MEOWS AND MIRRORS

Healin' Good Pretty Cure - Episode 4
My Own Review
MEOWS AND MIRRORS



With the fourth episode of Healin’ Good ♡, the main team of three Cures finally comes together. Well, at least until they probably introduce one more, but that is something to worry about at a later date.
For now, it is Cure Sparkle’s turn to make her debut.

A talking tabby? This is the cat's meow!

Hinata seems to be pretty fond of Nyatoran

Hyperactive Hinata Hiramitsu discovers a talking cat whilst on her way to meet with her friends, and gets sidetracked. Of course, said talking tabby is Nyatoran, who is still seeking a partner. Together with Nodoka and Chiyu, Hinata goes to meet with her friends. A monster attack ultimately leads to Hinata becoming Cure Sparkle.

 Hinata's big bro Youta, best BrILF since Wataru Kaido (not counting Masato because the latter is gay and with Henri-ette!). She also has an older sister, Mei. Which makes me wonder about her parents... are these siblings orphans or are the elder Hiramitsus absentees?

Look at our new pet... neko neko neko!

Chiyu tries to keep Hinata from blabbing about the talking cat

Both Nodoka and Chiyu got strong introductory episodes in this season, and I’m happy to say that Hinata does as well. She had brief appearances in previous episodes, but now seeing one that focuses on her has no doubt that she is a wonderful part of the main cast.

Thirsty? We Hiramitsus also run a juice bar, aside from a vet clinic. The drinks are on the house!

Nodoka reassures Hinata that they’ll explain to her friends why she was late

This may be Hinata’s episode, but Nodoka certainly gets some great moments where she shines, too. Healin’ Good ♡ is proving pretty early on that is has an excellent cast of characters, and that can only be a good thing.

If this cat was heard speaking in public, think of all the paparazzi!

I love attention, but that would be too much of a good thing...

The pathogerm this week is created from a mirror

The enemy general that appears this week is Guaiwaru, and he reveals that it is not just nature can be infected. Of course, the Megapathogerm we get has to be a little too much for Cure Grace and Cure Fontaine to handle on their own, because this is Hinata’s episode. Her first day in the limelight.

Being a mirror, this pathogerm deflects all attacks

Hinata’s reaction to discovering Nodoka and Chiyu are PreCures is not quite what they expect

If there’s one thing that this episode makes abundantly clear about Hinata, it is that she absolutely adores cute things (kawaiisa). Apparently the PreCure aesthetic comes under that, as the mirror monster attacking the town of Sukoyaka is of no concern to her when she sees Cure Grace and Cure Fontaine for the first time. Seeing allies and enemies alike have the same counterreaction to Hinata’s reaction is pretty amusing.

Cure Sparkle

I can’t help but feel that much of Nyatoran’s interactions with Hinata throughout this episode were a test – one that she passes with flying colours, hence becoming light-powered catgirl Cure Sparkle.

Hey, easy on that, Mr. Guava!

Cure Sparkle in action

During the battle, Nyatoran has to tell Cure Sparkle that they purify their foes, rather than defeat them. A purified foe is a defeated foe, so I guess there’s not all that much distinction. Ultimately, though, it falls to Cure Sparkle to bring the battle to an end.

With that, our full team is assembled (for now)

I feel pretty confident in saying that Healin’ Good ♡ has got off to an incredibly strong start. Nodoka, Chiyu, and Hinata have all had wonderful introductions, and the three have got a good dynamic between them.
Such a great debut for Cure Sparkle. I’m expecting good things from her – and Nodoka and Chiyu as well.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:
First things first - Hinata/Sparkle is BEST GIRL so far for this season/continuity, hands down.
Guaiwaru's summoning MO: if Daruizen does hair flips and Shindoine blows kisses, how does the brute...? This episode, him being Sparkle's evil counterpart, gives the reply: by puffing up that powder-keg chest of his, showing off some pecs!

Kekekekeke~ as expected, Hinata and Nyatoran are a freaking firecracker duo, and love it! Their energy levels compliment each other very well, and the way they just confidently wing it on the go also makes them a fitting pair. Their fateful encounter was hysterical with Nyaotran when he snapped at her, their reactions were priceless! It got even better when he decided there was no use in trying to cover it up, and just straight-up claim he was born with the ability to talk like humans. Look at that confidence! The girls’ reaction to his boldness was priceless as well- heck the whole thing had me in stitches from laughing so hard! And bonus points for even pretending he was meeting them all for the first time!

But what’s actually incredible about Hinata is the way she took this in stride. Her first concern was getting him out of the public’s eye because she feared Nyatoran would be exploited for his ability to talk. And when you actually think about it – is a legitimate concern that is usually not brought up. It also makes sense why she would go to seek out her brother’s advice, as he is a veterinarian (a charming handsome one, who the girls mistaken him to have been her father- poor dude).

And goodness we thought Hikaru (Star Twinkle) was energetic, but Hinata takes it to another level, but I am not particularly bothered by it (yet). In fact I find her personality to be well balanced with how quickly she can switch back and forth from the high of excitement to the low of the gravity of the situation, and how easily she gets distracted. It is a charm that adds to the humor because she is the type to act first, think later. She also has the charm of being a sweetheart who will put the safety and well-being of others ahead of her own. When she was told that Nodaka and Chiyu had ran in the direction the monster was at, Hinata didn’t hesitate to go after them, only to hilariously she run straight into the monster herself! The moment she did that, Nyatoran knew that she was the one.

When it came to the partnership this time we saw the trainee reach out to his Human partner. I would say this case was the most similar to Rabirin’s and Nodaka’s partnership, but I would what set them apart from the other two was his confidence in Hinata’s abilities. He was basically like, “I LIKE YOU, LETS KICK ASS TOGETHER!”

I really love Cure Sparkle’s design. It’s super cute, her transformation was definitely a lot more simplified than the other two, but it was still pleasing to the eyes– or actually now that I think about it… It might be the sound effect of the fabric’s ‘whoosh’ or whatever it is. There is something really satisfying about it and I don’t know why ahahahaha! But while the transformation wasn’t particularly showy, the fight— oh man, that as the highlight of the episode. Surely I wasn’t the only one who thought the animation for the fight was on fire! I can’t recall a single fight that was this exciting to watch just 4 episodes in. It was soooooo much fun to watch, seriously mad props to the animators! They nailed it. It was so funny when Hinata went on to say, “LETS DEFEAT THIS THING!” and Nyatoran had to tell her, “DON’T BEAT IT, PURIFY IT!”

Another great thing about this fight is proving that the enemies are no pushover. They are ramping things up in their own way, and we see that by how it has become essential for a group effort. What’s also interesting to note is that the generals aren’t limited to targeting nature. Guaiwaru walked into a shop and attacked a Light Element residing in a mirror, a material good, an inanimate object. One of the advantages of this addition, is that it makes it less predictable of where the enemy may pop up next. Another thing that crossed my mind is the expansion of their targets. I suspect somewhere down the line, (maybe when the adorable Elements may no longer play the significant role as they do now), we may see them expand to more mobile targets such as insects, animals and maybe even Humans.

And last but not last, we got to see the King of Pathogerms receive the update of yet another Precure making an appearance. Once again, he is not particularly concerned and wants his generals to focus on the primary objective of helping him recover to his true form, and I doubt that is about to change with Hinata added to the party. However the unwavering focus on ensuring he is resurrected before the Queen of Healing Garden made me wonder whether or not the Trainees are aware of this. When we go back to episode 2, nowhere did they mention anything about the danger of the King of Pathogerms making a comeback. Instead we were given a rather generalized explanation that the Pathogerms are trying to make a world that’s comfortable for them to live in, one which will basically makes the world uninhabitable. Maybe the threat of the King will be something they expand on next week, but if they don’t, then it might explain why the King isn’t particularly concerned about their activities. In fact, when you think about it, the monsters are nothing more than a tool to blight the world, but also distract the Precures from the Generals themselves. Perhaps once they are made aware of the situation at hand, they will take the initiative to go after them. But first, they definitely need to gain some battle experience, they aren’t quite ready to fight them head to head just yet.

This week was yet another fantastic showing from Healin’ Good Prettycure! It really does feel almost surreal how long it has been since they have had such a strong early start, especially with their characters. Now that everyone has a partner, it is going to be interesting how the three of them mesh together. We already got to see how Hinata and Chiyu are already at odds with each other, maybe because Chiyu was the one who was the most concerned about their secret as Precures getting out. Based on the preview, I think this is in part of why Hinata is under the impression that Chiyu doesn’t like her. I suspect Nodaka, being the fairly neutral minded one of the group will find herself trying to help smooth out the misunderstanding between them.

ADVIENTO - El gatito miedoso

El gatito miedoso

Había una vez un gatito llamado Nino que le tenía miedo a la oscuridad. Era juguetón, amistoso y sobre todo le gustaba mucho la carne, por eso siempre soñaba con cazar y comer un manjar de ratas.

Una noche mientras su dueña la señora Rita veía la tele, el gato Nino se paseaba tranquilamente por el salón de la casa. Momentos después la señora Rita apagó la tele y acercándose a su gato le dijo:

_ ¡Dulces sueños gatito Nino!

Luego la señora Rita apagó la luz y se fue a la cama. El gato Nino en medio de la oscuridad comenzó a mirar para todos los lados y de repente alcanzó a ver tres figuras blancas que se movían encima de una mesa y corrió hasta esconderse debajo del sofá pensando que estaba viendo a tres fantasmas.

En ese instante los tres fantasmas empezaron a moverse con piruetas y saltos sobre la punta de sus pies. Luego saltaron de la mesa y realizando movimientos de derecha a izquierda se iban acercando cada vez más al sofá. El gato Nino ahí debajo escondido sintió tanto miedo que sacó sus uñas intentando clavarlas en el suelo de madera para sentirse más seguro.

Por momentos dejaba de respirar para que los tres fantasmas no lo detectaran pero no pudo aguantar más la respiración y se le escapó un maullido. La señora Rita al escucharlo se levantó de la cama, fue al salón y encendió la luz.

En ese mismo momento el gato Nino descubrió que los tres fantasmas eran tres simples ratas blancas que practicaban su ballet del Cascanueces y comenzó a correr detrás de ellas intentando atraparlas para comérselas y hacer realidad su sueño, pero las ratas fueron muy rápidas y se escondieron en un agujero de la casa.

El gato Nino al no poder atraparlas se subió en el sofá, se acercó un cojín y metió una patita por debajo y la otra por encima, recostó su cabeza y cerró los ojos sin dejar de pensar que esa noche había tenido la oportunidad de hacer realidad su sueño y no pudo, ya que el miedo le había impedido acercarse, oler y atrapar a las ratas. Y se quedó dormido un poco frustrado.

La señora Rita al ver que su gato estaba bien se marchó nuevamente a la cama y le dejó una lucecita encendida para que durmiera tranquilo.

Autora: María Abreu

MRS. TABBY GRAY

MRS. TABBY GRAY

"All mother love attracts the child, its world-wide tenderness he feels; And ev’ry beast that loves her young their mother’s love to them reveals."

MRS. TABBY GRAY

MRS. Tabby Gray, with her three little kittens, lived out in the barn where the hay was stored. One of the kittens was white, one was black, and one gray, just like her mother, who was called Tabby Gray from the color of her coat.

These three little kittens opened their eyes when they grew old enough, and thought there was nothing so nice in all this wonderful world as their own dear mother, although she told them of a great many nice things, like milk and bread, and fish and chicken, which they should have when they could go up to the big house where she had her breakfast, lunch, and supper.

Every time Mother Tabby came from the big house she had something pleasant to tell. "Bones for dinner today, my dears," she would say, or "I had a fine romp with a ball and the baby," until the kittens longed for the time when they could go too.

One day, however, Mother Cat walked in with joyful news.

"I have found an elegant new home for you," she said, "in a very large trunk where some old clothes are kept; and I think I had better move at once."

Then she picked up the small black kitten, without any more words, and walked right out of the barn with him.

The black kitten was astonished, but he blinked his eyes at the bright sunshine, and tried to see everything.

Out in the barnyard there was a great noise, for the white hen had laid an egg, and wanted everybody to know it; but Mother Cat hurried on, without stopping to inquire about it, and soon dropped the kitten into the large trunk. The clothes made such a soft, comfortable bed, and the kitten was so tired after his exciting trip, that he fell asleep, and Mrs. Tabby trotted off for another baby.

While she was away, the lady who owned the trunk came out in the hall; and when she saw that the trunk was open, she shut it, locked it, and put the key in her pocket, for she did not dream that there was anything so precious as a kitten inside.

As soon as the lady had gone upstairs Mrs. Tabby Gray came back, with the little white kitten; and when she found the trunk closed, she was terribly frightened. She put the white kitten down and sprang on top of the trunk and scratched with all her might, but scratching did no good. Then she jumped down and reached up to the keyhole, but that was too small for even a mouse to pass through, and the poor mother mewed pitifully.

What was she to do? She picked up the white kitten, and ran to the barn with it. Then she made haste to the house again, and went upstairs to the lady’s room. The lady was playing with her baby and when Mother Cat saw this she rubbed against her skirts and cried: "Mee-ow, mee-ow! You have your baby, and I want mine! Mee-ow, mee-ow!"

By and by the lady said: "Poor Kitty! she must be hungry"; and she went down to the kitchen and poured sweet milk in a saucer, but the cat did not want milk. She wanted her baby kitten out of the big black trunk, and she mewed as plainly as she could: "Give me my baby—give me my baby, out of your big black trunk!"

The kind lady decided that she must be thirsty: "Poor Kitty, I will give you water"; but when she set the bowl of water down Mrs. Tabby Gray mewed more sorrowfully than before. She wanted no water,—she only wanted her dear baby kitten; and she ran to and fro, crying, until, at last, the lady followed her; and she led the way to the trunk.

THE LADY FOLLOWED HER; AND SHE LED THE WAY TO THE TRUNK.

"What can be the matter with this cat?" said the lady; and she took the trunk key out of her pocket, put it in the lock, unlocked the trunk, raised the top—and in jumped Mother Cat with such a bound that the little black kitten waked up with a start.

"Purr, purr, my darling child," said Mrs. Tabby Gray, in great excitement; "I have had a dreadful fright!" and before the black kitten could ask one question she picked him up and started for the barn.

The sun was bright in the barnyard and the hens were still chattering there; but the black kitten was glad to get back to the barn. His mother was glad, too; for, as she nestled down in the hay with her three little kittens, she told them that a barn was the best place after all to raise children.

And she never afterwards changed her mind.