This fight could have been an e-mail.

As far as I know, there is only one episode of Sasaki to Pii-chan (Sasaki and Peeps) left this season. I should have dropped it after that bowling alley fight in episode two. Let me be absolutely clear about this: All of the fights in this anime are terrible. They're not interesting, there's no tension, and they never feel necessary. They're not the worst I've ever seen, but Lord, they ain't good. If this were a better show, I would say something like, "Thankfully, the fights comprise only a small part of the series, and are not critical to one's enjoyment of the narrative."

There are A LOT of shrimpy girls in this series, but they aren't love interests.

Unfortunately, Sasaki to Pii-chan is not a better show. Maybe it'll get good after 50 episodes? I get the sense the audience is supposed to be in it for the long haul. I don't know how many volumes of the source material this single cours has covered, but it doesn't feel like much. The show drags, and it seems as if it wants to explore a lot of different ideas, but also wants to do them all at once. Consequently, there's no chance for any sort of satisfying conclusion or storytelling beat this season. It's just going to end, and I'm not going to care.

The dog still likes being on a leash despite having human intelligence.

You might expect this post to be a lament about the apparent decision to eliminate fights from the current iteration of Pretty Cure. Through four episodes, there have been no blows or searing energy beams. I've complained in the past when the franchise has reduced its signature violent content, but I'm also cognizant that there have now been 20 solid years of Precure beatdowns, so I'm not hostile to exploring other approaches. Besides, this is but one of the ways Wonderful Precure! departs from established conventions.

Go on, hug the shit out of it.

Specifically, the "pink" Cure and first to be called is a dog. And not an air-quotes dog the way Milky Rose is a rabbit, or Cure Beat is a cat, or Cure Wing is a bird. Cure Wonderful is an actual domesticated canine pet. (Well she at least also acquired a transitional human girl form at the same time.) She can also speak while in her original dog form now, too, although I discourage you from thinking too deeply about all the implications involved with a Cure who retains her original dog form and continues to do normal dog things, like go on walks. Does she still do other normal dog things? Like I said, we're probably best off not thinking about it. It's fine.

I think it's weird this cat's whiskers come out of her ears.

There's a cat, too, or will be one soon. So far, the only Cures are still the dog and her owner, but there's a cat and girl pair who are obviously due up next. There's also a rabbit and a boy who could potentially be mid-season additions as well, but I have not yet seen any confirmation that this is happening. Granted, I've not been looking either, but Pretty Cure as a franchise tends to be fairly poor at keeping future developments secret, and I'm adjacent to enough fans that I think I would have learned something by now if such plans were concrete.

I like how you're such a downer.

So how is Wonderful Precure! itself as a series? I guess it's all right. It's still too early to tell, but I can at least say I'm not discouraged by the lack of gratuitous violence. Don't get me wrong, I love me some gratuitous mahou shoujo violence, but there's room for trying something different, even if that means I need to actively avoid wondering if Cure Cat will still poop in a box or if Cure Dog will still need to wear a cone of shame while in her human form after she's spayed.

Believe it, Bunbee.

Should Kibou no Chikara ~Otona Precure '23~ (Power of Hope ~Precure Full Bloom~) be examined through the lens used for every other iteration in the Pretty Cure franchise, or should it be viewed (and judged) by standards applied to shows intended for adults? The expectations and allowances adopted can either magnify or diminish both the flaws (3DCG monsters, I'm looking in your direction) and the attributes of the series. I won't attempt to comprehensively address them all, but I bring this up now to acknowledge I'll be leaving some things unsaid. My attitude towards Otona Pretty Cure is generally positive, but you might catch a few laments if you follow me on the 𝕏 née Twitter.

I'm shocked Saki ended up being the one with the best hair.

It still feels miraculous that Otona Precure exists at all. I also sort of got the sense that the production team shared this sentiment. Specifically, it seemed like I was watching a show being made by people who thought they only had one shot at this. That's not an unreasonable position to take. First Pretty Cure itself surely wasn't expected to launch a franchise that has run 20 years and counting. Maybe there will be more Otona Precure someday (the ending certainly leaves the possibility open), but it wouldn't be safe to assume there will be. Consequently, I got the impression there was pressure to cram as much as they could into the 12 episodes they had. (Yes, I'm aware there's some sort of Mahou Tsukai Precure! 2 thing planned, but I'm not expecting it to overlap with this.) Incidentally, there are spoilers the rest of the way out, so avert your eyes if you ain't watched this yet.

I wonder if all their paperwork is forged. I think they're technically illegal aliens.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is Otona Pretty Cure jammed a lot of stuff in here. Notably, Michiru and Kaoru finally got some recognition. As someone who has been constantly complaining about their omissions from team-up events and retrospectives, it was fantastic to see them return. Still, I'm on the fence about they way they were presented. Namely, I think they should still have at least some of the power they had in Splash Star. We did see them fly in the final episode, right? Possibly, they do have their powers, but chose to sit things out for the same reason Bunbee (who apparently does still have his powers) kept his head down and fled when pressed. But, yeah, this was a missed opportunity to officially confer upon them the Cure Bright and Cure Windy designations that they've long deserved.

The opportunity to bring back the original battle costumes was right there!

So, no, Cure Bright and Cure Windy did not appear in any form, but Cure Black, Cure White, and Shiny Luminous all did. This was hidden from the promotional materials and made their appearance a bit of a surprise, but much less so considering it was telegraphed the instant Honoka's grandmother appeared in Otona Precure. As glad as I was to see them again, I would have preferred keeping them out of this season entirely, instead focusing on them in a future installment. Admittedly, that's difficult to do when there's no guarantee there will ever be any more later.

These two are so good.

I feel the need to point out the Max Heart and Splash Star teams were originally unable to unilaterally transform. They needed to be with their partners and their fairy counterparts. This would have been another reason to withhold first-generation Pretty Cure from Power of Hope ~Precure Full Bloom~. I would also have been okay with this limitation preventing Cure Bloom and Cure Egret from participating in the battles. Don't get me wrong, I love that Splash Star was included in this project, but Saki and Mai meant more to me than Bloom and Egret here. I think they could have still meaningfully contributed as regular adults who couldn't transform into Pretty Cure again, in contrast to the Yes! Cures who could.

I wasn't expecting these two to be in the series at all.

Ultimately, the caveat expressed at the very start of Otona Precure (that there are many different possible futures, arguably making none of them capital-C Canon) ends up being the important factor. Maybe this is the possible future where Black, White, Luminous, Bloom, and Egret can all transform without their fairy mascot counterparts. Maybe this is the possible future where individual action can overcome industrialized irresponsibility. Maybe this is the possible future where the queen of Palmier Kingdom still works a day job in Japan. Oh. I'm going to have to address this, aren't I?

Otona Pretty Cure 2: Civil War.

I've never been a fan of the Nozomi x Coco 'ship, although I have to assume it's reasonably popular among the sort of audiences for whom Yes! Pretty Cure 5 was originally intended. In case you somehow still don't know, Coco is an adult who (we now learn) fell for Nozomi when he lured her into an alley met her by chance when she was 13. He was also her middle school teacher. Oh, and his human form is the alter ego of his real form, a ridiculous fairy mascot who is lucky to have Nuts by his side to make him look competent in comparison. And, yeah, he's the (a?) monarch of Palmier Kingdom, a country populated entirely by ridiculous fairy mascots doomed to fight an unavoidable water-rights war with the neighboring Donuts Kingdom. I expect losing this war will trigger the coup Milk has planned.

Was Coco in his fairy mascot form during the ceremony?
Did he include his verbal tic when reciting his vows?

ANYWAY, back in 2008, Coco and Nozomi (Cure Dream, technically) shared the first (and only?) on-screen kiss of the Pretty Cure franchise. Although Otona Precure did not feel beholden to pairing up Saki with Mai's brother, or Komachi with Nuts (Natts, whatever), or Urara with Syrup, it did not pass up the chance to goose the Nozomi x Coco 'shippers. So, now they're married (which really raises a lot of questions if you think about it even a little bit, but I recommend not dwelling on it at all), which explains why Coco was sort of hanging out for the second half of the show doing fuck all. He didn't need to be there, but I guess he did if he and Nozomi were going to get married. That didn't really need to happen during this season either, but I guess it did if "this season," is going to be "the only season," and there's no guarantee it's not. Maybe someday we'll get some more. Each tomorrow is but another possible future.

I like that Kaiser Rin has catsup and mustard hair.

It took 44 episodes, but Hirogaru Sky! Precure finally gave its end-game antagonist a proper introduction. At this stage, so close to the conclusion of the series, I think it's likely I'll ultimately remember Hirogaru Sky! Precure as being eager to introduce new things while never deeply investing in them. Perhaps there were corporate instructions to avoid rocking the boat too much, but ultimately none of the changes that were introduced seemed particularly impactful on the series itself, let alone the franchise as a whole. Similarly, "not being impactful" is also an issue with everything about the show, not just its minor departures from convention.

I'm legit bummed Hirogaru Sky! did not keep the final boss looking like this.

Bringing the final antagonist out this late, for example, doesn't exactly suggest much investment in the story. Considering that she seems fairly unremarkable (barring any crazy twists that could theoretically drop in the coming weeks), I'm not too impressed with Hirogaru as a whole. I still enjoyed it, and it certainly wasn't awful in any way. I think I simply had higher hopes for it.

You look like a Love Live! refugee.

At least we're finally getting some mileage out of the Cure Majesty thing instead of only keeping her around as the magic baby's Stand. Personally, I'm hoping Cure Noble is a fuckup, and that the Undergu Empress is justified in holding whatever grudge she's been hanging onto for the past 300 years. I have to assume, at a minimum, Cure Nobel must have killed her dad. If that's the case, I can see how that might make Kaiser Rin-tan upset, even if he did have it coming.

SHE'S BACK!

It's been nearly 20 years since the first Pretty Cure episode, and more than 15 years since the last episode of Yes! Precure 5 GoGo! aired. I'm not entirely sure how much time is meant to have passed in Kibou no Chikara ~Otona Precure '23~ (Power of Hope ~Precure Full Bloom~), but it feels closer to 10 than it does to 15. In any case, I'm really glad to see these characters again as adults.

Did you end up marrying Mai's brother?

I'm even more pleased to see Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star is being included in this continuity. I admit I was dismissive of both Yes! and Splash Star in the past, but that was back during the Fresh Pretty Cure! era when the franchise was only four generations deep. I've long since come around on both of these iterations, making me a prime candidate for enjoying Otona Precure, although I guess it feels odd to say it.

You need to be a special sort of horrible to make Urara cry.

I don't know what demographics most of the viewers are from. Beyond the now ancient saw about First Pretty Cure only being watched by little girls and adult men, I have to believe there are a lot of twenty-something women with fond memories of watching Yes! as children who are now eager to nostalgically re-engage with with a series they potentially outgrew. Additionally, I would speculate there ought to be a fair number of new viewers who are only incidentally familiar (or entire unfamiliar) with these characters, but are curious about the whole "grown-up Pretty Cure" aspect.

Your identity is going to stay secret, right?

Through the first two episodes, Otona Precure has been very much about Nozomi, although I presume more attention will be given to the other characters in turn as the series progresses. I should also acknowledge this is the best version of Nozomi, ever. I've frequently opined that Nozomi is a ditz or a basket case, while concurrently acknowledging that Cure Dream is a full-time ass kicker and wrecking machine. Well, I can't really refer to Nozomi as a ditz anymore. As an adult, she's come a long way. She's still recognizable as the girl from before, but she's got her shit together at lot better now.

You made Cure Dream mad? Y'all so screwed.

However, Cure Dream is definitely still a full-time ass-kicking wrecking machine. That was never going to be in question, right? That fight in the second episode was incredible. I'm sure anyone with even passing interest in the series will have seen by now the many screenshots captured and shared in response. However, they really don't do justice to the dynamic intensity and violence of the relatively short sequence. I particularly appreciated the palpable sense of pent-up frustration released by someone who has longed for a simpler time when she could simply punch her problems away. I kid you not, I've never loved Cure Dream more.

I am here to drink boxed apple juice and kick ass, and I am all out of boxed apple juice.

This is not a "Cure Majesty sucks" post, although I have encountered opinions along those lines. Rather, I simply don't find Cure Majesty very compelling. It honestly feels as if Cure Majesty as a concept lacked sufficient planning or development. Now, it appears the production team behind Hirogaru Sky! Precure (Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure) wanted to add variety to who became Cures. To that end, the Pretty Cure franchise received its first boy Cure, its first (sort of) non-pink lead Cure, and its first (sort of) adult Cure. Adding Cure Majesty gave it its first (again, only sort of) toddler Cure.

You, of all people, should not be surprised.

The problem here is that Cure Majesty's toddler form really is a toddler. She's not a mentally mature girl slumming around in baby form; she literally is a baby who is still learning how to talk. When Cure Majesty appears in the show, it's only to fight. She's entirely divorced from the character we know as Ellee. Consequently, viewers have no more reason to invest in Cure Majesty than, say, Star Platinum from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

They grow up so fast.

I like Hirogaru Sky! Precure, but I think it stumbled here. I suppose the introduction of Cure Majesty is not as bad as the mess involving Cure Muse from Suite Precure♪, but it's not great either. I feel as if there's nothing to lose now by having the magic baby grow up faster. Granted, Delicious Party♡Precure did that without much success, but Delicious Party had a whole lot of other problems dragging it down. Hirogaru Sky! doesn't have that issue.

Relax, it's only water.

If you don't count Cure Grandma or the various "other" Cures, and ignore whatever the deal was with Cure Earth, then Cure Butterfly is the oldest mainline Pretty Cure. She's only 18, but she's out of school and has a job, drives a car, and spends every waking moment on the verge of despair. Wait, not that last part. Actually, she's super genki and sort of doesn't seem like an adult at all. Do adults like her really exist? Maybe I'm asking too much of my made-for-children magikal girl show.

I wonder if Tsubasa and Syrup will get along.

There's also a boy Cure now: Cure Wing. He's fine. He's the youngest of the group, and he's technically a tubby bird who spends most of his time quietly doing tubby bird things instead of being a loud brat or something. He's WAY better than any of the dudes from Delicious Party♡Precure. I know the natural thing to do is compare Cure Wing with Black Pepper (spoilers: Cure Wing is better), but you have to remember there were a whole mess of other male characters in Delicious Party♡Precure who were way worse than Black Pepper.

I like your luggage.

Anyway, I'm getting off track. Ageha is an old friend of Mashiro (Cure Prism) despite their four-year age difference. Until now, she has just sort of been hanging around minding the magic baby while the Cures were busy. She finally became Cure Butterfly in episode 18, but there wasn't really any build-up to this, nor any indication there was anything necessarily preventing her from becoming a Cure much earlier. The deciding factor seemed to be she just wasn't needed as a Cure until now.

Ma'am, your slip is showing.

Still, she's a welcome addition, even if the novelty of having a (barely adult) adult Cure will quickly get overshadowed by actual-adult Nozomi's return when Kibō no Chikara ~Otona Precure 23~ begins in October. I'm sort of hoping ol' Dream and Bunbee ended up as co-workers in some fresh corporate hellscape. Maybe they spend a lot of time getting plastered together while bitching about their jobs.

Keep your feet and knees together. Aside from that, you're on your own.

The first episode of each new Pretty Cure iteration tends to be good. Even by that metric, the first episode of Hirogaru Sky! Precure is very promising. It also confirms the franchise is exploring uncharted territory in its 20th year. First of all, its lead character is not a Japanese girl. For another thing, Sora's battle costume corresponding with her mahou shoujo form has a blue theme. Promotional materials for the series have also confirmed Hirogaru Sky! Precure will include a male Cure (a 12-year-old boy) and an "adult" Cure (she's 18), although there have technically been older Cures—and numerous Cures only a year younger—in the past.

Don't let her land on your head, Mashiro.

Taxonomy disputes as to who is entitled to be an According to Hoyle Pretty Cure are not new. Viewers who have followed Pretty Cure from the beginning will recall Shiny Luminous, Kaoru, Michiru, and Milky Rose were effectively Cures in all but name, but lacked the official moniker presumably because they were not Japanese girls. Cure Passion broke this barrier at the midpoint of Fresh Pretty Cure! in 2009. Questions as to when there would be a male Cure have dogged the franchise for years. After all, a robot, two space aliens, and a mermaid were all allowed to become Cures. They weren't even human!

Unfortunately, Sky does actually smile a lot during her transformation.

As far as the whole pink Cure thing goes, I feel as if that was only established starting from the fourth year of Pretty Cure. However, it became important enough for some fans that they will retroactively insist Shiny Luminous is a "Yellow" (because of her hair and predominantly defensive role) despite being the only member of the Max Heart trio with an unquestionably pink-themed battle costume. Assuming Cure Prism does not usurp the lead role from Cure Sky, this would be rejection of a convention that has become regarded as traditional.

"I want you to hit me as hard as you can."

It's too early yet for me to claim Hirogaru Sky! Precure will be good, but I am optimistic about its chances. At a minimum the determination and bravery Sora displayed during the first episode points the series in the right direction. My enduring convictions about Pretty Cure as a franchise are predicated on the themes established during its nascent beginnings. Namely, that the series should concentrate on youths embracing Hope and Courage. Consequently, I was baffled that Delicious Party♡Precure devoted so many of its episodes (including the show's climactic arc!) to the exchange of grievances between various adult male characters. Let's not do that again.