IN WHICH MADOKA KAGUYA MAKES HER OWN CROSS

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 41
My Own Review
IN WHICH MADOKA KAGUYA MAKES HER OWN CROSS

The forty-first episode of Star ☆ Twinkle turns its attention to the Moon of Mihoshi Secondary School, Madoka Kaguya. Madoka’s future is a key point that is brought up in this episode.

Madoka steps down as student council president; she 'abdicates' in favour of her blond kismesis Sakurako in a grand secondary-school ceremony.

Madoka’s time as student council president has come to an end, and as such her father Fubuki wants her to focus on preparing to study abroad, in London town no less. Madoka isn’t so keen to pursue a future that her father has set out for her, though (all the while her mum remains neutral and keeping silence). After calling the old man out before the trophy cabinet, talking with Elena, and a clash with a sworn enemy, she will come to a decision.

Elena realises that something is bothering Madoka

The first half of this episode is pretty much spent on Madoka, as she struggles with what she wants to do with her future. It does lead to some lovely interactions between Elena and Madoka, especially when the latter discusses the '69 Moon landing (the Moon being essentially a ball of mirrors that reflects sunlight and gets trod on by astronauts vs. that 'giant leap for [hu]mankind' of the Eagle's crew) and decides that she is definitely fed up with following others (her elders, rules, society at large) and ready to take those first baby steps on her own two feet.
This follows on from an earlier episode when Elena told Madoka that she could rely on the others, and I am glad to see that that didn’t go forgotten. More Soluna stuff is certainly not going to go unappreciated by me.

Garuogre appears

The enemy for this episode is Garuogre, and just the big blue brute alone. Garuogre may have only fought the Cures on a couple of occasions, but they are certainly memorable. This time around is no exception to that rule.
For a start, this fight looks great.

Soleil and the others are wiped out at one fell swoop, leaving it all to a battered Selene.

Showing off his Erlang-style third eye (seen them on western ogres, but never on oni until now!!)

It may be treacherous, but Selene has no other choice than to shoot Garuogre in the back.

I really love that shot of Cure Selene ready to attack Garuogre from behind – perhaps because it invokes any shonen anime. Cure Star, Milkyway, Soleil, and Cosmos all get knocked out rather early into the fight, leaving it up to Selene (especially for Soleil's sake).
When the fight ends up being this level of quality, I kind of wish that we’d see more one-on-one cadre fights.

Selene responds to Garuogre’s attack; breaking that shield with an icy Aquarian shot she's definitely not throwing away (bonus for using my sign's star colour pen, and for Frozen 2 coming up soon!!)

I know that the PreCures’ finishing attack (Finishing Move or hissatsu) is a once-per-episode thing, but it really feels like padding this time around. I feel like there would have been a greater impact if Selene had defeated Garuogre on her own, but PrettyCure is gonna PrettyCure, I suppose.
This wonderful episode ends with Madoka figuring out what she wants to do, and a fair bit of focus on her bare feet. You know, just because. 

At the end of the day, she calls the old man out, before the trophy cabinet at the Kaguya estate, to turn down studying in the UK at least for the moment (maybe London University or Oxbridge when she is in her twenties?) A nice healthy argument ensues (any moment I worried Fuyuki might clutch his left arm, or the left side of his chest, and collapse like a ragdoll, breathing heavily, only for his wife or daughter to cradle him and loosen his clothes). Instead, that rant made Mr. Kaguya realise the error of his ways (before a heart condition, a stroke, or even before Madoka could snap and pull a Tyrion-on-Tywin on him?) while looking at his own reflection in the trophy cabinet, then at a family portrait (awwww, don't the three of them look adorable together?). Maybe having been the victim of last week also played a role in how Fuyuki's stern and stubborn demeanor was intensified at the start of this episode upon him deciding to send Madoka off to London so early on... like a mirror shard in The Snow Queen or Princess Tutu, or a hangover from a rea-ea-ea-eally altered state... and all it took was for her to call the old codger out, for the effect to wear off and for snapping out of it.

This is a small step for Madoka, but a leap of faith into the unknown for her friends and parents, and not only herself.

This episode was superb. Elena and Madoka bonding is always nice to see, the fight against Garuouga look great and PreCures have moved one step closer to achieving their goal.
These character-focused episodes which leads to each PreCure powering up have been fantastic. Yuni, Lala, and Madoka have had their turns, and I’m confident that Elena and Hikaru will do the same.
Talking of Elena, it is her turn to worry about her future in the next episode. She has smaller shoes to fill, but the lives of more people weighing down on her shoulders...

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Oui. As an only child of privilege with a beautiful mind, I can totally relate. Been there, done that. Graduate at the UJI, Master's at the UV, and now looking for a winter job. With an Education Papa who even looks like Fuyuki Kaguya hounding me in the Javert way.
Speaking of which: REAL TENSION between generations à propos that leaving for the UK. Mitsuka keeping silence and neutrality all the while, not wanting to upset either her husband or their daughter.
Of course the upper-class Cure has to deal with this kind of issues of leaving for foreign lands and/or following in her elders' footsteps during the climax of her arc (Minami Kaido's wish to be a marine vet tending to penguins in Antarctica; Yukari Kotozume's departure for the Ruritanian kingdom of Confetto; Saaya Yakushiji telling her stage mum that she wants to be a midwife instead of an actress).
One can also see Fuyuki is a bit of a control freak and a stick-in-the-mud and treats his family just like he treats his men-in-black underlings (Tywin vibes all over the place!). Everything must go according to plan... We just saw the calling-the-old-man-out moment take place before the Kaguyas' trophy cabinet for a good reason.
And the pluck she mustered... her afterthoughts on being the Moon who reflects sunlight and gets trod on by astronauts... and deciding that she is definitely fed up with this subordinate role... She does appreciate her parents and moirail for showing her the way, but now it's time for her to take the first steps on her own two feet! YOU GO, GIRL. MAKE YOUR OWN CROSS, DON'T SIT ON SOMEONE ELSE!!



PS. Upcoming Star*Twinkle AUs:
Tengu of the Opera: Soluna/Elenjou AU. Dark horse Elena gets to star in the latest production, which she didn't expect, due to her rival/senpai Sakurako losing her singing voice and a series of poison pen letters from the so-called Opera Tengu to the troupe's benefactor, Fuyuki Kaguya, whose only daughter is in ostensibly unrequited love with the new leading lady, to whom a raven-masked muse of inspiration appears in her dreams... Featuring Otokoyaku!Elena, Fuyuki having the heart condition I was thinking of throughout Madoka's rant in canon, a torture chamber, and my own Tenjou headcanons.
Rapunzel AU: Once upon a blue moon, a drop of blue moonlight fell to the ground... an ailing pregnant noblewoman had to drink it, but shortly after her newborn daughter was whisked away... Valjean-style Elena, AKA Nena, left orphaned, stole to survive and feed her younger siblings, and has spent a while institutionalised; she is on parole and a social outcast when she comes across a feudal-Japanese-castle-style tower and a lonely damsel with loooooong violet hair...

CUENTOS DE LOS SIETE MARES

Siete mares

Siete extendidas estelas

de deslumbrante celaje,

donde ondea la energía

y la tensión se deshace.

Siete dorados arpegios

encendieron el semblante

en el tejido cendal

de la espuma volteante.

Siete caminos abiertos

extáticos y vibrantes,

dormidos y, algunas veces,

despiertos como huracanes.

Siete vibrantes sonidos

en sucesión continuante,

los cadenciosos acordes

sostenidos por los mares.

Siete abismos de cristal

envuelven el oleaje,

llegando de lo profundo

la transparencia impalpable.

Siete brillantes matices,

metamorfosis constante,

la conjunción de amalgamas

no puede imitarla nadie.

Siete sentimientos laten

rítmicamente en el aire,

penetrando su sentir

siete veces sus compases.

ROSA HIDALGO-SAAVEDRA.

Las hadas y los tulipanes

Una niña llamada Catrina tenía su propio jardín. Estaba muy orgullosa de todas sus flores y tenía una hermosa plantación de tulipanes que ella misma regaba todos los días y la cuidaba quitando las malas hierbas.

Una noche se despertó por el sonido de un canto dulce y de unos bebés riendo. Miró por la ventana. Los sonidos parecían venir del campo de tulipanes, pero no podía ver nada. A la mañana siguiente, caminaba entre sus flores, pero no había señales de que nadie hubiera estado allí la noche anterior.

A la noche siguiente se despertó de nuevo por el dulce canto y el sonido de los bebés riendo. Se levantó y se acercó suavemente, la luna brillaba en el campo de tulipanes y las flores se balanceaban hacia adelante y hacia atrás. Vio a unas hadas de pie al lado de cada tulipán que cantaban canciones de cuna y mecían cada una a un bebé.

De ese día en adelante, Catrina nunca dejó que nadie tocara sus tulipanes. Crecieron brillantes y florecientes el resto del año. Mucha gente vino a verlos, pero mantuvo guardado siempre el secreto de las hadas de tulipán.

POPULAR.

Las tres hilanderas

Una vez había una chica hermosa, pero tan perezosa que no quería girar el huso. A su madre le daba vergüenza admitir que su hija era perezosa, y le dijo a la reina que la chica hacía girar el huso tan deprisa que no podía permitirse el lujo de comprar suficiente lana para mantenerla ocupada.

La reina, impresionada por este trabajo, se ofreció para llevarse a la niña con ella. Ella le pidió que hilara tres habitaciones llenas de lana. Como recompensa, se casaría con el príncipe. La niña estaba muy triste por el trabajo que le venía, pero tres mujeres de edad avanzada llegaron a ayudarla. Las tres ancianas estaban deformadas: una tenía un pie enorme y muy plano; otra, unos gruesos labios colgando y la tercera, un brazo derecho tan largo que lo arrastraba por el suelo, con los nudillos cubiertos de durezas.

Ellas ayudaron a la niña a cambio de una invitación a su boda y un asiento en la mesa principal, como amigas de la familia. En la boda, el príncipe preguntó acerca de sus deformidades. Le explicaron que las deformaciones eran el resultado de estar muchos años hilando. El príncipe prohibió a su bella novia volver a hilar y ella fue feliz.

POPULAR.

El muchacho y la flor

Hubo una flor que nació mientras todavía era pleno invierno. El viento y la escarcha le dijeron que no debería haber florecido con tanto frío pues se marchitaría. Pero la flor se puso fuerte y fue apreciada por todos. Fue arrancada por una chica, que la metió en una carta y se la dio a su amigo.

El muchacho guardó la carta con la flor en una caja. Pasaron los meses y el chico abrió la caja un día que estaba enfadado, sacó la flor, la arrojó al suelo y rompió la carta en pedazos finos como el confeti. Luego la quemó (la carta) porque la chica que se la había dado había elegido a otros amigos durante el veraneo.

A la mañana siguiente, la criada puso la flor a prensar en un libro, pensando que se había caído accidentalmente. Pasaron los años y la flor permanecía en el libro. Un día fue recogida por alguien.

El libro contenía versos y canciones, y el lector encontró sentido en que la flor hubiera sido colocada en ese libro, ya que el poeta autor de las rimas, como la flor, también había nacido antes de tiempo y le trataban como a un loco. Puso de nuevo la flor en el libro, como marcapáginas, y ésta se sintió muy satisfecha de acabar allí.

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN.

La reina de las Nieves

Kay y Gerda eran muy buenos amigos. Un día, Kay, mirándose en el espejo, vio que tenía una astilla de la luna en cada uno de sus ojos y otra en el corazón y fue a ver a la reina de las Nieves, que era curandera. Ella le besó cada astilla: un beso para que se quedara dormido, el segundo, para que no sintiera nada y no sufriera, y el tercero, para conseguir que se olvidara de su familia y así llevárselo a su palacio.

Todo el mundo pensó que Kay había muerto. Gerda se escapó de una vieja bruja que quería embrujarla para que se quedara a vivir con ella. En la huida encontró a un cuervo que la llevó al palacio de un príncipe que se parecía a Kay. Él le dio ropa de abrigo y un encendedor de oro.

Gerda se encontró con una niña bandida que le dijo que había visto cómo la reina de las Nieves se llevaba a Kay. Un reno llevó a Gerda al castillo. Ella rezaba a los angelitos para que la ayudaran a entrar en el palacio de la reina. Una vez allí vio a Kay sentado solo en un lago congelado, a los pies de un trono de hielo.

Corrió hacia Kay llorando lágrimas calientes sobre él; el hielo se deshizo y volvió a ser él mismo. Huyeron del castillo de las Nieves y volvieron a su casa.

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN.

La chica y el conejo

Una madre y una hija vivían en una pequeña casita de campo y tenían una huerta donde crecieron coles y zanahorias. Un día llegó un conejo blanco de ojos rojos y empezó a comerse sus coles, y otros días sus zanahorias, daba mucho miedo pasar cerca de él para ir a cualquier sitio.

La niña corrió hacia el jardín e invitó al conejo a salir. El conejo a su vez invitó a la niña a vivir con él en su madriguera. La chica se negó y el conejo se fue, pero regresaba a la huerta a diario.

Un día, la chica accedió a estar con el conejo. Cuando llegaron a la madriguera, el conejo le preguntó si podía cocinar para una fiesta y se fue a informar a sus amigos y familiares sobre la boda. La chica, que era muy inteligente, utilizó un poco de paja y un poco de ropa e hizo una muñeca, a tamaño real, que se parecía a ella y pintó su cara. Sentó la figura al lado del horno y se fue corriendo a su casa.

Cuando regresó el novio conejo, puso sus patas alrededor de la muñeca de paja, y pensando que era la chica, inclinó la cabeza sobre ella. Al ver que no era la chica, todo el mundo pensó que la había matado. Incluso el novio conejo pensó lo mismo y se escapó.

La madre, su hija y sus coles no se volvieron a preocupar más por ningún conejo.

POPULAR.

La princesa de la Luna

Érase una vez un joven príncipe que fue a la luna. Encontró el Palacio Luz de Luna y se enamoró de la hija de la reina. La hija de la Luna se enamoró también del príncipe. Querían casarse, pero la reina Luna se negó porque eran de mundos diferentes.

Entonces, como un símbolo de despedida, la hija de la Luna regaló un rayo de luz lunar al príncipe. Este volvió a la Tierra, derramó la luz sobre su reino y desee entonces se le conoce como el Reino Lunar.

El príncipe, sin embargo, nunca se casó y cuando creció y ya era un rey adulto le pidió a la hija de la Luna que lo acercara a ella.

La hija de la Luna lo convirtió en una estrella y finalmente estuvieron juntos. La princesa de la Luna y la estrella brillaron juntos en el Reino Lunar.

POPULAR.

La flor de campanillas

Una mañana de invierno, cuando una flor despertó, se sorprendió al ver nieve por todas partes. –¡Oh! me desperté demasiado temprano– pensó. La nieve se derritió y una niña cogió la flor.

Ella escribió una carta y puso la flor en ella. Luego les envió la carta a sus tíos en Australia. Su tío se puso muy feliz al recibir la carta y la flor de campanillas.

Un día, al tío de la niña se le cayó la flor. Su criado, creyendo que se le había caído accidentalmente, la puso en un libro.

Años después, alguien abrió el libro con la flor. El libro contenía versos y canciones escritos por un poeta danés cuya fama fue efímera porque el poeta, igual que la flor, había vivido y muerto antes de tiempo. Esa persona puso de nuevo la flor en el libro.

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN.

El sueño de Catalina

Un día, Catalina se quedó dormida al lado del río. Cuando se despertó estaba confundida, y pensó que estaba en casa durmiendo y soñando. –Creo que debo estar en mi casa–, pensó. Catalina decidió comprobar si realmente estaba en casa.

Ya era de noche cuando regresó, llamó a la puerta y preguntó si Catalina estaba en casa. Su madre pensó que era una de sus amigas y respondió que Catalina estaba durmiendo en su habitación.

Terminada la conversación, la madre fue a su habitación y descubrió que no estaba, quedándose muy preocupada.

–No, si yo tenía razón–, dijo Catalina. Se alejó y siguió vagando, sin saber que estaba despierta y que su madre estaba esperando que regresara a su casa.

POPULAR.

IN WHICH WE GET TO MEET THE OTHER DAVE

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure
Episode 12 - My Own Review
IN WHICH WE GET TO MEET THE OTHER DAVE


In the twelfth episode of Star ☆ Twinkle, the girls make a movie. They also face the prospect of having to say farewell to Lala.

A renowned and familiar Hollywood director - what is he doing in a hinterland podunk far in East Asia like Mihoshi (the quaintest community of adventure in this series since Ichigozaka)?

TOKUSATSU!! (ie special effects)

This episode picks up directly from where the previous one left off, with Madoka’s father Fuyuki discovering the girls at the scene of another UFO sighting. However, someone appears and claims that everything he has seen is movie magic – Hikaru recognises the person as a renowned Hollywood film director.

Hikaru claims that she and the other girls will be starring in a film. Not quite what the filmmaker had planned, but receiving permission from the Prime Minister to film doesn’t really leave him with much choice.

Episode 12 continue from where we left off when a mysterious man with a camera appeared and he happened to be a movie director from Hollywood, California (or was he?). He managed to trick Mr. Kaguya that all the happenings were special effects but Hikaru makes matter worse by saying they were helping the crew in making a movie in Japan.

The director is actually an alien; a Miniaturian

The director goes to Lala’s starship, where they talk. He reveals himself to actually be a Miniaturian, and the film director disguise, a lifesize droid human suit just like in Meet Dave, pretty much arose from an obsession with Hollywood. He quickly turns his attention to Lala, Fuwa, and Purunce, though, telling them that they have violated space laws by letting themselves be known on Earth. The punishment for that is being sent back to their native world.

Hikaru asks the director to overlook the aliens being on Earth if the film does well

There’s still the small matter of the film that the director will be shooting, and Hikaru immediately latches on to that. They’ll give the filmmaker the performance he wants, and if the film does well enough he’ll overlook Lala, Fuwa, and Purunce being on Earth.

Meanwhile at the Knotraiders'...

Ever the doubting tomcat... what is he really up to at the end of the day?

Meanwhile on Earth...

Hikaru Hoshina as kunoichi (ie female ninja) Hoshikage

Lala as heavenly maiden (apsara)

Elena Amamiya as the Solar Prince (¡¡EL PRÍNCIPE SOL!! ¿O es Mors Martell?)

Madoka Kaguya as her namesake the Moon Princess

Hikaru, Lala, Elena, and Madoka get prepared (and in costume), and this filming for The Legend of the Feather Raiment (Hagoromo) Episode One: Ninja-Yókai Space Wars: The Movie begins. It does not go well.
Hikaru’s delivery is flat, Lala’s nerves get the better of her, and Madoka ends up reciting the whole script, rather than just her own lines. Elena is the only one who manages to give an actually decent performance.

Hikaru and Lala, ready for the final scene of the film

Moving on, the time comes to film the final scene. In the scene, the heavenly maiden dons the raiment and returns to space, with the others saying farewell. The director calls it the most important scene in the film, and practically begs the girls to stick to the script.

This "filmmaker" was revealed to be an alien and a representative of the Galaxy Union. Lala will be repatriated due to her involvement with Hikaru and company. But now he has to make a movie in order to continue the charades. There were some funny moments during the shoot but of course, when Lala's character was supposed to return to the stars, Hikaru actually ad-lib her lines and said her true feelings of not waiting Lala to leave Earth which I got a feeling it is going foreshadowing in the season finale. 

Still, the director was touched by her lines and used it in the film. 

Hikaru and Lala stray from the script, delivering an even more emotional scene

Hikaru just can’t bring herself to say goodbye to Lala, and says that she wants to be with her forever. Lala feels the same way, and the exchange between the pair brings Fuwa, Purunce, and even the Miniaturian to tears. The crew ask if they should cut, but the director insists that they keep filming.

Unfortunately, that scene ends up getting cut short as the girls’ duty as PreCures calls.

Oh yes, the girls also battle Aiwan after she turned the filmmaker into a 'trigger.

Ayewan has arrived on Earth, and she uses a powered up Dark Pen to turn the not-quite-human filmmaker into a knottrigger. Thus, the others transform, but quickly discover that their foe is even more powerful than the ones they have fought before.

PreCures show their foes the endgame

Cure Star, Milkyway, Soleil, and Selene end up getting captured, and Ayewan implies that making films is pointless. It is Purunce that gives PreCures the strength to fight back, stating that their emotions are real, and the friendship touched everyone’s hearts. PreCures break free, and are able to defeat their foe.

Hikaru suggests an Earth surname for Lala: Lala Hagoromo

After the battle, the girls apologise for running off when they did. It seems like Lala will be forced to return to her home planet after all, but the director had a change of heart after witnessing Hikaru and Lala’s emotional performance. He does tell Lala that she will
need a surname from the planet she is staying on, though. (On Lala's homeworld, there are no surnames and everyone has only got a single short name!)

Hikaru suggests she goes with Lala Hagoromo – after all, "Hagoromo" (羽衣, ie "Feather Raiment") was the name of the raiment worn by the character Lala played during their film. Lala loves it, and we end on a fairly happy note.

After the battle, the filmmaker decided to let Lala stay on Earth and she was given a family name- Lala Hagoromo and she want to go to school!

This episode of Star ☆ Twinkle was a very good one. Overall it was just fun to watch. Naturally, the highlight of this episode has to be Hikaru and Lala saying that they want to be with each other forever. A scene that touched the hearts of everyone who was watching, and was a much better way for the film to end than what the script said.

Though it does leave me wondering if we’ll end up seeing another similar scene towards the end of this season – the Pretty Cure series sure does seem to love having two characters from different worlds (or times, or whatever) departing with some very emotional scenes.
I guess that’s something to worry about when the end of the season comes; we are still a long way off of that at the moment.

This was a wonderful episode, and I’m happy to see Hikaru and Lala’s bond become even stronger. Next time, Lala goes to school.

This was one of the few episodes that was a very well thought out fluff episode, and an entertaining one at that! In order to cover up the truth behind the battle between the knotraiders, we have an alien agent from Galactic Starscape Alliance disguised as a Human claim all of what had happened part of his special effects for his film! The whole thing is was such a stretch, I loved how the writer even had the characters acknowledge how much of a stretch their stories were! But as crazy as it was, they needed something to throw Mr. Kaguya and his team off-track, especially since it’s so important to Galactic Starscape Alliance’s to keep aliens a secret from Humanity.

Hilariously, the agent finds himself forced to produce something after Hikaru takes the story a step further by insisting they were his actresses for his movie. And boy, did she underestimate how difficult it would be to act. Elena was the only one who could put on a decent performance, Madoka (adorably) read the script word-by-word and Lala and Hikaru were monotone actors, it was golden!

Additionally, the girls were under pressure to make his film a success because Lala had been caught for breaking the law, and was due to be sent back to her home planet. Luckily through the power of friendship, they were able to touch his heart and be given an exception.

As fluffy and fun as the episode was, it was great to see they didn’t waste any time with the enemy already making adjustments to the girls’ power-up. Now that the master is awake, he is hungry for their power! I greatly appreciated that we got to see him provide his generals a permanent buffed up to their weapons to better equip them for their fights against the precure. I also especially liked the fact even though Ayewon had the enhanced dark pen (which they added a nice highlight to), the girls did not luck out and recover it as they had for other pens.

However during the scene which the Master provided the weapon upgrade, seeing Bakenyan’s uneasy expression gave me a sudden realization that he might actually be an undercover agent of the Galactic Starscape Alliance! And if it proves to be true, then it makes this episode all the more important, because this is the first time we are actually seeing the Galactic Starscape Alliance we have heard so much about from Lala, in action!

Next week, it looks like more fluff on the way with Lala abiding to the agent’s condition that she must blend into human society as he had. She will be be enrolling at the academy with the girls, getting to experience Earth’s school-life. But it looks like it might be a tricky transition, as this episode established that while Lala has been blessed to be able to converse with humans, she still cannot read their language and needs her AI to help interpret that for her (maybe she'll need a portable interpretation device like a Babel Fish?). So I’m looking forward to see how she will adjust and adapt to the new setting!

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
So this wound up being a Lala focus episode, instead of the Elena focus episode we were hoping for, but still seeing the Cures in fantasy costumes was the icing on the cake... What came completely out of left field was the fact that the filmmaker was a walking talking reference to Meet Dave, hinting at a possible inspiration for his idea of making a lifesized earthling suit... It showed how Lala wanted to stay on Earth with her earthly friends (nakama) and Hikaru's speech to her is probably the emotional so far despite being a movie. But I am pretty sure when the time come, Lala will find it difficult to bade farewell to her nakama.
A few words on the hagoromo tale (on the feather raiment, ie the shawl, of the apsara): This is the Asian version of the swan maiden tale. The folktales usually adhere to the following basic plot (type 400). A young, unmarried man steals a magic shawl or pair of wings made of swan feathers from a swan maiden so that she will not fly away and remain in humanoid form, and marries her. Years later, she yearns for the freedom of her avian life, growing increasingly melancholic upon watching the swans migrate. The swan maiden immediately gets her robe or wings and disappears to where she came from. Taking French leave. If the husband is able to find her again, it is an arduous quest, and often the impossibility is clear enough so that he does not even try. In the Japanese version, heavily influenced by the original myth of Urvashi, the maiden, just like Urvashi, is an apsara, known in Japanese as tennyo (天女, literally "heavenly female"), and the garment she uses to shift between avian and humanoid forms is a hagoromo (羽衣), literally "feather raiment". Voilà from whence the premise for the film and Lala's Earthly surname come!
The Aries Pen of Chekhov: As predicted, the 'trigger du jour was made out of the filmmaker and using a pen we didn't see to get used purified and its princess freed... looks like Ayewan has improved her original recipe so that her dark pens can be used more than once -- but then, how many times? Twice, thrice, four times...? Four means death, so, until the real number of uses is revealed, why not stick to that headcanon?
The Costumes for the Cures: WAOUW! For starters: Seeing Madoka Kaguya as Princess Kaguya (of course, with that surname and lunar theme, the part was written for her, wasn't it?) gave us an even more redoubtable lunar royal than Minami Kaido playing the same part.
Elena roba la actuación: ¡¡EL PRÍNCIPE SOL!! ¡¡EL PRÍNCIPE SOL!! (añadir referencias a Mors Martell)
The Cat in the Spats Won't Have Any of That: Bakenyan is still the doubting thomas... or rather we say the doubting tomcat when it comes to Lord-Lady Darknest's cadre power-ups. Definitely a sign that he's up to something... either an agent from interstellar law enforcement, like the filmmaker, or maybe he's up to his own agenda, as kitties tend to be so spirited (living at mum's with a dozen of them has taught me that)...



IN NEXT EPISODE (13):



Lala starts school at Mihoshi Secondary (doesn't the uniform match her hair and eyes?)!!