IN WHICH LALA HOSTS A SLEEPOVER

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 26

My Own Review

IN WHICH LALA HOSTS A SLEEPOVER

We are now more than halfway through Star ☆ Twinkle. The opening animation has also been updated, so we actually get to see more of Yuni/Cure Cosmos in it now. PreCures and we spectators are steadily moving towards their goal of collecting all the Princess Star Colour Pens, and some new information concerning the whereabouts of the next one, the Cancer Pen, sees them blasting into space once more.

Hikaru decides to have a pyjama party

Lala receives a transmission from her (fraternal twin) brother Lolo about the discovery of a princess’s power, so PreCures decide to go to Lala's homeworld and check it out. However, the warp through the Starscape goes awry, so they are left stranded in outer space. Hikaru decides the best thing for them to do is hold a pyjama party.

Just look at their pyjamases! My favourite is doubtless Madoka's, with its frills, chest ribbon, and empire waistline.

Space Wars!! The whole original hexalogy at one go...

Was this when Canakin killed all the younglings?

Elena can’t handle scary films

I guess yellow Cures tend to be yellow-bellied… This episode is pretty much about the others getting to spend time with each other, and deepen their bonds. Hikaru manages to find some common ground with Madoka, thanks to an old film. We also discover that Elena isn’t so good when it comes to scary films.

Madoka, on the other hand, is a scifi and horror buff...




La gallina y la gata de a bordo.

Yuni’s ear twitches when Hikaru calls out to her

Definitely got to take time to focus on Yuni just for a bit, just because. Finds a comfortable place to curl up and fall asleep, much like a cat. So good. A purrfect catnap.

The girls talk about their families

After the film, the topic of conversation turns to family. They also talk about their friendship. Hikaru never imagine she would have a pyjama party with friends before becoming a PreCure, and neither did Lala, Madoka, Elena, or Yuni for various reasons... but that is exactly what has happened in this episode. Clearly meeting has been a very good thing for Hikaru, Lala, Elena, Madoka, and Yuni.

Madoka explained that she is going overseas to western lands after she graduated which is what her father and grandfather did the same at her age. (Also, the Kaguya lineage has hunted monsters for the Imperial Crown since ancient times...) Elena was worried about her half dozen siblings and wonder if her parents could handle them. Lala told them her parents are well-known people on her planet and she felt the pressure of being their favourite child. (Surely, if they are celebs as well, Madoka sees herself reflected in this predicament - the only difference being the existence of a twin in the shade). And Yuni... still having her catnap.

Yanyan

The crew picks up a stowaway – a hermit crab-esque reggae alien named Yanyan. She was a stowaway on another spaceship (heading for the Rototom here in Benicassim?) and was kicked out onto the asteroid until she saw Lala's spaceship and hid there. 

Someone needs to be the victim of the week when Kappard attacks, after all. Oh, apparently she is also able to repair the crash-landed wreck after it has been damaged (seriously, how often has Lala proven she was the captain of the Vasa in a past life?), or at least that is what she says.

Kappard uses Yanyan’s imagination to power up his weapon

Kappard actually launches a pre-emptive strike on PreCures, damaging the wrecked starship even more in the process.

Cure Star helps out Cure Milkyway

PreCures are given the opportunity to show of their newly deepened bonds during the battle against Kappard, and they do just that.

Cure Soleil & Cure Selene

This was quite a sweet episode, with the bonds between the five girls growing stronger. For me, Yuni was the highlight of the entire episode, which probably doesn’t come as a surprise. 

The other girls all had their own moments to shine as well, though.

Next time, mermaids.

Curses... wrecked again!





Lala's spaceship suffered damages due to both crashlanding and Kappard attacking... and Yanyan suggested to come to her home planet to get it fixed. Using Purunce as propulsion (and to extract all that sand from the mechanisms), they were on their way to Yanyan's homeworlds...- The Ocean Planet!

What I like about this episode? Other than the girls watching a horror film and Elena's priceless expression, I like how the girls express their thoughts as similar to previous seasons, there will be a moment where the girls speak about their dreams and anxiety. 

Madoka going overseas could be a future episode plot and probably a conflict might make Madoka to choose her path. Elena loved her family a bit too much which might become an episode since she felt being the eldest, she shoulders the responsibility of taking care of the family not realising that her personal life is also important. 

Looking how Lala will react in returning to her home planet already suggested that she doesn't have a close relationship with her family. (We will just have to wait till episode 29 for them to arrive at Planet Samman, her homeworld, to find out why)

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:

Return of Dave: Agent Dave as in Meet Dave is back... and he meets Yuni -- por suerte, Elena omitted the whole "space cat thief" angle since the Miniaturian has connections with the galaxy authorities!

Lala's homeworld:

Lolo Hagoromo: Lala's fraternal twin brother, seconds older... Also, the twins' parents are celebs and put pressure. Like... that's something Madoka can mirror herself in, except for on the sibling front.

Elena gallina, Elena gallina... o al menos asustadiza :O

On the other hand, who would have said the upper-class Cure is once more an ardent horror buff (looking at you, Saaya!)? and we get to hear her squeeeee at last!!

The Kaguya family history -- who ever said they were IMPERIAL MONSTER HUNTERS?? That's even higher stakes when it comes to expectations issues (it would be like having a military dynasty who have been officers since the early modern period or even medieval knights!).

Por otro lado, los padres de Elena se ausentan para hacer su agosto y la ascienden a mamá, siendo la hermana mayor de siete. Ella no está segura de si ha de apañárselas.

Soluna moments in this episode...

After receiving the message from her twin brother Lolo that they had found the princess power pen of Cancer, Lala (who didn’t really want to bring them along) and the girls are off on a trip to Planet Samaan, the Hagoromo siblings' homeworld! But to my surprise, the trip did not go as planned. Due to the lack of sleep, Fuwa’s warp failed and is presently out of commission, Hikaru suggested they host a pyjamas party.

And goodness, it was so cute and wholesome to watch! I really liked that we actually got an episode where everyone just sat down and talked a bit about themselves. It was great because this not only helps us (the audience) learn more their characters, but it also gave them the opportunity to deepened their bonds. It was also fun just to see the girls interact with each other in a way they  hadn’t before either. Hikaru had brought a video tape (I can’t believe they actually used a VCR, and somehow managed to hook it up!!!!) of a scary B-movie, and sure enough we got to see how each of them are about it. Hikaru was the hype-builder, Lala was bored (because it was low-budget to her), Elena can’t handle scary movies at all regardless of its quality, Madoka thought it was amazing and would get upset whenever Hikaru would blurted out spoilers, and Yuni… well she slept through the whole thing, took a catnap... hahahaha!

But of all the conversations that were held, the one that stuck out to me the most was Hikaru’s. It made me opened my eyes to appreciating her character even more than I had before.

Hikaru is a heroine who was content doing her own thing instead of hanging out with other people her age. While it’s nothing new, I think it is fairly uncommon, especially in these type of magical girl warriors series when the main protagonist is either already has a friend (companion, ie nakama) or two, or harbours the strong desire to find friends (ie companions-nakama). Hikaru is that type of character who is right in between the two. She has been fine either way, and it’s a characteristic that I admire about her. It also goes to show that it’s not impossible to have fun on your own, especially when you are doing something you are passionate about or engrossed in. They also reminded us, how while that’s fine and all, having a group of friends who you can share that with makes it all the more sweeter.

But this circle will not last forever. The daunting reminder their inevitable separation was brought up today by Madoka, who shared she is due to study abroad in the near future. Interestingly, nobody seemed to pay too much mind to what that meant for them as a group, but I can understand why. In their heads, that day is probably still far off, when in reality… time flies by when they are having fun, and before they know it, they will all have to part ways to either return to their home planets or follow their own path, where Hikaru will find herself mostly alone once again (with the exception of Elena who will remain in Mihoshi, at the Floristería Sonrisa, but always puts family obligations first). So it will be interesting to see whether or not Hikaru can still keep up that independence streak when everyone has to go their separate ways. It can be hard to go back to the activities you used to do on your own after getting a taste of what it’s like sharing the experience with others. But I suppose what makes Hikaru different from other heroines is how this isn’t exactly new to her. She has already gone down a similar road once before by encouraging her father to pursue his dreams, so I imagine as much as she will have that sense of loss, she will also cherish the memories and adventure they shared together.

Overall, I would say this episode is probably among some of my favourites from this series so far. Just having simple conversations and getting to know each other really goes a long way, especially when friendship plays such an important role in the story. It looks like we won’t be arriving to Samaan just yet with the girls taking a detour to bring their unsuspected reggae crab stowaway Yanyan back home in exchange of their wrecked starship getting fixed! But it looks like we will be seeing the return of Ayewan! I wonder what she has been up to?

PS: When it comes to watching scary movies, which ones of the girls are you? I would say I’m probably a combination of Yuni and Elena! I’m too scared to watch it so I’d hide behind a pillow or would just go to sleep instead, hahaha!!

On the Pen front: We still got Cancer and Pisces left!!

IN NEXT EPISODE (27):

Elena sirena -- and Yuni the catfish

A cyclopette who thinks she's Javert... no, better Ahab!

And a watery merworld to explore and cherish...

We did get a new opening with Yuni/Cure Cosmos joining the rest ---- and looks like Ayewan has gone emo and seeing in the next episode, she is back with a vengeance to defeat a certain catgirl! Until then, see you in the next post!

IN WHICH WORTHY OPPONENTS DRAW THEIR BOWS

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure
Episode 16 - My Own Review

IN WHICH WORTHY OPPONENTS DRAW THEIR BOWS

https://angryanimebitches.com/2019/05/star%e2%98%86twinkle-precure-episode-16-17/

The sixteenth episode of Star ☆ Twinkle puts Madoka in the spotlight once again. This time around, she is participating in a national archery tournament.

Madoka conquered fierce competition in the preliminaries

The main event in this episode is the aforementioned archery competition. Madoka is pretty keen to win it for the sake of her father, who seems to have become somewhat obsessed with his research into aliens.

Translation: "Mihoshi Secondary's Venus" - Besides, that's one massive PR balloon!

Since Madoka is doing a thing, that means that Sakurako Himenojo is present. If Elena is the sun of Mihoshi, and Madoka is the moon, that makes Sakurako the Venus. With those golden ringlets and that caustic temper, she's already off to a good start for that title!

One of the standout competitors, Yumika Nasu

Madoka is more or less a prodigy (tensai) when it comes to archery, but there is another girl, a dark horse tomboy who is able to perform at Madoka’s level. She is Yumika Nasu. She’s a solitary type, and believes that friends/nakama are just distractions.
Madoka and Yumika are equals when the competition starts, so they end up having to face each other in a deciding round.

Yumika KNottrigger

During a break in the competition, Hikaru, Lala, and Elena make lucky charms for Madoka before sitting down and eating lunch with her. Yumika, on the other hand, becomes a target for Ayewan.

Cure Selene wants to face Yumika in the deciding match

Cure Selene and the others fight the 'trigger. Cure Selene does not take kindly to hearing Yumika called her an ‘enemy’, and she makes sure to let Ayewan know. With the power of Sagittarius, Selene gives PreCures the opening they need to finish the fight.
Yumika is returned to normal, whilst Ayewan and Bakenyan make a hasty retreat.

Results of the competition

Madoka and Yumika face off in the deciding round of the competition, and it eventually reaches an end, with the Moon of Mihoshi winning gold and the dark horse taking her second-place silver in stride, like the worthy sportswoman she is. As too, does this episode.

This was an enjoyable Madoka episode. She got to do her thing whilst being supported by her nakama/friends.
Actually, it seems that Madoka is picking up quite a few rivals lately. Firstly there’s self-proclaimed rival Sakurako Himenojo, and then she had a thing with the Blue Cat. Now there is Yumika Nasu. Madoka seems to be quite popular.
Madoka's father does care about her despite showing little emotions during the archery competition. Madoka's rival on the other end was your typical loner who does not believe in the power of friendship and lose the match. But Madoka is a goody two shoes and encourages her rival to work harder (or rather do her best -- why the fudge does "ganbare" get so often mistranslated as "work hard"?) so they can meet again. 

There isn’t really much more that can be said about this episode. It done its job, and it done it in a decent enough manner. I do hope that we get to see Yumika again at some point.


Next time, the girls return to Planet Zenny where the Blue Cat has a heist planned. Needless to say, I am looking forward to seeing the Blue Cat again.

Not much to say about this episode. It seemed to have focused more on the product placement of the “Fortune Capsule Maker” than anything else. (It was really cute though!) Madoka wanted to win the competition in hopes to cheer her father up a bit since his investigation hasn’t been going well. It’s good to see though that the excuse the alien agent who posed as the director isn’t fooling him anymore since he is re-investigate the evidence of the battle that transpired there. It does make me wonder if he will make an eventual breakthrough, and I am curious to see how he would react if he were to discover his daughter is fighting it out with aliens to protect space!

As for the rival, I didn’t particularly care much about her. She appeared to have been a bit envious of how Madoka was surrounded and supported by nakama friends, and so she kept on convincing herself that nakama friends just get in the way.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Two Selene focus episodes in a row?? Makes me feel like it's Xmas AND 12th Perigee!!
Yumika: this very week we lost GrumpyCat, we happened to get a character who is just like her, ie GrumpyCat, as gijinka (in human form)! Purely coincidental?
YumiKaguya as kismesis?:
With the Blue Cat, it's far more like Valjean and Javert. With Sakurako, it's the standard Cure Ojousama fare of the second-fiddle who wants to surpass Her Ladyship. Unlike these other two, the third candidate for kismesis is a tomboy to the core, aloof and a worthy foil-shadow to the Moon of Mihoshi...



IN NEXT EPISODE (17):
THE. BLUE. CAT. RETURNS.
This time, she's planning a heist on Zenny... like, are we going casino-robbing, Ocean's Tetralogy style?

MELODY OF THE HEART

Hugtto! Pretty Cure
Episode  18 - My Own Review
MELODY OF THE HEART

In the eighteenth episode of Hugtto! PreCure, Lulu struggles to understand the concept of heart (kokoro). Fortunately, Emiru is there to help her learn just what it is.

Supper at the Nonos'

 Lulu remains a part of the Nono family

At the beginning of this episode, Lulu returns Mrs. Nono's memories back to normal. She was worried that she would end up being kicked out of the Nono household, but that’s not the case at all. Lulu is still very much a part of their family, regardless of what she did before.

Mrs. Nono officially adopts Lulu Amour

Emiru shows up at secondary school

When Hana, Saaya, and Homare go to school next, they all receive letters asking them to go the courtyard during lunch break.
They do that, and Emiru almost outs them as PreCures in front of everybody.

Fortunately, Lulu is able to move very quickly; a perk of being a gynoid, right? (Reminded me of the Flash!)

The others quickly take Emiru to Harry’s place.


Emiru wrote a letter to the girls to meet during lunch break and tried to expose their secret identifies in front of their peers. However Lulu's quick reflex immediately dragged her out of the school and she was brought to Harry's place.

 SHUTUP (#Dreadpan)

Lulu keeps Emiru quiet

Once they’re at Harry’s place, Emiru reveals that she saw the others undo their PreCure transformations. She also mentions how the rat was talking. Harry snaps at her to correct her on what he is (HAM-STERRR!), before realising what he had done.

 FOX IN SOCKS ON KNOX IN BOX!

 WHOOOSH!

 PIERCE THE HEAVENS!

Emiru indeed knew the girls are Precures and insisted that she too want to be a Precure as well. The girls gave in and in return, Emiru was not allow to tell anyone else about the Precures. Later Emiru tried to learn more of how to be a Precure like watching Homare skating and Saaya doing a rehearsal however with little success.

all the praise that Emiru has for PreCures

After having told the girls that she knows their secret, Emiru asks for a favour. She simply wants to spend time with the heroes during their everyday lives. Emiru and Lulu end up spending a bit of time with both Homare and Saaya.

Emiru swooning over a rehearsing Saaya

Homare is practicing her ice skating, whilst Saaya is rehearsing – both are doing things that come from their heart (kokoro). Lulu doesn’t quite get what that means.

Emiru helps Hana practice for an upcoming singing test

Hana has a singing test coming up, so she gets Emiru to help her out with it. Emiru has perfect pitch; she can even identify what note a pen tapped against a mug makes.
The girls encourage Lulu to give it a try. Whilst Lulu’s tone is perfectly accurate, it does not resonate with heart.

Emiru actually showed off her music talents which amazed everyone. Lulu tried to sing the same song however she was unable to express it with her feelings which resulted in a system shutdown again.

 

As Lulu tries to understand what heart/kokoro is, she experiences a system error and shuts down.

Empty Eyes and shadows over the upper half of the face;

signs of Lulu having a purple screen of death.

Emiru stays by Lulu’s side

The girls explain to Emiru that Lulu is a gynoid from the future. When Lulu wakes up, Emiru asks her about it. Lulu shows her undeniable proof that she is a fembot. Ocular proof.
However, Emiru won’t let that put her off. She insists that she and Lulu become PreCures together. Lulu doesn’t think she can, as she is an artificial life form.

To convince a "doubting Thomas" Emiru, Lulu does what, if she were a person, would be considered flashing (pun completely intended!):

The girls explained to Emiru that Lulu is an gynoid which of course in one of the most funniest moments, Emiru asked Lulu to prove she is an artificial lifeform, and she literally showed her internal system to Emiru. In an LED light show!) Now wouldn't that be considered flashing if Lulu was a person of flesh and blood?

 Emiru was not afraid of her instead she want Lulu to be a Precure as well. However Lulu claimed it is impossible as she is a gynoid and does not have a "Heart."

Awww... the tin girl does not know she already has a heart of her own...

Emiru gets her guitar out again

After that, Emiru wants to do something to cheer Lulu up. She decides to play a song for her, though since she isn’t sure about it she performs for the others to get their opinion first.
They tell her that the most important thing is the feelings she can get across.

The girls tried to encourage Emiru and Lulu in their own ways to believe in themselves. Homare and Harry talked to Emiru with Hug-tan cheering her and Saaya giving a pep talk to Lulu.

This week's theender. The source: designer's block. Rita Yoshimi is very frustrated when she can't think of an idea for a design.
However Papple turned the Fashion Designer (From Episode 14) into a theender and the girls went to battle.

Enough of that, though, as it is about time for the monster of the week to show up. Papple is the one who brings it along, and this episode skips the transformation sequence. It seems like PreCures overwhelm it fairly quickly, but this particular theender, due to its negative emotion source material, has a trick up its sleeve.

This particular theender has another form that allows it to absorb the attacks from PreCures, and then fire a blast of energy. Ange and Étoile end up getting hit by the energy blast, and then the theender jumps onto those two in an attempt to crush them. The girls seemly being crushed by the thenender's weight while Papple taunted Lulu for trying to be a hero.

Emiru stands up for Lulu

With every active PreCure out of commission for the moment, Papple taunts Lulu and calls her a heartless mechanical doll. Emiru stands up for Lulu. Papple soon grows tired of hearing all that and commands the theender to crush them.

Ange and Étoile aren’t finished yet. They lift the theender, and Cure Yell sends it straight up into the air with a punch. After that, they finish it off with PreCure Trinity Concert – we get a shortened version of the stock footage here. 

But Emiru stood up for Lulu and she is proud to have Lulu as her friend (tomodachi), which touched her.

The girls also survived the attack and finished it off.

Lulu and Emiru sing together

Instead of the usual ending theme, we are treated to Lulu and Emiru singing together. This song resonates with heart, and Lulu even sheds a tear or two.
This episode may not have been as silly as the previous Lulu and Emiru episode, but it definitely had a lot of heart. After what Lulu was made to go through previously, it’s very nice to see her just being accepted as she is and discovering what heart is.
Emiru was good in this episode, too. She stood up to Papple, which shows that she is more than qualified to become a PreCure just like she dreams.
Lulu and Emiru’s song was a great way to cap off the episode.
I’m hoping that Lulu remains a gynoid. It’s entirely possible there’ll be a point where she becomes entirely human, but I think her story would be stronger if she remained an android. Lulu already mentioned how it is probably impossible for her to become a PreCure – I think at this point everyone knows where the show is heading and just how wrong she will end up being.
Still, the lead up to the inevitable event has been very good, and delivered some of the strongest episodes Hugtto! has seen for a little while.
Next time, a fashion show. It also looks like a new villain will be introduced, and I’m quite keen to see what she is like. Oh... a brand new cadre/general in Cryasse... and the return of Henri... as a male model -just like Adrien Agreste and my senpai Andreu Ciscar...
Already in this episode we have seen a glimpse of the aforementioned henchperson concealed in the shade:

After Lulu's betrayal, Papple reported back to President Cryasse (Which is what Lulu called him in the episode) and he is really pissed together with Ristle and Daigan who blamed Papple for her failures. However in the shadows, a mysterious lady was observing everything...

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Ooh this episode was so sweet. Emiru has grown on me quite a bit since she has first debuted, and now I feel very comfortable with her being a part of their group. The one thing I love most is the friendship that somehow blossomed between Lulu and Emiru, and it’s something so pure, that it’s exactly what Lulu needs. To some extent, thanks to the day she had spent with Lulu, she actually knows a bit more about Lulu than the others do. They developed a unique connection through music, and it’s something that gives Lulu great comfort and a way for her to connect to her newfound heart. My favourite moment of the episode had to be when Emiru stood up for Lulu, telling Papple that Lulu does in fact have a heart, and she knows it because she feels troubled, said she loved her music, and most importantly, because they are best friends. I found it so incredibly sweet in a way that only Emiru could pull it off. And to top things off, Emiru wrote beautiful lyrics to her song so Lulu could sing along with her. It’s quite incredible how quickly my opinion towards Emiru has changed for the better, but it’s a great feeling and now I look forward to their friendship and hopefully the day they too (hopefully Lulu too, despite being a gynoid) can become a Precure.

I was surprised to see Henri being re-introduced into the the scene at the end of the episode. He has shown his face here and there, but seeing him make a return is starting to make me hope we will see him become part of the group as well. I wonder if he will become friends will Lulu and Emiru, creating another unique trio. And to be perfectly honest, I really do want him to become a precure ahahaha, do it please.

Emilu... That Master and Commander style duet between the Tin Girl and the peppy bard was definitely one of the best codas for a non-finale Pretty Cure episode out there!
Emiru wrote a new song "Kimi to Tomodachi (Me and My Friend) and want Ruru to sing it with her. Lulu began to sing properly as Emiru was playing her guitar. The girls and Harry enjoyed the song as Henri who was spying with his camera phone commented that these two girls are good...

After last week's intense episode, you thought no more emotional moments for the time being. Well, no! This week's episode continue from where we left off and it was both funny and touching at the same time.
The show stopper was Emiru who brought a bundle of lively energy. Being a kid, she tried to get the girls' attention by trying to expose their identifies but with good intention as she too want to be a Precure. The girls were also amazed by her music talents and her reaction in seeing Lulu's internal system was priceless! (Although somewhere some doujin artists might have other ideas for this scene)
Emiru and Lulu were indeed soulmates and like how Lulu stood up against Emiru's brother, this time, Emiru stood up for her when Papple taunted her. It really touched Lulu and the final scene which is probably a first in Precure history-An Insert Song for the End Credits.
Emi's perfect pitch and musical intelligence (as a guitarist and lyricist) and Lulu as an Ace: kindred spirits
 
Does this final pastel-chalked freeze frame say anything? I consider it, myself, the proof that Emilu is canon.
Nakama vs tomodachi
Kokoro and the difficulty of translating the concept

Word of Lulu confirms the fembot theory. We have OCULAR FRICKING PROOF of her being an artificial life form.
The Heartless made from creative block: the negative emotions a person can experience run a pretty wide gamut, don't they? Moreover, the designer's block Rita suffered from kind of mirrored Lulu's creative crisis (about feeling that she could not express herself being someone without emotions).
How this review was gradually turned into a musical:
A new cadre is coming:


IN NEXT EPISODE (19):

Not only it was a first but Lulu and Emiru's duet was so beautiful that I can't wait to get the single when it comes up. Other than the same fashion designer (Rita) was the victim again and she is coming back next episode and... why Henri is back again?

Seeing that next week's episode, Henri become a model for a fashion runway show just to instigate the girls into entering... and the appearance of a new general who is also female!? What is going on!? Until then, see you in the next post!

 Who are you?

Whoever you are, you must hate Papple's guts.

Now it is finally your chance 

to claim the spotlight that may be yours by right...