Magical girl retrospective - simulwatch starts 1st Feb 2025

[Professor Irony]

Rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated, I’ve just been a bit braindead away from work lately.

Princess Tutu ep1-3: Duck Duck Go

This one is slightly tinged with bad nostalgia for me as the first person I remember telling me it was good was a friend who is now long absent. But yeah, that aside, Princess Tutu feels refreshingly non-commercial - it doesn’t feel as if they’re desperate to sell you something here, beyond maybe a plush Duck, and frankly I think we all need a plush duck in our lives.

Most of what I would have touched on has already come up; I like how expressive the series is. The character art is relatively simple, but they’re doing a lot with gesture and movement in ways that you don’t often see. The narrator character is creepy as hell, but I also like how they’re using him to sow doubt as to where the story is heading and whether or not the characters’ fate is already sealed, I always appreciate that kind of device in a story.

It is noticeable that we’ve definitely entered the digital production era though. The series is by no means the worst culprit from that time (remember how Kino’s Journey had scanlines matted onto the screen?), but there’s definitely some jank going on in post here, with jerky camera pans, naff lighting effects and a weird cross wipe in the third episode standing out to me in particular. HIDIVE’s version is pretty rough too: there’s some horrible deinterlacing, for the real 2000s anime viewing experience, and it’s English audio only, not even auto generated captions (come back Gary, all is forgiven).

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Of all the shows we’ve watched so far, I think Princess Tutu and Fancy Lala are the ones I’m most likely to continue after we’re done.

Futari wa Precure ep1: Buy ‘Hings

I’m sure it will come as a shock to no-one that I haven’t seen Precure before. My sole experience of it is, some years ago, seeing the director (?) of one iteration being interviewed on the NHK channel and responding to a question about what that version might bring to the franchise, by talking about the new toyetic device with the same kind of thousand yard stare last seen on Martin Sheen as he’s looking at that ceiling fan in Apocalypse Now.

Joking aside, I don’t know really. It’s decently produced; there’s some nice cuts of animation around the fight sequence in particular and I kind of liked the roller coaster becoming a kaiju, but it’s just… missing something. Perhaps the formula has become so refined by this point that it feels as if the creative spark has finally been lost. The device is shamelessly toyetic this time too - it actually felt jarring to me whenever the main characters had to interact with the toy phone. Maybe it’s just because we’re in a hurry to hit all the relevant plot points in this episode, but I would have appreciated a bit more effort being put into building up some kind of in-universe mythos around the thing. A magic wand makes sense, the enchanted pen to create outfits was cute, but I had a hard time seeing the phone as anything more than a bit of pre-teen knick-knackery.

Maybe I’m being a overly harsh, given that they did point out Nagisa’s propensity to attract female admirers, but I did also laugh a little bit at how keen the show was to establish that both our heroines are interested in boys, when they seem to gain a lot of strength by holding hands beneath a giant rainbow flag. My gag title for the episode was nearly ‘Bi Things’…

If no-one is offended, I may skip Madoka. It doesn’t greatly appeal to me and my overriding memory of it is still having to put up with very vocal and enthusiastic fans who would not shut up about the bloody thing. Maybe some day I’ll get over that enough to give it a shot properly, but, eh.

 

[Dai]

Prisma Illya - episode 1

Gonna catch you catch you, catch me catch me, catch 'em catch 'em, gotta catch em all, Class Cards. Yep, we're collecting cards. Again.

This show isn't the first or only time a popular franchise had a magical girl spin-off. Tenchi Muyo pulled the same trick back in the 90s, and I would have picked Pretty Sammy for this watchlist instead if it was streaming anywhere these days. As for Prisma Illya, it leans heavily on its links to the Fate franchise for the appeal of its characters here. Your mileage may vary, but for me there's something about this show that just doesn't work in this first episode. For a parody, it doesn't have a good sense of comic timing. The art is so concerned with staying on-model that it comes across as restrained and lacking expression. We've seen other magical girl shows that handled comedy far better.

Perhaps the show's most interesting element at this point is the the complete jackass of a magic wand that doubles as the mascot. There's no pretense to this thing; it's quite open about how much it's using people.

jerky camera pans...HIDIVE’s version is pretty rough too: there’s some horrible deinterlacing

That's surprising because the old DVDs from the 00s look excellent. They're so close to HD quality that I only bothered to get the blu-rays as a backup once I could buy them for next to nothing in a sale. I've noticed the jerky pans in the blu-rays, but don't recall the DVDs being like that (though I haven't gone back to check). I suspect the HD upscale is the culprit for some of these issues rather than the original SD master.

If no-one is offended, I may skip Madoka.

Not a problem. You've already reached a passing grade for the course and we'll be heading to another tragical girl show at the weekend if you want to dip your toes into that sub-genre.

 

[Professor Irony]

Fate Casual / Nudity ep1

With only a modest knowledge of the Fate franchise, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one and, honestly, after one episode I don’t feel much the wiser. I don’t remember Illya being a particularly well developed character and it surprised me that they would pick her as the protagonist over a more obvious candidate like Rin, Saber or even Sakura maybe. Perhaps they thought picking a relatively blank slate would appeal to a broader audience, but I feel that if you were completely unfamiliar with Fate, you’d be pretty lost here.

The trash talking wand is kind of fun, but for the most part, I found this one pretty cringeworthy, not least of all for the inordinate amount of time it seems to devote to ogling Illya while she’s in the bath or just out of it. Something in the back of my mind says the BBFC raised an eyebrow at this one when it came out on home video. The aerial combat showed some promise at least; it reminded me of Nanoha, which I also haven’t seen, but I did play the fan-made fighting game based on it, and that was quite good.

Would also agree about the art being a bit off somehow. The characters are recognisable, but I don’t know, to me it’s like the shape language is all wrong; they’re just a bit dumpy and awkward in a way you wouldn’t expect from an official product.

I would have picked Pretty Sammy for this watchlist instead if it was streaming anywhere these days.

I think I saw the pilot for Pretty Sammy, but iirc it was on the same tape as mah waifu the Mihoshi special and I can’t remember much about it now.

 

[Dai]

Has someone at ANN been copying our homework?

This Week in Anime - The Boys in Toyland

Coop and Chris explore the world of marketable plastic goodies and how anime can turn out to be a half-hour toy commercial.

www.animenewsnetwork.com

 

[Dai]

With only a modest knowledge of the Fate franchise, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one and, honestly, after one episode I don’t feel much the wiser

I think that's just the Fate experience in general.

I don’t remember Illya being a particularly well developed character and it surprised me that they would pick her as the protagonist

If I'm being generous I'd say they picked her because she's the most naive and easily duped, which makes her an easy comedy target for the trolling wand. If I'm being more cynical I'd say they picked the youngest girl in order to appeal to that kind of viewer, especially with all the nudity in the first episode.

Prisma Illya - episode 2

This was a major improvement over the first episode. Characters are much more expressive in the comedy scenes and there are some funny moments parodying magical girl tropes, like the wand trolling Illya into doing posing practice or when she runs off to the toilet to transform. Add in a pretty solid fight scene and this is starting to look more promising.

Tomorrow we're moving on to everyone's favourite year: T-T-Twenty-Sixteen. If anyone has forgotten what that year was like, here's a reminder:

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Sorry guys, been unwell so have some catching up to do.

Sounds interesting. What's that one called?

Life After Magic. If you happen to play it, let me know how you find it - the concept sounded fascinating.

Madoka Magica Episodes 1-3

Shame I couldn't do this one daily as it's the one I've most been looking forward to. This was the first magical girl show I watched, purely down to its reputation. Back then I found it interesting to start, but it still seemed a bit vanilla for my tastes (or state of mind at the time) until the end of episode 3 of course. In retrospect, and probably also helped by the transition from the others in this simulwatch, goodness gracious this is dark from the bloody get go. I'd forgotten about the brilliant Shaft aesthetic pervading everything in the show, not just the witch labyrinths nightmare fuel. Whilst lots of the tragical shows inspired by this have embraced being grim dark, I don't think a single one has bothered to match Madoka's unique aesthetic. Kajiura's score is also excellent, with Kalafina's operatic vocals (shame they split). The creatives on this are an all star ensemble eh?


Found it interesting how much insight most characters demonstrate, both Sayaka and Madoka admitting their naive views on wanting to become magical girls. Mami as well, despite being a very confident exhibitionist, drops her flowery exterior to become serious in warning the kids to not take things lightly and to think carefully about what they want when signing the contract (the most business-minded wording in a magical girl show should be another red flag!). Madoka's mum, who certainly wears the pants in that family, also had some pithy insights in her limited appearances.

Difficult to dissociate from knowledge of having already watched this a few times, but without a doubt this is one of the greats in anime and remains among my favourites. Now I want to rewatch the rest and also use it as springboard to watching the Rebellion movie I only got recently, and the Magia Record anime that I never watched the second season of.

I'm trying to remember if Yuki Yuna tipped it's hand straight away? I think I remember them doing their Hero Club stuff in school before the reveal, there is a certain other anime that definitely starts as your regular CGDCT show before the twist reveal at the end of the first episode, thing is to name it is to spoil it, but equally I quite liked it so I would recommend it!

Ah yes, good shout - I remember watching I think the first season only of this, as others weren't available to me if I recall, and that did start light and get darker didn't it?

And Kyubey is a little s*** trying to egg them on into choosing to become a magical girl

I loved that line the girls chided him with about nobody liking a boy whose pushy.

Interesting choice here as witches are essentially magical women in other stories.

That is an inspired choice!

Loved your foreshadowing spoilers @Dai, very nice points as always.

my overriding memory of it is still having to put up with very vocal and enthusiastic fans who would not shut up about the bloody thing. Maybe some day I’ll get over that enough to give it a shot properly, but, eh.

Heheh sorry you had to go through all that dude and hopefully you will be able to watch it someday. Overenthusiasm from some can certainly be a killjoy!

 

[Dai]

Magical Girl Raising Project - episode 1

The Madoka influence is clear from the violent opening scene and the protagonist who just wants to be a magical girl for its own sake, but the rest of the episode has quite a different feel to it. Where Madoka Magica is in dialogue with earlier magical girl shows at the metanarrative level, this show takes its genre self-referencing in a more literal direction that's the signature of 2010s anime in general, especially ones based on light novels like this one. It's a distinction that only becomes noticeable once a story makes it, but this may be the first show we've watched where magical girl anime exist in-universe as a fictional concept. Koyuki starts this story as a fan of magical girl anime and games, unaware that they're also real. Tie a shady free-to-play mobile game into the centre of the plot and you have a story that's about as 2010s as you can get without going isekai.

Koyuki makes for an endearingly earnest protagonist, whose first instinct is to use her powers to help people around town like an 80s magical girl. It's also a neat twist that her male childhood friend turns into a magical girl too. As with so many things, Sailor Moon did gender-swapping magical girls first, but it's still a rare element to see included in a show.

Of course we have that cold open to remind us that we're in tragical girl territory, despite the otherwise light tone of the episode. As anyone who's played a free-to-play game knows, there's a honeymoon period before it starts demanding more from you. Keep watching after the end credits for an ominous bit of foreshadowing.

This was the first magical girl show I watched, purely down to its reputation. Back then I found it interesting to start, but it still seemed a bit vanilla for my tastes (or state of mind at the time) until the end of episode 3 of course. In retrospect, and probably also helped by the transition from the others in this simulwatch, goodness gracious this is dark from the bloody get go.

Yes, it really takes some familiarity with the magical girl genre to get the most out of what Madoka Magica is doing. Going into it cold would be like experiencing Watchmen without having read any earlier DC comics, or in my case the way I had no clue that Project A-ko was parodying a bunch of different shows the first time I watched it in 1993, when the only anime I'd seen before that were Akira and Vampire Hunter D.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

That is an inspired choice!

Now I've watched it I can see why they had to find a different name for basically the same type of fictional character.

 

[Dai]

Magical Girl Raising Project - episode 2

Here we start to see a stark disconnect between the cute visuals of the magical girl trappings and the way some of the girls talk to each other. It's especially noticeable in the flashback scene where Top Speed tries to placate Calamity Mary, or when a team of magical girls report their earnings to their boss. If you close your eyes and replace the talk of candies with yen, these could be scenes from a yakuza story.

The dream sequence of Nemurin pulling various Ultraman moves while fighting a kaiju is a highlight, but it's all a ruse to make us like her before hitting us with the consequence for the girls who don't earn enough candies. They're in a death game. This isn't a Magical Girl Raising Project; it's a Magical Girl Razing Project.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya - Episodes 1-2

Fate does magical girl - the only readily available series from the franchise that I haven't seen, but more recently decided that I should eventually get around to it after hearing the latter season and movies are quite good.

I do wonder how the idea to incorporate the generally dark Fate franchise into this genre as a comedy parody came about, though Fate Carnival Phantasm does demonstrate how well this franchise can parody itself, so why not magical girls? I was surprised at a couple of points (I think in the battles +/- op) where the animation seemed pretty impressive.

The humour was definitely helped along by the resident Fate tsundere Rin Tohsaka, like when she retorts how she would never wear such embarrassing outfits to poor magical-girl-outfitted Ilya. The transformation sequence only really featured in the first episode, so doesn't look like they dwell on that too much in the series perhaps (I guess they only have one cour worth of episodes to fit the story in so maybe didn't want too much filler?). The staffs double up as comical self-serving recruiting agents. The use of class cards, which not unusual in the genre, is further amusing with their similar depiction in the franchise's gatcha game FGO. I don't think there is an obvious antagonist for these girls (maybe the dude in the shadows behind Waver at the Clocktower?) apart from the chore of collecting cards Sakura-style.

Ilya spending most of the first episode in her birthday suit turned the parody of the revealing magical girl outfits into the very exploitation it was parodying, Monogatari-style. It fit with the infamy that has so far lost me interest in this series.

We've seen other magical girl shows that handled comedy far better.

That's a good point, whilst I liked the comedy here, in retrospect it didn't have anything on the others we've watched so far and certainly nothing on the self-parody of Carnival Phantasm.

I don’t remember Illya being a particularly well developed character and it surprised me that they would pick her as the protagonist over a more obvious candidate like Rin, Saber or even Sakura maybe.

I think that may be the very reason they picked her for this in order to give her a more prominent role, as despite her having equal importance to the other girls in stay/night, they thankfully didn't make her a fourth route love interest (and let's not go down the she's actually much older in a child's body discussions plez). Her importance to the lore does make whatever they've done to elevate the story in the more recent output of the series, of interest so I'll likely end up watching this to check that out. And you're right, I think being unfamiliar with Fate would probably have left me confused about this show as well.

Would also agree about the art being a bit off somehow. The characters are recognisable, but I don’t know, to me it’s like the shape language is all wrong; they’re just a bit dumpy and awkward in a way you wouldn’t expect from an official product.

Yeah very different from the usual Fate stuff but I'd just put it down to reimagining cutesier versions for this show but they don't seem quite right somehow.

Has someone at ANN been copying our homework?

This Week in Anime - The Boys in Toyland

Coop and Chris explore the world of marketable plastic goodies and how anime can turn out to be a half-hour toy commercial.

www.animenewsnetwork.com

Heheh I need to read this now

Tomorrow we're moving on to everyone's favourite year: T-T-Twenty-Sixteen. If anyone has forgotten what that year was like, here's a reminder:

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Magical Girl Raising Project - Episodes 1 -2

I thought I'd seen this one before on Amazon prime, but got it mixed up with Magical Girl Site, which was very much just an edgefest.

Ominous start over here which I'm assuming is foreshadowing, as opposed to preceding events, to what I presumed would be the show devolving into magical girl battle royale based on the announcement at the end of the first episode, though the second episode would imply otherwise.

Of the couple of things I liked in an otherwise seemingly generic show, the first was the meta commentary on people hiding their passions to better fit in with the crowd, be it the protagonist growing up and finding her peers having grown out of magical girl stuff (there was the not so subtle take on the genre marketing merch heh), or her guy friend never being able to demonstrate his passion for this to other boys. The second was how their avatar forms apparently take on their personality or whims, with a wide the variety in archetypes (I love that there are shut-in and gunslinger magical girls!). It also means there is no gender restriction on becoming a magical girl, so would this be extended to age and species - be there aliens abound or perhaps this guy:

Spoiler

I guess now that I'm caught up, tomorrow's episode would shed more light on what flavour of edge this show is cooking up.

 

[Professor Irony]

Prisma Illya ep2

Not much else to add on this one; I would agree that it’s a marked improvement on the first one, but overall this is still sitting around the level of something I’d watch if it was on, but wouldn’t otherwise go out of my way for. Rider making an appearance as the enemy combatant was nice though and I also appreciate them squeezing Taiga in there (wouldn’t have objected to them making her the main character tbh).

latter season and movies are quite good.

Funnily enough, I mentioned to a friend who’s more familiar with the franchise that we were watching this one and he said the same thing. Maybe doing a magical girl spin-off makes more sense than I first thought.

Tragical Girl Hazing Project ep1-2

Mixed feelings on this one, to be sure. I can appreciate that there’s something to this and it’s a good example of the form, but, soft-hearted old Hector that I am, I don’t think the tragical girl subgenre is really for me. If it was presented as a more straightforward action series, I’d probably be okay with it, but I don’t know, setting it up to look like something light and cute takes me back to Clannad, which I always found a bit cynically manipulative. That said, I am engaged enough to at least want to see the next episode, even if I don’t feel like I’d need much more of it than that.

The biggest shock to me here though is it this one doesn’t have a tie-in game. The scenes in the show of the characters interacting with their fictional mobile game feel tailor made for promoting a gatcha or something of that nature, and it seems like a natural evolution of the magical girl merchandising tradition. Were gatcha games even a thing in 2016?

It's also a neat twist that her male childhood friend turns into a magical girl too. As with so many things, Sailor Moon did gender-swapping magical girls first, but it's still a rare element to see included in a show.

That did surprise me. I was aware that Sailor Moon addressed gender fluidity as it went on, particularly with the Starlight characters, but (and correct me if I’m wrong) this feels more egalitarian and aspirational, possibly? It felt like, with the Pucelle character, they were more consciously inviting male viewers to self-insert as a magical girl too. In that context, it did also amuse me a little that Pucelle is uh, rather visibly well endowed…

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Clannad, which I always found a bit cynically manipulative.

Heheh good ol' Jun Maeda cannot help but be an emotional exploiter, but he does it so well that I can't help but love his work, or I just have a few too many screws loose.

The biggest shock to me here though is it this one doesn’t have a tie-in game.

Yeah I didn't really get that from this, it's so far come across to me as tongue-in-cheek or just incorporating the tech of the moment into the show, like the similarity @Dai mentioned with other shows and isekai of the period.

it did also amuse me a little that Pucelle is uh, rather visibly well endowed…

I forgot to mention how hilarious I found the ad-break cut away image stating her ability being able to enlarge her sword to any size!

 

[zrdb]

Fancy Lala is a series I've always had a liking for, I'm sorry that I didn't get the Bandai set but I did manage to get an hkdvd rip of it. It's a little bit different than most magical girl series.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya eps 1-3
Only Fate I've seen is Zero (and Lord El-Melloi). I recognised Rin and the master/servant (represented by the cards) system, it's also explained in episode 3. From the Animeography it seems Illya was also in Zero and Luvia was in El-Melloi, but I don't recall either and Miyu is a new character specifically for this show.
As far as the comedy goes Rin v Luvia "banter" has been done plenty, but has its moments. The funniest thing in the first 2 were the extravagant transformation scene in episode 1 followed by Illya changing off screen in the second episode. Episode 3 has a whole sequence with Miyu being a genius and outsmarting even the teacher which was quite funny.
Episode 3 also continued the questionable stuff with the class changing into the tightest bloomers (and one girl into a school swimsuit instead) for PE and yet another (although brief) bathroom scene!
At only 10 episodes I might consider finishing it, but there's a load of other parts in this part of the Fate franchise.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Magical Girl Rasing Project (dub) eps 1-3
This feels like an almost straight rip off of so many elements of Madoka, except the reasoning behind the why of all is even dumber than aliens need energy. Thinking harder I don't think there is a reason why, it's just set up for a death game which was quite popular in 2010s. It does seed the dread quite well, apart from the fact it's already given the game away with the cold open. Without it, it would be a bigger shock at first the reveal of trimming down the numbers and then what that actually means and then the change of rules that happens in the third episode which the Ruler character seems to think it means that stealing from the other girls is possible, it's also established in episode 2 that they can injure, and I assume, kill each other!

As with so many things, Sailor Moon did gender-swapping magical girls first, but it's still a rare element to see included in a show.

I was going to mention this before seeing your post. There are other shows too. Magical Girl Ore: girls transform into buff guys in magical girl outfits and looking through a list of other magical girl shows on MAL the image for Cute High Earth Defense Club Love!: boys turning into magical boys. There's also a trans girl in Magical Girl Site.

Magical Girl Site, which was very much just an edgefest.

It started very edgy, but got a bit less so over time. I've also got the manga, but haven't got round to reading it yet.

Talking of that list I think I'll go through it and do a paragraph on what other shows I've seen, but as a sneak peek number one on the list for most members on MAL isn't Madoka which is number 2, but...

Kill la Kill! Which I suppose technically is rightfully on the list!

 

[Dai]

Magical Girl Raising Project - episode 3

The secret is out and now everyone knows that their lives are on the line. Add in a rule change that makes it beneficial for magical girls to attack each other and, within the space of three episodes, they have gone from local helpers to rivals to deadly enemies. It's like watching the evolution of the entire genre in fast-forward. The way the various factions were acting in the previous episode comes into focus. This is gang warfare.

Up to this point, the story could also be read as a commentary on the abusive practices of mobile games that dress themselves up in bright colours to appeal to children, but are just camouflage for ruthless mechanics that work behind the scenes to shake down players for everything they've got. As the game's admin so glibly puts it after telling the girls that half of them are going to die, "That's just how it is, pon." It also brings up the fact that you can't tell a person's age from the look of their avatar. The magical girls look like they're in their teens, but these are glamours; the people behind them range from primary school age to middle age. That said, the show doesn't have anything particularly highbrow on its mind after this point. As the conflict escalates it becomes increasingly preoccupied with just making things as bloody and miserable as possible.

I ended up watching all of Magical Girl Raising Project on Saturday. It's the first time I'd seen it in several years, so I didn't remember much. Beyond the fairly strong opening episodes, the best I can say about the rest of the series is that it kept me wanting to know what happened next. Unfortunately I wasn't particularly satisfied with the direction it took. It takes its time giving us the backstories of the magical girls, but only so it can beat us over the head with their horrible deaths. This show turns into an absolute bloodbath. It's also jarring that so many of the magical girls are psychopaths who don't blink at the thought of murdering people, though there is eventually an explanation for why such people were selected. Aside from that, the main problem is that supposed protagonist Koyuki almost falls out of the story after the first few episodes. Granted, it turns into more of an ensemble piece, but the story doesn't seem to know what to do with Koyuki when it does turn its attention back to her. It's especially problematic in the final episode where she's just...there, and events would have played out the same without her.

The first few episodes are a solid 7/10, but the series as a whole slides to a 6.

the reasoning behind the why of all is even dumber than aliens need energy. Thinking harder I don't think there is a reason why, it's just set up for a death game which was quite popular in 2010s.

It's pretty late in the series before they reveal exactly why everything is panning out this way, and it ends up being an annoyingly unsatisfying explanation for all the carnage.

We're ending on a cliffhanger with this show, but tomorrow we jump into our hot tub time machine for one last journey as we reach 2023.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Magical Girl Raising Project - Episode 3

Things do seem to be descending into deathmatch territory by the end of this episode. The inhuman mascot, rather reminiscent of the demonic Monokuma teddy from Danganronpa, emotionlessly confirms the fate of magical girls - at least they're not beating about the bush here.

Nemurin is confirmed to be older at 24, and the Witch Girl also comes across as a veteran in these games. Her ability to read people and situations, and her history with Ruler girl, possibly being reflections of her experience. Ruler girl also seems cognizant of the situation, and seems to purposely gather the weaker girls to band together and push them past the finishing line to ensure their survival. Though she doesn't seem to care for the top of the leaderboard when willing to deprive Snow White of this luxury.

The mystery elements are interesting enough that I do want to finish watching this now - I wonder if it will all be a critique of Gacha games literally sucking people dry of their life force.

It started very edgy, but got a bit less so over time. I've also got the manga, but haven't got round to reading it yet.

You're right, I remember my opinion of this improving by the time I finished watching it and didn't think it was too bad in the end heh.

Up to this point, the story could also be read as a commentary on the abusive practices of mobile games that dress themselves up in bright colours to appeal to children, but are just camouflage for ruthless mechanics that work behind the scenes to shake down players for everything they've got.

Heh, I couldn't help but think the same, especially as I play Gacha games a lot nowadays and even if you play for free, they're an absolute time-sink, and you can't put a price on time!

Beyond the fairly strong opening episodes, the best I can say about the rest of the series is that it kept me wanting to know what happened next. Unfortunately I wasn't particularly satisfied with the direction it took.

Heh, again I feel the same about wanting to know what happens next and how it all plays out - I guess I may enjoy it a bit more if I do watch it, now that my expectations have been appropriately lowered!

 

[Dai]

Power of Hope ~Precure Full Bloom~ - episode 1

As I understand it, this is a direct sequel to the 2007 series Yes! Precure 5. That had traditional teenage magical girls, but this sequel revisits the characters in their 20s, years after they hung up their transformation gizmos. As such it assumes familiarity with the characters, but the original appears to have stuck to the old-school combat magical girl formula, so it's not difficult to follow.

Tonally it feels close to a classical magical girl show, but there's a thematic shift. It's clear from the opening scene. Nozomi is cheerfully teaching her class of smiling children, but she's basically telling them that Earth is doomed and humanity will probably go extinct. The whole episode is permeated by this mix of positive attitude slamming against the wall of unyielding reality. More specifically, it's the adult characters who feel the greatest weight of having their aspirations belittled and hammered down, whether it's Nozomi's attempt to help one pupil or a businessman trying to put quality first. Meanwhile we see most of Nozomi's pupils bounce back from her apocalytpic lecture and start talking about pudding the moment the bell rings, while the one she fails to help ends up finding her own motivation to keep her dream alive. Add in the moment when the former Precures meet up and realise that their transformation devices have disappeared, and the message seems pretty clear: burnt-out adults can't cut it. What do they need? The clue is in the title.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Power of Hope ~Precure Full Bloom~ eps 1 & 2
Episode 1 does a good job of reminding everyone what a **** show the modern world has become and the baddie has come to exploit everyone's despair! Episode 2 has our main girl regaining her ability to transform after meeting all the rest of her old crew who on the face of it are doing fine, but in reality adulting isn't as fun as being magical girls.

It's interesting in a world where there's a torrent of isekai power fantasies on the male side of things that there hasn't been more of these types of shows where women can transform back into their old middle/high school selves. It's an interesting twist on the old formula at least even if the baddie and her actions are very similar to the Sailor Moon baddies.

Animation wise the regular scenes are quite standard whilst the monsters are cg monstrosities, but the action scene is pure sakuga.