Folks, it has been far too long since we watched Precure, and that ends right now. I’ve been greatly enjoying our journey through this latest Pretty Cure production so far, with the show’s most recent episode standing as the clear and dazzling standout. The first segment of Homare’s introduction to the team was a stunning display of evocative direction, fluid animation, and poignant storytelling, conveying Homare’s fears with engaging visual direction and welcome understatement. Sequences like the basketball match were elevated through both energetic action cuts and a close focus on character acting, while scenes of Homare intentionally distancing herself from potential suffering were given visual gravitas through their careful staging. That episode rose up to a finale that excelled in both narrative and visual execution, balancing action cuts that really conveyed the weight and scale of this battle with Homare’s painful and deeply held fear of failure. I’m not expecting another episode quite that good so soon, but Homare’s story has been told with grace so far, and I’m excited to see how it ends. Let’s get right to it!

Episode 5

So happy to see this exuberant Hana opening again. The world is metaphorically and also literally on fire these days, but we can still have optimistic and warm-hearted cartoons to give us a temporary retreat from all the doom and gloom. As an adult, I’ve only gained more appreciation for media that’s intended to be an honest friend, and not a searing reflection of all the suffering I’m perfectly aware is transpiring around us

Alright, that got a little heavy a little quickly. KEEP IT PRECURE, NICK

“Something caught in her heart held her back and she couldn’t transform.” Homare’s inability to transform seems to imply transformation itself is a reflection of embracing honesty and coming to peace with your own nature – or perhaps finding an ideal you feel comfortable transforming into. Lots of magical girl properties frame their transformed characters as a sort of ideal, or at least a “cool older self,” and Hana makes that trope into a thematically relevant device, through her own unique “power of idealism” and focus on inspiring others. Because Homare is still scarred by the injury in her past, she is incapable of embracing the person she wants to become, and thus cannot transform

Excellent sequence of Homare gracefully skating on the ice, literally cut short as she snips her hair in darkness, silencing the music as well. The fading white edges of this sequence clearly frame it as a memory while also making it much easier to convey ambitious movement on the ice

“Dance Across the Sky! Hurray, Cure Etoile!” Welp, I guess she’ll be clearing up this trauma in twenty minutes or less

Harry’s sense of interior decorating seems profoundly suspect. That rug does not go with that giant stuffed tiger, and that giant stuffed tiger doesn’t go with anything

Harry owns a fashion boutique, but seems to not understand the difference between fashionable and gaudy

Didn’t expect this episode to begin with Homare fixing all their interior decorating, but it’s a very charming turn. I’m appreciating the care this show is taking to develop these friendships through lots of incidental, non-cure-related activities

“Do you mind if I send a few photos to Curesta?” Is there like a Precure-specific instagram?

The world as it exists in Precure feels like a singularly gentle place, even compared to other children’s shows. This is a place where you can start banging a tambourine in a crowded store and everyone will just sing along

Back with Charaleet and the bad guys. They’re introducing new antagonists, which means our first enemy’s days are numbered. I can’t imagine villains enjoy these scenes intended to seed their own replacements

Hana is a hard person to say no to. You can really believe she’d pull even Homare into her pace

And even Homare is surprised by how much fun she’s having

“Precure or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s you I like, and want to get closer to!” This is a very nice sentiment, though the fact that Homare will become a Cure kinda undercuts it. I’d be interested in seeing a story that actually followed through on someone failing to become that heroic avatar, though I guess we don’t really need a magical girl critique of predestination

“Telling someone who’s already tried their hardest to keep at it is rough.” Harry with the unexpectedly sensitive critique of Hana’s enthusiasm

“I think knowing how to support people is hard.” A great line that celebrates the difficulty of Hana’s specialty. The difficulty of helping damaged people in ways they’ll be receptive to should be rightly acknowledged

Beautiful shots of Homare on the swing, gently pushing her feet. An easy visual metaphor for inaction whose colors convey a natural sense of melancholy

“The me from before… I wish I could be her”

Hana sits down next to her and starts actively swinging, while acknowledging that she herself didn’t know what to say to cheer Homare up. This is excellent – she’s now trying a new tactic, and instead of acting like everything’s fine, she’s sharing her own vulnerability. I’m really happy to see the show following through on Hana’s power through its character stories like this

“There’s a Nono Hana I want to be some day. That’s why I’m trying.” The core of her belief and power

“There are things Homare can do that we can’t do.” Saaya’s praise is phrased well – she’s not accepting Homare’s frame and saying “I’m sure you can reach or return to the self you like someday,” she’s countering that with “the Homare we already know is impressive and worthy”

This has been a light episode animation-wise, but it’s been pretty rich in terms of silly expressions. Precure seems to favor these really quick momentary reaction faces, along with a whole lot of >_<

The villain arrives and yanks Homare into the sky

“Since you’ve grown, you haven’t landed a single jump.” Charaleet sets Homare down on a high ledge to directly taunt her about her trauma

“You’ll never shine again. You have no future.” These villains represent a natural thematic counterpoint to Hana’s power, reveling in their ability to keep others from believing in themselves or their own potential

And Homare herself provides this latest monster’s energy, a very natural turn

These are still some phenomenal transformation sequences

It’s almost weird to me how well this show manages a sense of impact and scale across its fight scenes. There are many dedicated action shows that don’t understand how to move their characters to convey a sense of titanic weight pressing against someone, but Precure does it naturally. I suppose that’s what a dedicated team with many years of experience in exactly this will get you

Nice use of thick lines to add more impact to Charaleet’s directions

The monster grows ice skates, unsurprisingly

Here again, these shots focused on the Cures’ shoes skidding against the pavement naturally implies the extreme force they’re pushing against. Very smart action direction

Fun cut of Hana dive-kicking the monster, kicking it a bunch more once that fails, and then getting tossed aside, complete with googly-eyed expression

“I’m so scared.” This show’s premise is pretty heavy, all told. Making your villain the universal fear of never accomplishing anything, and never becoming a person you can be proud of, is something that may strike the parents in the audience even more than the kids

Homare thinks back on her new friends cheering her, and this time finds the strength to make that leap. This works thematically, though I don’t really feel sold on the dramatic escalation leading to this moment – I think we needed a little more back-and-forth between Homare’s initial anxieties and the counterpoint of her friends

“I’m still scared of flying. Of being cheered on, too.” Yep. It’s a scary thing to have others believe in you

Homare’s transformation sequence is unsurprisingly staged much like a skating performance, heavy on long, held movements and ornamented with jumps and spins. She also gets her ponytail back, though she looks even older than the other girls in this form

Not really sure about her little airline stewardess hat, though. I guess that matches the costuming of the OP

It’s wonderful to see Homare so happy

Homare calls Hana stylish, and Hana is so bowled over by this that she falls in a river. Extremely Hana

And Done

Well, that sure was a charming episode. I appreciated how well this episode leaned on the natural contrast between Hana’s greatest strength and the powers of our enemies, making strong use of the show’s central thematic conflict. We actually got to see Hana try a variety of different methods for reaching Homare, from straightforward cheering to the camaraderie-focused stuff in the clubhouse to her ultimately sympathizing by offering her own insecurities. I felt Homare’s actual turn was perhaps a smidge too abrupt, and this episode definitely wasn’t a visual match for its formidable predecessor, but I’m on the whole greatly appreciating how the continuous development of this cast makes its underlying conflict all the more rich and emotionally resonant. Plus it’s just fun to hang out with these friends, and only becoming more fun as their friendships grow. Hugtto continues to be a generally wonderful time!

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