IN WHICH THE 13TH STAR PRINCESS REVEALS...

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 47
My Own Review - Series Finale
IN WHICH THE 13TH STAR PRINCESS REVEALS...

https://prettycure.fandom.com/wiki/STPC47/Image_Gallery INSERT ALL SHOTS OF THE STAR PRINCESSES AND AYEWAN/YUNI (AYUNI) INTERACTIONS FROM THIS EP IN THIS FINALE REVIEW



We’ve more or less come to the end of our time with Star ☆ Twinkle, as we have only two episodes left – and I’ll be writing a review for the show after the last one. Things tend to get pretty spectacular during the final few episodes of any season of PrettyCure, so lets see if Star ☆ Twinkle continues that trend.

Hikaru and company check on the KNotraiders

After taking Fuwa captive in the previous episode, the Ophiuchus Princess starts a ritual with the intent of destroying the universe. PreCures and the Starscape Alliance join forces with the KNotraiders in order to bring a halt to the thirteenth princess’ plans.
When they confront her, our sheroes discover that protecting the universe comes at a cost.

The Ophiuchus Princess

This episode is effectively made up of two parts. The first has the others interacting with the hospitalised KNotraiders, whereas the second is the confrontation against the Ophiuchus Princess.

Ayewan & Yuni

 I heard you stopped all of us 'raiders from going berserk...

 There's no need to thank you, Jo.

 Aún así, gracias, Nena. De todo corazón.

(¿Qué? ¿Por qué?)

On the front, Tenjou decides to help Soleil

We get some nice little moments between the KNotraiders and members of PreCure ensemble; each good counterpart with their respective evil counterpart. Elena’s chat with Tenjou is one moment that carries over nicely from their prior interactions, and we get even more Yuni & Ayewan (or Eye-wan, whatever you prefer) interactions. Lots of chemistry between good counterparts and their respective evil counterparts -- also Ayuni is the new Valvert, isn't it?

 Trying to get something to open

 Yuni judges Ayewan's taste in designing

HOW DARE YOU CRITICIZE ME?!

Yuni tells Ayewan there's a trick to opening that

Meow! (*wink*)

Ayewan blushes and looks away

Ayewan tells Cosmos that she won't lose this time

The newfound alliance with the KNotraiders is not something that people readily accept, but there isn’t really any other options due to the circumstances.

PreCures and allies heading straight towards the final battle

This episode of Star ☆ Twinkle is also one that is most certainly playing up its sci-fi aspect, and I can appreciate that. I’d say I something about expecting someone to pull out a lightsaber, but Kappard has that covered.

We get a few still frames of shots that perhaps could have been animated…

Don’t expect too much from the KNotraiders, by the way. All they’re doing is simply clearing a path to allow PreCures to get to the Ophiuchus Princess. Kind of a shame, but I guess someone has to take a hit with what part of this episode is providing.

PreCures ready to confront the Ophiuchus Princess

So yeah, quite a bit of this episode is actually just exposition delivered by the Ophiuchus Princess. She goes into the origin of Star Twinkle Imagination, and how the universe came to exist. Basically, the creation of the Star*Twinkleverse by its thirteen physical goddesses is delved upon in detail. Of course, her ultimate goal is also revealed as well. SO THERE IS MORE TO HER AGENDA???

Gemini and Cancer giving up their some of their power to create imagination in the universe

Apparently the 12 official Star Princesses, as they created this universe, they granted imagination as a gift to all its sapient species, hoping to see their creativity used in wonderful and prosperous ways. And, much like Zeus hated Prometheus for giving fire to us puny naked apes, Ophiuchus was against giving imagination, let alone cognitive thought, to living creations of her kin, expecting the worst outcomes instead of hoping for the best; in Ophiuchus' own words, believing that it could be misused and disturb the proper order that all thirteen had worked so hard/given their all (ganbare) to maintain; not to mention catastrophes as a consequence of free will.

AND WHAT WILL YOU TWELVE DO IF THEIR FREE WILL BECOMES TWISTED?

And, to be fair, she wasn't wrong, as the KNotraider cadres would later approve (viz, Kappard's species dying of thirst due to extravagant water expenditure - Ayewan living in squalour or want as a streetrat - Tenjou suffering discrimination due to not fitting into the beauty canon of her species).

Ophiuchus tells the Cures that the Star Princesses granted everyone imagination

Understandably, Ophiuchus wasn't convinced by what the other twelve were trying to sell, ie that those with pure imagination will purify those who are twisted - and, to right things out, they all decided to just seal her away.

Ophiuchus forced out of the Star Palace

So even if she did bring up some good arguments, Ophiuchus's twelve fellow deities didn't hear her out. Thus, the Star Princesses pretty much created their worst enemy in the process. Thus she has a body count of at least trillions if not much more. Like Nietzsche said, those who fight monsters become monsters themselves.

Fuwa makes a move when PreCures can’t

This exposition culminates in the Ophiuchus Princess revealing that a sacrifice will have to be made to put a halt to her plans. This shakes the others into inaction, so Fuwa takes it upon herself to actually get something done.

Our Little Pony, you see, contains the 50% of imagination the Star Princesses had left within themselves after they sent the other half to sapient species across the Star*Twinkle universe. And Ophiuchus needed all of that power within Fuwa to hard-reset the universe. Meanwhile, the dozen Princesses wanted to use Fuwa and the Twinkle Imagination to permanently defeat Ophiuchus next time - the Star Princesses are trying to erase her for the good of the universe. Doing so would get rid not only of the villainess, but of Fuwa as well in a mutual kill. No strange that the Cures waver in the face of sending their sacrificial unicorn to the slaughter; even though the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Fuwa’s decision results in… well, that’s something for the next episode. While everyone else is wavering, she uses the power of the Princesses to annihilate Darknest/Ophiuchus, but perishing herself in the process.

I feel that perhaps this episode could have been a little lighter on the exposition, perhaps give more chances for the KNotraiders to shine in battle.
Overall, though, I would say this was a good episode. PreCures, Starscape law enforcement, Star Princesses, and their former enemies charge into battle against a great evil to save Fuwa – it definitely sounds good when it is summed up. Gondor calls for aid, and Rohan replies. Even though Fuwa, like the One Ring, has to be reduced to nothing at the end of the day...

I believe the next episode is the final one, so I’ll have a review out for Star ☆ Twinkle, and I’ll have to think about where this season fits into my ranking of every season/continuity of Pretty Cure franchise.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:

At last we got to see what the thirteenth Star Princess's real game was, and I have to agree that all well-intentioned extremists who preach about the evils of free will are somehow right. Though, even if the WIE in question is lawful good, it calls to mind that, like Nietzsche said, those who fight monsters become monsters themselves.

The highlight of this episode was definitely the tale of the Star Princesses, told in flashback. I really adored the moral quandary that results from it - I like how, through the villains of this show, we've seen how free will can be used in the best and worst of ways, giving credence to their side. I wished I was a little more invested in said villains (the backstory I identified the most with was Tenjou's, having suffered from bullying in the flesh - but Kappard's or Ayewan's were a tad removed from personal experience).

A Clockwork Orange - the titular metaphor explained by Alistair Murden:
If a person is able only to do good, like Alex de Large post-brainwashing, they become like a clockwork orange: ostensibly a living fruit but inside full of cold metal, lifeless, unable to slake anyone's thirst - and a tin toy or timepiece that can only move upon being wound up by higher powers, be them gods or fates or the police state (the last being the case of Alex).

LA VEREDA NO SEGUIDA

LA VEREDA NO SEGUIDA

En otoño, en rubio bosque,

se dividía el camino:

y, sintiendo ser yo una

y a la vez dos recorridos

no poder realizar, largo

tiempo estuve allá en el bivio,

mirando a diestra y siniestra,

con el ánimo indeciso.

Y seguí con la mirada

uno, hasta que se perdía

más allá del horizonte,

de la cuesta descendida;

mas al fin recorrí la otra

vereda, igual de bonita,

que tal vez la mejor fuera:

la de hierba tapizada

y por pocos recorrida,

aunque mi paso por ella

igual la desgastaría.

Las dos, aquella mañana,

de hojas secas se cubrían

de color cálido, rojas,

cobrizas y amarillas,

por ningún pie, ningún paso,

afeadas y oscurecidas.

¡Oh, la primera vereda

me dejé para otro día!

Y aún así, conociendo

que una vía lleva a otra vía,

dudé si a la encrucijada

otra vez yo volvería.

Dentro de años y de lustros,

con suspiros de impotencia,

contaré esta misma historia:

en un bosque, la vereda

en dos se partía, y yo…

seguí la menos recorrida,

y ha marcado toda la diferencia.

Robert Frost –

Traducción de Sandra Dermark

19 de junio, MMXVIII

OH DIRE NEW WORLD, THAT HAS SUCH PEOPLE IN IT!!

Kirakira Pretty Cure à la Mode - Episode 47
My Own Review:
OH DIRE NEW WORLD, THAT HAS SUCH PEOPLE IN IT!!

In the previous episode, Elysio created a new world that would be devoid of conflict... by simply removing all emotions, both positive and negative, from everyone. Not even PreCures could escape from that, but Pekorin and the Elder were able to hide inside the KiraPâti before the world changed, at the last minute before Elysio's spell.

As such, Pekorin and the Elder are the only ones who remember anything about the world before it changed. They find the others, all of them with Empty Eyes and wearing grey, muted uniforms (for the record, everyone in Ichigozaka has the same eyes, fixed expression, and style of grey uniform), and discover that they have no recollection of the recent events. The girls even threw away their transformation trinkets.

 

PEKORIN: Couldn't you sing a little, please?

AOI (coldly): What does singing mean?

 The same goes on with the other Cures and their tastes.

YUKARI: A tea ceremony? I do not know what that is.

 YUKARI: We threw those "transformation trinkets" away.

Even though the girls lose their memories of being Precures, Pekorin does what she can do-by creating her special donuts to try reawaken the girls again. Although Glaive tried to burn the donuts however Pekorin's feelings create not one but three Miracles.

Elysio watches everyone through his hall of mirrors.

Glaive erases feelings that cause conflict


This operation leaves the targets utterly emotionless.

Glaivestapo Emotion Control Force. 
The emblem replacing the swastika is an interdiction sign for kirakiraru sparkles.

An argument starts nearby. However, Glaive shows up (in a Nazi officer's uniform!!) and says that their feelings of hatred originally spring from love (daisuki), so he will erase those feelings. Whilst Glaive has his Putting-on-the-Reich minions check everyone for any residual emotions (including the others), Pekorin opens the KiraPâti and prepares some sweet treats.

Pekorin believes the others will regain their memories if they eat her doughnuts

Pekorin is keen to get some kirakiraru into the others, but Glaive puts a halt to that. He captures Pekorin and the Elder, and takes them to a waste disposal facility so they are forced to watch the doughnuts disposed of.

Before the doughnuts can be incinerated, there is, quite unexpectedly, an explosion which sends large dollops of cream flying for quite a distance.

The cream happens to fall near the others, and they all start to remember something. They all decide to go back to the waste disposal facility as well where they see that Pekorin has managed to save her doughnuts.

However, Glaive refuses to back down. He smacks Pekorin out of the air. She still refuses to give up, though.

Huh, actual violence

Being smacked out of the air and kicked across the room still isn’t enough to deter Pekorin, who still intends to fight. The kirakiraru of her doughnuts react to her desire, and she regains her human form once more. It doesn’t end there, however – she gains transformation trinkets of her own as well.

Taste and Sparkle...

Let's la mazemaze!

Cure Pekorin! Dekiagari!

The first of these miracles was the great big explosion which rained cream all over the town. (Which is a call back to the first episode of how the girls saw a similar explosion) It brought the girls together and saw the second Miracle-Because of Pekorin's determination to protect those feelings, she became Cure Pekorin and even got her own transformation sequence. 

Cure Pekorin

Pekorin gains the power of a PreCure, and transforms into Cure Pekorin. She is a newly transformed Cure, so she doesn’t quite have a handle on her powers yet. Her attacks miss, but they do end up becoming fireworks in the shape of the PreCures' respective sweets.

Of course, this results in the others regaining their senses, and being reunited with their transformation trinkets – which conveniently happen to be located in the same waste disposal facility.

Cure Pekorin is really adorable and even come with her own Candy rod. What does it shoot out? Whipped Cream! Very explosive Whipped Cream! Finally the whipped cream that Cure Pekorin fired create the final Miracle-it create fireworks which resemble the girls' various sweets which finally reawaken their memories!

The old PreCures are back, and with a new member

Our PreCures make quick work of Glaive and his minions, trapping them in a net. When they step outside, they come face to face with Elysio. He is pretty much told to prepare himself (WINTER IS COMING...).

This is where the episode ends; going to have to wait until next time to see how the battle against Elysio unfolds.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Elysio is partially right, as all Well-Intentioned Extremists always are.
To quench all feelings, both positive and negative, as a way to erase conflict... that complete erasure of emotions makes up for an interesting thought experiment.
I was reminded of 1984 as I saw Elysio's dystopia. Aside from the obvious Third Reich parallels. We could talk about everything in between the mirror shards in The Snow Queen and the Imperius Curse. About the evils of free will. Remember that he used both the powers of Darkness and Light, of Noir and Lumière, to quench every feeling, positive or negative. The result is everyone and everything being stagnant... so is it worth it?
In that Hakkenden AU I had spoken of, the leader (Étienne, the Kenpachi character), who was pretty much the lovable eccentric and had a charming streak reminiscent of Gustavus Adolphus, is killed off at the end of the first arc and resurrected at the start of the next... He had left a sort of "last will and testament" that he wanted to be brought back from the dead using a method that would make him completely devoid of affect. I mean; there is even an affective dimension to potentially dangerous physiological threats such as pain, thirst... The result is Étienne becoming completely rational and inexpressive, devoid of any qualms, spending nearly all of his time in listless research, but putting his life in jeopardy time after time. Now, to become fully human, he needs to regain that affective dimension.
I am also brought back to a Snow Queen-like story I mentioned in the Advent calendar Reeling and Writhing, a few years ago:
The Stoics, enemies of the Epicureans and a great influence on totalitarianisms, said there were four passions to be shunned, and I think the strongest, and my personal favourite, is desire. To me, it has got a power that neither joy, grief, nor fear possess. Desire is the expectation of a future good, the wish for a future good. It can move mountains, start wars, lead to a signature at Runnymede, or to a victory at Breitenfeld, make an unusually intelligent princess meet her intellectual equal and become his partner, but also make a resented non-com betray the young lieutenant who "usurped" his commission. Yes, desire packs the most potent punch of all four passions, and it is also the source of positive emotions... but of disappointment, regret, ennui, fear of the inner emptiness... as well.
But... can a person bereft of emotions and passions be truly virtuous, or an empty shell? The case of Virginia and her guardian, from a literary tale by Josep Feliu i Codina (Belle Époque-era Spain) may illustrate the point: he made his ward, the orphaned only child of powerful nobles, emotionless, by replacing her seven-year-old heart with clockwork and keeping the heart in a jar. The reason why he has taken away her emotions: he wants to marry her to get a hold on her family fortune, and, when she reaches the age of consent, her guardian will be older than seventy. Virginia has grown up emotionless, indifferent to everything, into a beautiful yet callous and completely rational ice queen... until, thanks to some fairy magic, she is given a real heart during her adolescence, and she begins to see the beauty and the inspiration in the world around her: never were the flowers in her garden so colourful and so fragrant to her, never was the young man she met at the ball so dashing and so interesting... When her guardian finds out, he locks her away in a tower. And the now seventyish villain visits her and proposes to her every day, but she always rejects his advances. In the end, thinking that she rejected him because of his advanced age, the septuagenarian makes an unconscious wish for a younger heart... and realizes that he's already got one: his ward's child heart in a jar. So, obviously, our villain has his own heart replaced with Virginia's... and, suddenly, he transforms from a serious and realistic curmudgeon driven by ambition and greed... into a lovable eccentric with a lively and cheerful, quirky personality, who never denies himself any whim and completely lacks self-control. A seven-year-old heart has been transplanted into his seventyish chest, after all. No wonder that, after the literal change of heart, he sets Virginia free and lets her go with her suitor, giving them his blessing, when the young man promises his far older opponent a musical box for a present. Upstairs storms the guardian, with elation, as he opens the locked door and tells his ward, in a high-pitched voice, that she's free, adding: "I'll get a musical box!"


With that miracle of the eruption revived, the girls transformed again and even have a group pose with Cure Pekorin. They easily subdued Glaive and Elysio finally appeared. The final battle begins...

The Bad: Just that the battle with Glaive ended too fast once the girls got back their powers. Other than that, nothing much.

Elysio created a world without conflict by removing emotions specifically "Love (daisuki)." 

However it turned everyone into mindless drones. Without emotions or Will, (I am preaching Green Lantern's vow) nothing will move and the world will eventually reach a standstill. Creating a world without conflict is one thing but removing feelings like love or hate is a fate worse than death. 

Even Glaive who was revived is not the original Glaive but rather an empty shell controlled by Elysio. (But who cares about Glaive?! He is though and though a jerk from the beginning till his demise... Well, at least Elysio had good taste, the uniforms Glaive and his mooks wear being obviously Third-Reichy -so was the mook with the Hitler moustache some foreshadowing?-)

I was really cheering for Pekorin especially her determination to protect not just the donuts but rather the feelings and experiences she has with the girls. Sure, Glaive might call Pekorin a cheerleader. But remember, it was Pekorin that got the ball rolling since the first episode. Sure, she is one of the weaker mascots but her love and care for her friends (nakamatachi) gave her strength and created Three Miracles in this episode.

To get back on topic, not long now until the finale of KiraKira ☆ PreCure à la Mode. Next episode is the final battle...

IN NEXT EPISODE (48):

IT'S THE FINAL CONFRONTATION.