Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to Hugtto! Precure, where the gang most recently enjoyed a world tour courtesy of Emiru’s staggering personal fortune. Oddly enough, that world tour concluded within a handful of minutes, leaving only postcards and a vague, presumably invented memory of Hugtan cosplaying Marie Antoinette. The real meat of the episode took place at a Japanese bathhouse, where we learned that tengus are real, and while not explicitly aligned with Pretty Cure values, will presumably take their side in the coming war.
As that scatterbrained summary implies, it was a bit of a grab bag episode, reflective of our current arc-unmoored status. We’ve got potential threads to pull on regarding Lulu’s relationship with Dr. Traum and Harry’s old compatriots, but for the moment, the gang is basking in the freedom of a mid-season transition phase, going on vacations and checking in on relatives. Precure excels at this stuff; many of Hugtto’s best episodes are basically slice of life vignettes with fight scenes tacked on the end, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As summer vacation comes to an end, let’s check back in on the heroes of Hugtto!
Episode 31
I guess they really did hit all the tentpoles of an ideal summer vacation. Fireworks, pool party, vacation, hot springs, concert, market trip… being defenders of justice sure isn’t getting in the way of their social lives. Which in turn supports the point Hana made at the beginning of these episodes: rather than get preoccupied with time passing by, resolve to live each moment to the fullest, and simply make the most of being this age while you’re here
Having largely resolved her emotional issues, Lulu mostly just talks about food these days
As always, I love these moments that frame Homare and Harry as the group parents
Hana curses them all by reflecting on how good things are going, and pledging to keep up this positive energy. And of course, that’s immediately followed by a cut to a dejected-looking girl in a cheerleader costume. TIME FOR DRAMA
“Time Will Go On! The Memorial Cure Clock is Born!” Jeez, that seems pretty consequential. Unsurprisingly, the end of summer break seems to be coinciding with a renewed focus on Hugtto’s central drama
Oh my god, Lulu’s autograph is just her name printed in Times New Roman. Perfect
Apparently Hana knows this girl from her old school, and also seems uncomfortable meeting her. Interesting – we’ve spent plenty of time focusing on these characters’ aspirations, the things they’re attempting to grow towards, but we haven’t really focused on things they want to grow past or out of. This show opened on Hana debuting her brave new character development haircut, but left open the question of what exactly she was attempting to escape from. Time to get into Hana’s dark history!
Her name is Eri-chan. She abruptly flees, and Hana makes an exaggerated display of cheer as she attempts to move the group past this incident
But in spite of her efforts, she’s clearly distracted and distressed. This is the thing that makes Hana so compelling as a protagonist – though her ability to cheer people up is her signature power, it’s something she really has to work at, not something she naturally embodies. Hana has to put on such an exaggerated display of cheer because she’s naturally more of a quiet person, but is hoping to genuinely transform herself. She embodies this show’s belief in our potential for change so well because she needs to believe we can change, for her own sake
Meanwhile, Gelos is considering firing her useless subordinates. George tells her to do as she likes, because “she has her own story to tell.” He seems to have a pretty hands-off leadership style
Dr. Traum offers her a tool for stopping time
While discussing Hana’s situation, Saya and Homare run into Eri herself. Bless centuries of narrative design and expectation for ensuring that “characters fortuitously bump into each other on the street” is a universally-accepted contrivance
“What happens to time after it passes by?” Try as you might to embrace every moment, you will inevitably accumulate missed opportunities and regrets
Some nice layouts here. I like how we get two consecutive shots of first Hana and then Eri beginning their confession, with each of them tucked in the bottom right corner of the frame. Each individual shot conveys a sense of its focus character feeling lost and small, while putting them in sequence draws a direct line between their feelings, emphasizing how they’re suffering under a shared emotional burden
Man, Hana’s vibe really is different with her old haircut
Apparently she stood up for Eri in school, and was ostracized as a result. And of course, Eri wasn’t brave enough to stand up for her in turn
Eri now wants to apologize to Hana
“Hearts have both sunny and rainy days. As the days go by, they seem to me like the shifting colors of the sky.” Damn, Lulu really is a poet
Homare and Saya sit Hana down and assure her that she is totally, completely cool
And of course, Hana has spent all this time wondering if she actually butted in where she wasn’t wanted
Rie Hikisaka is excellent in these moments where Hana’s voice is catching. You can hear her holding back tears, and rushing through sentences to avoid crying
The line weight on the characters seems even more variable and distinctive than usual on this episode. Seems like the animation director prefers these thick lines, and so do I
Even the base character designs seem a little different this episode – more of a playful curve to the line of their cheek, and a more angular point of termination on the chin
As Hana’s friends sing her back into a good mood, Gelos’ subordinates are off stealing her new toy
And then they immediately take it to a highway and just start time-stopping cars at random. No wonder Gelos wants to fire these chuckleheads
Of course, their discontent also serves as a clear counterpoint to Hana’s situation. Hana has built a support network who help her when she’s down, because they genuinely want her to succeed. In contrast, Criasu Corp’s entirely profit-oriented ethos means they are willing to sacrifice any former allies the moment they don’t have a use for them
With the performance’s makeup artists trapped in a time vortex, Hana and her friends decide to step in
“This isn’t about forgiveness or anything. I just like you, is all.” In spite of her anxieties, Hana handles the actual reunion with Eri like a champion
But enough tearful reconciliation, IT’S TIME FOR BATTLE
“Gelos-san, it hurts!” Dear lord. The time-stop tool malfunctions, fusing the two subordinates into a horrifying alchemical amalgam. Some kid’s gonna have nightmares about this episode
The monster makes the comparison with Hana’s situation explicit. “But Gelos, we’re friends!” “That’s right – we’re a company.” Relationships are worth pursuing only so long as they are exploitable
And of course, the Precure take righteous offense to this philosophy
“What’s happening!? Don’t tell me they’ve awakened the true power of the Mirai Pad!?” You might want to sit down for this one, Harry
Their combined friendship creates the Memorial Cure Clock, now available in all participating retailers
More importantly, new costumes for everyone! SO MANY FRILLS
And Done
Hana’s smile has been restored at last! Actually, that was altogether a pretty snappy resolution of her pre-Precure conflict, with her relationship with Eri mostly serving to emphasize how far all of our leads have come. Having spent their summer vacation reveling in the joy of their collective friendship, this episode offered a formal affirmation of their new strength, as their communal goodwill literally summoned a magic crystal into existence. I’m intrigued by how directly their philosophy was contrasted against Criasu Corp this time – Hugtto’s condemnation of utilitarian corporate philosophy is one of its most sharp and unexpected themes, and I’m eager to see how far that thread goes. But either way, it seems the action is heating up as we shift into the second half of Hugtto Precure!
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