THE KIRAKIRA À LA MODE FILMS

The best things to see on this poster are Akira before the Arc de Triomphe and Yukari before the Tour Eiffel...

KiraKira ☆ à la Mode: Crisply! The Memory of Millefeuille! is the 23rd Pretty Cure film produced by Toei Animation. The director for the film is Yutaka Tsuchida, and the screenplay is by Isao Murayama.
Besides the main feature, there is an animated short called Petits ☆ Dream Stars! Let’s・La・Cookin’? Showtime! as well.
I’d recommend watching the film before reading this post, as I want to discuss some events that could be considered spoilers. Though some of these were featured when the TV series’ opening credits were previewing the film, but I figure sticking a spoiler warning here is probably appropriate.

Now for the main feature, KiraKira ☆ à la Mode: Crisply! The Memory of Millefeuille!
In this film, the pâtisserie Cures travel to Paris in order to participate in a famous sweets contest. However, Ciel ends up losing her ability to make sweets after an encounter with an evil whisk.
Meanwhile, Ciel’s mentor, Jean-Pierre Silberstein (that Germanic surname implies a Lorrainian background, from eastern France at the German border) is pursuing the creation of the Ultimate Sweet, together with the help of a ghost pixie (yousei), in the shape of a green-haired chef doll, named Cook. 

Cure Parfait is the star of the show here

As you may be able to guess, Ciel is pretty much the star of the show here, but the other Cures are more or less relegated to supporting roles. The pâtisserie Cures are already a fairly sizeable group, and then you have a cameo appearance as well. Not everyone is going to be able to get equal billing in the film’s runtime.

Let’s talk a little about a couple of important characters. Presumably anyone choosing to watch this film will already be familiar with the pâtisserie Cures, so I won’t really talk too much about them.

Jean-Pierre Silberstein

Jean-Pierre is Ciel’s mentor, and who had a brief appearance in the TV series from what I can recall. Here, we get to see exactly what he is like, and it turns out he is eccentric. He can also be quite harsh towards Ciel, especially with her cooking abilities being diminished.

The ghost yousei, Cook

Another important character in this film is Cook. She is a ghost pixie – because apparently we needed more than one of those. Though the Elder insists that he’s not a ghost…
She is very insistent on Jean-Pierre completing the Ultimate Sweet, though it seems she cares little for kira-kiraru.

Anyone else got a craving for lobster thermidor?

The pâtisserie Cures end up acquiring animal forms

As tends to be the case for the Pretty Cure films, there is a part where the antagonist is able to get one up on the heroines. That happens in this film, though that whole sequence might just be one of the silliest examples of a villain getting the upper hand.
It begins with the enemy analysing each of the Cures, and using magic to change their forms to make them easier to deal with. Well, they can’t quite get a handle on Yukari, which amused me quite a bit.
Actually, Yukari stole the show for me. She gets some of the best lines, and she just seems to take almost everything in her stride. Yukari was already my favourite character --alongside Akira-- to begin with, so perhaps I’m just biased here.

This is about the closest the film comes to any yuri

Though KiraKira ☆ à la Mode gave us the prominent pairing of Yukari and Akira (a LEGENDARY OTP), don’t expect to see any of that in this film. In fact, there’s maybe a couple of minor moments starring Ciel, but you’d have to stick to the TV series for the more prominent yuri.
I didn’t really expect all that much, to be honest. If if Yukari or Akira had been the central character, perhaps the case would have been different. But this is Ciel’s film, and Bilberry is nowhere to be seen (ditto Giulio, for that matter).

When it comes down to it, KiraKira ☆ à la Mode: Crisply! The Memory of Millefeuille! feels like just another good episode of the TV series, but just a bit longer. I enjoyed watching it, though it’s not my favourite PreCure film.
Of course, feeling like a feature-length episode of the TV series does mean that there’s not much in the way of physical combat.

I’ve already mentioned how some Cures only serve a supporting role in this film. Fans of Ciel will certainly find enjoyment here, but don’t expect too much from any of the others.
I will say that it might just be worth checking out for the hilarity of the animal Cures alone, though. And it will certainly leave you with a craving for lobster thermidor with millefeuille for dessert!

 ************************************************

 Pretty Cure Dream Stars! is the 22nd animated film in the Pretty Cure franchise, and the successor to the All Stars films. It was first released in Japanese theatres on March 18th 2017, not too long after KiraKira ☆ à la Mode had started airing. This is the first film in the PreCure franchise to feature the KiraKira à la Mode Cures.

If you’ve watched any other PreCure film before, you’ll probably be familiar with one of the Cures and/or yousei directly addressing the audience at the beginning (as if we were watching Henry V!). Dream Stars! takes those fourth wall shenanigans even further, and actually has characters appear “on stage” as it were to ask for the audience’s help. This happens right in the middle of a couple of scenes.
Whilst KiraKira ☆ à la Mode has toned down the fights, Dream Stars! actually sticks with the more typical physical fistfights. The inevitable fight against big bad Samidare might just be my favourite within the film, but the other fight scenes were pretty enjoyable as well.

Yui Nanase meets Akira Kenjo

During the course of the film Yukari and Akira go to Go! Princess‘s Noble Academy. As you might expect, some silliness ensues – the screenshots above providing an example of that.

Yukari has a pretty interesting reaction towards Akira’s approach.

I found that Dream Stars! doesn’t really manage to deliver the same hype as the first All Stars films did. Having the Cures join a fight accompanied by their theme tunes will probably never be topped.

When it comes down to it, though, it is just another PreCure film. Pretty much just an extended standalone episode,, and if you enjoyed the TV series than you’ll probably get some entertainment out of this film as well. I did highlight some things that I wasn’t keen on, but overall I did enjoy watching Dream Stars!.

PS. Our OTPs of last continuities are BACK for the next All Stars film, All Stars Memories!!! In the opening theme of today's Star*Twinkle episode, we got to see them getting up to shenanigans and boy, didn't they deliver!

Amour holding Ma Chérie in a bridal carry - like, OVER THE THRESHOLD style!

Amour and Ma Chérie attack, shoulder to shoulder

Saaya meets Akira

There is some silliness to be found with the three different teams meeting up. We get some Saaya x Akira kabedon – Akira did the same thing to Yui Nanase at Noble Academy in Dream Stars!, so perhaps Toei intend for it to be something of a running gag. And Yukari still doesn't give a hoot about her significant other's penchant for wall-pinning flirtation!

SPOT / STOP THE IMPOSTOR

Kirakira Precure à la Mode - Episode 41
My Own Review
SPOT/STOP THE IMPOSTOR

Few people are happy to see Giulio.

That deadpan of Bilberry's is precious.

Though his twin sister is elated!!

 No matter if Giulio is more of an introvert and Ciel's effusiveness makes him wince.

A sinister Giulio impersonator storms around Ichigozaka, stealing kirakiraru.

(You can tell it's the impostor because he wears black and Prussian blue, and conceals his face).

Ciel defends her fraternal twin Giulio, now the second garçon at the KiraPâti, from angry customers who accuse him of ruining their sweets.

With the people blaming Pikalio for ruining their sweets and accusing him of being the one responsible for summoning the monsters that have been attacking lately, Bilberry decides to make herself scarce. She’d rather not have anyone finding about what she did before.
She goes to the KiraPâti, where she tells them what has happened.

Akira and Yukari quickly figure out that something strange is going on

The KiraPâti girls manage to catch up to Ciel, and see her telling the people to give her a chance to talk to her brother. She does that, whilst the secondary-schoolers hase after her. Yukari and Akira realise something is up, and they decide to investigate.

After that we get more Giulio angst, as he goes on about how the trouble he caused in the past won’t just go away. He runs off somewhere, and Himari asks Pekorin to keep an eye on him.
After that, the girls go back to their KiraPâti, where the Elder encourages Ciel to make some Liège waffles. For auld lang syne.

Pekorin arrives after Ciel finishes making the waffles, and says that Pikalio is going to leave Ichigozaka.
Elsewhere, we see that Yukari and Akira’s investigation has turned up a lead.

Chocolat and Macaron catch up with the fake Pikalio

The Giulio/Pikalio that had been running around town stealing kirakiraru was actually a mook soldier.

A regular rank-and-file private mook. Coup de théâtre! I was actually expecting the impostor to be Elysio himself...

Elysio appears before the others. Ciel goes on ahead to catch up to Giulio, leaving the other three secondary-schoolers to confront him.

Elysio ready for battle

Whilst the other tweens fight Elysio, Ciel catches up to Pikalio. The two of them talk, leading to the resolution of their situation with some fluffy, heartwarming sibling bonding.

Awww...

The battle against Elysio doesn’t go so well, with the arrival of Macaron and Chocolat not really helping (to our bitter disappointment!). No, the battle’s tide can’t change until Ciel arrives.

Cure Parfait

The battle comes to an end fairly swiftly after the arrival of Cure Parfait, who utterly curbstomps the raven-armoured ikemen, and it is brought to a close with the new Finishing Move.

The episode ends with Pikalio/Giulio happier than he was before, and deciding to stay in Ichigozaka with his sister. The townspeople from earlier apologise, and Giulio makes waffles. Liège waffles. For auld lang syne.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Every Atoner needs a cupful of mulled wine for Christmas. Surprisingly, many of my favourite characters in anime are Atoners --Ken Ichijóji, Towa/ilight and Shut, Ellen Kurokawa...-- Now feel free to add Giulio to the list.
I also adore his queue. He wore his long hair untied with that Venetian mask (making him a Long-Haired Pretty Boy), but there's something about young men with queues (low ponytails tied with ribbons) that I completely adore. And there's this angst. There's Giulio, like Clinton, having this redemption arc full of angst and proving his innocence. Atoner+queue+this angst=yours truly feeling completely riveted.
This Clear My Name premise reminded me of Copycat, a villain of the week in Miraculous who impersonated Chat Noir and committed several felonies across Paris to try to frame Chat Noir. As in this episode, the impostor and the hero were identical... but hey, Copycat looks and dresses exactly like Chat Noir, and is a stark contrast from his (Copycat's) muggle self Théo (except for the oral fixation that serves as the impostor's ID tag!), while the Giulio impersonator wears dark clothing, in stark contrast to Giulio's coat-turn attire change to a lighter wardrobe.

Copycat. Notice the lolly.

Real vs. Fake. Notice they look EXACTLY like two peas in a pod.

The only ID tag is the lollypop in Copycat's mouth (see above), for Théo sucks lollypops.

Théo (Copycat's muggle self). Notice the lolly.

There's Elysio pulling out all the stops by donning the most radass armour ever worn by a Sissy Villain across anime (What will Elysio's backstory be? And Noir's?).

See what I mean? A kilt in style, tights, raven wings, and an impressive phallic spear! That's some impressive attire to kick derrière in, isn't it? Eat your heart out, Shut, or at least eat that Hufflepuff scarf of yours!


And there's my OTP in winter attire for the first time (I <3 both of their trenchcoats, but especially Akira's, our bifauxnen looking like a real Victorian gentleman in burgundy!). And being as savvy both on and off the battlefield as always.





(Though I was slightly disappointed when the impostor turned out to be a regular, expendable rank-and-file mook. I expected it to be Elysio himself in disguise... sigh... Another disappointment came during the battle against Elysio, in which neither Macaron nor Chocolat were able to get the upper hand. Anyway, this is a Ciel-centric/Parfait-centric episode, also focusing on her brother --no twincest, just regular sibling bonding--, which might explain the occurrence of the Worf effect in this episode.)

I also enjoyed Ciel and Giulio bonding over Liège waffles, for auld lang syne... after all, it had all begun with a sibling feud over that treat. I will never look at Liège waffles with the same eyes since these character arcs wrap up.





One last thing I relished: Giulio making two garçons (a bifauxnen and an ikemen) at the KiraPâti this winter!


Next up is an Aoi-centric episode featuring... THE DISBANDMENT OF WILD AZÜRE?! AOI RETURNING TO HIGH F-ING SOCIETY?! AT LEAST AN IDENTITY CRISIS, AND A MUSICAL REVIEW OF THIS EPISODE, IN WHICH MAYBE...

IN NEXT EPISODE (42):

THE SHOW MUST GO O-O-O-ON!!!

THE SHOW MUST GO O-O-O-ON!!!

She'll top the bill, she'll overkill, 

she'll have to find the will to carry O-O-O-ON...

...with the SHO-O-O-OW-W-W-W!!

The Show Must Go On!!!

THE LIGHT KNIGHT RISES

Kirakira Pretty Cure à la Mode - Episode 40
My Own Review
THE LIGHT KNIGHT RISES

PREVIOUSLY ON KIRAKIRA PRECURE À LA MODE:

Glaive has enslaved the muggle population of Ichigozaka, creating a sizeable army of mooks.

Furthermore, the dark-skinned blond proceeds to warp-spasm himself into a power-up.

Right as Glaive is about to win, a dazzling white knight -a stripling in comparison to our antagonist, yet shining with a powerful light- stands right in his way.

PARFAIT: Pikalio!!

And of course Giulio is distressed by the glomp. Even though they are siblings. Surely because, like Anna and Elsa, these two have been detached from one another for ages.

Bilberry trolls Glaive to create a distraction, buying time for Giulio and the Cures.

SO LONG, SUCKERS!

Giulio draws his lightsword once more.

Right when all hope is lost, Cure Lumière appears in a vision to her successors.

Remember, all muggles in Ichigozaka are stained in darkness and turned into Glaive's army of mooks.

Foryunately, the Precures happen to corner the blond Hulk against a cliff.

In the meantime, in a cave in Mt. Ichigo, 

an assortment of local feral and woodland mammals (including a red-nosed reindeer... foreshadowing?)

gather ingredients for the yousei to cook, and produce light kirakiraru.

The yousei get down to make something scrumptious...

Bilberry has a few choice words for Glaive. He threatens to attack her, but Parfait steps forward to protect her. We then learn a little of Grave’s history, and it turns out he was a jerk before being discovered by Noir as well.

PREPARE TO DIE, YOU TRAITOR BRAT...

If it meant to get loaded, to appear on magazine covers, I have done things that are best left unspoken...

Unlike most cadres, who are usually corrupted due to failures in life, Glaive himself was already a bad person who picked on the weak and rose to power. However everyone disliked his methods, in which Noir took interest and proceeded to make Glaive into his general.

Hope seems to be fading for the PreCures at this point, but then suddenly there is a wave of kirakiraru, which eliminates the darkness. The animals and yousei fairies had been making sweets, and the kirakiraru they produced returns the town and its people to normal.

Here comes the cavalry!

However, it ain't over till the fat lizard sings...

Glaive turns into Glaivezilla. The way it looks.

They can still defeat him though. After all, they have the kirakiraru of everyone on their side.

With this cour's Finishing Move failing to harm Glaivezilla, they have to come up with something better. 

It’s time for a new attack, complete with costume changes. 

First of all, they summon the Sweet Castle (looks more like a Sweet Hall, or Sweet Villa) above Mount Ichigo.

Each Cure gets a miniature Castle for themselves as a new transformation trinket to attain their Sweet Castle Forms.

There's something more 80s-ish about the improved Cure Gelato. I mean, I identify myself with Aoi, I think popular music was better last century, both the 80s aesthetic of our blue Cure and Wild Azüre music have totally won over me...

I also liked the way Parfait's new skirt includes oversized fruit, including an orange and a cluster of green grapes. The fruit motif is just parfaitement conveyed, even more than in her original ensemble.

But the chocolate macaron cake when it comes to Sweet Castle Forms goes, of course, to our OTP.

Chocolat now wears coattails, a waistcoat with hussar embroidery (sújtás/soutaches), and her hat looks like a top hat plus tricorn plus cavalier hat. Also, that puffy fur at the collar of the cape. It's just so impressive that I have to comment on it all the way.

Macaron's petticoats, one can see, are eighteenth-century petticoats on puffy sleeves, and that headdress combining her usual beret and a bonnet is adorable.

You just want to see these two attacking together. Or doing the waltz. Or both things. These ensembles are just an open love letter to Takarazuka. More like Tachycardiazuka for fans of period piece costumes and of the Outer Senshi, like yours truly.

Also, Macaron rides sidesaddle, while Chocolat straddles her steed. That definitely cements their personalities, Yukari /Macaron as a proper lady and Akira/Chocolat as a bifauxnen (like trousers and boyish short hair, straddling when it comes to ride... I recall both Queen Christina and the stepsister in a Spanish Cinderella retelling, both straddling their mounts as well).

As usual, the newest Finishing Move is able to finally defeat Glaive.

However, with Glaive defeated, Elysio shows up.

The tarot cards contain the Glaivemobile, Diaval, and Glaive. I think they may represent the Chariot (VII, triumph); the Devil (XV, entrapment); and the Emperor (IV, authority/patriarchy), respectively. 

Elysio reveals that his true power is harvesting the darkness cultivated by Noir, and that his cards were all once servants of darkness. He ominously tells the PreCures that the real battle begins now before leaving. The episode ends here.

Maybe there will be a major arcana motif to this final arc...

ELYSIO: This is just the beginning of the end.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
I definitely need to have my blood pressure taken after this arc finale.
Seriously, a resurrected Pikalio turning into an improved Giulio and stopping Glaive when our dark-skinned blond scoundrel was relishing victory...
Also, Giulio's light knight ensemble. That lilywhite uniform is a far cry from his previous dark ensemble... Giulio now resembles Cinderella's prince, or an Austrian military officer. Definitely dashing.
Also: we got Glaive's backstory/Start of Darkness... leaving only Elysio and Noir left. Glaive seems to have had things in common with Hitler, Stalin, and other Eights on the enneagram. Basically, he was a bully all grown up. You're a scoundrel, Mr. Glaive... you really are a heel...
The appearance of Glaivezilla was a real coup de théâtre. But definitely vanquished by the new outfits of the Cures. Especially the high-school Cures. An open love letter to Takarazuka, definitely.

More like Tachycardiazuka for fans of period piece costumes and of the Outer Senshi, like yours truly.
Also, the new muggle Giulio wears his turquoise hair in a queue. I like bishies with queues as much as I like bifauxnen with boyish short hair, honestly <3 The new muggle Giulio is dashing compared to the once called an "ikemen" dark muggle persona "Leo Kuroki."
Next episode will see Ciel and Giulio rekindling their relationship, but can Giulio overcome his fear of returning to the dark side?

IN NEXT EPISODE (41):