestrials

The first part of this episode focuses on Topper and his efforts to recruit PreCures into the Starscape Alliance. Unfortunately for him, the girls have other commitments (including caring for the family business, or practicing to become a concert pianist). We get some more light-hearted moments in this part of the episode, too – because things get a little more serious shortly.

Topper regrets his lack of power

“With great power comes great responsibility” could be a well-known phrase that applies to the conversation Topper has with Hikaru. She is a PreCure, and it is her duty to protect; something that the vertically-challenged general failed to do (when the 'raiders stole and scattered all the Pens).

Garuogre vs. Cure Star

Topper’s conversation with Hikaru is cut short by the arrival of Garuogre; it is the first time we are seeing him fight any Cure directly. Unlike the other cadre enemies, Garuogre relies on his own strength – which has been augmented by Darknest.

Garuogre throws off his cloak (INSERT PILLAR MEN THEME)

Cure Star and Garuogre fight a single combat on the Earth's Moon – something which amused me quite a bit considering the events of Symphogear XV episode 10. No lunar ruins in sight, but we do get a nice fight sequence. The fights tend to be pretty good whenever a cadre antagonist gets directly involved, and this time around is no exception.

The fight does not go well for Cure Star

During the fight, Garuogre has some things to say about a pummelled Cure Star’s desire to protect. Perhaps he failed to protect something in the past, and that led him to serving Darknest (CONFIRMED IN NEXT EPISODE!!). That’s just a guess, it could just be typical villain talk.

The cavalry arrives

You’d think the arrival of the other Cures would mark a turning point in the fight, but Garuouga is remarkably resilient, even shrugging off all the Cures’ special attacks. Fortunately for the Cures, Darknest’s power is a finite resource.

Cure Star acquires the Pisces Princess Star Colour Pen

During the fight, Cure Star manages to grab the final Pisces Star Colour Pen from her foe. Once he retreats, it is time for one more trip to the Star Palace.

Pisces Fuwa (Merwa)

Pisces Star Princess (oui, she's a mermaid!)

That’s all twelve Princess Star Colour Pens gathered together, and their combined power has a surprise in store for Fuwa.

Fuwa transforms into an alicorn

That caps off this episode of Star ☆ Twinkle, and it was a great one. The fight against Garuogre has to be my highlight; some really enjoyable animation there. It also helps that Garuogre is the biggest threat the Cures have faced; though I guess it does depend on how much of that was Darknest’s power.
Still a great fight, though.
Fuwa’s transformation is all right, I guess. I don’t dislike it, but I’m not sure why it is necessary to have Fuwa transform at this point. Perhaps the next episode will provide some insight into all that.
We haven’t really had the chance to see what the power of all twelve Princess Star Colour Pens can do, but what we have got so far is a little underwhelming. They were built up as being able to grant any desire, or something along those lines, and all we have at the moment is Fuwa becoming a unicorn. No matter how you look at it, she is still the cute mascot fairy.
Looks like we might get some more background on Garuogre (and maybe the other 'raider cadres) next time, as well as discover just what is going on with Fuwa.

 


MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
WOWOWOW Alicorn Fuwa: I definitely smell some brony bait in the design of her evolution... also unicorns and alicorns are pretty much in vogue this decade, so this was not entirely unexpected (think of Cure Parfait's rainbow pegasus theme!)... However, she had reminded me all the way of a jigglypuff before she evolved, so this came as a twist and a surprise!

General Topper (and his Napoleon complex): Anyone else agrees that with his oversized commissar cap, he might be compensating for something? ;)