MY OWN REVIEW
INDUCTIONS AND INTRODUCTIONS
The second episode of Healin’ Good ♡ bucks tradition somewhat. The second Cure to join the team will have to wait until next time; for the moment, Rabirin discovers that Nodoka might not be as qualified (at least in muggle form) as she hoped for the role of a PreCure.
The three enemy cadres generals, left to right: Shindoine (baroness), Guaiwaru (brute), & Daruizen (bishie)
Well, given that the 'raiders were Japanese magical creatures (orochi, oni, kappa, tengu, cyclops, neko) or rather the ones who inspired tales thereof - is there any theme name? The jikochuus or selfcenters of Dokidoki, who share the pathogerms' demonic design, were archfiends representing the deadly sins...
So here are the etymologies, gleaned from their respective wiki pages:
- Guaiwaru (brute): health+bad; Bad-Health, Poor-Health
- Shindoine (baroness): tiredness or weariness+the French female name suffix; Tiredine, Wearyine
- Daruizen (bishie/ikemen): Sluggish, Languid, Sickly
Usually, most seasons or continuities would properly introduce the
second member of the team in the second episode. That is not the case
here, however. This episode is all Nodoka’s and Rabbirin’s, and actually,
that works very well for it.
Rabbirin, Penguitan, and Nyatoran accompany Nodoka to school - her satchel is, according to Mr. and Mrs. Hanadera, unusually heavy (understand their health concerns)
Chiyu is the athletic type
Nodoka’s attempts at doing anything sporty do not go well…
Rabbirin is not best pleased with Nodoka’s performance
Chiyu knows that Nodoka hasn’t done much sport before
Rabbirin actually cares a great deal about Nodoka
When the time for the monster of the week arrives (Daruizen infects the largest tree in the schoolyard with a pathogerm bug), Nodoka and Rabbirin are apart, so no transformation. This episode also clarifies that Nodoka can only transform with Rabbirin; her effort to do so with Nyatoran bares no results.
Nodoka is determined to face the pathogerm no matter what
Bunny Shield
This episode ends with Chiyu spotting Nodoka, and the healing animals. No prizes for guessing what will happen in the next episode.
It is a little unusual for PreCure series not to introduce a new team member in its second episode, but I don’t particularly mind. Maybe I’m biased because of Aoi Yuuki, but Nodoka has been a pretty strong pink lead Cure, and allowing her two episodes to shine is perfectly fine by me.
I’ve also got to show some respect to Rabbirin, too. These healing animal mascots seem pretty good so far.
I’m feeling pretty positive about Healin’ Good ♡ so far. Let’s hope that the next members to join our PreCure group have equally strong introductory episodes.
MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Ah, Nodoka's athletic incompetence is addressed AND JUSTIFIED by a bedridden childhood! Just hope we got a bed-schooled, second book-smart pink Cure in a row and fourth across continuities (fingers crossed till the knuckles on the index snap)!
OH MY HEART! I didn’t think we were
going to hit by the feels so soon! Definitely the first Precure had me
crying in just the second episode! Yes that’s right, I cried.
This week, we were given a bit more
details about the plot! Our cute little trainees and their princess are
known as Healing Animals, who see to all of Earth’s treatment, residing a
secret place known as the Healing Gardens. Their enemy is the Pathogerm
Kingdom, led by their shadowy disembodied King and his three generals Daruizen,
Guaiwaru and Shindoine, who wants to make the whole Earth sick and turn
it into a place where Pathogerms will be the only ones who can survive
that world.
But what I found to be the quite
interesting was how the King doesn’t really care about the Precures at
the moment. Until they actually become a real nuisance to his recovery
process, it seems King Pathogerm is fine with just ignoring them. He
would much rather his generals focus on their task of spoiling the the
Earth since that’s the only way to restore his body. Talk about having
his priorities straight.
We
were also introduced to the two girls we met last week: Our energetic
girl Hinata, and Chiyu, who is part of the track and field team.
Ironically, both of these characters seem to be quite fit. Since Nodoka
was trying out a bunch of clubs today, we got to see her and Chiyu
interact for some time. She is also set to be the next one to join the
team since she spotted Nodoka speaking to what looks to her talking to
flying stuffed animals! So much for keeping a secret huh haha! On the
side note, I have to say though, I am so glad that it appears Chiyu is not
involved in the student council. Actually it would be great if nobody
is this time. The whole student council role has been used so many
times, it’s redundant at this point, especially since 99% it’s always
either the blue or purple characters, geez!
Nodoka was able to bring home Princess
Latte and get permission to keep her under the condition they search for
her original owners (HA HA, JOKE’S ON YOU— until she has to go back home, that is when it will get sad, gosh dang it). Although
Nodoka had thought of introducing the other three as pets too, the
trainees were sensible enough to know they wouldn’t be able to pass off
as such, and would much rather lay low. Yet curiosity got the better of
them, and everyone tagged along with her to school. Everything was going
fine until Nodoka started trying out a bunch of sports clubs, highlighting her lack of athleticism. Rabbirin, who had initially thought
she was gonna kill it because of how splendidly she performed as
a precure, immediately became distressed and declared they can no longer be
partners.
Now,
sometimes these kinds of arguments between the girls and their partners
can be really petty, but not this time. The reason Rabbirin lashed out
was a valid one, especially since it isn’t until later she learns about
Nodoka’s past, so this isn’t about seeing someone who is too sick to
fight. Instead, having witnessed so many of her fellow comrades fall,
she already understands how risks and dangerous it is to fight against
the Megapathogerm. Rabbirin knows she isn’t strong enough on her own to
protect Nodaka, that’s why she doesn’t want to bring her into harms way.
I cannot stress how refreshing it is to see the Precure’s partner have
such concerns. It adds a lot of realism to the situation at hand.
It is also fair to say, as of right now,
it is hard to gauge whether or the powers that comes with becoming a
precure will completely cover Nodoka’s potential vulnerabilities in
regards to her health. Right now the fights are fairly short, so we
don’t know whether or not there’s an overall time limit, or limited
stamina so to speak. It would certainly be an interesting twist that
would force her to make some creative and unconventional strategies when
it comes to the fights that will inevitably get dragged out sooner or
later. But as much as I would like to see it (not that I would be disappointed if they don’t go that way), I am not holding my breath for it.
Nevertheless
the most important thing we can take away from this episode, is that we
should not be treating Nodoka like a fragile character who will break
at the slightest impact. In the matter of fact, both last week’s and
this week’s episode has shown us that the present Nodoka is much
stronger and healthier than she used to be! She is not to be mistaken
for the same young girl who was bedridden in a hospital. She is clearly
healthy enough to at least have the opportunity to try out all these
different sports, run a decent amount without running out of breath. She
is athletically clumsy because she doesn’t have any experience with sports. So just
as Chiyu suggested, a good place to start is focus on improving her
overall fitness and then on what she wants to do most. Then little by
little, she will (hopefully) be able to do more.
And can we just appreciate Nodoka. I
have only known her for two episodes, but I already love her so much. I
admired her character, I am so proud of her courage and creativity to
face the Megapathogerm without her powers! My eyes were all watery and I
was shouting, “YOU GO GIRL!”. She threw on the kendo gear,
grabbed a racket and together with Nyatoran attempted to trap it with
the sports net of the tennis court.This is what makes Nodoka such a profound Precure.
Becoming a precure is more than just fending off an enemy to save the world! She understands
what it like to be sick and in pain, so she wants to be able to pay
forward the kindness and support she has receive in a significant way. I
straight up started crying when she explained all that to Rabbirin–
gosh dang it, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was
going to be swept up by the sea of emotions, but I didn’t expect it to
happen so soon!
Another
really interesting tidbit we learned was the new conditions for the
transformation. Without their respective partners, they can’t
transform. So if their buddy is elsewhere, good luck! You will need to
improvise! This further highlights the importance of everyone needing to
be stick close to their partners. I am curious to see how they will go
about their living arrangements, since the trainees room in that
adorable Healing Room Bag of theirs.
Overall, this was a really solid episode, and not to mention, GORGEOUS!
Can we just appreciate the cherry blossoms? Ahhh they were so pretty!
This is definitely the first Precure had me crying in just the second
episode! I am so excited for the next one, it’s finally time for Cure
Fontaine’s debut!
PS: LATTE IS SO FREAKING CUTEEEEEEEE and I can’t stop watching the OP & ED, I’m hooked the the songs!
