Happiness Charge Precure Episode 15

Impression
What a bittersweet Mother’s day episode. I absolutely loved this episode because it again gives us a refreshing take of how much stronger the girls need to become. Upon making the decision to go to Hime’s homeland, the Blue Sky Kingdom, Blue had warned them that they will not be able to use their Precure powers because it is currently under the Phantom Empire’s control. It didn’t really sink in until the girls found themselves in a pinch, realizing just how badly their powers had been weakened, given that they were struggling over the small fries, Kindabads, which made only matters worse facing off against three Terribads. They certainly would have been goners had the Precure Hunter Phantom been at the scene because man, they barely made it out of there. They were just seconds away from being squashed by a terribad when they were making a break for the Mirror Gate.
I have to say, (and I will say this time and time again), I appreciate seeing the girls facing a lot of struggles this early in the series because in the long run, the pay off will be worth it. For the past two Precure series, I don’t think I ever felt that the girls earned their power ups, it just… well, happens as per the usual pattern of the series. They would have maybe one or two fights of struggles, and then BOOM POWER UP TIME! Right now, Happiness Charge Precure is allowing the girls to have an authentic growth, something that a lot of kids and adults can connect to. I feel this aspect helps delivers the ‘Never Give Up!’ slogan with more impact, which makes the Precures all the more inspiring for those who need that inspiration. After all, life is tough- in most cases we do not overcome out struggles on two occasions, but rather overtime, which is something I am eager and hoping to see given to how the story has been paced out so far.
As whole, the fights aside, it was a great episode to watch. I especially loved the humorous moments, especially when Hime revealed her hidden passageways and Ribbon was flipping out about not knowing about it. I really did feel for Hime when she shared that she feels terrible for having to been forced to flee her Kingdom again. There was really nothing they could do but run away. But as I mentioned in the above, when they do return to the Sky Kingdom it will be when they hopefully strong enough to at least deal some decent blows and be able to stand their ground instead of being overwhelmed by the small fries.
Next week the Precure Press lady will be after them. Oh joy! I can’t say I am looking forward to that, but who knows, they have managed to make the “filler-like” episodes quite enjoyable as of the late, so lets see if they can continue down that streak!