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Now in Japan
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Written by maehara
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Saturday, 10 March 2007 00:00 |
 The only problem with watching Pretty Cure's first season and Splash Star back-to-back is that you really can't get away from how Saki and Mai really just are Nagisa and Honoka with slightly tweaked hobbies and character designs. Which probably means the two series are painfully similar plot-wise...
3 - A Head-On Match! You're an Ace!!
Saki's got an important softball game coming up - the first round of the district finals, but they've been paired against last year's winners so most of the team are already expecting to be on the wrong side of a drubbing. Saki's been doing her best to try and motivate the rest of the girls, but she hasn't been having much luck - and as soon as she sees her opponents the next day, her own enthusiasm takes a bit of a dip. Will Yuunagi be able to overcome the might of Kuroshio High..?
4 - Are You Kidding!? The Scenery of Spring and the Cries of Cicadas
It's only episode 4, but already Akudaikaan's threatening dire consequences for Karehaan if he doesn't get his act together - so it's back to the drawing board for the Forces of Evil as he tries to find a way to defeat the girls. Mai, meanwhile, is approached by Ayano Takeuchi - a member of the school's art club. Ayano's seen some of Mai's work, and wants her to take part in an upcoming painting contest. The theme of the contest is "The Scenery of Spring", but Mai has a hard time figuring out how she's meant to portray that in a painting, and her family aren't being much help. Looking for inspiration, Mai and Saki head to the woods outside town - but while they do find some inspriation, they also find Karehaan...
5 - What Will Kenta Do!? Saki and the Cute Older Brother!
While walking to shool, Saki sees a boy who appears to be starting at nothing. Turns out he's been watching vapour trails - but meeting him makes an instant impression on Saki. As luck would have it, the boy is Mai's big brother, Kazuya - and that's when things start getting awkward, as Saki and Kazuya begin to get along a little better than childhood friend Kenta would like. And as usual, Karehaan's on the scene to make life awkward as well...
This early in the series, we're still in the setup phase - not so much from the point of view of letting you know what the show's all about, there's been plenty of opportunity for that from the previous two seasons - but of introducing Saki and Mai and their interests. The main problem with this is that they're so similar in outlook to Nagisa and Honoka that you wonder why they bothered replacing the leads in the first place. Episode 3 is Saki's time to shine with her softball performance, Mai gets episode 4 to show off her artistic talents, while Kenta's "potential love interest" aspect gets a workout in episode 5.
While all this is going on, Karehaan is doing what any evil villain should be doing - making a complete hash of his attempts to defeat the girls, and incurring the wrath of Akudaikaan when he clearly fails to make any progress. To his credit, he's quick to spot that the girls can't transform or cause him many problems when they're separated, but even the fairly simple task of keeping them apart seems to be too much for him. I'd hazard a guess that Akudaikaan's employee screening processes could use a little work.
Not that I care about Splash Star's failings, mind you - I'm a mahou shoujo fanboy through and through, and Pretty Cure in all its incarnations is one of the better recent examples. File under "guilty pleasure" and move on - and I suspect that anyone reading this review will probably feel the same way. A definite treat for magical girl fans, but probably of limited appeal to everyone else... |
