There are some series that leave their climax for the final episode. There are others that put the climax in the penultimate episode so that they can use the final one for an epilogue. Heartcatch Precure… to be honest I’m not sure into what category it falls. This episode ends at the exact point where Dune gets pummeled by the ultimate Precure attack. At this point it’s not yet certain whether the creators intend the final episode to be the aftermath of that battle, or whether he still manages to pull some sort of trick out of his sleeve.
Either way, whichever case it may be, this episode was just awesome. The first half was entirely dedicated to Yuri, her father and Dark Precure. And I mean, Christ: people actually died in a kids’ show! The creators didn’t chicken out from this controversial topic, in which most kids’ show refuse to show anything in that direction thanks to censors. It’s awesome to see how much screentime Yuri has actually gotten in this finale: I mean, she really was the main character of the final few episodes of this series. That is just awesome. I know that this series’ fault is that it adheres to a ton of mahou shoujo cliches and all, but for every cliche it follows, it also excellently subverts one.
The creators here really set up the perfect prototype for the mahou shoujo of the new decade and I really hope that it inspires many more mahou shoujo to really put effort in its visuals, characters and stories, because it was really a genre that was about to die out before Heartcatch Precure aired (and this is coming from someone who at one point used to be a big fan of the mahou shoujo genre, and this series definitely reminded me again why).
The second half of the episode was the battle against Dune. It’s not like it got a better budget than usual, but dear god, the animation really was gorgeous, and the action was worthy of this series climax. The action was over the top, and yet not too crazy, and the art too was gorgeous during the busy parts (I love it when the creators sacrifice their character models in favor of fluidity and dynamics).
I do have one point of criticism here though: Dune. The next episode may prove me wrong, but unfortunately he remains a flat final villain who is just evil for the sake of being evil. I really would have loved to see the creators gave the same kind of depth to him that they gave to the other characters, but alas. The final fight against him also made him much weaker than what he once used to be, but I’ve seen much worse in this area.
Rating: *** (Awesome)
Who knows? Maybe they’ll develop him in the final episode! But then again, I could be wrong.
The extended preview on TV Asahi’s site “spoils” that Dune “survives” the Orchestra and gets a power-up, but I guess that was kinda obvious since he still hasn’t turned into the giant monster seen in Kaoruko’s flashback.
http://asahi.co.jp/precure/asx/story.asx
“I love it when the creators sacrifice their character models in favor of fluidity and dynamics” — oh, my. That explains so much… I’d rather there be a balance struck between both. I personally hated the episode of Birdy that was sent out with ridiculous animation, for instance. It’s like some kids got together with pastels and an old flipbook.
@hoiut : The fixed that in the DVDs. Did you like the fights in noein though? There were more than one instance that the character designs got much messier but also much more fluif.
Mahou shoujo aside, the entire shoujo genre in general needs some serious diversification. Shoujo series need to move beyond the constraints of cheesy romance, cheesy drama, and ridiculous female wish-fulfillment.
“I love it when the creators sacrifice their character models in favor of fluidity and dynamics”
I remember kinetic motion sequences with surprising detail, but most memorable animation sequences in anime boil down to a keyframe or two in my memories. For nostalgia’s sake, I’d MUCH rather have the former. “Messy” isn’t a problem in the long-run (unless you have eidetic memory I suppose).
I can replay the entire final action sequence from Birdy 2 in my mind and still feel like I need a smoke. But Mustang’s epic burninating in FMA? I know it was awesome, but hell if I remember anything beyond a couple of dramatic poses.
I remember the fluid animation and sequencing in Balsa’s fight in ep3 of Moribito, but I don’t remember how beautiful the backdrops looked. And the scenery in Bakemonogatari? Not memorable at all anymore, except the flying staplers.
Wow,I was quite sure that Dark would somehow pull a heel face turn but she didn’t. But yeah,the fight was awesome though! When someone make a list of the best fights in recent animes,this episode’s fight and last episode’s almost fighting game level of Moonlight vs Dark MUST be in!!!
HeartCatch Precure should be an action game like Kingdom Hearts @_@
Can I just say – another trope subverted. Dark Precure didn’t get redeemed, she didn’t ‘turn good’ and become human or another Precure (like a lot of fans thought she would) – she had one incredibly sad moment of vulnerability before she died, and that was it. She was pretty much dark and evil until the end.
God damn, this show is awesome.
The way that Yuri’s father sacrificed himself to dissipate Dune’s energy ball could have been done much better in my opinion. The energy ball didn’t look that threatening and I felt it was a rather cop-out way to close his story. Now if it was the size of a planet like in Dragonball…
Nevertheless, awesome fight scene. Dune really gets a beating facing against the whole team. But is he really dead? I guess I’ll just have to watch the next episode then..