Ooof….this episode was unbearably boring. As expected this ended up being more about Reira, Saaya’s mother and the production staff she works with. It started out with how Saaya reveals she is worried about troubling her mother by following her footsteps. So she and the girls decide to visit her on set to help her get some clarity. There she meets the extended family who have known her since she was a little babe. The staff behind the “The Queen’s Kitchen” supported Reira when she passionately fought for the role. Despite being a young mother, the director hired her and he and his staff, alongside her husband helped take care of Saaya so she could continue pursuing her dreams as an actress.
Initially Saaya misunderstood her mother when Reira asked her if she was prepared to face the peer pressure of those who would assume she is riding off her success. And to be fair, Reira did make a good point, but she certainly could have explained it better, especially when she finished off the conversation with how Saaya doesn’t have to follow her footsteps. Even I can see a misunderstanding coming out of that from a mile away! But she is that mom who is a bit clumsy/awkward when it comes to explaining her intentions. She is ready to support Saaya in whatever decision she chooses, and gave her fair advice of the challenges she will face should she decide to become an actress.
And I don’t know if it’s because I am unwell tonight, but it felt like the script was all over the place. There were at least three occasions when I found myself lost.
What we started with: Saaya is uncertain whether or not she wants to pursue acting because she is worried about troubling her mother
What we ended with: Saaya remembers why she wanted to act in the first place, and declares she is still uncertain about her future, but for now her dream is to act alongside her mother.
It didn’t feel like we got any resolution about her ‘troubling’ her mother, it was as thought it was completely scrapped altogether. In the matter of fact, I found it incredibly bizarre, almost backwards to see Saaya feel worried about burdening her mother by pursuing an acting career… Fearing she would be getting her her way or something. This particularly annoyed me because the worry was so vague, and they never explained why Saaya felt this way. Why did she feel like she would get in the way by pursuing acting? Instead of getting an answer, the question gets swept under the rug when Reira asks Saaya if she is prepared to walk the same path as her, and then it jumps into the whole backstory and ends with Saaya remembering her mother’s love and how it gave her that drive to see the world behind her.
Anyhow, after Saaya has been written off the grid for so long, I am not surprised that I am disappointed with this episode. Honestly, I didn’t have a lot of hope to begin with. Unfortunately it didn’t add much to Saaya’s character, beyond the fact despite her success, she is still uncertain whether or not she wants to pursue acting as a career. That however is probably the only silver-lining of the episode. The message is important because it’s normal for dreams to changes over the course of our lives, just as Hana has yet to pin-point what she wants to do. In the mean time, Saaya will work hard so she can one day act alongside her mother. Once she fulfills that quest, perhaps it will give her better clarity of what she wishes to do in the future.
NEXT WEEK, THERE WILL BE NO NEW EPISODE! But when we come back the week after, it will be featuring the teacher and his pregnant wife we saw during the Pool Party episode. Honestly it looks like it will be a filler episode, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up releasing a double post with Episode 28 instead.
Hugtto is troubling me… there’s A LOT of character development left to be covered and yet nothing has been done.
The focus on Emiru and Lulu could have been shortened but not. And on top of that they feel like a separate precure team because of their overly established strong friendship. Also we are past the halfway point so time is even short…
It’s like they initially had a good idea but with the intro and entrance of the last two girls, the staff has no idea how to continue the plot and resolve character developments.
I am very concerned as well. 🙁 It feels like the original trio is a thing of the past, and Hana is left on her own because the other two are too busy. Seeing Emiru and Lulu fill that void to finish the enemy off instead of Homare and Hana left a bad taste in my mouth. There are so many ways they could continue pushing Saaya’s and Homare’s character developments, but they aren’t giving them the time to do so. 🙁 Perhaps it is as you say, it certainly does feel like they have no idea what to do with them, which is really sad. At this point, you almost wonder why they even bother creating them if they were going to dedicate so much time to Emiru and Lulu… Hell, I dare say it feels like Emiru and Lulu have received more air-time to undergo more character growth than Homare and Saaya combined. :\
“Saaya is absolutely adorable. She is hands down, the cutest Precure I have seen to date. Her sweet and caring personality, her humbleness, and the way she blushes, what is there not to like about her? She is so lovable!” Eva, Hugtto Precure episode 2
I remembered those lines with a distaste, and I just despised this character who attempted to copy all the traits from his predecessor in Doki Doki Precure and slumped into an abomination who served as nothing but an eye candy since day 1. Nobody will change my opinion on why I just wanted her to get removed from the picture already.
But moving onto another extra news: Hooray, ALL Hugtto Precures were featured in the recently released Newtype characters and all of them were in the top 10. (Honorable mention: Miyuki who squeezed into the 17th place, missed her so much since the Smile Precure days.)
1st- Lulu (Don’t care about her too much honestly, but being a fan favorite certainly gave her a massive boost.)
2nd- Hana (What?! This loudspeaker who’s among the worst leaders ever alongside Mana and Mirai was placed SO high?! BULLSHIT!)
4th- Not-Rikka (OK, not among the top 3 but this must be among my least favorite anime characters ranking ever. Just begone from my sight.)
8th- Homare (My favorite character being on the list, I’m satisfied. But if she’s among the top 5 I’d be even happier.)
10th- Emiru (Managed to grasp the perfect 10th in the last minute, alright then. But I’m just indifferent to her like I did with Lulu.)