EN PATINANT SUR LA GLACE FRAGILE D'UN NOUVEAU JOUR

Hugtto! Pretty Cure - Episode 43
My Own Review
EN PATINANT SUR LA GLACE FRAGILE D'UN NOUVEAU JOUR

http://hallofanimefame.blogspot.com/2018/12/hugtto-precure-ep-43-top-3-moments-bye.html

The forty-third episode of Hugtto! is a Homarry one, so I’m just going to try to breeze through it as quickly as possible.

Papple guesses that Homare must be in love

Homare has her important ice skating competition coming up, but there is something on her mind that is preventing her from concentrating on it. Of course, the thing on her mind is Harry – she is in love with him, after all.

Saaya has a chat with Homare

With Homare’s feelings being a major distraction for her, Saaya decides that it is time that she had a talk with her en tête-à-tête. Then Harry shows up, and Saaya takes off.

Homare talks with her Mum

The competition draws nearer, and Homare has a couple more chats with people – more specifically, Henri, and her own mother. They pretty much tell her that they want to see Homare giving her best and will be supporting her.

Just before Homare has to perform her routine, the others set up an opportunity for her to talk with Harry. Homare confesses her feelings to him, and it goes about how she expected. 

Still, that proves to be a weight off her shoulders, though she does run into Hana’s arms and have a good cry about it.

Hana gives Homare a much-needed hug

Homare pulls off her routine flawlessly

With all said and done, Homare goes out on the ice, nailing her routine. Of course, that is thanks to the support of everyone watching her. And just as her routine ends, the place shakes.

Bishin’s Wild Theender de rigueur

This time it is Bishin who is leading the attack. Bishin tries to tell Étoile that things wouldn’t work with Harry, but of course Étoile knows this now. This is followed up by PreCures doing their usual thing.

Homare claims victory

This episode wraps up with Homare hugging her friends in celebration of receiving the gold medal.

Well, I never really cared for the Homarry stuff before as Twin Love overshadowed it, and this episode did nothing to change my mind about it. I am glad that that particular thread has been wrapped up, though – it means the last few episodes can focus on far more interesting things.

Here’s a shot of Lulu in pyjamas, just because (those ugggggggsssssessss...)

This episode did provide a few decent moments, though – Lulu in pyjamas was very nice. 

We also had Hana’s encounter with George – I’m quite keen to see how that will tie in with the inevitable Hana episode we’ll get before the finale. He stops her from transforming by grabbing her arm, and mentions how miracles appear wherever she goes. It seems that George’s visit was merely to shake Hana’s resolve once more.

Not really much else to say about this episode – it wrapped up something that I didn’t really care for. Going from the preview alone, I can already tell that I will like next week’s episode. It is one that focuses on Saaya, but more importantly, Lulu’s outfit – ah, let’s save that for next week.

We have reached the point of the series where all the characters are trying to reach the conclusions of their arcs… except, Homare and Saaya’s developments have been neglected for so long, we are finally seeing the results of the repercussions.

This week was about Homare finally getting the closure she needed with her unrequited feelings for Harry, and I loved the way the handled it. With the support of her friends, Homare found the courage to confess her feelings, and Harry in return, gave her the much deserved respect of being straight with her how he cannot return her feelings since he is in love with someone else. On top of that, as much as he wanted to comfort her, he knew better that it’s better if he shouldn’t. So props to Harry for the way he handled it.

And I am glad Homare can finally begin the healing process of moving on. I always loved how Homare’s character handled her crush, and the level of maturity of knowing to keep things that she knew she didn’t have the right to know a secret, and not letting jealousy take over. She handled her first love and heartbreak incredibly well, but it’s such a shame that I couldn’t find it in me to really care about it at all.

This is where the consequences of not being given enough time for the audience to really connect with her  becomes incredibly apparent. Sure, we have seen her deal with it along the way, but just wasn’t enough for me. As I watched this episode, it had me thinking back to Happiness Charge, because it’s one of the most vivid memories of mine when it comes to Precure dealing with unrequited love. In that series, I was completely invested and felt heartbroken for all the characters’ feelings. And I think one of the most important differences between the two is how the story dealt with it. Of course Love was a central theme in Happiness Charge, but not so much in Hugtto!, which is really a variety of things. But I still feel like they missed a huge opportunity in many occasions where we could have seen Homare talk about her feelings with other characters, or at the very least, it should have been with Saaya if they had to go with one. She was the only one who figured it out very early on, while the others only received confirmations of their suspicions when they spoke to Papple about it. And it frustrates me because this was yet another thing that really could have been something between the main trio.

While we are on the subject of Saaya, holy shit— it has not gone unnoticed to me for the past several episodes or so (excluding her own focused ones), Saaya’s character has virtually faded into the background, and it really ticks me off. Next week, she will finally be getting her episode, but again, I am in a situation where they have neglected her so much, that her’s (and Homare’s) development feels incredibly shallow. There’s hardly any depth to their characters, and worst off, Saaya has absolutely been the one who had it the worst of them all. I don’t know what direction Saaya will choose, odds are she has a good chance of leaning in the direction of going into the medical field because it really piped her interest, but we’ll see…

And lastly, for the love of Rh'llor, Hana needs an Anti-George spray or something. He’s has gone all sorts of creepy and I really don’t like how he pops up to see Hana and how he’s interested in her and all that, ugh, I don’t know about you, but it actually made me shudder. Worst off, was it just me (and I have had my own suspicions of this since episode 23), or does Hana have a small crush on George? Anyhow, shit is bound to hit the fan sooner or later, maybe Episode 45? I actually can’t believe we are almost at the end, I’m surprised at myself for making it this far…

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
The concerns of Twin Love on Homarry:
Aunt Papple's Relationship Advice:
What Henri has to Say about This:
Mrs. Kagayaki's Advice to her Only Daughter:
Homare said it's Suki, ie Philia:
Tomorry, Homarry, and those Heartfelt Confessions:
PS. Georgieshin and now Rishin? How Come All those Higher-Ups are Sweet on the Blond Boy?




In Episode 44, Saaya, Reira, and Ranze get to star in... a bland-named version of Game of Thrones? At least it looks the part of realistic medieval Western fantasy without much supernatural, doesn't it?

DO GYNOIDS DREAM OF DRAGON COSTUMES?

Hugtto! Pretty Cure - Episode 28
My Own Review
DO GYNOIDS DREAM OF DRAGON COSTUMES?

Episode twenty-eight of Hugtto! PreCure focuses on Homare’s pet foxterrier Mogumogu, who becomes infatuated with a cat he sees on television.

Lovestruck Mogumogu

The episode begins with Mogumogu catching a glimpse of Lily the celebrity cat on a TV advert, and it is love at first sight. 

Homare takes Mogumogu to see the others, and Saaya pretty much confirms that he is in love (romantic love, ie koi or eros). Lulu’s analysis comes up with the same result as well.

According to Emiru, it is almost impossible to approach Lily. Fortunately, there is an open audition for the next advert where Lily stars, so we get a short Mogumogu training montage.

Gonna fly now...

Homare trains Mogumogu

Mogumogu undergoes training, though he will have his work cut out for him. As the girls work hard to support Mogumogu, Lulu seems to be having some doubts.

Lulu has doubts about love between a human and a gynoid

(but Emi reassures her... awwww, the feels!! <3 <3 <3 )

During the evening, Lulu and Emiru are out practicing guitar together. Emiru is able to see that Lulu isn’t very happy, so she asks what’s up.

Lulu feels like the love between a celebrity cat and a middle-class foxterrier can’t be requited, because they are different species and different ranks. This also has her doubting that a human and gynoid could love each other.
Emiru responds by playing their song, which is full of her feelings for Lulu. Lulu cheers up after hearing it, and both girls decide that they will perform at their event.

During the episode, Lulu does not understand the logic of two different species (In the case of Mogumogu and Lilly) to have feelings with each other. Emiru explained that she likes (so: daisuki?) Lulu even though she is a gynoid, and shouldn't let their background stop them from pursing what they love.

 This led the girls to train, Emiru dressing up as a monster (which lead to a flashback of Masato scolding her as kids) 

Which was an adorable scene - capturing a lot of sibling dynamics, and done in that sepia tone... furthermore, it also establishes Emi as much as an outsider, an "other," as Lulu is, right?

Emiru and Lulu perform

True to their word, Emiru and Lulu put on a performance before the audition (this time wearing dirndl).



Sure enough, it inspires Mogumogu. Besides the PreCure girls and Harry, there also happened to be a few other familiar faces watching too.

Papple and her minions

Though Papple does suggest that Emiru and Lulu sign for her agency (once more), she is actually present for a different reason. She has her own pet dog entering the audition.

Papple's designer collie, Haru

The auditions begin, and the first couple of rounds are actually a close fought battle between Mogumogu and Haru. 

And Papple is HILARIOUS when she falls off her stilettoes and sprains her foot, while cheering on her aloof, rebel collie...

During the obstacle course which was hilarious that Papple tripped and sprained her foot due to her high heels and Mogumogu getting all fired up after seeing Lilly's picture and got first place in the obstacle course. 

The third round is to test the heroism of the pets who audition, and this is the point where Criasu interfere.

This week it is Bishin who brings forth the Wild Theender, made from the inventor of a robber-themed robot. 


Yo me parto la camisa...


¡¡¡COMO CAMARÓÓÓÓÓN!!!
Given that this is Bishin's official summoning of a theender, Bishin portrayed the angsty teen with the bandages and even the tearing of the screen (down with the fourth wall!) which is really creepy but then Bishin's love (koi or daisuki?) for Harry has no boundaries as nothing is going stop Bishin from getting Harry back.


Did I ever mention how much I love Bishin’s character design?! Gods this sequence was so beautiful!


Almost everyone else flees, leaving the others the opportunity to transform into PreCures. Not everyone was able to escape, though – a young girl remains behind. The Wild Theender/Robberbot turns its attention to her.

Mogumogu protects the girl

Though he is trembling with fear, Mogumogu steps up and gets between the Wild Theender and the girl. He barks for the first time, then leads the damsel away to a safe place.

Still the best finisher

Cure Ma Chérie and Cure Amour are the ones to finish off the Wild Theender, resulting in Bishin retreating. He remains determined to get Harry to return to Criasu, though.

Lily's owner -the damsel du jour- and her mum thank Homare and Mogumogu...

Mogumogu’s good deed paid off

Lily lives with the girl that Mogumogu saved. The cat owned by the damsel also happened to be watching, so she gives Mogumogu a token of her appreciation – needless to say that the foxterrier appreciates it quite a bit.

Ruru loves Emiru (koi? suki? daisuki?)

Seeing Mogumogu and Lily inspires Lulu. She tells Emiru that she loves her (koi? suki? daisuki?), and hugs her. The episode ends on this heart-warming note.

I thought that this might have been a Homare episode upon seeing the preview last week, but surprise! It was an Emilu episode all along. I absolutely adore both Lulu and Emiru, and any episode that focuses on the both of them is one that I am going to enjoy a lot.

Besides Emilu, there isn’t really a whole lot more to say about this episode. I will point out that the title “Catch That Heart ♥ Hooray, Hooray! Mogumogu!” is a reference to HeartCatch PreCure!, and the purple cat brings to mind KiraKira ☆ à la Mode‘s Yukari Kotozume.
Overall a decent episode, lifted even higher by giving us more Emilu.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
On the Emilu scenes in this episode: Awww awww awww awww... and the confession at the end was the crowner - the dialogue about whether gynoids can love and be loved by people of flesh and blood, with Emi reassuring Lulu; then the duet performance; then the final confession -but did Lulu say of Emiru "koisuru" or "daisuki?" There is a certain degree of nuance between eros and philia, between matesprit and moirail.
On Lulu's Pinocchio syndrome:



On Emiru and Masato as children, and the dragon costume: KaiJuly is officially a thing of the past, but Smaugust is still going on.
On Bishin's debut and tension with Harry Harryham: First things first: BISHIN IS MALE, as officially confirmed. Therefore, we will be referring to Bishin as a he (even though he looked so androgynous that at first there were lots of guesses).
On just how hilarious Papple can be: In the last episode, we got to see Charalit making a name for himself; now it happens to be Papple's turn to stand in the limelight.
On the Robberbot and the negative emotions of the week: The idea of the Robberbot was just hilarious. Just to make a robber-themed bot to create damselling-and-heroics scenarios. And the victim du jour was quite obviously the inventor of this contraption. This guy is upset of how hard he and Ron tried they're not gonna win at this rate. He's basically a sore loser in a competition where he is most eager to prove himself.
The whole premise of the Robberbot reminded me of the suburban legend of "Mr. and Mrs. Batman", where a childless married couple try to liven up their everyday with a heroic roleplay - and screw it up; the Batman cosplayer lying unconscious on the floor after missing the jump, in between the feet of his damsel wife, tied to a chair in lingerie.

As expected, this was yet another “filler” episode, but I definitely enjoyed it more than last week’s episode. The only thing that caught me off guard and left me feeling a bit disappointed was how even though Homare is Nobunobu’s owner, the spotlight was actually on Lulu and Emiru (AND THANK GOD FOR THE CHANGE OF SONG, I AM SO DONE WITH THE FIRST ONE!!!). Of course it the most make sense for Lulu to be a central figure in this episode, as she is an android who is still learning to understand ‘love’ (koi? daisuki?), she was worried and uncertain of what would become of Nobunobu’s crush on Lily the cat. Needless to say, I wished Homare had the chance to play a bigger role.

Despite the story revolving around a pet dog’s crush, I still found it quite cute how serious the girls were in wanting to help Nobunobu. Emiru in particular gave me a good laugh because her idea it was super relatable. (The way she scared her brother with the outfit was freaking hilarious!) And frankly, it can be quite easy to forget these characters are supposed to be in their early teens, therefore we really should expect them to act as such.

Did I ever mention how much I love Bishin’s character design?!

And on top of that, to my surprise: Bishin was ended up being the highlight. Sure they didn’t show up until the end, but after their lacklustre debut, I was especially pleased with how they used a theender (and the requisition sequence was STUNNING, I absolutely the tear away of the screen, it looked so good!). After having to sit through Gelos’s and Dr. Trauma’s pathetic showings, it was so nice to see one of the villain actually act like one. Bishin is not a softie, nor are they here to play around and make a fool of themselves. Bishin’s objective is there to make a point and try and persuade Harry to come back the dark side.

However I can’t help but feel a bit concerned about Bishin possibly being the next one on the chopping block. The girls are due to get their next power upgrade, and Bishin right now is really their second biggest threat they need to be worried about. Of course there is always the possibility where George decides he is going to create a different sort of challenge for Hana (since he is deliberately picking a fight with her) to face. Otherwise if it’s not Bishin, it will be Dr. Trauma or Gelos, both who have been failing as of the late, which is silly considering besides one occasion, they haven’t exactly made themselves to be an ‘upgrade’ or appear ‘superior’ to the likes of Charalit and Papple.

Actually while we are on the subject of the devils, something crossed my mind when Bishin started talking about Harry: When was the last time the White Crystal was brought up? It feels like it hasn’t actually been spoken of since the incident where George robbed the girls of their crystals, and at the end of the episode, it was revealed Harry in fact was holding onto it. It’s a bit strange to see it be forgotten or at least not pointed out– unless the fillers are really getting to my head and I’m the one who is forgetting about it. Either way, it’s due to be brought up again at some point or another. Perhaps it will when the next big fight breaks out? I have been told it is due to happen around Episode 31, so we are going to have to be patient with the fillers for a while longer. (In fact, now that I look back it has only been five episodes since they fought George, and really only two of them (last week and this weeks’ were actually the only fillers between now and then) so it definitely feels like it has been longer than it actually has been!).

That being said, even though next week is looking to be another filler, it is actually one I am looking forward to. It looks like it will be a very sweet one with Hana helping out her grandmother, and I have a soft spot for characters helping their grandparents out, so I am sure I will enjoy it.