Bandai wanted a princess-themed Precure after the success of Frozen. The Precure team wasn’t about to follow the typical Disney princess narrative. Let’s see how they subverted it in this 2nd episode!
Continue reading →Bandai wanted a princess-themed Precure after the success of Frozen. The Precure team wasn’t about to follow the typical Disney princess narrative. Let’s see how they subverted it!
Continue reading →If you’re a Precure fan in the US, articles on the series can be hard to find, and the few that appear often dismiss it as a toy-selling vehicle. Funny that you never hear that about Pokemon! Luckily I can paste プリキュア in a search and find great articles in the Japanese press! I’ve found some interviews with Washio Takahashi, the creator of Pretty Cure. Usually you see Precure credited … Continue reading →
I’ve been impressed by the writing on the Pretty Cure series from the very first. It’s a great example of Hopepunk, positive and uplifting, with the characters making tough decisions and coming up with different solutions and unconventional tactics. They make things better, but not perfect.
Continue reading →My last installment looking at the Heartcatch Precure transformations.
This time it’s Yuri/Cure Moonlight. She was defeated three years ago, her fairy died protecting her, and she’s been living with guilt and depression ever since. But there’s one final chance to redeem herself and help save the world.
See how her experiences are illustrated by the storyboarder and animator’s art:
Continue reading →My third installment looking at the Heartcatch Precure transformations.
Itsuke/Cure Sunshine is the 3rd Heartcatch Cure. She dresses and acts like a boy to help her family dojo, but she loves cute, girly things in secret. Gender conflicts highlight her anxiety. The storyboarder & animator bring this to the fore.
Continue reading →The first installment in my series, looking at the Heartcatch Precure transformations.
Tsubomi is the first Cure in Heartcatch. As a 1st Cure, and a Pink one at that, you’d expect she’d be outgoing and enthusiastic- an ideal team leader. Instead she’s pathologically shy, somewhat clumsy, and fixated on flowers and the language of flowers (Hanakotoba).
See how her experiences are illustrated by the storyboarder and animator’s art:
Continue reading →The Japanese esthetic principle of Mono no Aware, the value and pathos of impermanent things viewed through the lens of a Delicious Party Precure episode.
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