Settle in folks, it’s time to watch more Precure! I’ve been greatly enjoying this storied magical girl franchise so far, and am very happy to continue. The show’s second episode was relatively conventional, all things considered – it essentially just served as Saaya’s introduction to the team, establishing her personality, feelings of personal inadequacy, and initial friendship with our girl Hana. As far as all that goes, while the show’s production values remain excellent, Saaya’s personality felt a little familiar to me, and I’m guessing we’ll need a bit more time for her to develop a truly convincing rapport with our main lead. Outside of seriously dedicated thematic vehicles like Madoka Magica, a great deal of the strength of magical girl shows I’ve seen has come down to their character writing, and Hugtto isn’t quite there yet with anyone outside of Hana.

Fortunately, Hana herself remains a fantastic lead, and the threats arrayed against these girls are still decked in intriguing fragments of thematic resonance. If the show keeps up its current pace, we might be formally meeting the yellow cure this week, but I’d also be happy to see the show either further explore the nature of its villains or simply put in some time developing Saaya and Hana’s relationship. Either way, I expect the show to remain joyful and beautiful throughout, so there’s really no losing here. Let’s see what episode three has in store for our young heroes!

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Today I’m thrilled to return to Pretty Cure, as we check out the second episode of the ongoing Precure Hugtto! The show’s first episode was delightful in all sorts of ways, from its alternately silly and evocative visual design to its compelling character work and intriguing set of narrative motifs.

The show’s first and greatest strength so far is its heroine, Hana Nono. Not only is her energy and expressiveness generally charming and relatable, but her specific focus on attempting to live up to the person she wants to become felt like a particularly poignant and universal motivation. I really love stories about people who don’t think they’re strong, but essentially trick themselves into embodying a greater, aspirational strength – My Hero Academia is all about that, Madoka Magica hinges on a similar instinct, and here in Hugtto it’s being used to give us an immediate and sympathetic understanding of our beleaguered heroine.

Additionally, Hana’s focus on “who I want to grow up to be” seems to currently be mirrored by this show’s antagonists, who seem to literally represent “growing up to be an unhappy cog in some vast corporation.” I really don’t think Hugtto will be venturing into any scathing criticism of modern capitalism, but the fact that this show’s enemies are visually represented through skyscrapers and business suits and speak in phrases like “this’ll look terrible at my quarterly review” doesn’t mean nothing. The show is going somewhere with this very direct contrast of future-focused hope and despair, and I’m eager to see where it leads. Let’s see what comes next in Precure Hugtto!

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