Eva’s First Impression: I’M MELTING. THEY ARE SO CUTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Oh my gosh, this has to be my favourite premiere of Precure to date! It was such a pleasure to watch, it made me all warm and fuzzy, its cuteness was charming and my favourite part about it was how well everything came together. It felt like they were finally able to tapped into that energy I have been waiting for since Go! Princess Precure. As some of you may know, GPP is my all time favourite precure series. Ever since, it has served as my golden standard for Precure and I have been waiting in hopes that they will bring that magic back because it was truly an incredible series that remains dear to my heart. It is also a big reason why the last few Precure series either fell short or weren’t enough to keep me interested. Fortunately I came out of this premiere feeling incredibly optimistic and truly excited about what’s to come.
The story kicks off with our newest heroine Nodoka moving into a new town, and three trainees, Rabbirin, Penguitan, Nyatoran and their princess Latte in tow, embark on the mission to find their Human Partners, the legendary Precures. And with their help they will be able to fight back against the Pathogerms inflicting harm upon their worlds by stealing the power of life from Earth! But healing those who have been afflicted of the Pathogerms require the power of Elements shared and stored into the Element Bottle. Today they used it to heal Latte who was suffering from the element being corrupted by the enemy (though chances are, it may be every time that happens, it weakens Late and they will need to treat her for it every time).
So let’s bet’s begin with the said Trainees: Rabbirin, Penguitan, Nyatoran, and their princess, Latte! Because much to my surprise, they were the ones who impressed me the most today!
I am in love their all three of their personalities and their character designs. Rabbirin is our fiery little rabbit who is not afraid to put herself out there in front of Humans, even when they think she’s either a bug, or think she’s a stuffed animal (the struggle is real). Her courage to throw herself at the Pathogerms despite being powerless until she finds her Human Partner, and best of all, her intial reaction to when Nodaka first appeared to save them. I am really looking forward to the partnership between the two of them, I think it’s going to be really fun since while their values are aligned, their personalities seem to be a bit different from each other.
Penguitan and Nyatoran weren’t in the spotlight today, but we did get an idea of what kind of partners they are looking for. While Rabbirin insisted what they need is a Human Doctor, Penguitan just wants someone who is nice, and Nyatoran wants someone with the same energy level as him. As for Princess Latte our adorable little pup, it’s quite interesting how nobody except for the Queen Teatime seems to be able to hear her voice unless they use a stethoscope (which is also used to hear and communicate with the little Elements of nature, such as the Flower Element they saved today). It also goes without saying, bringing a pup into your home is WAY more believable for the family, and easier to take care of than a freaking baby or a flying unicorn. So hurray for SOME sort of normality!
But best of all, after god knows how long, they are finally enabling the sidekicks to have a more purposeful role as the Precure’s support right from the start! IT’S A MIRACLE! As far as I can remember, (and correct me if I am wrong about this) most if not all of the Precure’s partners up until this point simply served their purpose as scouting them out, explaining what their mission is, and occasionally finding creative ways to pitch into the fight if they have the power to do so. And they do this by making these trainees literally become part of the legendary Precure Stick. Sure it looks a bit funny (and adorably so), but it is so cool to see them actually be part of the action! (IE: Bunny Shield!) Not to mention, this is another great way to help the Precure organically hold their own during their first fight, by receiving support from someone who has been prepared for this moment. I am very excited to see how this concept of their power source will evolve over-time. It would be very cool to see the Trainees be a part of the power upgrades in the future!
And that brings us to our newest protagonist Hanadera Nodoka! Oh what a sweetheart she is! She is like a breath of fresh air. Yes she is checking off all the boxes of your a-typical Precure protagonist, cheerful, kind and always looking to help others, but she got something else going for her: A more original backstory.
I am so glad they confirmed our suspicions of everything they had been alluding to from the start of the episode about her frail health. It appears her family has moved out to a new town so that she will be able to live a healthier and happier life. We saw how she is still adjusting to the newfound freedom of being able run as much as she desires, and her parents cautionary warning her not to go too far. She is type who will help her elders, step up to assist foreigner travelers, and in the face of danger, leaves nobody. (Or more admirably: she didn’t even flinch when she saw the Nanopathgerm running rampant, but you can argue she had been running on adrenaline for a while.) Of course this is nothing new for Precure protagonists, but I think the reason why it resonated more strongly with me is because they immediately put into perspective of how Nodoka’s struggles with her health (to the point of being hospitalized) shaped her into who she is today. It also goes without saying, this kind of special understanding of the helplessness when one is suffering from sickness, and how important it is to them to help to make others feel better is a powerful quality for a Precure to have. There is a lot of potential with this theme, so I am looking forward to seeing where they will go with it!
We also were briefly introduced to the other two protagonists, energetic girl and the runner, we didn’t get their names though, but it was nice to see them meet. One bolted because she was in a rush, and the other actually stopped and shared her water with her haha. We also were introduced to the first antagonist Daruizen. He and Rabbirin had a brief confrontation, but he didn’t show himself to Nodoka. Although he had a short appearance, I’m already super into his character and I am looking forward to learning more about him. Not to mention he is super handsome and has a great voice to match! I would love to see a fun rivalry between Nodaka and him as alluded to in the OP. Maybe some romance? [DUCKS] I KNOW I KNOW ROMANCE IS RARELY FEATURED, BUT LET ME INDULGE IN MY DREAMS OKAY?!
However when it comes to the character designs, it’s a bit of a different story. I think we can all agree their standard ones are all really nice, especially Nodoka’s (I’m a big fan of hers!), the Precure designs a bit disappointing. I think many of us would like to see them be more daring in playing around with either a shade they haven’t used yet, or go beyond the staple “trio colors” of: Pink, Blue and Yellow. I think this is the biggest problem because it makes it harder to differentiate from the other Precures in past series. This is especially a major problem when you throw them into the All-Stars film! It has already become a game of Find Wally! Other than their lack of originality, I do like the minimalist design of their outfits.
The same can be said about Cure Grace’s transformation as well. I was quite surprised how much they cut down on the details of it, and it certainly feels like they reduced the time spent on it as well. But they were able to retain its magical beauty with its gorgeous animation we all love to see in any magical girl (or boy) series. I absolutely loved the way they used the doctor’s coat and played around with its fabric, as well as the Cure Grace emerging from the petal. It was so prettily done.
But the best part about it, THEY GOT THEY GOT RID OF THE SINGING! THANK GOD!!!!! That was the one thing I couldn’t stand, thank god, it’s gone, and I hope they keep it that way!
Speaking of music, for whatever reason, my ears don’t usually pick up on Precure’s OST, more often than not it flies right over my head. But this time, caught my attention right away, and I found myself enjoying the tracks quite a bit! The Opening and Ending Themes are also absolutely fantastic, I’m hooked on both songs, and their sequences are really fun to watch!
…Holy smokes, I wrote up a lot more than I thought I would! But I think that goes to show just how much I loved this premiere. It left me feelin’ incredibly optimistic and energized about how this series will unfold, and much of that has to do with the characters that were introduced to us today. As I said in the beginning, it has been a long time since I have had this feeling for a Precure series, so I am so ready for this next adventure!
Possibility of Blogging: HIGH – As per tradition, I can guarantee you right now I will be covering the first ten episodes. Hopefully this is the one I have been waiting for!
I really liked this one to! Heartcatch is my personal favorite Precure series, with Suite and Go Princess close behind, but I was really impressed with Healin Good so far. Here’s hoping the series continues this level of quality, but I’m keeping my expectations realistic and low. And yeah, I’m also happy they got rid of the singing during transformations. That to me just felt like useless padding.
Heartcatch is my #2, right behind GPP. Both are so freaking good.
Yup gotta keep our expectations in check, but it’s certainly great to come out of this feeling good about what to come!
I’m surprised they got Shida for another pink Cure back (still disappointed at his eye shot on Flora compared to her teammates.)
Some folks on tumblr and twitter speculated the transformation is short given Nodoka’s condition (it was mentioned she often takes breaks when running) or keeping it short would give more time for battles (see other seasons that could benefit from that.)
Out of curiosity do yo saw previous Precure seasons before you started reviewing Happiness Charge?
Oooh that would be a very cool touch to take her health into consideration of the transformation. But pragmatically speaking, I’m leaning towards the latter of making them shorter, which I don’t mind at all as long as they are still pretty to watch haha!
I’ve watched them all! The only ones I didn’t finish covering/watching were Smile, DokiDoki!, Mahou Tsukai and Star Twinkle because some either couldn’t hold my interest or/and were hard to write about. Kirakira☆Precure A La Mode is the one exception I haven’t watched yet because I was on hiatus that year it aired (there was a lot going on at the time). I’ve heard it’s good so I’ve been meaning to start watching it when I have the time to do so.
Go! Princess, Heartcatch (I regret that I waited until it finished airing to watch it since I could’ve picked it up!!!!!), and Happiness Charge! are my top three favourites of them all! ✧・ﾟ
Actually shida is not the one who voice her it aoi yuki. Eva you might remember her as madoka from paul madoka magica or from symphogear
With Naotoshi Shida I meant him being the animator for Nodoka’s transformation (he also was for Lemonade (Yes!5, not Gogo) Passion, Sunshine, Beat, Smile Precure Princess form, Ace, Flora, Grace)
Personally, I really didn’t like Happiness Charge. It never resolved a lot of plot points, some just came right out of nowhere, Megumi and Yuuko were really obnoxious to me (Megumi’s “shiawase happiness” catchphrase especially grated on my nerves), and the show never seemed to know what it wanted to do. But if you like it, that’s cool.
great first episode. I liked the characters introduction also nodoka sickness can be great side story if they will handle this well. the transformation and the fight was pretty good. the best thing is the opening and ending songs
Oh gosh the ED dance is sooooo cute! I love it!
Also another thing that a plus about this season is that aoi yuki is voicing the main pink
GPP is my favorite precure as well and the parallels between the main fight scene immediately checked boxes for me – the jump high into the air for the first try, the throwing of the monster over her shoulder, marveling at her own strength (albeit with a different context) – so I’m already quite excited for this season.
I think the fights are going to be really fun this season with the trainee’s being active members of support in the battles! The interaction between Rabbirin and Nodoka was so much fun to watch! I’m looking forward to seeing how the other two will mix with the other too!
Finally! A fresh concept! We’ve never had a medical-theme PreCure, not one about fighting for greenery and against viruses and bacteria!
Star Twinkle might have been more interesting if they included more science facts but overall the plot fell short to keep me hooked and I was one of those who disliked the singing. I’m not a fan of animal ears and tails so Kirakira turned me off from the start. As for Mahou Tsukai, PreCures were already magical girls so the premise failed to make the magical part, well, even more special or distinct. Smile and Yes!PreCure has more similarities than differences, and overall I preferred Yes! more.
GPP is truly a success story and one of a kind- while sharing the dreams theme like Yes!PreCure, it managed to develop its own identity and distinctiveness in a way that I honestly don’t notice similarities to other series at all. Healing Good is off to a good start so here’s hoping it won’t disappoint!
Cheers to a good start!
Am I the only who thinks the main villain is similar to Kisshu from Tokyo Mew Mew? Don’t know why, but I think of Kisshu when I see him. And I also hope for some good romance between him and Nodoka – not early PC levels of romance, but at least something like Irikka. The last time we had lead cure get some type of romance was Hana and George in Hugtto, so I want a better lead cure x villain romance
I thought of Kisshu too! (And I LOVE Tokyo Mew Mew!) YES LETS US DREAM OF THE ROMANCE POSSIBILITIES! I am a huge sucker for Hero x Villain romance, so I can’t help myself when I see an opportunity for it.
Hugtto seriously disappointed me with how they went about George and Hana. TT ^ TT They totally botched it.
If there was one thing I loved about Doki!Doki! Precure, it was the Irikka ship! They were so cute! <3 I’d love to have more of that too!
I understand they couldn’t show adult!George and child!Hana romance in series, but they could have given us past!George too and showed his crush on Hana developing slowly, past!George trying not to become like future!George, etc. Also Irikka was the best hero x villain ship in PC since Fresh
I agree with everything you said. As someone who adored GPPC (my favorite season of Precure), I havent been genuinely excited for the next episode for a season in a long time. I find myself watching the 1st episode over and over again because I literally cannot wait to see what the next episode brings. The hype train is real, but Im trying to remain realistic so I dont get my hopes up just in case mid-way through, the story/development takes a nose dive. But if they keep it the way it started, it will be a good season!