FORTITUDE AND FOUNTAINS

Healin' Good Pretty Cure - Episode 3
My Own Review
FORTITUDE AND FOUNTAINS


The third episode of Healin’ Good ♡ gives Cure Grace a new ally to fight alongside. Let’s see how her introduction to the team goes.

Nyatoran is living the best life

So the synopsis for this episode: Nodoka struggles to keep the whole PreCure thing a secret from Chiyu, whilst Penguitan is unable to keep Latte in one place. However, Latte wandering off ultimately benefits Penguitan, as he is able to find himself a new partner.

The Penguin Scream

Hey, this pup looks familiar...

Nodoka doesn’t exactly make a convincing liar

If you’re expecting this episode to focus on Chiyu Sawaizumi, you’d be correct. After all, no prizes for guessing who would be the second girl to take up the mantle of a PreCure for this season – the opening credits pretty much gave that one away, as well as all the pre-release information.

Chiyu shows Nodoka her place

This episode gives us more information about Chiyu. For a start, her family owns a hot spring inn (going a little bit Konohana Kitan on us). She also mentions how once something is on her mind she can’t stop thinking about it – I’d like to think she is specifically referring to Nodoka.

Mentor mascots letting off steam, while Chiyu eavesdrops

Shindoine is our villain for this week

Shindoine seems utterly devoted to her King. If the Pathogerm King is anything like past overlord villains, he’ll cast his underlings aside without so much as a second thought, but that’s something to concern ourselves with much later on in the season.
For the time being, a cadre villain appearing also means the appearance of the monster of the week.

The first two Megapathogerms we saw in this season were more on the natural side – formed from a patch of flowers and a tree respectively. Interesting how this one seems to be more human-made, being the water tank or reservoir of the Sawaizumi Ryoukan. Not that it really matters; whatever the case, Nodoka has to step up.

Cure Grace protects Chiyu

Chiyu witnesses Nodoka transform into Cure Grace, and then gets caught up in the battle. The result leads to Cure Grace getting hurt (poisoned after narrowly avoiding a tree crushing down on her), because something needs to happen so Chiyu can have an opportunity to shine.

Chiyu offers Penguitan her courage

I suppose it would probably be worth mentioning that this little penguin is not exactly the courageous type (far more of a Nervous Wreck), and he feels like a failure after letting Latte just wander off (though Nyatoran is equally to blame). His heart is in the right place, though, and Chiyu offering her courage to him leads to the second Cure making her debut.

Cure Fontaine

Chiyu’s debut as Cure Fontaine is good. She delivers some pretty hefty blows to the pathogerm, and shows some impressive dodging skills. Admittedly she does have a little help from Cure Grace, but this is Cure Fontaine’s first fight.

Nyatoran comes back to discover Penguitan has a new partner

The episode comes to an end after Nodoka and Chiyu take care of Latte, and Nyatoran returns from his wandering.
I’m happy with this episode. Chiyu’s debut as Cure Fontaine was enjoyable, and I certainly won’t complain about Nodoka and Chiyu growing closer.
I already liked Chiyu from what we saw of her in the previous episodes, and now this one just confirms that she is a good character.
Next time, the third member joins the team.






MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION
Chiyu the female innkeeper's daughter (where's her papa?): Mrs. Nao Sawaizumi is a pretty traditionalist innkeeper running a ryoukan, or hot-spring-based rural inn, to which her only daughter (habeas corpus for her as an only child) is heir. The closest male authority figure at the inn is retainer Mr. Kawai, who, along with Cure Grace, illustrates what happens to a human pathogerm victim...
Symptoms on human victims? Upon being squirted with poisoned water (did they swallow anything or did they absorb the toxin through the skin?), both Mr. Kawai and a transformed Nodoka fell unconscious, and that state lasted until the pathogerm du jour was vanquished... So that can lapse into a coma if not treated in time?
A closer look at Shindoine: Our baroness of the year regards the King of Pathogerms as her soulmate (her word is "aite" - ) and appears to be his number one keister-licker... most surely she was a royal mistress in the good old days, right? Her mode of summoning a pathogerm to infect something involves, besides, blowing a kiss at the target! (Mono is NOT the only illness you can get from a smooch, btw)

What a wholesome episode, and what a great character Chiyu is shaping up to be! I love how straight-forward she is, speaking whatever might be on her mind. It was hilarious how she called Nodoka out for being at school when the Megapathogerm was being discussed. It was good to see she had enough tact to not press the issue in class about her denial of being at school when the monster had attacked, or the fact she had seen her talking with animals. She was also polite enough not to brazenly walk in when she overheard them talking in the baths (her family runs an Inn). Instead, she patiently waited for the opportunity to ask her about it when they were alone. And for better or worse, I think we can all think of a few characters in previous series who would have pushed the issue on the spot, haha!

What I also loved about Chiyu was how smart she was to have figured out what makes the animals around Nodoka so special. Having witnessed her transform into Cure Grace, she understood that the animals she is with play a key role of enabling her to fight monsters. So what does she do? She takes the initiative and ask straight-up asks Penguitan if they can work together!

It was nice to see her to extend a hand because we understand how Penguitan struggled with his fears of humans (understandably so after being chased by preschool kids), and his lack of confidence in his own abilities. He just needs a little nudge of encouragement that he can be strong too. Better yet, Chiyu offered Penguitan more than just a partnership for power, she told him it’s okay for him to depend on her, she will share a bit of her courage and together they will be able to protect the ones they care about. If that isn’t a wholesome way to form a partnership, I don’t know what is!

But this encounter wouldn’t have happened today had it not been for Latte choosing to visit Nodoka’s school! Poor Penguitan, he takes his eye off her for one second, and she’s gone sniffing her out. Well, at least she also forced him to go out to look for her, haha! It is because he had to go to school as well that he accompanied them to Chiyu’s place after school, where Shindoine decided to target the Inn’s water system! So thank you Latte!

Speaking of Shindoine’s meddling, we got to see Nodoka be put in a perilous situation when she protected Chiyu from flying debris of large tree branch that would have killed her. (I mean one of her family’s employees was already hit and knocked unconscious by an earlier attack!) I was genuinely surprised we didn’t see her grab Chiyu out of the way, instead she literally covered her with her body and had the tree literally bounce off of her back. As silly as it looked, it did crack me up. But this also served as a catalyst since Nodoka had gotten badly injured from it.

As for Cure Fontaine’s transformation sequence, much like Cure Grace’s, it was a snappy one, yet they still managed to make it so pleasing to the eyes. I gotta say, I am digging the use of the lab coat. The way they are playing with the material, I love it.

Lastly, I am curious about how true Shindoine’s claim of being King Pathogerm’s soulmate (aite) is. Hopefully she isn’t a Papple 2.0 in terms of experiencing an unrequited love with the leader. I find it quite intriguing how she claims she knows and is the only one who can see his face (Daruizen however called her out on it, so it’s hard to say). It’s also worth to note how she vehemently denied he had lost to the Precures in the past. It would definitely be a cool twist if it turns out King Pathogerm had actually made a strategic retreat to come back and fight another day. Who knows, but it is fun to speculate in the mean time!

NEXT WEEK: It looks like it will be Hinata and Nyatoran’s turn to meet! Looking forward to it!

INDUCTIONS AND INTRODUCTIONS

Healin' Good Pretty Cure - Episode 2
MY OWN REVIEW
INDUCTIONS AND INTRODUCTIONS

The second episode of Healin’ Good ♡ bucks tradition somewhat. The second Cure to join the team will have to wait until next time; for the moment, Rabirin discovers that Nodoka might not be as qualified (at least in muggle form) as she hoped for the role of a PreCure.

 The three enemy cadres generals, left to right: Shindoine (baroness), Guaiwaru (brute), & Daruizen (bishie)

So far we know that there is a Pathogerm Kingdom, a royal monarchy whose reigning king is disembodied since he fought a precursor Cure...

...and that they recently invaded the Healing Garden, ruled by spaniel queen Teatime (Discworld pronunciation), and are currently bent on Earth conquest, for the same reason:

...pathogermoforming it all to serve as their habitat, in order to claim more Lebensraum for their kin. Even at the cost of poisoning every other living species, oh the irony. Definitely this motivation, given also that their own kingdom is a wasteland, sounds better than that of the Knotraider cadres of last season, right?

Well, given that the 'raiders were Japanese magical creatures (orochi, oni, kappa, tengu, cyclops, neko) or rather the ones who inspired tales thereof - is there any theme name? The jikochuus or selfcenters of Dokidoki, who share the pathogerms' demonic design, were archfiends representing the deadly sins...
So here are the etymologies, gleaned from their respective wiki pages:

• Guaiwaru (brute): health+bad; Bad-Health, Poor-Health
• Shindoine (baroness): tiredness or weariness+the French female name suffix; Tiredine, Wearyine
• Daruizen (bishie/ikemen): Sluggish, Languid, Sickly

Fitting names for pathogerms, since all three describe malaise (and are also less on the nose than KAPPArd, TENjou, Ayewan being a homophone of EYE-ONE, BakeNYAN, and GaruOGRE), right?

In this episode, Nodoka starts her first day at a new school, and it quickly becomes apparent to Rabbirin that her partner possesses very little athletic ability. This lead to Rabbirin reconsidering her chosen partner. The feeling doesn’t spring from a negative place, though.

Healing Room Bag, ie portable TARDIS. There are three of them, one for each healing animal as their personal home.

Usually, most seasons or continuities would properly introduce the second member of the team in the second episode. That is not the case here, however. This episode is all Nodoka’s and Rabbirin’s, and actually, that works very well for it.

Rabbirin, Penguitan, and Nyatoran accompany Nodoka to school - her satchel is, according to Mr. and Mrs. Hanadera, unusually heavy (understand their health concerns)

Meow! Effusive loud talker Hinata's kitty smile hints at her animal companion.

And so does the fact that class ace Chiyu looks as formal as a penguin.

Sword or racket?

Nodoka’s class happens to have a couple of familiar faces in it – Chiyu and Hinata, and they seem pretty happy to see her. A few sports clubs (tennis, track & field, kendo) are also pretty eager to scout the new girl. Watching Nodoka try out the various clubs has Rabbirin realise something, though.

Chiyu is the athletic type

I’m just going to go ahead and say that Nodoka has a thing for Chiyu, as she seems to be enthralled when watching her clear the high jump. Of course, it could be because Nodoka hasn’t had the opportunity to do much sport before, but all her attention is directed towards Chiyu.
Nodoka’s attempts at doing anything sporty do not go well…

 Rabbirin is not best pleased with Nodoka’s performance

Here’s where the main point of this episode comes into play. Nodoka’s poor performances really get to Rabbirin, especially after seeing Cure Grace in battle. The bunny is angry, but there’s a particular reason for that. That will come to light in due course.

Thirsty?

Chiyu knows that Nodoka hasn’t done much sport before

Yet more interactions between Nodoka and Chiyu in this episode. Things are looking pretty favourable for the pair at the moment, at least if you’re viewing them through yuri/shipping goggles.

Rabbirin actually cares a great deal about Nodoka

Generally, when PrettyCure does an episode where characters threaten to go their separate ways, it is due to an argument. In this case, however, Rabbirin is actually worried that being a PreCure is too dangerous for Nodoka. The bunny simply doesn’t want Nodoka endangering herself.

This tree looks so fricking alive... I must do something about that!

When the time for the monster of the week arrives (Daruizen infects the largest tree in the schoolyard with a pathogerm bug), Nodoka and Rabbirin are apart, so no transformation. This episode also clarifies that Nodoka can only transform with Rabbirin; her effort to do so with Nyatoran bares no results.

Nodoka is determined to face the pathogerm no matter what

This episode does give us a rare instance of one of its characters challenging a monster of the week without transforming. I’ll give Nodoka an A+ for effort, and that’s about it.

Bunny Shield

In the end, though, Nodoka and Rabbirin are able to smooth things over between themselves. That means Nodoka transforms into Cure Grace, and the usual PrettyCure procedure follows.

What the...?

This episode ends with Chiyu spotting Nodoka, and the healing animals. No prizes for guessing what will happen in the next episode.


It is a little unusual for PreCure series not to introduce a new team member in its second episode, but I don’t particularly mind. Maybe I’m biased because of Aoi Yuuki, but Nodoka has been a pretty strong pink lead Cure, and allowing her two episodes to shine is perfectly fine by me.
I’ve also got to show some respect to Rabbirin, too. These healing animal mascots seem pretty good so far.
I’m feeling pretty positive about Healin’ Good ♡ so far. Let’s hope that the next members to join our PreCure group have equally strong introductory episodes.





MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Ah, Nodoka's athletic incompetence is addressed AND JUSTIFIED by a bedridden childhood! Just hope we got a bed-schooled, second book-smart pink Cure in a row and fourth across continuities (fingers crossed till the knuckles on the index snap)!

OH MY HEART! I didn’t think we were going to hit by the feels so soon! Definitely the first Precure had me crying in just the second episode! Yes that’s right, I cried.

This week, we were given a bit more details about the plot! Our cute little trainees and their princess are known as Healing Animals, who see to all of Earth’s treatment, residing a secret place known as the Healing Gardens. Their enemy is the Pathogerm Kingdom, led by their shadowy disembodied King and his three generals Daruizen, Guaiwaru and Shindoine, who wants to make the whole Earth sick and turn it into a place where Pathogerms will be the only ones who can survive that world.

But what I found to be the quite interesting was how the King doesn’t really care about the Precures at the moment. Until they actually become a real nuisance to his recovery process, it seems King Pathogerm is fine with just ignoring them. He would much rather his generals focus on their task of spoiling the the Earth since that’s the only way to restore his body. Talk about having his priorities straight.

We were also introduced to the two girls we met last week: Our energetic girl Hinata, and Chiyu, who is part of the track and field team. Ironically, both of these characters seem to be quite fit. Since Nodoka was trying out a bunch of clubs today, we got to see her and Chiyu interact for some time. She is also set to be the next one to join the team since she spotted Nodoka speaking to what looks to her talking to flying stuffed animals! So much for keeping a secret huh haha! On the side note, I have to say though, I am so glad that it appears Chiyu is not involved in the student council. Actually it would be great if nobody is this time. The whole student council role has been used so many times, it’s redundant at this point, especially since 99% it’s always either the blue or purple characters, geez!

Nodoka was able to bring home Princess Latte and get permission to keep her under the condition they search for her original owners (HA HA, JOKE’S ON YOU— until she has to go back home, that is when it will get sad, gosh dang it). Although Nodoka had thought of introducing the other three as pets too, the trainees were sensible enough to know they wouldn’t be able to pass off as such, and would much rather lay low. Yet curiosity got the better of them, and everyone tagged along with her to school. Everything was going fine until Nodoka started trying out a bunch of sports clubs, highlighting her lack of athleticism. Rabbirin, who had initially thought she was gonna kill it because of how splendidly she performed as a precure, immediately became distressed and declared they can no longer be partners.

Now, sometimes these kinds of arguments between the girls and their partners can be really petty, but not this time. The reason Rabbirin lashed out was a valid one, especially since it isn’t until later she learns about Nodoka’s past, so this isn’t about seeing someone who is too sick to fight. Instead, having witnessed so many of her fellow comrades fall, she already understands how risks and dangerous it is to fight against the Megapathogerm. Rabbirin knows she isn’t strong enough on her own to protect Nodaka, that’s why she doesn’t want to bring her into harms way. I cannot stress how refreshing it is to see the Precure’s partner have such concerns. It adds a lot of realism to the situation at hand.

It is also fair to say, as of right now, it is hard to gauge whether or the powers that comes with becoming a precure will completely cover Nodoka’s potential vulnerabilities in regards to her health. Right now the fights are fairly short, so we don’t know whether or not there’s an overall time limit, or limited stamina so to speak. It would certainly be an interesting twist that would force her to make some creative and unconventional strategies when it comes to the fights that will inevitably get dragged out sooner or later. But as much as I would like to see it (not that I would be disappointed if they don’t go that way), I am not holding my breath for it.

Nevertheless the most important thing we can take away from this episode, is that we should not be treating Nodoka like a fragile character who will break at the slightest impact. In the matter of fact, both last week’s and this week’s episode has shown us that the present Nodoka is much stronger and healthier than she used to be! She is not to be mistaken for the same young girl who was bedridden in a hospital. She is clearly healthy enough to at least have the opportunity to try out all these different sports, run a decent amount without running out of breath. She is athletically clumsy because she doesn’t have any experience with sports. So just as Chiyu suggested, a good place to start is focus on improving her overall fitness and then on what she wants to do most. Then little by little, she will (hopefully) be able to do more.

And can we just appreciate Nodoka. I have only known her for two episodes, but I already love her so much. I admired her character, I am so proud of her courage and creativity to face the Megapathogerm without her powers! My eyes were all watery and I was shouting, “YOU GO GIRL!”. She threw on the kendo gear, grabbed a racket and together with Nyatoran attempted to trap it with the sports net of the tennis court.This is what makes Nodoka such a profound Precure. Becoming a precure is more than just fending off an enemy to save the world! She understands what it like to be sick and in pain, so she wants to be able to pay forward the kindness and support she has receive in a significant way. I straight up started crying when she explained all that to Rabbirin– gosh dang it, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was going to be swept up by the sea of emotions, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon!

Another really interesting tidbit we learned was the new conditions for the transformation. Without their respective partners, they can’t transform. So if their buddy is elsewhere, good luck! You will need to improvise! This further highlights the importance of everyone needing to be stick close to their partners. I am curious to see how they will go about their living arrangements, since the trainees room in that adorable Healing Room Bag of theirs.

Overall, this was a really solid episode, and not to mention, GORGEOUS! Can we just appreciate the cherry blossoms? Ahhh they were so pretty! This is definitely the first Precure had me crying in just the second episode! I am so excited for the next one, it’s finally time for Cure Fontaine’s debut!

PS: LATTE IS SO FREAKING CUTEEEEEEEE and I can’t stop watching the OP & ED, I’m hooked the the songs!