Kekekekeke~ as expected, Hinata and Nyatoran are a freaking firecracker duo, and I love it! Their energy levels compliment each other very well, and the way they just confidently wing it on the go also makes them a fitting pair. Their fateful encounter was hysterical with Nyaotran when he snapped at her, their reactions were priceless! It got even better when he decided there was no use in trying to cover it up, and just straight-up claim he was born with the ability to talk like Humans. Look at that confidence! The girls’ reaction to his boldness was priceless as well- heck the whole thing had me in stitches from laughing so hard! And bonus points for even pretending he was meeting them all for the first time!
But what’s actually incredible about Hinata is the way she took this in stride. Her first concern was getting him out of the public’s eye because she feared Nyatoran would be exploited for his ability to talk. And when you actually think about it – is a legitimate concern that is usually not brought up. It also makes sense why she would go to seek out her brother’s advice, as he is a veterinarian (a charming handsome one, who the girls mistaken him to have been her father- poor dude).
And goodness we thought Hikaru (Star Twinkle Precure) was energetic, but Hinata takes it to another level, but I am not particularly bothered by it (yet). In fact I find her personality to be well balanced with how quickly she can switch back and forth from the high of excitement to the low of the gravity of the situation, and how easily she gets distracted. It is a charm that adds to the humor because she is the type to act first, think later. She also has the charm of being a sweetheart who will put the safety and well-being of others ahead of her own. When she was told that Nodaka and Chiyu had ran in the direction the monster was at, Hinata didn’t hesitate to go after them, only to hilariously she run straight into the monster herself! The moment she did that, Nyatoran knew that she was the one.
When it came to the partnership this time we saw the trainee reach out to his Human partner. I would say this case was the most similar to Rabirin’s and Nodaka’s partnership, but I would what set them apart from the other two was his confidence in Hinata’s abilities. He was basically like, “I LIKE YOU, LETS KICK ASS TOGETHER!”
I really love Cure Sparkle’s design. It’s super cute, her transformation was definitely a lot more simplified than the other two, but it was still pleasing to the eyes– or actually now that I think about it… It might be the sound effect of the fabric’s ‘whoosh’ or whatever it is. There is something really satisfying about it and I don’t know why ahahahaha! But while the transformation wasn’t particularly showy, the fight— oh man, that as the highlight of the episode. Surely I wasn’t the only one who thought the animation for the fight was on fire! I can’t recall a single fight that was this exciting to watch just 4 episodes in. It was soooooo much fun to watch, seriously mad props to the animators! They nailed it. It was so funny when Hinata went on to say, “LETS DEFEAT THIS THING!” and Nyatoran had to tell her, “DON’T BEAT IT, PURIFY IT!”
Another great thing about this fight is proving that the enemies are no pushover. They are ramping things up in their own way, and we see that by how it has become essential for a group effort. What’s also interesting to note is that the generals aren’t limited to targeting nature. Guaiwaru walked into a shop and attacked a Light Element residing in a mirror, a material good. One of the advantages of this addition, is that it makes it less predictable of where the enemy may pop up next. Another thing that crossed my mind is the expansion of their targets. I suspect somewhere down the line, (maybe when the adorable Elements may no longer play the significant role as they do now), we may see them expand to more mobile targets such as insects, animals and maybe even Humans.
And last but not last, we got to see the King of Pathogerm receive the update of yet another Precure making an appearance. Once again, he is not particularly concerned and wants his generals to focus on the primary objective of helping him recover to his true form, and I doubt that is about to change with Hinata added to the party. However the unwavering focus on ensuring he is resurrected before the Queen of Healing Garden made me wonder whether or not the Trainees are aware of this. When we go back to episode 2, nowhere did they mention anything about the danger of the King of Pathogerm making a comeback. Instead we were given a rather generalized explanation that the Pathogerms are trying to make a world that’s comfortable for them to live in, one which will basically makes the world uninhabitable. Maybe the threat of the King will be something they expand on next week, but if they don’t, then it might explain why the King isn’t particularly concerned about their activities. In fact, when you think about it, the monsters are nothing more than a tool to blight the world, but also distract the Precures from the Generals themselves. Perhaps once they are made aware of the situation at hand, they will take the initiative to go after them. But first, they definitely need to gain some battle experience, they aren’t quite ready to fight them head to head just yet.
This week was yet another fantastic showing from Healin’ Good Precure! It really does feel almost surreal how long it has been since they have had such a strong early start, especially with their characters. Now that everyone has a partner, it is going to be interesting how the three of them mesh together. We already got to see how Hinata and Chiyu are already at odds with each other, maybe because Chiyu was the one who was the most concerned about their secret as Precures getting out. Based on the preview, I think this is in part of why Hinata is under the impression that Chiyu doesn’t like her. I suspect Nodaka, being the fairly neutral minded one of the group will find herself trying to help smooth out the misunderstanding between them.
So if Rabirin & Nodoka’s partnership is Nodoka minding/managing her limitation and Chiyu & Pegitan’s is about Pegitan learning to trust his abilities and be calm under pressure it seems like Hinata & Nyatoran’s will be about helping Hinata learn how to channel all her impulsive high energy into focusing on tasks she needs to.
The team seems as well balanced as their companions and I like how the ways each has found their partner was also expressions of the companions’ personalities as well. It definitely has me curious about how – in the mid season future – we’ll be greeted by whichever future cure is to come and who her partner will be (maybe Latte?? or perhaps another one of the villains being a fairy too as with Go Princess Precure) too.
it’s definitely a very exciting season so far and has me looking forward to more and more of it.
Personally I’m hoping we don’t see another precure added to the mix. I won’t be upset if they do, but I would really like it if they just stick to three again, especially since the Trainees have a much larger role this time.
Funny enough this episode aired after Cat Day which was confirmed to be Nyatoran’s birthday:
Speaking of Birthdays, the rest of the current casts has been announced!!
Now that they’re mentioning Queen of Healing Garden’s revival, i’m starting to expect she’ll be the 4th Cure
PS : i noticed Nyatoran has a fish spot underneath his bangs, that’s a cute easter egg
I also want to point out that the music (not only the OP and the ED) in this series are really good, they all fit the mood, the scene as well as great for hyping up certain moments. Then there is also the snack of this series, which is probably the most healthiest in the franchise so far, fruit juice.
Oh absolutely! As I mentioned last week (or maybe it was the week before that), this is really the first time I have felt Precure’s original soundtrack has such a clear presence. It really adds so much to the action! It makes me quite excited for the boss fight tracks!