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Now in Japan
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Thursday, 04 January 2007 00:00 |
 For offshoots from the Dark King himself, the emissaries of Darkness sure aren't the brightest bunch - they still haven't quite figured out where the power of the Stones is stored. It's not for lack of trying, though, and here come another three episodes of their best efforts...
36 - Grab Hold of Freedom! The Guardian's Great Escape
He's only just been revived, but already the Dark King is getting impatient with his subordinates' lack of progress at retrieving the power of the Stones. Back at the mansion, the Guardian has been left in the care of two servant zakenna - they're not the brightest of creatures (even by their bosses' standards), and so the Guardian sees his chance to make a break for freedom. Getting out of the mansion is one thing, but getting back home is a little more awkward when the forces of Darkness are on his trail. Back in town, Honoka and Nagisa are having to deal with a falling-out between Mipple and Mepple, until a message from the Guardian calls them out to help in his escape...
37 - Make Your Debut!! Romeo and Juliet Won't be Defeated
The school cultural festival approaches, and the girls' class is putting on a production of Romeo and Juliet - with Nagisa and Honoka in the lead roles and a very enthusiastic Shiho directing. Shiho's got dreams of working in Hollywood, so she's not accepting anything less than perfect for her first production - but since her lead actresses have other things on their minds, it's not looking like she'll get her way, especially when neither Nagisa nor Honoka believe in their own acting abilities anyway. As if stage fright wasn't a big enough problem, their performance is interrupted by a visitor from the Dark Zone...
38 - Go with Guts! Ryouta's Great Errand Mission
Even on a Sunday, Nagisa's dad is having to work - and when he leaves some important papers at home, he calls on Nagisa to deliver them to his office. Nagisa was meant to be going on a shopping trip with Honoka, so Ryouta volunteers to run the errand for her, and so after giving him 1,001 instructions Nagisa sends him on his way. When Honoka notices that Nagisa seems to be worried about him, though, she suggests following him to make sure he gets there okay. Just as well, too, as the forces of Darkness soon make an appearance...
Three more episodes of more of the same, and you really do begin to wonder why Belzei and the others can't figure out that Porun is the source of the girls' new power when he's delivering it right in front of them. Must be one of those mahou shoujo "only-the-heroes-can-see-it" things. These episodes at least have good humour on their side, which makes them more interesting to watch than the last batch of Pretty Cure I sat through - both the Guardian's attempted escape and the girls' performance of Romeo and Juliet (best described as a reinterpretation, I think) raise more than the usual number of laughs and are well worth watching.
Episode 38 has less appeal to it - mainly as I'm not much of a fan of Ryouta, but also because the female baddie (whose name I can never remember as it's barely ever mentioned - Regine, I think, bu don't quote me!) is definitely the weakest of the bunch - in terms of personality as well as power.
There are signs that the darkside is getting a bit short of patience - Belzei effectively resorts to torture at one point, with Nagisa and Mepple on the receiving end, and their tactics will no doubt get more drastic as the Dark King's patience runs out (and you know it will). There are still 11 episodes to go, though, which gives the writers plenty of time to spin things out. Good or bad, Pretty Cure is enough of a guilty pleasure that I'll be seeing the rest of the series out... |
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