STAR*TWINKLE UPCOMING EPISODES - CURE COSMOS DEBUTS

Summer, summer, summer... and the Blue Cat winning her PreCure spurs as Cure Cosmos! -- PS. the Star*Twinkle review series will be on temporary hiatus due to Swedish holidays from late June to mid-July (I return home where it's hot in fricking mid-Thermidor, heck! The hot sun...)
So most surely the springtime cour finale is something I will do at one go in a single post...

EP 20 - 23RD JUNE	"Shining in the Galaxy ☆ Cure Cosmos is Born!" Transcription: "Ginga ni Hikaru ☆ Kyua Kosumo Tanjō!" (銀河に光る☆キュアコスモ誕生！)
EP 21 - 30TH JUNE	"The Rainbow-Coloured Spectre ☆ Cure Cosmos' Power!" Transcription: "Niji-iro no Supekutoru ☆ Kyua Kosumo no Chikara!" ( 虹色のスペクトル☆キュアコスモの力！)

Star*Twinkle March titles REVEALED!!

Star*Twinkle March episode titles:

5. 
Himitsu no Henshin☆ Ojōsama wa Kyua Serēne!
ヒミツの変身☆お嬢さまはキュアセレーネ！
"A SECRET TRANSFORMATION☆ her ladyship IS CURE SELENE - 1st madoka focus episode + she becomes selene


6. 
Yami no Imajinēshon!? Dāku Pen Shutsugen!
闇のイマジネーション！？ダークペン出現！
"AN IMAGINATION OF DARKNESS!? THE DARK PEN APPEARS!" - ophiuchus star colour pen? dark magical girl debut? - this sounds like worth hanging to the edge of my seat for!!

7.

Wakuwaku! Roketto Shūri Daisakusen☆
ワクワク！ロケット修理大作戦☆
"EXCITING! THE GRAND STRATEGY TO REPAIR THE ROCKET☆" - Lala's starship gets repaired, most surely?

MORE STAR*TWINKLE DETAILS

Faraway from Earth is a planet called "Starry Sky World" and in the center of it is a holy ground called the "Star Palace", which contains the "12 Star Princesses of Constellations" who protect the balance of the whole universe...
But one day, someone attacked and the princesses turned themselves into "12 Princess Star Colour Pens" and scattered themselves across the universe!
If this situation continues, the stars will disappear, meaning Earth and the whole universe will be swallowed by darkness...!

"When the stars' light are lost, the legendary warriors or Pretty Cures will rise together with the Twinkle Book in hand to regain the brilliance again."
Lala says she is searching for the Pretty Cures along with Fuwa in hope that the legend the princesses conveyed will make the universe go back to how it was before.

But then Kappard, a Knot Raider who wishes to control the universe, appeared and attacked Fuwa...

One week left until Star*Twinkle premières and my arterial pressure is already ramped up by the rentrée to University... so we've luckily found some more info about the series ;) We now have a pic and name of a cadre (Yaaaay, our first Knot Raider!), as well as the titles of February's episodes:

1. (2/3): "Glitterific~☆ Shining in Space, Cure Star Is Born!" (Première; time to set up everyone and everything)


2. (2/10): "A Friend From Outer Space✰ Cure Milky Is Born!" (Lala gets her powers)


3. (2/17): "The Pretty Cures Are Disbanding!? Search for Power of the Star Princesses✰" (The quest begins)


4. (2/24): "Ciao! A Shining Smile✰ Cure Soleil Is Born!" (First Elena-Soleil focus episode, also she gets her powers)

And here's the first Knot Raider, Kappard:

Oui, he's an ikemen kappa (the first kind of youkai I got to know, thanks to Prisoner of Azkaban and the Fantastic Beasts book - arigato gozaimashita Rowling-sensei!)... Reminds me of the merman from The Shape of Water, but given a bishieness upgrade, doesn't he?
So maybe the Knot Raiders will have a youkai theme, maybe a theme centering around humanoid creatures in general from both eastern and western lore (and why not some from outside Eurasia?).

• A Star Colour Pen (スターカラーペン): is a an item that the Cures can use to transform. A pen appears before those they deem worthy of the Pretty Cure powers if they emit a strong emotion. They can also serve as a collectable item, known as Princess Star Colour Pen (プリンセススターカラーペン). There are 12 of them, each represent a Star Princess of the 12 zodiac signs, with each pen holding a mysterious power.

I want the Aquarius one for my birthday this year (31st of Jan, if you do not remember)...

Star Princesses

• Gotta Catch 'Em All: The girls have to collect the Star Color Pens to free the princesses trapped inside of them.
• Sealed Good in a Can: Each princess is sealed within a Star Color Pen.
• Western Zodiac: There are twelve of them, one for each zodiac symbol.

And let us not forget my guesses on powers and see if they are correct (a zodiac-themed season in canon is just the icing on the cake, isn't it?)

Here are my guesses on their powers, based upon their hairstyles and costumes:

• Aries: redhead, DEFINITELY fire powers
• Taurus: rosehead, most likely with enthralling rose-scent powers
• Gemini: teal identical twins, most likely with Doppelgänger Spin powers (could also bestow ambidexterity?)
• Cancer: romantic-looking, girly greenhead (lunacy?)
• Leo: regal, crowned cyanhead with an 80s mane - ie AOI F-ING TATEGAMI?! (They could retcon her to be cusp-born, with both Leo and Virgo attributes!) - powers most likely to be light manipulation and glamour
• Virgo: angelic light-pink rosehead, most likely lie detection (maybe also enhanced senses?)
• Libra: blonde who looks like Urara Kasugano, holding two soaring astral drops - DEFINITELY telekinesis
• Scorpio: Titian-haired, mysterious, turns her back to the viewer (and those sultry bare shoulderblades...) - most likely enhanced stealth and-or a dark glamour (to contrast Leo's light glamour)
• Sagittarius: lilac-haired markswoman with bow, mauve rose in her head makes her resemble Milky Rose; bares her midriff and wears bandages to protect her arms -already signs of someone adventurous - most likely enhanced marksmanship (maybe also enhanced sense of orientation)?
• Capricorn: fuchsia rosehead, holding heart in her hands and hearts for earrings (emotional control, when Capris are the ones in the zodiac least known for being emotional? Sounds like irony... right?)
• Aquarius: Prussian blüe (as expected by Yours Truly) with long flowing hair (looks like Reira Yakushiji) holding an urn with shooting stars - most likely ice powers (LET IT GO, LET IT GO... *****)
• Pisces: rosehead mermaid wearing a lot of pearls and corals and seashells - most likely the powers of turning into a merperson form (think Diluvian Forms in Siren the Drowning), waterbending, and realistic illusion

For now, it appears that the Taurus princess will be the first one to debut... a bit out of season, but still...

Also, it appears like Fuwa, the pet du jour, will have a dozen zodiac forms - I luv Aquarius Fuwa being a slime (and my own sun sign looking as always sterling in blue), Pisces being a mer-Fuwa, Gemini having mini-Fuwas for ears... awwww... Aries Fuwa also looks like the fluffiest red sheep you could picture yourselves, right?

STAR*TWINKLE PRECURE - first details

The premise of Star Twinkle, the latest Pretty Cure continuity, tells about the Star Palace, a place where the 12 Constellation Princesses lived until evil magic of the Knot Raiders turned them into Star Colour Pens that humanoid alien Lala, a blue-haired eccentric aide to the zodiac princesses (and socially an adult, but physically in an adolescent body), has to collect to restore balance to the universe. Through her, we learn of the Star Palace, where the 12 Star Princesses of the constellations kept the balance of the universe until they were attacked. Lala seeks out the other legendary PreCures, warriors like herself, in order to find the 12 scattered Princess Star Colour Pens and revive the princesses.

Lala's Cure Milky costume does have the eccentric vibes - right legging off and left legging on (an asymmetry not unlike Pippi Lângstrump's odd stockings), as well as those breeches puffier than any Shakespearean thespian's, and transparent puffy sleeves!

Along the way as she adjusts to life as a suburban Japanese Earthling in secondary school, Lala, now muggle-surnamed Hagoromo and empowered with the power of the Milky Way, meets other three girls of various backgrounds, whom she scouts for her crusade... Whilst Lala is thirteen years old in Earth years, and treated as an adult on her home planet, leading to intense culture shock. She ends up travelling to Earth in search of more legendary warriors; she has a strong sense of responsibility, but occasionally makes mistakes and is rather dense at times. She also has antennae on her head, and may be obliged to conceal them as part of her Earthling façade...

Taa... taa... taaaaa... TA-TAAAAA!! (Also Sprach Zarathustra)

Following that, Lala and company work to collect all the Pens and raise their fluffy pet Fuwa, who is, herself, the key to reviving the princesses.

Left to right: Lala-Cure Milky, Fuwa, Hikaru-Cure Star, Elena-Soleil, Madoka-Selene (somethimes I have this perk to always put "Cure" before the ones whose heroic identity names are in English, and often omit that "Cure" prefix if their heroic identity names come from other languages -here, French and Greek respectively!-.)

Far away from Earth is a plane called the "Starry Sky World" and in the center of it is a holy ground called the "Star Palace", which contains the "12 Star Princesses of Constellations" who protect the balance of the whole universe...
But one day, someone attacked and the princesses turned themselves into "12 Princess Star Colour Pens" and scattered themselves across the universe!
If this situation continues, the stars will disappears, meaning Earth and the whole universe will be swallowed by darkness...!

"When the stars' light are lost, the legendary warriors or Pretty Cures will rise together with the Twinkle Book in hand to regain the brilliance again."
Lala says she is searching for the Pretty Cures along with her pet Fuwa in hope that the legend the princesses conveyed will make the universe go back to how it was before.

But then a Knot Raider who wishes to control the universe appeared and attacked Fuwa...

Now they all have to collect the scattered Princess Star Colour Pens and have Fuwa grow up, which is the key to the Princesses' resurrection

Alright, time to leave Earth and jump into space~☆




The transformation trinket Pendant has the symbols of all 12 Zodiac...

Now when was the last time I saw a pendant as a transformation trinket for magical girl warriors? Ah, the Heart of Kandrakar from W.I.T.C.H., a spaghetti animesque of last decade!

Precures have had perfume bottles, brooches, smartphones, makeup compacts... this is the very first time I see a pendant as a transformation trinket in this franchise!

And now my assessment of Soleil's costume: on one hand, her boots look pretty Texan or Gaucha - but on the other, she is wearing a dress like a FLAMENCA... (and asking for a tablao and a pair of castanets)! Let's keep our fingers crossed for Elena and her family to be Spaniards and NOT Latinos! Elena, our Cure Soleil, is a third year secondary school student with a radiant smile. The most popular girl at her school, she is known as the school’s “sun”, and as the "sun" of her whole hometown of Mihoshi (just like Courfeyrac, she must be regarded as the core of her human star system due to her charisma). Elena lives at a flower shop on Mihoshi High Street, the family business Sonrisa, where she sometimes works on top of often looking after, taking care of, her six younger siblings when her parents are busy working behind the counter.

The first news - we're gonna get a SPANISH CURE (hopefully, fingers crossed for her not to be a Latina!) who is a LEAD instead of a secondary character! And, furthermore, instead of being based upon bloodsports like Cure Matador (ewwrg - only cows ought to like bulls!), she will fittingly represent the CLIMATE of this land, having THE POWER OF THE HOT SUN on her side! She's a dark-skinned blonde to signify suntan along with foreignness and Caucasian ancestry, right? Cure Soleil's real or muggle name, moreover, is the same as mine as mum's first name and my own middle name, fittingly since Elena means "shining bright as the sun (or a beacon, depending on whom you ask)" and she is solar-powered - but unlike my mother and Yours Truly, both only children, this Elena is the firstborn of a numerous set of seven siblings. Their family business is a flower and plant shop called Sonrisa (meaning Smile), which furthermore gives a clue about their origin -- the only thing that worries me is that our dark-skinned sunny blonde and her family might turn out to be Latinos instead of Spaniards... Nous verrons, nous verrons!

I just adore Selene's costume and the details being both lunar (that moon beret, not unlike Cure Macaron's but lunar instead of macaron-shaped) and wintry (those ice crystals on her garters and choker), since frost is frozen dew all along. The puffy sleeves, choker, garters, and petticoats all make her look like a royal, giving her a regal air befitting the ojou, or little miss, of this continuity... Madoka Kaguya/Cure Selene, a well-mannered third year secondary school student who does her best to be properly ladylike. Her father works in the government as some kind of official (most likely member of parliament for some right-wing party), whilst her mother is a world-famous concert pianist. Madoka holds national championship titles in piano and archery. She also partakes in ikebana (flower arrangement) and tea ceremony, and gets excellent grades. Her skills are playing the piano and archery, in which she has won their respective national competitions, as well as having good grades all round and being popular for her ikebana and being great at tea ceremonies. She is the student council president, and also known as the “moon” of the school and of Mihoshi town (it will be left to see whether her fanbase and Elena's are just coexisting, like Yukari's and Akira's, or locked in a bitter feud...).

The second news - the ojou of this continuity, the lilac-hair lunar Cure Selene, has a dad in Parliament and a mum in classical music! Most often ojous had either a trophy husband father, a trophy wife mother, or both parents (ie the Kaidos or the Aisakis) as wealthy entrepreneurs... while there are other ways to be upper-class, like politics or highbrow performance. And Madoka's parentage has given us BOTH of them at one fell swoop! A man of state and a virtuosa concert pianist... She seems to combine both the ideals of an Eastern (ie Yukari Kotozume) and Western (ie Alice Yotsuba or Minami Kaido) ojou, but we are not sure if this characterisation will be more Eurasian in equal parts, or lean towards either one of both cultures (being surnamed after the moon princess in the fairytale already hints at less Euro and more Asian, right?).

I guess Lala being an alien is pretty unique, too.
With the basic information we have about each of the characters now, if you asked me to pick a favourite I’d probably have to go with Cure Selene. I just really like the purple cures – Macaron and Amour for example. I adore that there are nods to Macaron-Yukari in her battle costume (beret, petticoats, garters)...


The third news and the ICING ON THE CAKE - the new bonus powers will be WESTERN ZODIAC-themed, the sealed good in a can turned gotta-catch-them-all plot voucher power objects, ie collectible items, being twelve in number and linked to the starry skies, more precisely to female characters that personify the signs (think female, iridescent Gold Saints)! Hitherto there had been several fanmade Western Zodiac-themed Precure continuities, but this is when they've turned it into CANON!! SQUEEEEE!! The collectibles are based off the zodiac. Meaning that the princesses the cures need to save are based off them too. 

• Gotta Catch 'Em All: The girls have to collect the twelve Star Colour Pens to free the twelve princesses trapped inside of them.
• The Stars Are Going Out: What apparently will happen to all the stars in the universe if the Star Colour Pens are all twelve not collected in time and is what the girls have to prevent from happening.

I wish my own sign could have something great (ice would be most obvious for Aquarius, but maybe lightning or even pressure, which is a far rarer power, would make for something badass -there are powers in Siren the Drowning, there is the Opus of Pressure, that allows control over all kinds of pressure -whether subglottal pressure, blood pressure, emotional stress, air pressure, water pressure, gravity...- that's something very rarely seen and, if used right, it can give pressure resistance in space and underwater to the user themself; and it can either heal and-or relieve a high-strung person and make them feel mellow -think Soothers on Scadrial- or kill them with a stroke, a heart condition, or nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream... even though magical girl warrior shows generally eschew such levels of luridity. In a more psychological sense, you may use it to force others to your command, think Imperius Curse.

Pressure

Pressure is a constant factor of life, be it the pressures of biological functions, social structures or the laws of nature that threaten to rip oneself apart.

Physically: Affecting physical forces that exert themselves upon objects, which can include friction, gravity, falling velocity.

Conceptually: Affecting persuasion or coercion, making an idea or emotion be forced to the surface.
So it's a two-edged weapon, which gives the user even command over such forces as Newton's laws and free will. Maybe even entropy itself... Oh. Let's go back to Star Twinkle, shall we? All that jazz about the Opus of Pressure was my inner Ravenclaw going ga-ga about all the possibilities thereof!)
But the most likely use for Aquarius powers would be maybe ice, lightning, or skill in savate -which could also go to Pisces!- So the powers from the various plot coupons are most likely to be:

• Aries: wildfire firebending, explosions, natural helmet for head protection 
• Taurus: controlling plants, earthbending, enthralling scent of roses or vanilla, enthralling singing voice
• Gemini: Doppelgänger Spin (AKA double-team), enhanced speed (it can enable a Doppelgänger Spin), flying short distances, ambidexterity (REAL ambidexterity: think Kevin in ASoUE or Gilliatt in Les Travailleurs de la mer), telepathy
• Cancer: lunacy, waterbending, protective torso armour
• Leo: lightbending, lightning, heat enhancement, glamour (to be perceived as someone even more alluring by others)
• Virgo: enhanced senses, lie detection, invisibility, fading into the background
• Libra: telekinesis, gravity mastery, happiness inducement, optimism inducement,
• Scorpio: enhanced stealth, enhanced senses, telepathy, glamour
• Sagittarius: enhanced marksmanship, enhanced speed, flying long distances, telekinesis, enhanced sense of orientation
• Capricorn: earthbending, rockbending, enhanced skill in parkour
• Aquarius: icebending, lightning, gravity mastery, enhanced skill in savate (less likely: pressure)
• Pisces: realistic illusion (think Rena Rouge), enhanced skill in savate, waterbending

(Note: these guesses are based on what I know about the various archetypes of the Western zodiac!)

STAR PRINCESSES
12 Princesses that protect the balance of the Universe, before they are attacked and each one turns into a pen. They're based on 12 zodiacs.

Here are my guesses on their powers, based upon their hairstyles and costumes:

• Aries: redhead, DEFINITELY fire powers
• Taurus: rosehead, most likely with enthralling rose-scent powers
• Gemini: teal identical twins, most likely with Doppelgänger Spin powers (could also bestow ambidexterity?)
• Cancer: romantic-looking, girly greenhead (lunacy?)
• Leo: regal, crowned cyanhead with an 80s mane - ie AOI F-ING TATEGAMI?! (They could retcon her to be cusp-born, with both Leo and Virgo attributes!) - powers most likely to be light manipulation and glamour
• Virgo: angelic light-pink rosehead, most likely lie detection (maybe also enhanced senses?)
• Libra: blonde who looks like Urara Kasugano, holding two soaring astral drops - DEFINITELY telekinesis
• Scorpio: Titian-haired, mysterious, turns her back to the viewer (and those sultry bare shoulderblades...) - most likely enhanced stealth and-or a dark glamour (to contrast Leo's light glamour)
• Sagittarius: lilac-haired markswoman with bow, mauve rose in her head makes her resemble Milky Rose; bares her midriff and wears bandages to protect her arms -already signs of someone adventurous - most likely enhanced marksmanship (maybe also enhanced sense of orientation)?
• Capricorn: fuchsia rosehead, holding heart in her hands and hearts for earrings (emotional control, when Capris are the ones in the zodiac least known for being emotional? Sounds like irony... right?)
• Aquarius: Prussian blüe (as expected by Yours Truly) with long flowing hair (looks like Reira Yakushiji) holding an urn with shooting stars - most likely ice powers (LET IT GO, LET IT GO... *****)
• Pisces: rosehead mermaid wearing a lot of pearls and corals and seashells - most likely the powers of turning into a merperson form (think Diluvian Forms in Siren the Drowning), waterbending, and realistic illusion

Since there are four Cures, there surely will be a ratio of three pens per shero. And maybe elemental affiliations linked to that. I can totally see Elena as the fire girl, obviously, but the other three? Madoka can be water (as foil to Elena) or air (as the Ace du jour)... she's a perfect hatstall for Ravenclaw or Slytherin (I know some perfectly decent Slyths, both real-life and fictional, and I rec this essay in defense of their values!). Ditto our cyan-haired humanoid alien Lala! Although now I realise that Lala is more likely to have air powers for being the eccentric and the one who knows all the lore (and besides I lean more towards sorting Madoka as a Slyth!).
As for Ophiuchus, either the adult Fuwa or the leader of the Knot Raiders could represent the thirteenth sign... Nous verrons, nous verrons!

What will THE CADRES or GENERALS look like? It seems we're in for a surprise about these Knot Raiders until the première, as most usually. The villains and side characters hopefully are interesting enough like Hugtto... But I definitely wish that we once more got The Heartless instead of Monsters of the Object (even though we just had TWO continuities which employed a Heartless of the Week); there is so much more to it when you have to confront a person's negative emotions, there are much higher stakes then that if you are trying to purify a teapot or a loudspeaker or a pair of scissors... and also because all people have negative emotions (or at least anger, passion, anxiety, impatience, disappointment...), meaning that every and any muggle, from a complete stranger to a friend or even a parent, is likely to get targeted...
I also expect Mihoshi to be a quaint, country-esque, provincial-European town with a horizontal skyline, just like Ichigozaka (or Goldkrone in Princess Tutu) - that's the rare kind of community of adventure that very rarely pops up in magical girl warrior series, but I very much prefer eaves and shingles to highrises. Just like the Knot Raiders, the setting is still something that will remain a mystery until the première of the show, right?


On the shipping front... They don’t have to give us any girls' love – I’m not expecting anything, but I am certainly hoping for it.
If we do get yuri, I’m predicting Cure Star x Cure Milky and Soleil x Selene as the ships. I feel like the latter may be more likely, particularly with Elena and Madoka being the sun and moon of their school respectively (assuming they attend the same school).

To cap off all this information, Star ☆ Twinkle will start airing on the 3rd of February 2019. We will have to wait a month, during which we will be entertained with the finale to Hugtto!...

I’m looking forward to Star ☆ Twinkle, but it has a very tough act to follow. If it doesn’t end up being as good as Hugtto!, that’s fine – in fact, I kind of expect that to be the case, since it isn’t really celebrating any milestones. I suspect it will still be fun to watch, though.

The transformation item looked like a quill pen and a pendant so if you lose one of it which I am guessing is the pen, you are screwed.

Star Twinkle has a lot to live up to since Hugtto has outdone and improved many of the Precures clichés. The villains and side characters hopefully are interesting enough like Hugtto and a plot that doesn't involve time travel. 

TALES OF ICHIGOZAKA

The Kirakira Precure à la Mode album, Ichigozaka Monogatari (Tales of Ichigozaka)

Speaking of which:

1) I will keep on with Shades of Dawning, my Yukakira Snow Queen AU, after I have done my Master's Degree homework... (This reminds me of The Queen Beyond the Wall, which similarly began in summer and was closed off for Christmas, interrupted in autumn at Story the Fourth because of studies ;) ) There will be a fight after another in the climax... just like in TQBtW: I just think neither Akira Kenjó nor Brienne of Tarth are the right people to cry over their paralysed better halves to warm their hearts, but think more of a beat-the-heck-out-of-that-person confrontation, the brainwashed sweetheart's heart warmed with the shero's spilt blood.
Plus, we'll get some Aoi time as the most radass robber maiden E5ER.
2) Speaking of Yukari, Akira, Christmas, and white winters, this Yuletide fortnight will come with some very exciting presents for us fans of this OTP:

44	Yuki ni Himeta Omoi! Ai wo Sakebe, Akira! 雪に秘めた想い！愛をさけべ、あきら！ "Feelings Hidden in Snow! Scream For Selfless Love, Akira!" 2017-12-17
45	Sayonara Yukari! Tokimeki✩Suītsu Kurisumasu! さよならゆかり！トキメキ✩スイーツクリスマス！ "Farewell Yukari! Exciting✩Sweet Christmas!" 2017-12-24

The way you read it... Will Miku Kenjó be hovering between life and death? What will happen to Yukari... a journey off to Tokyo, or abroad to the West (the return of Prince Natha, mayhaps)?
Winter is coming for our OTP in both canon and our Snow Queen AU... tension is rising...

AUGUST KKPCÀLM EPISODES

Natsu da! Umi da! KiraPati Hyōryūki!
夏だ！ 海だ！ キラパティ漂流記！Summer! Ocean! The KiraPâti's Drifting Story!
(Or: What is a bloody ICE CAVE doing in the South Pacific? Also: Bilberry, like Shut, gets the Tyrion Lannister treatment.)

Atsu~i LIVE BATTLE! Aoi VS Misaki!
アツ～いライブバトル！あおいVSミサキ！Blazing Live Battle! Aoi vs. Misaki!!
(AOI VS MISAKI!? That sounds like an interesting hot-blooded sing-off worthy of a second musical review, with the wannabe facing off her akogare... does anyone else suspect that the vocalist of Ganache becomes the victim of the week du jour? And will it be a mano a mano or a pulling-out-all-the-stops Wild Azüre vs. Ganache confrontation?)

Dai PINCH! Yami ni Somatta CURE MACARON!
大ピンチ！闇に染まったキュアマカロン！Great Distress! Cure Macaron Stained in Darkness!
(This title instantly caught my eye; even more given the fact that I am writing a Snow Queen AU with a Yukakira bent. Now I wonder whether this will be a real threat or a fifth-column ruse to close in on the Noirs... or a a fifth-column ruse to close in on the Noirs gone wrong when she is forced to the dark side...)

LOCK ON THE PATH OF WAR

Go! Princess Precure - Episode 29

My Own Review:
LOCK ON THE PATH OF WAR

Star Princess Sei, Flower Princess Chieri, and Ocean Princess Yura,

the precursors of three of the Princess Cures.

WE BEGIN IN DIRE STRAITS

At the end of last episode, Lock quickly and stealthily stole the keys of three Princess Cures, Towa Akagi being the sole exception.

Now the three targeted Cures are as helpless as Thor without his hammer or Katniss without her bow.

So all three are dejected, while Towa and token muggle Yui try to raise their spirits.

But this episode begins with my favourite non-empowered character, Seira Azuma, storming into a room full of gloomy Cures as she holds a paper bag full of knickknacks:

SEIRA: Minami, I have brought souvenirs for you... (She is startled to see all three robbed Cures depressed) 

SEIRA: Wh-What's up with the long faces?

(No reply)

TOWA: Everyone... Raise your spirits. There's no use in being all down.

KIRARA (dejected): But... without the Keys... we can't turn into Precures.

MINAMI (concerned): If the Dysdarks attack now...

TOWA (determined): I WILL FIGHT! (WATAKUSHI GA TATAKAIMASU!) I'll take back all of your Keys too.

(A great harangue, Towa, but everyone else is still blue.)

FOLLOW THOSE PET-SERVANTS!

That night, a huge full moon (like the one I saw behind the Poseidon Fountain and Fine Art Museum of Gothenburg three days ago) shines over Noble Academy.

Of course, the full moon has always been something relevant, since our satellite becomes a perfect circle once in every month...

The perfect omen, in spite of its frequent occurrence.

This night, Puff has a dream of waking up in the mist (false awakening) and getting as lost as Gustavus Adolphus at Lützen, only that she thankfully happens to be in a peaceful lea.

Though the sky is cyan/light blue, a full moon and countless stars shine in it. The spaniel immediately recognizes the place in her dream as...

The Hope Kingdom!!!

Apparently, since it's a Magical Land, its physics are different from those of Earth and the moon and stars shine there in the day sky.

Puff is drawn to the scent of a scarlet gerbera-like flower growing on its own and taller than any other flower-plant in the meadow.

From the calyx of this gerbera rises a little sphere of pink light.

From the waters of a crystal-clear lake nearby rises a little sphere of blue light.

A star in the sky becomes a little sphere of golden light.

All three keys soar towards the spaniel and become Dress-Up Keys before her astonished eyes.

Then, the three Keys soar away quickly and Puff darts off in their pursuit.

When Puff awakens, she is glowing with a white light...

...and then given her empowered maid uniform!!!

Then, she notices the scent of the Keys from her dream.

As Puff herself explains, her sense of smell is enhanced by the power-up.

So off go all five girls in the team, following the trail out of the campus and into the woods...

Though it's fearful,
Though it's deep, though it's dark
And though you may lose the path,
Though you may encounter wolves,
You can't just act,
You have to listen.
you can't just act,
You have to think.

There are always wolves,
There are always spells,

So into the woods you go again,
You have to every now and then.
Into the woods, no telling when,
Be ready for the journey.
Into the woods, but not too fast
or what you wish, you lose at last.
Into the woods, but mind the past.
Into the woods, but mind the future.

The way is dark,
The light is dim,
But now there's you, me, her, and him.
The chances look small,
The choices look grim,
But everything you learn there
Will help when you return there.
The light is getting dimmer...
I think I see a glimmer--

Into the woods--you have to grope,
But that's the way you learn to cope.
Into the woods to find there's hope
Of getting through the journey.
Into the woods, each time you go,
There's more to learn of what you know.
Into the woods, but not too slow...
Into the woods, it's nearing midnight...

To mind, to heed, to find, to think, to teach, to join, to go to the festival!
Into the woods,
Into the woods,
Into the woods,
Then out of the woods...
And happy ever after!

Suddenly, the group unwittingly splits up.

Yui, Towa, and the servants are standing before the ocean.

Puff has lost the scent of the Keys.

TOWA: Calm down. Search for the scent one more time.

YUI (turning around): Huh? The others are gone.

YUI (turning around): Huh? The others are gone.

Towa and the servants are surprised.

TOWA/PUFF/AROMA: Eh!!??

Meanwhile, deep in the woods, the other three Cures are looking for the rest of the group.

KIRARA: Yuiyui? Towachi?

Suddenly, Haruka spots a maiden with Rapunzel hair and a ballgown the colour of cotton candy (It's her precursor Chieri) walking through the woodlands.

Then, Haruka sees a maiden with turquoise hair and an empire waist gown the same colour. Thinking that Yura is Towa, she darts off in her pursuit.

HARUKA: Towa? (Storms off ahead of the other two.)

OK, Haruharu, you displease me for your lack of culture, but I didn't know you were colour-blind. Or was there a branch in between, covering her hair from your eyes?

All three Cures dart off as a golden-haired and golden-skinned maiden in yellow (that was Sei) walks her own way through the woods at a more relaxed hair.

The main three follow Sei and get lost in a Lützen-thick fog. When it lifts, they're standing on the upper floor of a Neoclassical palace, on a balcony above the patio.

Cue their surprise.

KIRARA: This place is...

All three Cures dart off as a golden-haired and golden-skinned maiden in yellow (that was Sei) walks her own way through the woods at a more relaxed hair.

The main three follow Sei and get lost in a Lützen-thick fog. When it lifts, they're standing on the upper floor of a Neoclassical palace, on a balcony above the patio.

Cue their surprise.

KIRARA: This place is...

MINAMI (afraid): Is this place a part of the Academy?

Suddenly, Haruka spots a set table full of delicious cakes, scones, tea, and jam. An unbirthday party of sorts, whose hosts are unseen. Forgetting what she has seen about the the Mines of Moria, she is at first overexcited.

HARUHARU (thus elated): A garden party!!!

PARSLEY, SAGE, ROSEMARY, AND TIME

The cotton-candy-haired girl appears in the patio and addresses all three Cures.

CHIERI (smiling): Are you customers? Have a nice day. (Gokigenyó.)

Did Chieri just say the Noble Academy salute?

She did.

So I suspect a connection between this school and the Hope Kingdom. Like many other boarding schools, Noble Academy hails from the turn of last century (Belle Époque, Taishó era in Japan), so it must have been a century-old affair.

21ST C CURES (surprised): G-Gokigenyó...

MINAMI: Uh, where is this place?

YURA: This place is our garden.

SEI (from persimmon treetop): Would you like to have some tea with us?

SEI (picking persimmons): Today's scones came out pretty well.

I mean, she's my second fave Cure so far, after Scarlet. Just notice Sei's boyish manners, contralto voice, and extroverted personality. Golden hair and honey eyes make her resemble me even more!!!

Sei's persimmons are as iconic as Renly's peaches.

As a result, I will give a series of GPPC awards at the end of the series,

presented by Sei and shapled like golden and ruby persimmons.

There will be Best Dysdark, Best Male Muggle, Best Female Muggle, Largest Male Ham, Largest Female Ham, Greatest Badass, Best Hope Kingdom Person, Hottest Male, Hottest Female...

The former Cures invite the present-day ones to join them at the table.

MINAMI (reserved, doubtful): Thank you very much indeed.

And thus it is agreed.

LOCK, STOCK, AND A GAUGE FULL OF DESPAIR.

Let us return to the court of the Hope Kingdom to see which plans Joff... Lock has got for the Dress-Up Keys. And also what will become of Shut...

SHUT (frightened, looking around): Wh-What's going on? Three Locks... nine Keys... What happened when I was gone!? (He is in a cold sweat.)

LOCK (playing with Haruka's Keys at throw and catch): I didn't get to take Twilight's Keys. But these are enough.

Lock then takes up a Horned Padlock, as Shut, aghast, looks on.

SHUT (shudders): That's...

LOCK (looking at the Padlock): This is custom made. With this... (Throwing Haruka's Keys away)

BLUE LOCK: ...I'm sure we can... (Thowing Minami's Keys away)

GREEN LOCK: ...do this!! (Throwing Kirara's Keys away)

All nine Keys soar up to the sky.

LOCK: Take the power of those dreams!

LOCK YOUR DREAM!

The Keys are trapped in a Despair Prison that hangs, suspended by crimson tendrils, above the throne.

Shut is shocked.

SHUT (surprised and afraid): What are you doing?

LOCK: (snickers)

Deep purple despair surges through the bars of the Despair Prison, tainting the Keys within, as the ducts on top of the Prison absorb the pure dream energy of the Keys.

SHUT (shocked): The power of the dreams is turning into despair...

The energy within the Keys is absorbed by the Gauge, which instantly fills with glowing red despair in Lock's right hand. Shut is flabberghasted.

SHUT (surprised): Wow, all of a sudden! 

The Gauge absorbs the little despair energy Shut has gathered as well.

LOCK (confidently showing the full Gauge, but with a sociopath voice): Just as expected.

LOCK: Now... Preparations are complete.

All three Locks snicker to themselves (or among themselves?)

SOMETHING LOST AND SOMETHING WON

Mmm... scones...

I have never eaten them in my life, so this episode is awakening a craving within me...

CHIERI (holding up the teapot): We've got lots more!

KIRARA (taking a big bite of her scone, to Sei): Oh wow, this scone is as delicious as Marbled Doughnuts!!!

SEI (chortles, winks an eye at Kirara): Seems like our tastes are similar.

These two are kindred spirits. If Sei and Kirara had lived in the same time period and dimension, they would surely be besties, and thus I ship them so hard!!!

***PersimmonStar***

YURA (to Minami, who is sipping): Why did all of you come here?

MINAMI (taking the cup from her lips): Uh?

HARUKA (sad): We lost something important...
CHIERI: What do you mean?
HARUKA (looking down) Some keys... (I put "keys" in lower case because Haruka says "kagi", in Japanese, and not the English loanword "Kii" as in "Doressu Appu Kii", i.e. Dress-Up Keys).
CHIERI (surprised): Some keys? What kind of keys?
HARUKA (teary-eyed): Important keys that are used to protect dreams...
CHIERI (wondering): Dreams?
YURA (smiling): Dreams...
SEI (smiling, sincerely): What kind of dreams?
CHIERI (smiling): Tell us. What kind of dreams have you got?
KIRARA: I want to become a world-famous top model.
MINAMI: I want to become someone who can help others, like my father and older brother.
HARUKA: I... I want to become an amazing princess.
CHIERI (smiling warmly): I see. All of you have got such wonderful dreams.
YURA (smiling warmly): I hope all of them can come true.
SEI (smiling warmly, more openly, winking her eye): You girls can do it.
Dark clouds cover the sky, and the present-day Cures are brooding and feeling blue once more.
CHIERI (smiling warmly): We have got dreams, too. They are very vast dreams. (She sighs and buries her head in her hands) But... (Pause.)
Silence at the table.
Suddenly, thunder and lightning.
Then, a desporg roars.
All six maidens leave the table and turn around, to see a colossal desporg towering over the patio.
KIRARA: A desporg? Why?

Then, suddenly, Sei notices a dozen black tendrils appearing from the marble-floor ground and shooting up and entwining at lightning speed, to form a familiar female face with a black raven mask and ruby eyes.
The Cures, all six, are obviously startled.

KIRARA: No way! Dyspear!?

Dys-Dyspear...

The desporg suddenly breaches the walls of the estate...

The Cures reach for their non-existant Keys by conditioned reflex. Alas! Right when they needed to transform the most...

MINAMI (to Yura): Let us get out of here first.

YURA: (nods in agreement)

KIRARA (to Sei): We're gonna run.

SEI: (nods in agreement)

All six Cures escape running through the breach in the wall, each 21st-century Precure holding her predecessor's hand.

KIRARA: Without our Keys, we can't fight.

The six maidens run as fast as they can, yet black thorns spring suddenly from the ground and seize Haruka's left wrist as the desporg closes in...

In the end, all six Cures are forced to hide from their opponent behind a ruined wall.

KIRARA: The desporg will find us soon.

MINAMI: But we just cannot keep on running away forever.

KIRARA (determined): Then, we have to fight!

MINAMI (sternly): That's impossible!

HARUKA: Somehow...

A tangle of black thorns springs quickly from the ground, becoming a pillar with Dyspear on top.

HARUKA: Somehow we have to do something.

(Minami and Kirara are surprised)

MINAMI: How?

HARUKA (determined): In any way we can... even if we can't transform... even if we can't run away... We have to do something! Or else everything will come to an end! Our dreams... Their dreams... That won't do!! We have to save everyone!!

MINAMI (agreeing): Yes.

Kirara agrees without words.

The desporg now sees the girls behind the ruined wall.

HARUKA: Run!

All six Cures run away as fast as possible again...

...but the three present-day ones are trapped in black thorns, their wrists shackled.

CHIERI (frightened): Everyone!

HARUKA: We're all right.

MINAMI: Everyone's all right!

KIRARA: Take this chance!

HARUKA (determined): We're not done yet!

MINAMI (determined): We won't give up!

KIRARA (determined): We won't stop until our dreams come true!

MINAMI: We have dreams that we want to protect!

KIRARA: Dreams that we want to fulfill!

HARUKA: Our dreams won't get defeated by some desporg!

ALL THREE CURES (unison): That's our power!!!

Three lights in the theme colours of the Cures flash brightly, enveloping the maidens and dissolving their thorny shackles, much to their amazement.

CHIERI (giggles): Thank you. Cure Flora. Cure Mermaid. Cure Twinkle.

HARUKA (startled): W-why do you know our Precure names?

CHIERI (smiling, holding up a Dress-Up Key, which glows pink): Use this.

MINAMI (surprised): A D-Dress-Up Key?

KIRARA (even more surprised): Why?

SEI (smiling, holding up a Dress-Up Key, which glows golden): We'll tell you later.

YURA (smiling, holding up a Dress-Up Key, which glows blue): For now, do what you need to do.

CHIERI (tossing her Key to Haruka): Please. Protect everyone's dreams!

Yura and Sei give Minami and Kirara the same plea as they toss the Keys to their successors.

When the 21st-century Cures transform, the Keys turn out to be exactly alike their first ones and trigger their first transformations.

The desporg is soon curbstomped with a three-Cure joint attack.

Then, quite unexpectedly, Dyspear vanishes.

CURE MERMAID: Dyspear... disappeared?

All three Cures are separated from their Keys and return to their muggle forms.

CHIERI (smiling): Thank you, everyone.

All three Cures turn around, and they are astonished upon seeing their predesessors transform exactly into their same battle costumes.

MINAMI (surprised): Are you... perhaps...

HARUKA: ...the previous Princess Precures?

CHIERI: This is the world of our memories. The Hope Kingdom of the past, where we lived.

The world of your memories... Are we dreaming?

I'm sure all of you were called into our dreams.

YURA: In any case, your worries combined with our worries...

SEI:...The power of those worries together created the illusion of despair.

HARUKA: Worries?

CHIERI: The great power of darkness.

HARUKA: I'm sorry. We lost our important Dress-Up Keys.

CHIERI: But you defeated the desporg illusions. I'm sure after this battle you now understand what's truly important.

All three present-day Cures look at one another.

HARUKA: We will not despair.

MINAMI: We want to protect our own and everyone else's dreams.

KIRARA: That is the source of our power!

CHIERI (sighing): I guess your worries are no more. (Soaring up to the sky, surprising the three present-day Precures) The darkness will revive once again. It will be stronger than ever before.

YURA (soaring in the sky as well): But this is your battle now.

SEI (soaring in the sky as well): Please do not ever forget. Your feelings have the power to create dreams.

HARUKA: Um, what are your dreams?

CHIERI: We wish for the Hope Kingdom to be eternally filled with love.

Then, in the middle of the sky, the previous Cures dissolve into balls of coloured light, from which the Dress-Up Keys fall into the hands of their successors.

Haruka receives the Cherry Key.

MINAMI (receiving the Coral Key, surprised): This is...

KIRARA (receiving the Milky Way Key, surprised): Oh...

HARUKA (receiving the Cherry Key, surprised): Dress-Up Keys?

All three Cures wake up on the beach at sunset, with Venus already shining in the evening sky.

HARUKA: Their powerful dreams... are contained within these Keys.

Suddenly, Towa, Yui, and the pet-servants, as worried as can be, storm along the shore towards them.

And they are surprised by seeing the new Keys in their hands.

Cherry...

Coral...

Milky Way...

KIRARA: They want the Hope Kingdom to be eternally filled with hope.

TOWA: We have to take back the Keys they took from us, too.

LOCK'S MOVING CASTLE, PART ONE

(AND SOME SCARY CROW TOO):

Back in the Hope Kingdom...

LOCK (chuckles): I can finally use these toys. (Looking at the full Gauge): LOCK YOUR DREAM!!

Lock throws the Gauge onto the façade of the royal castle, which rises from the waters of the lake and up to the sky.

Shut's reaction once more... Priceless.

SHUT (exceedingly surprised): The castle... became a desporg!!??

LOCK (standing on a window ledge): This is nice. We need to go buck wild.

The desporg castle teleports itself to Earth in a purple light.

An eerie ruby-eyed crow watches the scene from a branch:

Can this red-eyed crow be Close? Or Dyspear?

On the seashore, the Cures see the evening sky cracking and shattering, much to their surprise.

Their reaction is priceless when Lock's Moving Castle hovers towards them.

LOCK (sarcastic): Now, let the fun and games begin.

(Ominous instrumental music)

Milky Way, Cherry, Coral. Perfect complements for the Sun Key.

Lastly, it's finally Cure Scarlet's turn to sing the solo part of the ending!!!

Hoorray!!!

Here's the translation:

Kanaetai mirai he no michi (The path to the future you want to make true)
Sore wo "yume" to yobu no nara (You may call that your "dream")
Nakama to hashiri daseba ī yo ne (Just take off with your friends)
Let's Go! (Go!) gokigen'yō (Let's go, go, have a nice day!)
Let's Go! (Go!) Sukāretto! (Let's go, go, Cure Scarlet!)

Doko kako mo ikiru chikara ni (No matter what happened in the past, the power to live on)
Watashi no honō dare mo kesenai (exists in my eternal flames.)
Tsunaida te towa ni shinjite (I believe in these hands held tight, forever)

Yūki tamesu kyō wa kitto (Because I have the courage today,)
Ashita kaeru tame ni aru kara (tomorrow I will definitely change!)

Goran purinsesu! Guran purinsesu! (Take a gander, princess! Grand Princess!)
"Yume" wa hate shinaku tsuzuite (Your dreams will continue on...)
Hora ne! Minna wo matte iru no yo (See! Everyone else is waiting for you!)
Goran purinsesu! Guran purinsesu! (Take a gander, princess! Grand Princess!)
Sharara sekai ni wa shiawase ga niau yo (Shalala, the world deserves more happiness, so...!)
Kibō no kagi de tokihanate! (Set it free with the key of hope!)
Let's Go! Purinsesu Purikyua (Let's go, Princess Precures!)

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:

This episode, ending with the second cliffhanger in a row, is merely the prelude for the finale of this arc, and does it set some dramatic pace for next week's epic confrontation!

The idea of precursors for a hero team is always interesting. CHYKN for example. They inspired me to write many a thrilling slash fic.

To change theme, the Cures minus Towa got new Keys from their precursors: the Cherry, Coral, and Milky Way keys (fitting their plant/ocean/outer space motifs, respectively). Still, they can't transform without the first Keys they received, a hitch that I consider partly annoying, partly the catalyst for storming Lock's Moving Castle in next episode (impatiently waiting for it!)

Yet another mention of Minami's dad. Possibly he's still alive, a widower or divorcé given the fact that there is no Mrs. Kaido mentioned, but either too busy with his schedule or in a lamentable state of health (leaving his eldest son and heir the whole conglomerate), or, my headcanon so far is that he has retired from business: a gentleman with a twentyish/thirtyish eldest son is surely in his sixties, and thus, the old Kaido patriarch has "abdicated the throne" so to say. Or not. Only time will tell.

As for the current and former Star Princesses: Both use "atashi" for an I pronoun, both are dynamic, both are outspoken and unafraid, love the same flavour... These two are kindred spirits. If Sei and Kirara had lived in the same time period and dimension, they would surely be besties, and thus I ship them so hard!!!

***PersimmonStar***

Sei... I mean, she's my second fave Cure so far, after Scarlet. Just notice Sei's boyish manners, contralto voice, and extroverted personality. Golden hair and honey eyes make her resemble me even more!!!

What Lock has done with the power of the Dress-Up Keys is awesome. Believe me. Just what we needed for the arc finale.

Is Dyspear a plant-based lifeform or something more? Guess we'll find out this winter. And winter is coming.

We also got to see my fave muggle character, bifauxnen/otokoyaku (tomboy that looks and acts like a princely young man) Seira Azuma, once more. At least a little cameo and a little more info about her, but that is all...

 Lock locked up the 9 Dress-Up Keys and gasp!!! He successfully filled the gauge with despair! But why is he turning the castle into a desporg? And why is he using the gauge for this rather than summon Lady Dyspear back? Why is there a little fellow observing what he has done with the Hope Kingdom's Castle? Is the three-eyed, I mean, ruby-eyed crow Dyspear in disguise or probably Close? So many questions.

This ruby-eyed crow... think we've got another case of Chekhov's gun in here...

This episode has a counterpart in Dokidoki! Precure, where, in a similar arc pre-finale with a Secret Test of Character, the precursor Cures put their present-day counterparts to the test with a mock fight to prove if they were worthy of the mid-season upgrade. Upon returning to their hometown of Oogai, they found their families, friends, and acquaintances all tainted in their hearts by selfcenter spores, and thus the episode ended with a cliffhanger, with the mid-season upgrade used to purify everyone in the very next episode.

The Cure Scarlet version of the ending? I expected to hear Towa's name (literally "forever"), and "flames" ("honoo"), and my wishes came true, aside from getting to hear a series of words that sound like her creed. Makes up for the lack of Towa/Cure Scarlet in the episode itself, doesn't it?

NEXT EPISODE (30, ARC FINALE)

Lock's Moving Castle hones in on Earth and on the Cures for yet another riveting arc finale, as our heroines, bereft of their powers except Cure Scarlet, will give everything to storm the redoubtable fortress, and we will discover the powers of all four new Dress-Up Keys. Will Shut or Lock forfeit his life during the course of this battle?

And who or what is this frigging red-eyed crow?

AFTERWORD:

What will the future have in store for the Princess Cures in next arc? We have leaked some upcoming recaps and an interview:

Director Tanaka also directed Suite episode 23, in which Siren/Ellen/Cure Beat joins the good side.

Tanaka: "The important part is how you carry your sins. If you don't depict that gradation, the viewers won't accept it. The important is whether you can say "sorry". Those "purifying episodes" are undoubtedly needed by Towa too. Therefore, I explicitly told Junko Komura (who's on the script) to insert a scene in which Towa apologize in episode 23, and I also noted to the storyboarder Narumi Kuroda that that part was Towa's highlight.

They literally said that, in English.

"Even when they had a strain in their relationship in episode 24, they naturally worked the solution out themselves."
Tanaka: They are more mature aren't they? Towa is earnest, and Kirara is the type of person who notices these kind of things after all. Also, this year heaving situations in which they fight each other doesn't really fit (laughs). It went as far as both of them, who share a bunk bed, going to sleep without saying anything to each other, just covering themselves with their sheets. I think it felt more real than forcibly having them fight.

Interviewer: We are at the turning point of the series, what should we look forward in the latter half?
Tanaka: From the September broadcast when Towa has completely become a friend of the others, there will be new developments. We have a lot set and prepared for you to see, so please look forward to it.

I hope it includes the new generals. The ones with green as a theme colour and clone trooper helmets...

UPCOMING EPISODE SUMMARIES

EPISODE 31 (9/6) New Semester! A New Dream and a New Threat Once More*!
Heading to weed the flower beds, Haruka instead discovers her classmate Komori who has already weeded them.

EPISODE 32 (9/13) Minami's Fiance!? The Super Celeb Who Came Back!
Visiting the academy from his study abroad in England is the self-proclaimed "Minami's Fiancé" Kimimaro Ijuuin (伊集院キミマロ). He notices Minami's change during his time apart from her......
Ep 32: Minami's Fiancé!? The Comeback Super Celeb!: Minamin's childhood friend and super celeb Kimimaro Ijuuin, is back home from his study abroad for the time being. After reuniting with Minami, he notices how she has a different aura compared to before...
So Minami's got a superstar childhood friend/old flame, who studied in the UK, and who will marry her once they come of age... And that surname of his... I think we've got a descendant of a certain half-German lieutenant!!! And he's betrothed to Minami Kaido!!! Squeeeeeee!!!! (Please let it be a cultured and good-looking young fellow, a kindred spirit of hers!)

Ep 33: Teach Us, Shamour 🎵
 Wish-Granting Happiness Lesson!

Madame Shamour and Kuroro participate in a cat conference. For some reason, the cats are in a contentious mood, so the Cures decide to settle things once and for all through a fashion showdown.

Who's this Kuroro? Maybe one of the "clone trooper" twin generals, with a cat theme???

AS A TOKEN OF AFFECTION:

"From Ashes, a New Life"
Towa becoming Cure Scarlet