EN QUE RINDEN CULTO AL PEN DE LIBRA

Star*Twinkle Pretty Cure - Episode 8
My Own Review
EN QUE RINDEN CULTO AL PEN DE LIBRA


The eighth episode of Star ☆ Twinkle sees the eponymous group travel to a bone-shaped planet called Kennel, in the Sirius star system, in order to track down the Libra Princess Star Colour Pen.

Hikaru spies PreCures' next destination

We begin with Lala’s crew (Captain: Lala Hagoromo; First Officer: Madoka Kaguya; Quartermaster: Elena Amamiya; Lookout: Hikaru Hoshina) travelling through the Starscape, which is a little bit different from what you might expect when compared to space. Soon enough, the planet with the Libra Star Colour Pen comes into view: the bone-shaped Kennel, a world in the Sirius star system (it's not "ruff" to find out what the locals resemble, eh?).

The girls discover lots of bones on the bone-shaped planet

When they land on the planet, Hikaru wants to go first so she can put the first human footprint on the planet. Things don’t go quite as she plans, but she does get to make her mark. 

One faceprint for humanity!

As the girls explore and seek out the Pen, they find themselves approached by some of the natives. It was also quite of surprised that the 3 visible natives of Planet Kennel-Doggy, Maggy, and Neggy took pride of who they were and commented that Earthlings are nothing special. (Actually I felt that they were prejudiced against Hikaru and company since they are not covered in fur like the natives)

From left to right: Neggy, Doggy, and Maggy

They meet some furry locals, or Pompomeranians, who are very proud of their fur. The aliens find it weird that the girls only have fur on their heads, though they are impressed by Fuwa. They just feel sorry for the hairless Purunce, though. The locals insist on a proper greeting, leading to a funny moment with Hikaru.

That’s not what the Pompomeranians had in mind, though, and they show them what their greeting looks like.

Just like this - fluffing their fur and sparkling...

Elena tries to befriend the locals

Elena decides to show the pup-like aliens (from an Earthly POV: the earthlings + Lala and Co are the aliens from the Pompomeranians' perspective) an Earth greeting from her own Hispanic culture, and shakes their hands whilst smiling at them.

¿Esos cinco?

She tells them that they are friends now, but the locals are not quite enthusiastic about it.

Elena is the nice one in this episode and she offered her friendship to Doggy. They will later learn that the Libra Princess Star Pen is being worshipped by them claiming it was a "Gift" from the sky. From the heavens above.

It rains bones on the bone-shaped planet

It starts raining, but it is not water that falls from the sky. Rather, it is raining bones (amen). The locals with their fur have adapted to the environment. They offer a hair tonic to the humans and Purunce so they can grow fur to protect them from the solid rain. Hikaru is all too willing to try it, but Elena decides she will keep hold of it for the time being.


Ya que una servidora es la más responsable, confiadme el crecepelo.



Doggy takes everyone to a statue of the locals’ ancestor, which has the Libra Star Colour Pen on top of it. Doggy calls it a ‘sacred bone’ that fell from the heavens, as a gift bestowed onto the world of Kennel, and utterly refuses to hand it over when asked about it. Just like the Hattifnattar and the barometer they worshipped because it predicted storms for these electric ghosts to recharge and thus feed! (Tove Jansson - Moomins reference, if no one got it - moreover, the Pompomeranians look just like Hattifnattar-Wookiee hybrids!)

The sacred bone is actually a Star Colour Princess Pen

Purunce tries to get Elena to take it anyway, but she refuses. (Given that she is from a Catholic family, the concept of sacrilege is not a stranger to her!)

Kappard arrives to claim the Libra Star Colour Princess Pen

As they argue about the sacred bone, Kappard shows up to try and steal it for himself.

Prunce insisted of getting the Pen out of their god's scalp... and when Kappard also arrived to steal it, Doggy immediately accused them of being thieves. 

 Of course, that means it is time for PreCures to transform. Soleil fights Kappard directly, whilst the other three hold off his soldiers.

The Pompomeranians also do their part in the combat by their allies' side.

Purunce uses the hair tonic

It seems as if Kappard has the upper hand over Cure Soleil, so Purunce begs the locals to let them borrow the power of the Libra Star Colour Princess Pen. 

When Kappard launches an attack at the locals who are trying to remove the pen (in a rather Arthurian fashion), Purunce protects them with a little help from the hair tonic - and some improptu wookiee cosplay ensues!

Sword-in-the-stone moment!!

Elena tried to explain why they need the Star Pen however was shunned off by Doggy. It was only after Cure Soleil/Elena protected it from Kappard that Doggy & Co. pulled out the Star Pen and Cure Soleil used it to defeat Kappard.

Cure Soleil with the Libra Star Colour Princess Pen

The aliens throw the Libra Star Colour Princess Pen over to Cure Soleil, who uses it to power up her Soleil Shoot attack (so, the power of Libra is ... ). She uses it to send Kappard and the mooks flying, bringing the battle to an end.

Libra Fuwa (Scalewa)

Once the battle has ended, the girls use the pen to return the Princess of Libra to the Star Palace.

Princess of Libra

The Princess of Libra thanks PreCures for their efforts, and makes a comment about how much Fuwa has grown. She doesn’t recognise Purunce though, as he is still covered in fur.

The episode ends with Purunce returning to normal as the effect wears off, though Elena has another bottle of hair tonic ready for any time he wants to use it.

Of course, the Libra Star Princess was revived and she even play dumb to Prunce who was covered in fur. (After using a bottle of instant hair growth earlier)

In the end, everything went well and Doggy and Elena formed a new friendship...

A good episode. Cure Soleil was the main star here, though Hikaru got some excellent funny moments in the earlier parts of the episode. Leaving her mark on the planet and her introduction in particular made me laugh.

The girls are up to three Princess Star Colour Pens now; a quarter of the way to collecting all twelve. I suspect they will have all of them by the halfway point of this season if the pace continues on like this.

Overall, the plot is moving forward since the girls found the Libra Princess Star Pen and hopefully we get to see more interesting planets. I like how Prunce causally commented that there is a planet that rained diamonds (Take me to that Planet) after they were taking shelter from a bone shower. 

But the fighting is still one-sided and hopefully that is not the case in every episode since Aiwan is the only one so far that can corrupt the Star Pens. But we have not reached the end of the first quarter (springtime cour) of the series since that is reserved for major storylines so it is still too early to tell.

Next time is a Madoka episode.

Episode 8: The girls traveled to Planet Kennel, in search for the Libra Pen. When they arrive, the find the world to be completely made out of bones, and encountered the furry race that lives there. After somewhat awkward first encounter, they are brought to the temple to shelter from the “rain” where they discover the Libra Pen. It was perceived to be a (temporary) replacement for the head-tail that had broke and was currently under repairs.

Although this week’s episode was cute and had some good comedic moments, despite this episode focusing on Elena,  I felt it was really shallow. The only thing we got out of her is her understanding and kind nature, both we are already aware of, and how she has the strength to not be pressured in going against her morales— regardless of what is at stake. This was highlighted when Prunce was pressuring Elena to grab the pen and go instead of actually trying to communicate to the aliens why they needed it. I liked that they did this because it shows us how because of his desperation, Prunce can be a hypocrite when he is fuelled by his own selfish desires.

But Prunce wasn’t the only one who caused problems, Hikaru did as well— and much to my dismay, nobody called her out on it! But in all seriousness, dear gosh, someone get a hold of this child! She has no sense of danger whatsoever. If this were a horror series, she would be the first to go down because of her boundless curiosity. But what I also didn’t like was how disrespectful she was at the shrine. Sure, she was wondering if the “Sacred Bone” was the pen or not, but to have the nerve to climb the statue of their ancestor and guardian spirit? The other girls were a lot more sensible in realizing how they needed to be diplomatic about the approach given the situation at hand. It makes me wonder if they will ever properly address this glaring flaw of hers.

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:

Siriusly, did you take out a page from Tove Jansson's books? (Hattifnattar-Wookiee hybrid locals - and the barometer worship parallel)

The Libra Pen: 3 Star Colour pens down (our first air sign, and first fixed sign, to break the pattern!) - still nine more to go! That's a quarter down and three quarters to go, right?

The Power-Up:
First, let us see what the Libra Pen does to the Soleil Shot, shall we?

The Fuwa Form (Scalewa): Given that this is the only star sign not to be animal- or humanoid-themed in the western zodiac, the form needed a lot of fantasy to create-- and we got an adoooorable uniformed schoolgirl, whose earrings+hairpins formed the scales!

The Libra Star Princess: That hairstyle - symmetry in her choice of attire - the bare shoulders  - star-shaped pupils

IN NExT EPISODE (9):

We are back on Earth --so that the Cures will commute between worlds, leaving for other star systems whenever a Star Colour Pen rears its head!

Next episode is about Madoka and her conflicts with her father and probably herself. The answer to her problem? Donuts!? ¿Y qué pinta la floristería Sonrisa? Until then, see you in the next post!  

MUKASHIBANASHI 11: THE SNOW BRIDE

To commemorate the springtime equinox for this year, here is another mukashibanashi -- particularly widespread in Kanto (ie eastern Honshu, the Tokyo area), where the snow often reaches a height of three metres and remains on the ground up to half of the year.

Mukashi mukashi, once upon a time long ago, there was a young man who had not yet found any maiden who would like to tie the knot with him, and thus, being an orphan and an only child, as well as friendless, he lived all alone on his own. On a stormy winter night, during a raging blizzard, he heard a knock on the door. And, when he opened, he found a young lady with unusual silver hair, her whole self too lovely to be human, clad in a mourning-white kimono, lying unconscious on the threshold floor. So he carried her indoors, and soon she began to recover, even though her face remained as pale and cold as newly-fallen snow, and her eyes were an icy blue, so piercing that they burned through. And she was so beautiful that he asked Oyuki, for that was her name, for her hand in marriage.
The two of them lived together, as happily as only young newlyweds can live, for all winter long, and she even encouraged him to go more often down to the village and open up and make friends... but when springtime came and the sun began to shine warmly once more, the young wife began to gradually lose her strength. For each day, she grew weaker and weaker, and lost more and more weight, just like a consumptive would.
Her young husband thought that perchance Oyuki was wasting away for want of company, so he invited their mutual friends over to a fête held to celebrate the springtime equinox at their place. In the middle of the soirée, the young host called for his wife into the kitchen. Since there was no reply, he entered to find her. But there was no Oyuki to be found; only a silken wisteria kimono (which he had given her as a gift), soaking wet, in the middle of a large puddle of freshwater by the fireside.


The bride in this tale is obviously a yuki-onna (雪女), ie a Snow Lady: a female ice elemental, commonly portrayed as a femme fatale who cajoles young males and leads them to a frozen grave in cold water or a snowdrift. Then she preys on their body warmth...
They're typically depicted as pale women with long, black or (particularly in modern depictions) icy blue hair that wear mourning-white (for white is the Asian colour of mourning, just as black is here in European cultures), icy white kimonos (however, some traditional depictions also show them being nude). Yuki-onna are the spirits of young women who died of hypothermia.
Whether Yuki-onna simply like cold climates, are cursed to live in cold climates, or literally can't survive outside of cold climates depends on the incarnation. Some incarnations sleep with lone travelers to steal valuable body warmth, others will simply make them get lost during their travels in order to freeze to death, yet others will kill travelers by tricking them into touching them. More benevolent Yuki-onna will either lead the victims to safety and then sleep with them (or just lead them to safety), or simply leave them alone; the more wicked ones will lead them astray to begin with, kill them with the methods described above, or use them. Some evil Yuki-onna have been described as letting their victims go if they are too young and-or too attractive. Such might have been the case of this Oyuki's husband in today's mukashibanashi! (But I personally see this Oyuki as being far more kind-hearted, don't I?)


Mysterious and majestic Shirahime (白姫), the White Princess, CLAMP's yuki-onna, was my introduction to this species of youkai, both in her titular standalone volume Snow Goddess Tales (a triptych of stories tied together by the wintry rural landscape settings and the presence of the titular character) as well as her appearances in other CLAMP series, such as Angelic Layer, where she was revamped as an albino in a shorter kimono and thigh-high boots:
 






A far cry from the CLAMP winter royal, and my favourite yuki-onna in fiction, is the eccentric and socially awkward, adorable Mizore Shirayuki. Like Luna Lovegood, she resonated with me due to similarities in personality, down to the oral fixation (she is never seen without a mint lollipop, to keep herself cool even in the hottest temperatures). In the past, she confessed her love to her kraken swimming teacher, Octo Kotsubo, until he began taking advantage of her, freezing him as a result. With the incident and rumors spreading about her, Mizore made it hard for herself to trust anyone. She eventually regains her sense of trust after Octo returns to kill her, putting Mizore in literal hot water...

• Anime Hair: Not so much now, but when she was first introduced her hair was much more messy and longer, and despite only having her hair like that in her intro eps in the anime, it's still popular with her fans. She doesn't wear her hair like that anymore because to her it was a Important Hair Cut to symbolize the lessening of her burdens (or something along those lines), which was followed by her becoming a member of the leading cast of nakama.
• Arranged Marriage: Is rescued from it by her friends and mother.
• Doppelgänger Spin: Her "ice clone" technique, which allows her to make somewhat-independent clones merely out of the humidity in the air. She's shown to be quite adept, as she can not only make clones of others, but have two acting at the same time.
• Icy Blue Eyes: Notably more in the anime, as it borders to Technicolour Eyes, iridescent like northern lights.
• Logical Weakness: As a yuki-onna, she's vulnerable to fire and heat.
• Loners Are Freaks: Even after joining the group, it was quite a while before she joined the Newspaper Club proper, instead of just hanging around in the club room. And she's definitely an oddball.
• Me's a Crowd: Can create "ice clones". Not only of herself.
• My Biological Clock Is Ticking: She gets an entire arc focusing on this.
• Only You Can Repopulate My Race: Yuki-Onna have a limited window of fertility (teens to early-to-mid twenties), which poses a problem. A problem that's exacerbated by her fixations.
• Oral Fixation: Her minty lollipop, which is used to keep herself cool. According to an Omake, it's got a super-chilly frost core. So much so, she provides the Trope Image.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Often appears out of ridiculous hiding places, like trash cans, second story windows, dropped ceilings, the bathtub...

In the usual femme fatale portrayal of the yuki-onna, there are stark similarities to Andersen's sinisterly alluring, abducting, fierce Snow Queen. Such stark similarities that it does not seem to be purely coincidental that the same motifs pop up clustered in the same pattern in both the eastern and western versions...

However, in tales like these where a bachelor marries a yuki-onna and subsequently loses her to higher temperatures, there is much less resonance of Andersen and much more of the Slavic Snegurotchka (Снегурочка), a snow-girl, made as a snowman shaped like a lifesized girl child by a childless couple, and subsequently adopted by her makers as she comes to life; a character who, just like the Snow Queen, is held up as a Christmas icon in Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe. The story of Snegurotchka ends in springtime with the same coda as this mukashibanashi, only that the skazka ends on a more bittersweet, hopeful note: with the parents deciding to make another snow girl, or Snegurotchka, the next winter, and do so as a tradition for each and every winter of their lives (besides, stories like those of Kaguya, Snegurotchka, the Pacific Northwest Sunchild, and Timothy Green, can all be regarded as tales of comfort and reassurance for empty-nesters who miss their estranged children).
The Pokémon Froslass and Glaceon are also based upon the yuki-onna, as is the Yo-Kai Blizzaria.