Pretty Cure

I cannot stress enough how much I love the first two seasons. However, after that things began going down hill. You get very attached to characters, and in this case Natalie and Hannah. They are two average girls with two very different personalities, which any girl can relate to, with talking little cell phones (yes, I do know they are NOT cell phones, said by Natalie herself). Yet, as the series went on, the characters became less and less realistic by episode. If these two characters were to of stayed, then Pretty Cure would of been a by far better show than the mess now. In Pretty Cure:Max Heart 2, there is a very heart breaking scene where the two girls fight, but in the season that goes by now (pink, green, blue, bright purple haired girls took over) you see nothing of the sort. It is all about fashion, flowers and music which ruins the whole concept. I actually sometimes CRY over the fact they cannot return, and I cry at the last episode containing these two young girls. in fact, if you can.. Watch the first episode of the Pretty Cure Series and watch the last one that came out and you'll, for sure, see a large difference. Sorry to say, but Pretty Cure was five star for everything and ticked all the boxes until the third season arrived.

From a concerned fan of the first and second season, CureWhiteHonoka.

Like my title says this anime is really, really cool!
I didn't watch the sub only the dub so I'll be using the names from that.
First off Natalie and Hannah go to te same school, same class but never talk or even so know that the other exists. Until one day Natalie sees a shooting star. She makes a wish, opens her eyes and the shooting star is heading right for her! That shooting star turns out to be Mephille, the chosen guardian of the garden of light!
Meanwhile Hannah is looking around and in her garden shed (thing) she finds a box which inside is Miphille!
When the girls are both targeted by creatures from the dark zone they depend on eachother to transform into Cure Black and Cure White - tohether they are Pretty Cure!
When Natalie and Hannah start to spend lots of time together before and after school their classmates get suspicous, but that is the least of Pretty Cure's problems. Like how they need to find the prism hopish to save the garden of Light which is Mephille and Miphilles home, they can't let it be destroyed!
They also need to collect 7 prism stones for the garden of Light to be kept safe! But the problem with that is that the 5 members of the dark zone, each have their own prism stone, which means that they'll have to fight to protect and save the garden of ligh and the Earth from being taken over.
The members of the Dark Zone are:
Pijard (the first seen)
Gekidorago (the second)
Pandora (the third)
Kiria (the fourth and Pandoras younger brother)
ilkubo (the fifth)
and THE DARK KING!

but unfortunately after the dark 5 there are the three seeds of darkness!

WTACH THIS ANIME WHICH IS FULL TO BRIM OF COMEDY (my review probably said the opposite but it is hilarious), ROMANCE (kiria falls in love with pretty cure member, hannah), ACTION AND AWESOMENESS!
Trust me if you watch it, you'll love it and the characters!

As an enthusiast of Magical Girls, I tend to watch many magical girl anime that looks interesting. Some of them, I watched till the end due to their awesomeness (ex: Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, Shugo Chara, Nanoha). For many others, I completely dropped them due to their lackluster content (ex: Mermaid Melody, Powerpuff Girls Z). So being the curious person that I am, I stumbled upon the insanely popular Pretty Cure series and decided to give it a shot, after finding out that Pretty Cure has already surpassed Sailor Moon in means of length (Sailor Moon had 5 seasons; Pretty Cure now has 7 and still ongoing). After quite a while, I have finally finished the first season of Pretty Cure, titled "Futari wa Pretty Cure!". So how does it stack up? Let's take a look.

***Please note that since most magical girl shows are aimed for younger audiences, I tend to judge them differently than how I would usually judge anime aimed for older audiences. Therefore, I will be more lenient and let more things slide when reviewing these kinds of shows. I will also try to keep the review as spoiler-free as possible.

I.) Storyline: 3.5 out of 5

The first Pretty Cure follows the story of Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro. Nagisa is the athletic kind of girl, always energetic, courageous, and often acts before she thinks. Honoka is a bookworm type, very intelligent and good at academics, but is soft-spoken and timid. One day, the two of them encounter these two fairy creatures, named Mepple and Mipple, which could transform into some cellphone/card reader/Digivice-sort of gadget and give the two girls the power to transform into the Legendary Warriors of Light, Pretty Cure. Together, Nagisa and Honoka must work together to collect the Prism Stones, seven jewels containing the Power of Creation, in order to restore the Garden of Light to its former glory. Standing in their way, however, is the Dark King and his evil henchmen, out to capture the Prism Stones themselves so they could use its powers to fulfill their evil plans. From there, the story becomes a wild race to see which side can collect the Prism Stones first, and along the way, both sides engage in various skirmishes.

I must admit, the story is probably one of the weaker points of this show. Sure enough, the show itself is entertaining all in all due to the awesome fight scenes and the charming characters (which I'll go over later), but the main plot itself is weak since it is something that's been done in many other magical girl shows before.

Another problem plaguing the story is its monster-of-the-week format. Pretty much every episode follows the same procedure: The girls enjoy their social life, the bad guy shows up and tries to ruin their day, the bad guy summons a monster, the girls transform into Pretty Cure and defeat the monster, the bad guy flees, and the girls enjoy the rest of the day. While the monster-of-the-week format is pretty much expected when watching a magical girl show, I've seen many other magical girl anime pull off this routine much better than how Pretty Cure did it. Sadly, this could get very tiresome for some people, causing them to drop the show early on.

My final gripe with the story are the fillers. Yes, I know that pretty much EVERY magical girl show has fillers, but what bothers me is that fillers make up 60% of this entire show, and only 40% are storyline-related episodes. I mean, there are instances in the show where they could show one storyline episode, and then follow it up with seven straight filler episodes before another story episode shows up. The pacing becomes very slow this way, and this slow pacing could also put off some people. In my opinion, Pretty Cure didn't even need to have 49 episodes. I think if they cut all the fillers, the main storyline could probably be accomplished in only 26 episodes or even less. But of course, the show was doing so well, and Toei Animation wants to make big cash, so they extended the show longer than it should be.

However, if one sticks long enough and puts up with the fillers and the cliches, then they will be treated to a very enjoyable storyline. In fact, the show had a pretty sad ending, even if it was judged by regular standards. But I won't into any more detail with the ending; if you want to find out, go watch the show.


II.) Music: 4 out of 5

Yes, yes. I know. Whenever the word "magical girl" pops up, overly cheerful candy pop/techno music comes into mind. That is not the case with Pretty Cure, however. I'd say that Toei Animation definitely invested a lot of money into Pretty Cure's soundtrack. Instead of the generic pop/techno music common in magical girl anime, Pretty Cure actually has a fully-orchestrated soundtrack. From the opening theme song to the background music, you can definitely hear the trumpets, trombones, flutes, violins, xylophones, and the many other instruments used to compose this show's soundtrack. Not to mention, this show has a number of catchy tunes, such as the music playing when the Pretty Cure use their "Rainbow Storm" attack or the J-Pop song "Shining Star" played in a couple of serious scenarios. Although not the best, Pretty Cure's soundtrack still deserves special praise. Kudos to Toei for that!


III.) Characters: 4.5 out of 5

THIS is the show's strongest point. If there is one thing this show excels at, it's the characters. Not only do we have plenty of charming characters, but many of them also have pretty good backstories. For example, since Nagisa and Honoka are polar opposites, it is very amusing to see how they work together as a team. There would be instances where their different ideas and behavior would cause them to fight, but it's always adorable to see them make up and become friends again. This show also places a heavy emphasis on teamwork; for example, Nagisa and Honoka cannot transform into Pretty Cure if they are separated. This is a flaw that the bad guys will exploit a number of times throughout the show, and it is very entertaining to watch how Nagisa and Honoka will work around their flaw.

Some minor characters also have very interesting backstories, some even having complex pasts that would normally NOT be shown in a little girls' show. For example, Honoka's grandma was a survivor of the atomic bombings back in WWII, and they even devoted one episode showing how she, as a young girl, managed to walk out alive from a demolished Hiroshima/Nagasaki, and how she reacted when she saw that the whole city was wiped out and flattened to the ground. It was a very chilling and touching moment, and is definitely something you would never expect from shows like Cardcaptor Sakura or Tokyo Mew Mew. Kudos to Pretty Cure for having the guts to pull off something like that.

And of course, what magical girl anime would be complete without romance? Pretty Cure is no exception. Throughout the show, Nagisa would often make attempts to confess her love to this handsome boy, named Fujiwara (or Fuji-P, as Nagisa calls him). Of course, most of her attempts fail, and hilarity ensues. There is even a point where one of Nagisa's best friends tell her that she too is in love with Fuji-P, and even asks Nagisa herself to help her confess to Fuji-P (being completely unaware that Nagisa is also in love with him). Now, Nagisa must choose whether to not let her friend down and help her confess to Fuji-P, or turn her down to have Fuji-P all for herself. It's a tough choice, and it is very entertaining to watch how Nagisa deals with this issue, making the romantic sessions of this show worth watching.

Of course, even this show's character developments have a downside. For instance, only the good guys' backgrounds were explored, and the bad guys' developments were completely tossed aside. In fact, due to lack of development, the bad guys' motives were never even explained AT ALL. No explanation was given whatsoever as to where they came from and why they're doing the evil acts that they usually do. It just boiled down to "The bad guys are evil because they're evil" concept, and I didn't like it. In my anime, I always prefer it when the show gives a legitimate reason why the villains are being evil. Unfortunately, Pretty Cure fails to do this, much to my disappointment. However, since this is a little girls' show, I'll just let this one go.


IV.) Animation: 3 out of 5

Sadly, this is Pretty Cure's weakest point. Now, I'm not saying the animation is atrocious. In fact, it has its equal share of good and bad points. Let us go over the good points first.

First off, one of the very first things one would notice about this show is that the fight scenes are intense. If you were to take the steroid-infused warriors of Dragon Ball Z, turn them into middle school girls, and give them magical girl powers, then Pretty Cure is what you'd get. For example, in your typical magical girl shows like Shugo Chara or Tokyo Mew Mew, the fight scenes would mostly be composed of the girls dodging enemy spells, throwing in some of their own attacks here and there, talking about the power of love or friendship or whatnot to try and dissuade the enemy, and then finish off the distracted enemy with some overly-colorful and flashy burst of light, which they call their special "attack" (if you even count that as an actual attack), but most of the time, those "attacks" just end up looking like cheesy light shows, and the fight scene overall feels weak and lacking impact (I'm looking at you, Tokyo Mew Mew).

However, Pretty Cure does none of those crap. When the battle starts, Pretty Cure gets right to the point and shows its audience what a fight's true nature is: violence. It does not try to sugarcoat its fights, it gets to the point and holds nothing back. Fight scenes in Pretty Cure are composed of the combatants throwing a relentless barrage of punches and kicks, individuals sent flying and slamming into buildings, individuals getting grabbed by the ankle and smashed into the asphalt road, combatants destroying nearby structures and making them collapse into their enemies, combatants shooting explosive energy bolts at one another, individuals grabbing metal pipes and using them as swords, super villains using their magic to make all the cars in an underground parking lot spontaneously explode, and so on. Yeah, you get the picture. Of course, the Pretty Cure also have their own special finishing attacks. Their first one, "Pretty Cure Marble Screw" (yes, it's a weird name), consists of Nagisa and Honoka shooting a spiraling lightning beam at their target, which not only electrocutes the target, but also drills a hole through them. Their second special attack, "Pretty Cure Rainbow Storm", in which the two girls fire a gigantic, rainbow-colored, DBZ-style laser beam that smashes through obstacles, makes the earth tremble with its might, and vaporizes the target if it hits. All these, in my opinion, is what makes Pretty Cure's fight scenes one of the best out of all the magical girl shows I've seen.

Okay, okay. I'm pretty sure that you guys might be thinking, "If you loved the fight scenes so much, then why did you only give the animation a 3/5?" Well, the one main problem that is plaguing the animation quality is no other than.... STOCK FOOTAGE! Yes, as awesome as the fights are, this show undeniably ABUSES stock footage! Their re-using of the stock footage is relentless, and if you watch the show, you'll be able to quickly notice this. There is not a single episode of this show where stock footage is not used. While I'm more lenient on this show, it still doesn't change the fact that stock footage abuse is a big no-no on my books. I can normally put up with some stock footage here and there, but a complete abuse just wears out my eyes.

Another less noticeable problem is that there are instances where the animation would become choppy. While not as prevalent as the stock footage, there have been quite a number of scenes in this show (most of them during fight scenes) where the animation became as choppy as heck. This isn't really that big of a problem, but I really wish Toei did a better quality control and kept the animation at a consistent frame rate. All in all, the animation could've been pure awesome, but the stock footage abuse and the occasional choppy frame rate is what dragged the animation's score down to 3/5.


V.) Final Verdict: 4 out of 5

Despite its numerous flaws, Futari wa Pretty Cure remains to be a very solid and exceptional magical girl anime. The storyline might be cliched, but is definitely enjoyable, the characters are very charming and adorable (especially Honoka), the soundtrack is impressive, and the fight scenes are intense and action-packed. The fillers and the stock footage might drag down the story, but the show still leaves you with a good impression once you finish it. This is something I'd highly recommend to fans of magical girls, and maybe to those who are interested in the genre.

Thanks to Futari wa Pretty Cure, I have now officially become a fan of the Pretty Cure series, and have started watching other Pretty Cure seasons, such as the recent Heartcatch Precure (Which I am now finding much better than this one. Cure Sunshine FTW!), and also the various Pretty Cure movies. I have even bought a number of Pretty Cure merchandise, such as a Cure Dream 1/8 scale PVC figurine and a Yes! Precure 5 Go Go soundtrack. Now, I definitely wish that the other Pretty Cure seasons would make it into Crunchyroll. Only time would tell.


VI.) Quick Rundown

Pros:
+Enjoyable Story
+Charming characters
+Plenty of touching backstories
+Lots of hilarious moments
+Impressive soundtrack
+Intense fight scenes
+Strong ending, albeit a bit depressing

Cons:
-Stock footage abuse
-Occasional choppy animation
-Fillers... lots and lots of them
-Villains never got any backstory
-Cliched story might turn off some people

Precure is.... Abnormal.... Supernatural.... Weird.... and crazy. This new series, Heartcatch Precure, Is really the weirdest. First, Itsuki. She was always mistaken as a boy by Tsubomi until she was called "ojou-sama." Then Cure sunshine was apparently Itsuki, even though it's no resemblance. But, besides that, Awesome anime. I've really liked the other Precure series <Futari Wa Precure: Precure Splash Star: Yes! Precure 5: Fresh Precure>

I'd hate to say this, but this anime is not one of my 'must-watches'. Personally, I hate fillers and this anime is full of them.There is not much romance in it, and the transformations are a pain to watch. However, this is really a good anime for those who like shoujo/magical girl!

But anyway, the two main characters are Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro. One day they encounter two creatures from the Garden of Light, Mipple and Mepple, who says that they will have to fight evil- also known as the Dark Zone. With their weird cellphone-like things, they can transform into Pretty Cure- Nagisa as Cure Black and Honoka as Cure White. Their aim is to collect the seven Prism Stones, which will then be places into the Prism Hopish, so that the Garden of Light will be repaired once more. However, there will be rivals from the Dark Zone along the way- each enemy different in strength.

There are many other seasons of Pretty Cure, which the same sort of plot, but altered in some way. There's always some creature that accompany them though So if you like this, I recommend that you also try out the other seasons.

Pretty Cure, known in Japan as Futari wa Pretty Cure (ふたりはプリキュア, Futari wa Purikyua?, lit. We are Pretty Cure), is a Japanese magical girl anime metaseries produced by Toei Animation and broadcast across Japan by Animax, TV Asahi and Asahi Broadcasting Corporation. The series is watched mostly by junior and high school students in Japan; it is also broadcast around the world. The original Pretty Cure series, directed by Daisuke Nishio (known for Dragon Ball Z and Air Master), premiered on TV Asai February 1, 2004. The series is continued in Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart (ふたりはプリキュア ー マックスハート, Futari wa Purikyua Makkusu Haato?) which premiered on February 6, 2005.