After a week without Go! Princess Precure, and stuck with the dramatic cliffhanger, this week’s episode gave us a little bit of everything- but not in the greatest fashion.
Kanata was given a pretty cold slap in the face, not by Towa but by Close who thanked him and explained it was because he was the one who made Haruka fall into despair. Close’s plan was to make Haruka fall into despair because he knew he bigger the dream, the more prosperous the Forest of Despair will bloom into. Surely it did, but it was unfortunately short-lived. Haruka was able to climb out of the dark pit she was in all on her own, and that, was the most important part, and something I was hoping they would do.
But mind you, there was a lot more to it to Haruka’s despair than simply being ‘betrayed’ by the one who was supposed to have supported her the most. It was not only because she lost her number one supporter (Kanata) who renewed her faith in her dream to become a Flower Princess when she was younger, but at that very moment he told her to stop, she had also lost sight of why she felt so strongly towards her dream and what motivated her to pursue it in the first place. When Haruka had the chance to remember, she was surprised. What motivated her was something so simple, “Because she’s so sparkly and cute!” and as her present self she thought, “That’s all?”This is particularly important because it’s something I think a lot of us forget without even realizing it. There are all sorts of things responsible for causing us to forget. It could being too preoccupied with work/studies, overwhelming stress, self-doubt, depression, tragedies, sickness, the list goes on. So when we forget these things (often the simplest things), the hardest part is trying to remember them. Haruka was able to remember sooner than later, but in reality that doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone. It can take days, months, sometimes even years. In fact, this episode struck a chord in me personally. It made me realize, somewhere along the lines of the past year or so, it is not just that I have lost sight of my dream, but I forgot why I wanted to pursue it in the first place. It is not as simple as just remembering “Oh it was my childhood dream!”, it is the reason of drive which motivates you to pursue the dream to begin with. It is what builds the momentum, something which we have seen Haruka do all season and through her flashbacks shown today. She has been proactive with taking the steps, from studying hard to enroll into Noble Academy to taking lessons on various activities such as dancing, violin and sewing – all of these contributes to her efforts of making her dream a reality. It is a valuable lesson and reminder for each and every one of us, of all ages.
Upon her revival and Kanata discovering a new dream all while regaining his memories and powers! (I am still cracking up of how he transformed back into this royal attire and lilac hair.) Haruka’s gift to Kanata ended up transforming into a new Dress Up Key, born from Kanata’s dream. The new dresses of Mode Elegant Royale are all with extra large ribbons laces, not that they are ugly- they are in fact quite pretty but I am almost concerned about what the heck the Grand Princess dress is going to look like.
Aside from Haruka’s awesome comeback, it was quite epic to see her use Kirara’s and Minami’s crystal rods for her keys. Honestly, I wish we could see more of that, but then again- the other two won’t have a rod to use… welp.
Overall, ahhh…. man, how should I say this? While there were some good parts, I honestly expected better of this episode- or maybe my expectations were too high. 
While the core plot of the episode regarding Haruka’s revival was respectively well done (and the animation of her transformation scene- at least THAT was top notch), everything else was a bit underwhelming. Frankly speaking, it looked as if the entire production team ran out of time. It is a shame because this was supposed to be a very important episode, because this was about Haruka remembering why and what made her pursue the dream to become a princess, and learned that she is the one who has the final say. It is easy to be disappointed about the overall animation quality, but it definitely had its highlight moments during Haruka’s big revival scene. I think I was more disappointed with the general script. The problem I had with the script outside of Haruka’s revival, was it felt as if it was patched together with little thought or at least not having the time to produce the best results. Don’t get me started on the lines and exchanges between Kanata and Haruka post-revival. They were so freaking corny, I was cringing, but also laughing real hard because it was too much for me. Then they had Kanata’s memories come back because Haruka’s revival helped him not only remember but helped a new dream bloom. His dream…. is to protect Haruka’s dream and her smile. *Shudders* Look, I ship them, but I have low tolerance for cheesy lines like this. TOO MUCH CHEESE!
However, the one thing that I believe many of us are feeling very frustrated and bummed out about is: the much anticipated Forest of Despair. Talk about anticlimactic! After all the build up with Close carefully setting up and it gets eliminated within the episode it blooms. Dyspear was so freaking proud- and now it’s GONE! What a freaking waste! They could have at least given us two episodes with it… but there might have not been enough time regardless…
Speaking of which, there are now less than ten episodes left for this series. With next week’s episode looking to be a Towa Central episode (which is a given considering they are going back to Hope Kingdom for the first time since she was rescued), I am feeling a bit more anxious about how they are going to pace out the rest of the story. With so little time left, I hope they won’t rush it and make it the best quality they can- because this series deserves it.
I have a feeling, their going to pull a DokiDoki and make Close the final boss. He just seems really determined, more so than Dyspear herself. All she does is sit on her throne and receive status updates on things. Close was the one who planted the seeds, and even revived her from the brink of death. I can see the cures purifying Dyspear, and then Close, being the obsessed villian he is, especially towards Haruka (he has had it out for her since ep 1, lol) stepping up to the plate to finish Dyspears dirty work. You might as well say, hes the one in charge now
For the sake of selling more toys Toei must transform the violin mini-gift into the Royal Key, and “Grand Printemps” mirrored the Suite Session Assemble a lot but in better dresses… But more importantly, did I saw the Hope Kingdom’s royal couple a.k.a. Kanata and Towa’s parents?? They haven’t been mentioned for the whole season, not even through Miss Shamour!! And based on their appearances, Kanata resembles his mother (tan skin) while Towa resembles her father (white skin and same HAIRSTYLE WTF?!) Whatever, it funny to see Towa going fangirling full little-sister mode XD
There are two Rs on my point for Haru-Haru: Resiliency and redemption! More than the dang quality/quota for the episode, I think we should learn and inspired that when we are in the deepest and darkest hour, we have to find ways and never giving up on our own no matter what. And that’s how a human being like you and me can learn from this episode, particularly about how we can achieve the so-called impossible dream (and yes, that’s the title of a classic song from more than five decades ago).
At the start of the episode, my mood was look like it’s almost Good Friday while watching, and actually for Minamin and the rest that they are at fault (and it’s totally common in almost every Pretty Cure season dammit) then even in the almost middle part when the despair thorns are suddenly grown. The actual middle part about how Haru-Haru wanted to become a princess: Mr. Haruno was at first not convincing on but Mrs. Haruno said that do the young Haru-Haru wants to be and thus she make a flower hairpin. I think her conviction in enroll to Noble Academy and yet Haru-Haru was so confident to take the entrance exam and yep, passed.
All of Haru-Haru’s experiences in Noble is already my experiences in taking the Go! Princess adventure and I have to admit that I even supported her dream (since the Cure leaders are my primary faves in the anime franchise) so much: From table manners to exploring new things and the fights alongside her dear allies, all in all that Haru-Haru has exert a great effort. I was intensely shouted at Kanata that he should correct his mistakes asap… And he did! I mean, he did a regretful apology to Haru-Haru and he shouldn’t do those harsh words.
I was so happy that our blooming Flora has been redeemed and resilient from a huge despair, so time for a payback to Close! On top of that, “Princess no Jouken (Conditions of Being a Princess)” was played and yet I even sang that while I intensely watched a revived and redeemed Flora striking out all the Zetsuborgs, a backup from Mermaid, Twinkle and Scarlet (and there goes a quite while brawl between the red Princess Cure and Shut, which I hinted that they might have a huge showdown during the finale battle), a confidential support from Yui-Yui (who gets a tears of joy at her dear roommate’s redemption) and… OH YEAH! HE. IS. BACK! The bad-ass prince is finally back and better than ever (and finally got his memories back, so I must say that my faith on Kanata has been restored). 😉
Well, I was amazed about the Royal Key came
out of the box and I knew that it’s actually born from Kanata’s new dream. Kii~~~!!! That Grand Printemps finisher was just too elegant for me (oh boy, I’ve said that all over again!) And I even recite the phrases too, though it also reminds me of the Suite Session Ensemble Crescendo from Suite much. Maybe the Forest of Despair on Earth might be happened on the last few episodes. Yet overall it was a good relief after the looooong Halloween break and I think the finale is just getting closer.
From the preview of the next episode, it seems that Towachi and Kanata’s parents will make an appearance then I think there are some more discoveries going on in the Hope Kingdom. Plus HELL YEAH, Yui-Yui will join the party haha! I knew that she really deserves it. Sorry Seiji, it seems that your successor is so just more useful than you as a Cure helper. :p Welp, very pressure much for the last 10-11 episodes of GPPC.
I see that Haruka has return back to being her normal self again. Sheesh, she was much better when she was in despair (sorry to the other Haruka lovers :P). Still, I glad to see that Kanata has gotten his memories back and with a new key. Now the four princess have a different wardrobe and look more beautiful than ever. Guess next episode will reveal about Towa and Kanata’s parents who seemed to be locked away in one those Zetsuborg cages.
Firstly, to be honest… Oh My God! Dragon’s Caramba! This episode really made me Giga-Happy! :’D
HOORAY! Princess Haruka/Princess Flora and Prince Kanata are back!! YES!! YES!! 😀
As always, your writings about the real world and Haruka’s world lifestyles are great, important and they really make us viewers to think about it in our lives too, Eva. 🙂
I really like the whole episode, and now I can forgive Kanata’s grave mistake from episode 38. Curiously, I thought that someone (being Yui, Kanata or other friend) would help Haruka to recover her dream and her spirit, but no, I was definitely wrong, she did climb from the dark bottom of despair to the glowing surface of hope. Like her friends, I’m very proud of her. The scene showing Haruka’s life before and after entering the Noble Academy is beautiful to see. I’m glad that happened, even when she was in poor and desperate state. ^^
The final battle of this episode is awesome, beautiful and powerful at the same time in my opinion! I really like that moment when Flora used two rods too, that was so awesome to see, wished this could happen again but I don’t know if it will! Nice new final attack as well! Glad to see that Close got defeated and his plans for the Forest of Despair failed! I was like: YES! HAHAHAHAH! Take that, you nightmarish bastard! >:D
I’m very happy that the wounds of Haruka, her friends, fans and everyone who likes her, including me, have been healed. And I’m glad that finally Towa reunite with her brother, this time with his memories back. I found it beautiful that Kanata has a dream now and will help the team more than before. :’)
Welcome back, Haruka and Kanata. ^^
And wow! Refi was on the stage during the ending credits of the episode! What a surprise! 😀
Oh, I guess you all know that the new music album of the series, Go! Princess Pretty Cure Vocal Album 2 ~For My Dream~, has finally arrived! Its songs are wonderful and I love them! 😀
And, as always, I can’t wait for the next episode. I hope Towa and Kanata manage to rescue their parents! Ganbate!