|
Now in Japan
|
|
Written by maehara
|
|
Tuesday, 16 January 2007 00:00 |
 Realisation is slowly beginning to dawn on the Emissaries of Darkness, but not quickly enough to stop Juna and Belzei being on the wrong end of two more beatings by Pretty Cure, even when Belzei does away with the usual direct attacks and tries something a little sneakier. Go, girls. :)
39 - Sparkling Tears! Dripping Sweat! The Wedding Ceremony is a Great Struggle!!
Yoshimi-sensei's getting married - in just a week, as her fiance is having to leave Japan to work overseas. Unlucky for her, but it means she doesn't have to worry about cooking or cleaning too much just yet. The class wants to give her a present - something handmade by all of them - and finally settles on a patchwork quilt. With time so short they quickly get to work, and before they know it it's time for the wedding. Unfortunately for Yoshimi-sensei, any important event in this series is bound to draw the attention of the bad guys, especially when Juna's on the waiting staff...
40 - Your True Colours in the Dream World?! A 2-Day, 1-Night Journey of Darkness
When Honoka's grandmother has to go away for the weekend, she invites Nagisa over to keep her company - and to give her grandmother some piece of mind that she's not alone in the house. Honoka has plans for plenty of studying, but as usual Nagisa has other things on her mind and brings reinforcements in the form of Shiho and the others. All the better to make sure she can avoid hitting the books - until the girls gang up on her and rope her into helping cook dinner. While Honoka and the others have fun, Belzei and his cohorts try to figure out their next move. After deciding on the indirect approach, he pays a visit to the girls' dreams...
So the bad guys are finally beginning to twig on that Porun's the 'problem' as far as Pretty Cure's power is concerned - certainly took them long enough - although beating Juna with their own power in episode 39 ought to confuse them for a bit. Belzei's change in tack in episode 40 was a welcome development, as it shows that at least one of them has a sense of imagination - and the way the story plays out in that episode ought to keep fans of the mythical Nagisa / Honoka shoujo-ai pairing happy for a while. I wonder if that was a deliberate bit of evilness from the writers. Lines like "I might be undependable, but I'll be by your side" (Nagisa speaking to Honoka, while they're in bed together) could easily be read that way if you were so inclined, although I doubt that the series will officially head down the shoujo-ai route.
Also unexpected was the reappearance of Honoka's feelings for Kiriya as an issue - I thought that particular plotline had been well and truly buried, but apparently not. It's still worth remembering that Kiriya was never actually defeated on-screen, so there's always the possibility of a return, so I wonder if that's where events may be heading.
On the surface these two eps continue a run of rather same-y stories, but there are enough little things thrown in there, not necessarily obviously, that make them considerably more interesting than some other recent episodes, particularly when they start working on the relationships again - an aspect of the show that sometimes feels underused.
Less than ten episodes to go now, though - which means that if Pretty Cure follows the usual magical girl routine (and it has done so far), we should be getting into the really good stuff right about now. Personally, I can't wait... |
