Eva’s First Impression
Sorry this had to come out late! After taking a long break from Precure, this one had probably the strongest and most memorable showing in what feels like years! I’m absolutely here for what they are cooking with this one! I’m really excited to see them explore the time travel theme in this way, especially since it offers a much needed change of pace for the setting.
There’s nothing like celebrating your birthday going back in time am I right? Anna found herself doing exactly that when she picks up a necklace on her desk thinking it was a gift from her mother. But as it turned out, it appears to have been left there by a bear fairy that comes flying out of her closet, and then is suddenly dragged back into time to the year of Spring 1999!
Anna doesn’t realize this right away of course, and she hardly gets the chance to really get a grip on her surroundings when she has a freaking bear fairy dragging her around on a what may as well be called a leash for her and not the other-way around! She only came to really realize the situation when Mikuru revealed at the end of the episode that it’s April 2, 1999! The only reason why Anna knows that to be true is because it was winter, January 24, 2027. She’ll probably catch on it all the clues that she had initially missed in next week’s episode, such as the old school cellphones (which fittingly coincides with her mother saying she was going to give her one for her birthday in 2027). It’s worth also noting that the fairy Pochitan who had brought Anna back into time has regressed into a baby. So now they are unable to really communicate as to why they brought her back in the first place. Needless to say, since the fairy cannot communicate at the moment, I wonder how long Anna will have to wait to learn what conditions she must fulfill or how long she has to wait before she can finally return to the year 2027!
But before all of that, Anna quickly found herself dropped out of thin air onto Mikuru, who was anxiously preparing to step into CUREtto Detective Agency to partake in a test to become a Star Detective. But those plans were quickly derailed since not only did Mikuru notice Anna had no shoes, but they soon found themselves helping out a bride search for her missing silver tiara.
The mystery itself was fairly straight-forward, but I liked the twist that was involved in it. The girls had to find the bride’s missing silver tiara, and when they were able to narrow down the culprit, and where it had been hidden, the culprit revealed that they were not in fact the bride’s friend Tomoka, but rather Nijee, a member from the Phantom Thieves Guild who disguised himself as her!
The reason why the tiara was targeted was because it had the Makoto Jewel that the Phantom Thieves Guild is actively looking to collect. We’ll probably get more info on what makes it so valuable in next week’s episode since they didn’t elaborate why it’s their target.
Credit where credit is due because considering how surreal everything is right now, Anna’s showing to be one heck of a tough cookie. Yes she’s scared, but boy is she a brave one. When Mikuru was being consumed by fear, Anna stood her ground, defending Mikuru’s role and dream as a detective.
What was funny though was that Anna really didn’t realize the “Star Detective” Mikuru was gushing about, was in-fact a precure power. So the moment they had completed their transformation, while Anna (Cure Mystery) was wholly and justifiably confused, Mikuru (Cure Mystique) was absolutely over the moon about it. After-all, becoming a Star Detective has been her biggest dream!
Their transformation sequence was a lot ‘plainer’ in terms of the details and special effects, but they managed to still make the sequence itself exceptionally charming to watch. Fighting wise, this was surprisingly a short and straight-forward. They actually cleaned up the Hanninda monster in more or less just one kick and punch. Hopefully they do add a bit more flair to the fights in the future episode, because the combat has always been Precure’s signature flair.
So far I’m quite pleased to see the girls already have great chemistry with each other. It helps their shared interest in helping others and having a knack for finding things makes them click with each other immediately. Anna’s naturally the type who loves to help others, so even when she gets dragged back into time, when she sees someone struggling, she’s going to get involved. And then there’s Mikuru is absolutely adorable, and she already has such a great bubbly energy about her. She did show us today that despite her enthusiasm, she might have some insecurity about her ability as a detective. She had mentioned the reason why she dreamed of becoming a Star Detective was because she had been helped by one in the past.
Overall I though this was a fantastic premiere! I already adore both Anna and Mikuru, they are such cute and charming characters, making them absolutely lovable right off the bat. I’m also a huge fan of their characters deigns that feels like a fresh take with the colours. It was also exciting to see the the launch of duo Precure right off the bat, and their precure forms are super adorable. However I will say, I was just a bit bummed to see them recycle the duo colour palette of Pink and Purple. It makes me think back to Mahou Tsukai Precure, so I wished they had picked something different instead. But apart from that, I really do love their designs, ESPECIALLY the villains and the inevitably third precure who’ll surely join them at some point down the line. GOD I LOVE THE BLACK PALETTE IT’S AWESOME. THEY BETTER KEEP IT LIKE THAT TILL THE VERY END! For real, the designs are fire! I’m also a huge sucker for Detectives VS Phantom Thieves theme, so that’s another big reason why I’m very excited to see how the story is going to unfold!
And of course, I am going to make a very early and crazy prediction: Mikuru is actually Anna’s mother when she was younger. Naturally there’s some holes in this theory considering you’d think Anna would pick up on that if that were to be the case. Besides Mikuru’s name, and considering this is the year of 1999, there ought to be at least decent quality pictures of her mother when she was a child, unless they were somehow all lost in an incident. But I think it would be potentially very fun (and potentially less heartbreaking when Anna returns to the present day) if this ends up to be true, and Anna actually manages to connect the dots sooner than later. Additionally, should Mikuru really be her mother when she was younger, this I think would be the third(?) time we see the the protagonists’ parents or grandparents having shared Precure history. I for one have always been quite fond of it, so I would be very pleased to see them do it again!
With that said, luckily I’ve actually managed to finish writing up all the entries for Love Through A Prism on Saturday, so this gives me the extra wiggle room to potentially pick this one up!
It’s been years since I’ve last covered and even watched Precure, with the sole exception of belatedly starting Wonderful Precure (which I have yet to finish watching). It goes without saying, I’m very excited with the premise for this one, and even if Mikuru doesn’t turn out to be Anna’s mother, I’m already considerably invested in the potential this series has to offer. So I’m going to start off with giving this one up to three or four episodes. And then from there on out I’ll figure out whether or not I’ll try continuing with the coverage!
Typically I follow a very strict routine in terms of entries release schedule. But this time I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get the entries out on Saturday nights due to schedule (which is when the episodes airs), but I will try my best to. Since I already got Hana-Kimi and Journal of Witch to do on Sundays, covering three shows in one day is a lot to do on a weekly basis, and I may not always have the energy to do so. Bearing that in mind, please note that my reviews Precure will be released between late Saturday nights, sometimes Sundays and Mondays for the next few weeks. Additionally, there is a high likelihood that I may be more comfortable doing double-posts for this one as I consider whether or not to try committing to the coverage, so keep that in mind as well!
Possibility of Blogging: Moderate – Giving up to three to four episodes.
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed
