IN WHICH MORE OF KAPPARD'S PAST SURFACES

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 45
My Own Review
IN WHICH MORE OF KAPPARD'S PAST SURFACES

It’s been a bit of a longer wait than usual, but subs for episode 45 of Star ☆ Twinkle have finally emerged.

Seems like there are a couple of scenes in this episode that just linger on Hikaru walking in the rain - PS. Is that me or has Fuwa's unihorn grown a tad?

With the other girls having managed to find their Twinkle Imaginations over the past few episodes, Hikaru is feeling less than stellar about not finding her own. A visit to the observatory and a battle against Kappard soon see things changing for Hikaru, though.

Hikaru visits the observatory - PS. Ryoutaro confirmed NOT to be Santa... still he reminds me of RR Martin or Dumbledore ;) 

This is very much Hikaru’s episode, particularly because she has yet to find her Twinkle Imagination. It is something that she is all too aware of. Lala is far more open with her classmates, and both Elena and Madoka are putting some serious consideration into their futures. Hikaru is still just Hikaru, though. The rare book-smart shoujo protagonist, who seems to have Asperger's as the icing on the cake.

More of Hikaru just walking in the rain - and Fuwa's unihorn

https://prettycure.fandom.com/wiki/STPC45/Image_Gallery

(Insert the hoshino family + ryoutaro flashback from STPC45 image gallery here)

Serving as a villain of the week (and possibly for the last time, as well) is Kappard, who goes after Hikaru alone.

Kappard’s ultimate weapon (or so he claims) - a crescent spade just like the one of Sha Wujing/Sha Gojo, the kappa in Journey to the West!

You know things are serious in a PreCure series when you don’t get the usual music for the transformation scene. That’s exactly what happens with Cure Star vs. Kappard. Cure Star doesn’t exactly have the best showing against her foe; probably not helped by still being unsure of herself.

Cure Star struggles to hold back Kappard’s attack

Of course Cure Star isn’t going to have an easy time against Kappard; she has to overcome some kind of trial before she can achieve what the other members of this season's PreCure ensemble have done.

Cure Milkyway protects Hikaru

As is par for the course for these types of episodes, the rest of the team don’t show up until the very last moment. Doesn’t stop Kappard from giving his “you have such a comfortable life you know nothing of pain” speech, during which some light is shed on what happened to his home planet.

The rain water on Earth reminds Kappard of his home

Kappard's home had the finest resources

 Kappard being reminded of the tragedy

 Kappard believes his species's good intentions led to his planet's downfall

Everything was taken away from Kappard's planet

Of course, Lala’s response to Kappard’s words --that he can befriend earthlings, has he tried that approach before?-- are enough for Hikaru to pick herself up, and we get the normal transformation sequence.

Cure Star is back

So, just like the others, Cure Star’s experience her is just what she needs to go through to find her Twinkle Imagination. Kappard stands no chance against her once she is back in the fray, though all Cure Star wants to do is understand him a little more. Even reaching out post-defeat (defeat means friendship in these anime, after all)

There’s no opportunity for that, as Kappard is forcefully returned to Darknest.

Just like the other Twinkle Imagination episodes before it, this was a good one. All five girls have finally achieved their goals, which must mean we are getting really close to the end.
A great episode for Hikaru.

Next time, darkness descends… the finale begins... and ssssuspicionssss, theoriesssss, are confirmed...

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:

You know nothing of Kappard;

all my kin have died of thirst,

only I came through alive...

I know everything of pain...

(Javert filk seemed mandatory, right?)

IN WHICH THE GOING GETS TOUGH AND THE KAPPA GETS GOING

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 40
My Own Review
IN WHICH THE GOING GETS TOUGH AND THE KAPPA GETS GOING


With episode of forty of Star ☆ Twinkle, there must be around two months’ worth of this continuity left – giving us somewhere between eight and ten episodes most likely.
The fortieth episode focuses on Lala, as secrets she has been keeping get out.

 

Good episode for fans of Lala

In this episode, Lala’s classmates start treating her differently after Madoka’s dad, Fuyuki Kaguya (in full Javert mode), suggests that she might be a space alien. Of course, Hikaru sticks up for Lala, but Kappard leading an attack on the school only further complicates the situation.

Expect to see lots of Lala

Lala is in for a rough time in this episode, especially with her classmates’ sudden shift in attitude towards her. Whilst I do feel for the poor girl, it does mean we get a scene of Hikaru comforting her; if anybody is suited to that particular job, it is Hikaru.

Hikaru hugs Lala

It seems even if the whole wide world turns against her, Hikaru has Lala’s back. I’m sure the same would apply for the other members of our PreCure ensemble, too, but lets just focus on the two sharing a touching moment together.

Cure Milkyway protects the students

When it comes to the usual fight part of the episode, Kappard serves as the villain this time around. He actually launches a direct attack on the school (CADRE FIGHT, NO FREAKS OF THE WEEK THIS TIME AROUND!!), which means that Lala and the others decide to take a drastic course of action.

Kappard transforms his weapon into a bow

Just as it seems we may get a break from the status quo and Kappard will fight with his own hands, he happens to spot another worthy victim nearby. You’d think that particular victim would be used in a Madoka focus episode, but nope. Fuyuki Kaguya is targeted because he knows too much about the new girls in town and the fact that they're out of this world... also he researches ufology for the government...


(insert victim fubuki here)

Cure Milkyway powers up

Whatever the case, this battle works in Cure Milkyway’s favour as she follows in Cure Cosmos’s footsteps. The team is slowly but surely acquiring what they need for what will most likely be a final battle.
Overall, I’d say a great episode. I really enjoyed, particularly with its focus on Lala. Nice to see her share a moment with Hikaru, too.
Next time, seems Madoka is worried about what the future holds for her.



MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
From Black Friday onwards, the countdown to the finale always begins. Also, there's not much to see right here but definitely looking forwards to the next installment, being a Madoka focus episode and all that. Maybe this November is the last bunch of focus episodes (ie Days in the Limelight) before the Yuletide continuity finale?
PS. As for Fubuki becoming the victim of the week already when we had a weapon of the week; I didn't expect that Spanish Inquisition, which threw me completely off-kilter!

THREE LI'L KITTIES AND A KAPPA GENOCIDE

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 37
My Own Review
THREE LI'L KITTIES AND A KAPPA GENOCIDE

We are now wrapping up the month of October, and that means it is almost time for Halloween – so of course, episode thirty-seven of Star ☆ Twinkle is the de rigueur Samhain (pronounced saawin) episode.

Lala looking forward to the dress up contest

In this episode, Lala gets hold of a leaflet from Mihoshi High Street with information about a dress up contest for Halloween. Her whole class decides to enter the competition. They aren’t the only ones, as some familiar faces join the fun, including Kappard. Not that Kappard intended to get involved…

Hikaru, Lala, Sakurako Himenojou and some other characters, dressed up for the contest

As you can imagine, there are plenty of costumes to be seen in this episode. Hikaru’s class goes for a cryptid theme. And Sakurako as Mothwoman (FRICKING MOTHWOMAN) completely steals the spotlight...

Una familia muy floral

Elena, Madoka, and Yuni are Las Tres Gatas

Apparently Elena gets to wear two different costumes, but I’m fine with that. Amusingly, Yuni simply opts to use her true form; going as herself literally. Kind of a shame when she is (almost) a master of disguise. I like the sun and moon pendants on Elena and Madoka’s respective kitty collars; it’s a neat little touch. Yuni has a galaxy pendant because she's Cosmos.

Kappard proves to be surprisingly popular

Kappard gets to do a bit more than the usual antagonist role in this episode, starting with taking selfie photos with all the people dressed up (like these two sexy pumpkinettes). Naturally, they think he is in a kappa costume as well, and we also get some glimpses into Kappard’s past.

Kappard attacks

Of course, Kappard is still a villain, so when the others come across them a fight ensues. Thing is, PreCures need to do something to prevent Earthlings learning about the aliens in their midst. Fortunately, Hikaru has an idea.

Mihoshi Stars

The encounter with Kappard turns into a hero show, at least until they can move the fight away from civilians. We get a full on sentai-esque sequence with the Mihoshi Stars’ introductions and everything. It is some pretty amusing stuff.

A flashback featuring a young Kappard

We get a Kappard-focused flashback, showing us how he lost his planet and all of his kin to an invasion from another world. The Kappa Planet was drained dry of freshwater by the enemy, and everyone was dying of thirst, until only one kappa boy remained alive to tell the tale (guess who?) It also gives the audience an idea of why he firmly believes people from different planets are unable to get along. Of course, Cure Milkyway doesn’t believe that; her bond with her friends (or rather companions, ie nakama), some Earthlings and a Rainbowian, totally contradicts Kappard’s views.

This is actually a group photograph, but we’re focusing on the important characters here

The episode wraps up in the usual manner. It was quite a good one, and I did like learning a little more about Kappard’s past. I do wonder who was in charge of the forces that drained Kappard’s home planet of water; was it Darknest, or some other evil force?
I could totally see Kappard turning on Darknest in the future, perhaps aiding the Cures when they inevitably come to fight him.
Lala got a fair bit of focus in this episode, but ultimately, I’d say that this was very much Kappard’s episode. It’s nice to get to know our villains a little more.

Next time, looks like the plot gets back on track with an episode that focuses on Yuni as the search for Twinkle Imagination resumes once more. Ayewan will be back, too.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
(Cue The Final Solution by Sabaton)
Oui, the Great and Powerful Kappard is the sole survivor of a genocide. And he was underage when said catastrophe occurred. THE FEELS. Knowing the trauma that lies beneath.

IN WHICH FUWA STRUGGLES TO FIND HER NICHE

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure
Episode 33 - My Own Review

IN WHICH FUWA STRUGGLES TO FIND HER NICHE


The thirty-third episode of Star ☆ Twinkle is one that focuses on Fuwa. Quite fitting, given the (physical and psychological) growth she has experienced recently. Fuwa is very eager to get on with PreCures’ mission, but everyone else is busy.

Fuwa is not happy with being unable to search for Twinkle Imagination

This episode’s plot is a pretty standard one for mascot focus episodes, as things go. Fuwa wants to start searching for Twinkle Imagination, but everyone else is so busy. She tries to help them out, but only causes trouble. That’s all there is to it.

Fuwa’s attempt at helping does not go down well

I don’t really have a whole lot to say about this episode. Fuwa has the potential to be annoying, but she never really crosses into that territory for me. After all, what she wants is to effectively move the plot along, so I can agree that everybody should get out there to find the Twinkle Imagination.

Fuwa (in Santa garb) is almost discovered by Sakurako

As far as mascots go, Fuwa is by no means the worst the PreCure franchise has to offer, but she’s not particularly the best, either. Fuwa is supposed to be growing up, but Maho Girls had a much better take on that with Haa-chan, AKA Kotoha. Fuwa is pretty typical in terms of PreCure pixies (yousei).

Fuwa meets old Ryou

Whilst I think that this episode was average overall (well, at least until the fight against Kappard), I will admit that Fuwa deciding that Ryoutaro is a space wizard amused me quite a bit – even more so when Yuni sees him for the first time and agrees (I mean, he's the spitting image of Albus F-ing Dumbledore, right?).

Kappard’s weapon is powered by pet dog Yeti’s imagination this time around

Kappard is the villain this week, and unlike Garuogre, he is able to recognise Fuwa upon seeing her in her new form for the first time. The fight scene is where this episode picks up a bit – Cure Star finds herself having to fight Kappard alone whilst the others are dealing with the mooks.
Fuwa wanting to be helpful also comes into play here, too. Fortunately, her desire to help doesn’t cause any trouble this time around. PS. Isn't it evident that the victim of the week was an English Sheepdog? (Especially with the shield design)

So overall, not the greatest episode of a PreCure series, and not the worst either. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I had a stronger attachment to Fuwa. That’s not the case, so this episode to me was a pretty middle of the road experience.

Next time, seems like we’re getting an episode that focuses on Elena as a cactus-like alien visits Earth.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Isn't it evident that the victim of the week was an English Sheepdog? (Especially with the shield design). The VotW is generally another animal, wild or pet, in a mascot-centric episode (most notoriously, Go! Princess had a cicada when Towa fell dangerously ill in August and was left alone with her guardians).

Also. SAKURAKO. May not have the same memetic status as Ranze and Ranko, but once more she stole the spotlight right before our noses.

EN QUE ELENA Y MADOKA AVIVAN EL FUEGO

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 2?
My Own Review
EN QUE ELENA Y MADOKA AVIVAN EL FUEGO


angryanimeb*tches?

hallofanimefame?


PreCures’ quest to get their starship repaired continues in episode twenty-eight of Star ☆ Twinkle. The opportunity for Elena and Madoka to grow closer also arises in this episode.

Yuni wanting to eat all the seafood planet’s inhabitants is pretty funny

After arriving on Bubblepool, Yanyan takes PreCures to the surprisingly dry core of the planet, where they meet Rick Flare – a being from the planet Plasma that can repair their starship. The girls will have to work with Flare to get their transportation fixed, but the task assigned to Elena and Madoka proves to be too much for them.

Mr. Flare emerges from his home

You may be wondering why a being made of fire decided to take up residence on a planet made up of water – and that is something that this episode touches on. It does come across as Flare choosing to live on Bubblepool because everybody else on Plasma said it was impossible (a fireball's chance in the ocean). Fair play to him, I suppose.

Lala, Hikaru, and Yuni definitely got the easier job

Fortunately, Mr. Flare seems like a friendly fellow, and is willing to repair – as long as the girls put in some work as well. Hikaru, Lala, and Yuni get it easy – all they need to do is some barbecuing. Elena and Madoka end up with a more physically demanding task: pumping the bellows to fan the flames. It doesn’t go well for the sun and moon of Mihoshi.

Elena and Madoka grow closer in this episode

Now, I could focus on the repair, but the highlight from this episode has to be Elena and Madoka calling each other amazing, and just generally appreciating each other. They get a real ‘just kiss already!’ Soluna moment – or that’s how I see it, anyways.

Kappard will be our villain for this week

The antagonist that our crew has to fight in this episode is Kappard – and being on a water planet means that he has an advantage. Also worth noting is that the transformation sequence focuses on Elena and Madoka in particular.

Cure Soleil and Cure Selene will surpass their limits

Cure Star, Cure Milkyway, and Cure Cosmos all get to do their thing during the fight, but it is Soleil and Selene who impress most. Oh, and Purunce gets a small moment to shine, too. This battle is also a rare case of a cadre villain actually getting hit by the finishing moves – Kappard only retreats after taking the full brunt of Soleil and Selene’s combined attack. I’m sure he’ll be back in fighting form before we know it, though.

Madoka and Elena will burn bright

The second round of repair goes much better than the first, and PreCures are able to resume their journey to Lala’s home planet once more.
You know what I’ve been thinking PreCure needs recently? More Soluna stuff. This episode certainly delivered that. Their conversation during the squall was absolutely wonderful.
It’s also nice to see these two get some focus, as Yuni’s addition to the cast has kind of overshadowed everything else since Cure Cosmos’s debut. I’m happy that we get episodes like this that take time to elaborate upon the relationships of the other characters.

An excellent episode. Next time, we’ll finally meet Lala’s family.





MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
When did Calucif... I mean Rick Flare... I mean HE SERIOUSLY LOOKS LIKE CALUCIFER FROM HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE move to the surprisingly dry centre of a waterworld, in spite of everyone else at home saying he had a fireball's chance in the ocean? That BADASS adventurous spirit...
An OTP fanning the flames? Seriously... is the metaphor able to be more blatant?
That chemistry between both halves of Soluna: the only child of privilege and the firstborn of a set of numerous siblings finally wore their hearts upon their sleeves when it came to their feelings for one another - it just said click during that conversation in the downpour. Think "I admire you Lord Baelish, the self-made outsider / I admire you Lord Varys, the all-knowing foreigner" vibes. Speaking of which, I was and am the Madoka to friend Ana Garcés and we had frequent conversations similar to both of these examples (although she is the middle sibling of three, instead of the firstborn of seven -- and also the divorcé vs. decades-married parents angle factored into our equation, as well as Ana having asthma vs. my own iron health -- issues that our OTP in this series does not have to establish them as further foils to one another; both Madoka and Elena have the good state of health AND the married parents).

IN WHICH THE CATGIRL FINALLY JOINS THE OTHERS

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure Episode 23 -
My Own Review
IN WHICH THE CATGIRL FINALLY JOINS THE OTHERS

You know, I think that episode twenty-three of Star ☆ Twinkle might just be a homage to Star Trek, of all things. Well, more specifically a certain alien species from Star Trek. Oh, and there’s also the small matter of welcoming Yuni to the team – you know, a few episodes after she transformed for the first time…

So Fuwa is part tribble, then?

In this episode, the others decide to hold a welcome party for Yuni. That soon gets overshadowed when Fuwa eats one of the catgirl's Matter Cookies, causing the tribble-like pixie to feel intoxicated, then to uncontrollably multiply - like rabbits. 

Feeling responsible for what happened, Yuni tries to tackle the problem on her own.

Elena has some bread crusts (hard bread, as for ducks or torrijas de leche) ready for the hungry Fuwas

As you may have guessed by this point, this episode of Star ☆ Twinkle is on the sillier side. It is about Yuni learning that she is part of a team now, and can rely on the others to help her out. Elena is the one who spends the most time with Yuni this episode, helping her to realise all that.

Lala is prepared to deal with the Fuwas

This episode is pretty much one that focuses on Yuni, but that doesn’t meant that the other characters can’t have their moments. Lala is particularly noteworthy in this episode.

Mao makes another appearance (the M in her logo is a Virgo M...)

We also get another appearance from Mao. I hope that becomes a recurring thing, because it would be nice to see Yuni putting her shapeshifting abilities to use every now and then.

Yes! Doughnut belts for everyone! -- MOVE OVER RAMBO

Not exactly the most intimidating weapon

Our villain for this week is Kappard, who does manage to capture the original Fuwa, singling her out from the legions of the copies. 

Though at first he's got a real pest control issue before singling the original out...

KAPPARATTA!!

Come here, come with daddy...

The girls transform, but Cure Cosmos quickly discovers solo attacks won’t work. Fortunately, she does have a team she can rely on.

Good luck Purunce is so elastic!!

Yuni and Elena

So by the episode’s end, Yuni has learned the value of teamwork. Perhaps she’ll stop being so aloof in the future, and actually spend time with the others.

An episode with a rather silly premise, but it does serve to develop Yuni’s character a bit more. I’m happy with that: more Cure Cosmos is very much something that I welcome. Its also nice to see her interacting with the other Cures, too; in this case, Elena.

Next time, it's the middle of the summer, but things are going to get very cold on a permafrost planet... (oh, who could follow these sheroes and escape Thermidor!)

This week revolved around the mayhem of Fuwa greedily taking Yuni’s special cookie that made her drunk and gave her hiccups, which then caused her to start spawning endless copies of herself. Although the girls had figured out how to make the copies vanish (by feeding the little gluttons) it didn’t take long for the girls to become quickly overwhelmed and were unable to contain them all. It took a team effort to resolve the issue, but working together with others was something Yuni was not used to. She is so used to working independently, she doesn’t know how to rely on others. Knowing that the situation they were dealing with was impossible to handle alone, Elena wasn’t about to let Yuni go off on her own, and made sure to stay tagged with her. She also showed her the benefit of working together as a team, as Yuni had forgotten to bring some food along to give to the copies, and later the two of them were able to act on the spur of the moment to have one distract the public while the other lured out the wave that had made its way into the shopping district.

But it wasn’t just about not being used to having others to depend on, Yuni also felt she needed to resolve this problem alone because she felt responsible for it. It is definitely going to take her some time, as even by the end of the episode, Yuni was about to go off on her own again, but Elena made sure to capitalize the opportunity to make sure she stuck around for the welcome party they had put together for her.

Besides the hilarity of the situation with Fuwa’s hiccups of doom, what I really liked about this episode was that we got to see the girls switch up the pairs they are usually with. The usual duos were switched up with Elena and Yuni, and Lala and Madoka, while Hikaru worked together with Purunce. It was just nice to see because I enjoy it when we actually get to see the girls interact with the others more so than the ones they usually stick close to the most. I thought the brief interactions between Madoka and Lala to be quite cute, as both of them are kind of the brains of the group. It was really funny when Madoka realized Lala’s A.I. was referring to hiccups, her expression was priceless.

I also found it amusing to some extent how Kappard was quick enough to beat Yuni to capturing the original Fuwa, and successfully ended their misery by scaring the shit out of her. Unfortunately for him, Fuwa slipped out of his grasp once more thanks to the girls successfully retrieving her. This probably makes Kappard the only General at the moment who was the closest to actually succeeding, especially since he even used his powers on Fuwa’s copies to enhance his weapon. Had Yuni fought him on her own, he probably would have beaten her thanks to the power of fluffballs.

Next week, the girls are back to searching for the pens and will be visiting a planet of frost and snow!

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
Yuni or Uni? (It's as in 'verse): Still she is missing a surname, and will not be getting one until she debuts as a schoolgirl this autumn. Anyway, her first name when I read it on some sites and subs makes me think of sea urchin genitals, while the name of this catgirl is pronounced yoo-ni as in 'verse -- so I use this spelling to keep on reminding myself of that (compare Giulio in Kirakira à la Mode).
Parasprites - that tribble episode. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E10SwarmOfTheCentury