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Now in Japan
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Wednesday, 02 May 2007 17:00 |
 While I'm just finishing off the first incarnation of Pretty Cure, the fourth series is just getting ready to kick off in Japan. Such are the joys of backlogs. At least I'm not lamenting the departure of Nagisa and Honoka just yet - I've a whole series of Max Heart to get through with them. Which should give you a hint about how this season's dramatic climax works out...
48 - The Greatest Battle in History! Pretty Cure's Final Day!!
While the Dark King and his former minions do battle over the right to control the power of creation, Kiriya grabs the girls and takes them to a place of safety. He's aware of what's been going on - and that as far as the Garden of Rainbows is concerned, the result will be the same whoever wins: with the powers of destruction and creation out of balance, darkness is spreading quickly, and their home will likely soon fall to the darkness. That knowledge gives them the determination they need to go back and try to deal with both Belzei and the Dark King - but are they strong enough to do it on their own..?
49 - Believe in the Future! Believe in Tomorrow! You Can't Make us Say Goodbye!!
The Dark King's royally pissed at Pretty Cure's insistence on thwarting his plans, and follows them back to the Garden of Rainbows, intent on dealing with them once and for all. With both the power of creation and the power of destruction at his disposal, he's no pushover, either - it soon becomes clear that even the girls' most powerful attacks are woefully short of what they need to defeat the Dark King. They need help from someone else - but who..?
Not really a lot to write about these episodes, to be honest - if you've seen one magical girl final battle, you've pretty much seen 'em all, and with Pretty Cure having done everything else by the numbers it was never going to depart from the formula here. All the usual elements are here - betrayal, revenge, the spectre of defeat, a conveniently-timed powerup, final victory from the forces of good, and an Arnie-like "I'll be back!" from the villain as his plans are thoroughly thwarted. Although remembering how long the Dark King stayed vanquished for last time, it probably won't be too far into Max Heart before he turns up again.
The power of friendship once again wins the day, then. While it's all very formualic, though, Pretty Cure's usual high-class presentation helps it keep the attention, along with the ever-present Nagisa and Honoka, who have played a large part in making the series as popular as it is - as magical girls go, they're definitely two of the better ones personality-wise, with incidents like Honoka's feelings for Kiriya helping to flesh them both out into something a little more that cookie-cutter stereotypes.
End result for Futari wa Pretty Cure's first season, then: overly-long, full of filler, and with some baddies who could really have used some additional brainpower, but like most magical girl shows it fills the "guilty pleasure" category where such failing are completely ignored in favour of the action side of the show. There's been plenty here that's good, more than enough to make sure I'll be quickly moving on to season two. If magical girls are your thing, then this deserves not to be missed. |
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