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Now in Japan
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Saturday, 03 February 2007 00:00 |
 The forces of darkness begin to get serious - realising its your own existence that's on line has a tendency to focus the attention. For Pretty Cure, that means that they're going to have to fight all the harder to prevent the power of the Stones falling into the hands of Belzei and friends - who are no longer thinking solely of the Dark King's welfare when planning their attacks...
41 - We Won't Lose, Dammit! Whip the Power of Darkness' Butt!
Belzei's spotted a small problem: the power of darkness is the power to consume all things - which includes the Dark King, which is why he's so interested in gaining the power of the Stones for himself. Once he has the Stones, he'll be in possession of the power to create all things & will have ensured his own future. Belzei's smart enough to realise that if the Dark King's in danger if they don't retrieve the stones, then so are he and his associates - meaning they'd better get a move on and complete their task. Juna's next to pay the girls a visit, transporting Nagisa and Honoka away during a lacrosse match (although somehow no-one seems to notice them gone), determined to deal with the girls - but becomes the first of the emissaries of darkness to find himself on the wrong end of the power to destroy. While it's a threat to Juna, though, it's an equally large threat to the girls...
42 - Two Become One! Nagisa and Honoka's Strongest Bond
First step in Belzei's plan to retrieve the power of creation and save his own skin: bury Pretty Cure in darkness, as he puts it, and this time there'll be no messing around. They've realised the girls' major weakness: when they're apart, they can't do anything - and so while Nagisa is distracted by having to fight Juna and the girl, Belzei takes Honoka to a place from where he hopes there'll be no escape. Faced with the prospect of Honoka's permanent disappearance, though, Nagisa somehow finds the power to fight her way to Honoka's side...
Interesting stuff, these episodes. Ep 41 sets the groundwork for a change in tone, as Belzei and co become less lackeys of the Dark King and more individuals looking to save their own skins - a noble motive if ever there were one. If I was a betting man, I'd say there's a possibility that at some stage they'll realise that, if they're prepared to abandon the Dark King, then their chances of survival would be greatly increased by helping the girls instead of fighting them. Think of the Dark Moon girls in Sailor Moon R, and you'll know where that idea comes from. No sign of that happening yet, though.
Episode 42 is another one that gives the Nagisa / Honoka shoujo-ai crowd some ammunition for claiming the girls are more than just friends, as Honoka's imminent demise pushes Nagisa into some impressive fighting as she tries to save her friend. Now, I'm as much a fan of shoujo-ai as the next guy, but it's still a stretch to see these two in quite that light. This is an impressive episode, though, as there's more emotion flowing through it than there's almost been for the rest of the season - barring Honoka's reaction when Kiriya disappeared.
A great pair of episodes, though, especially after some of the mediocre ones we've had lately. Events are beginning to build slowly for the end-of-season climax, and while you know the girls will come good in the end (the existence of Pretty Cure Max Heart is a bit of a giveaway), we're not getting many hints yet as to how it's going to play out. If only it were like this all the time... |
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