Heartcatch Precure

[elle_white]

I recently finished watching Heartcatch Precure. It's a cheesy and quirky Magical Girl anime aimed at young girls... but I unironically love it! I love it so, so much.

Shy and introverted Tsubomi Hanasaki transfers to a new town, where she hopes to overcome her extreme bashfulness. On her first day of school, she meets Erika Kuruma, a very outspoken and energetic girl who loves fashion. Later, they meet two magical creatures called fairies, which help them become the legendary warriors known as Precure. They fight against the Desert Apostles, who want to turn the entire world into a desert wasteland. The Precure rely more on punches and kicks than their magic powers in a fight. It's amazing to see Magical Girls in floral skirts and long, flowing dresses kicking ass. There are some very well choreographed fight scenes, particularly in the latter part of the series.

There many elements to this series that’s bizarre and silly, yet strangely lovable. One of those elements is the show's flower theme. Everyone possesses a "Heart Flower." It's prone to wilting when a person becomes overwhelmed or depressed. The Desert Apostles steal the wilted Hear Flowers and proceed to turn people into monsters called Desetrians. All the Desertrians have themes based on the individual’s source of angst. For example, one girl worries that her tennis partner wants to break up with her, so she takes the form of a tennis ball machine. The fairies produce Heart Seeds whenever the Precures return a Heart Flower. They help the source of the Heart Flowers, the Heart Tree, to grow stronger. And the fairies produce these Heart Seeds... uh, by pooping them out! Yes, the magical mascots shit out the world saving Macguffins.

The episodes can be repetitive and formulaic. With 49 episodes, the central plot unfold at a slow pace, and quite a few episodes focus on the Precure helping people. However, the characters make nearly every episode fun and engaging. And the characters are at the heart of my love for this series. They are incredibly charming, lovable and well-developed. This is essentially a series about all kinds of ladies being awesome and growing from their relationships with one another. One of the female protagonist's has a character arc that revolves around them moving away from the gender binary. She realizes that it's okay to like traditionally feminine and traditionally masculine things at the same time! She becomes a member of the fashion club while still being an avid martial artist. The show also features different generations of Precure, including Tsubomi's grandmother. She acts as a mentor to the younger Precure while occasionally participating in the action. Her character is fleshed out considerably during the series. It's refreshing to see an older woman have such an important role in a Magical Girl series.

Heartcatch Precure puts some interesting twists on old tropes, while still being a fairly conventional Magical Girl show. I normally have an intense dislike for the "evil counterpart" trope, and I was unhappy when I thought this series was going to use it. But it was done in a sweet and nuanced manner, avoiding the idea of a completely good or completely bad side to a person.

And this series delves into some surprisingly dark themes later. They include parental abandonment and its consequences and dealing with grief and regret, amongst other things.

I've seen critics refer to Heartcatch Precure as the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann of Magical Girl anime. And I agree, except that Heartcatch Precure barley has any fanservice, and the awesome comes from feelings, fashion and flowers instead of MANLINESS.

I’d actually say it’s what you’d get if you combined Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Sailor Moon and Digimon.

This series is really an excellent one, overall. It has some great fight scenes and fantastic, well-developed characters with engaging character arcs.