I am not writing this review of Yes! Precure 5 because of the sparkling plot structure and idealized characterization. It is rather a tedious presentation with predictable endings and no real twists to the storyline. I cite this series as an important trend setter which would send Toei Animation into a historic, permanent shift in the Pretty Cure mega-series. Transitioning from small teams of two or three to larger ensembles of five (later six in the second season) would lead to the re-invention of magical girl concepts. But this brave new age of Precure would not usher in a time of magnificently crafted literary plot. Yes! was more a random gathering of stories about this girl and that gal joining a glib little squad of legendary warriors who moseyed onward toward a non-descript goal of saving the day for a nation of cute and cuddly fairy-type critters.
For the record, here is my list (IMHO) of best Pretty Cure storylines:
Happiness Charge Pretty Cure. The encapsulation of that quip from the bard: The course of true love ne’er did run smooth. Blue’s tangled, yet unseemingly unfulfillable love for Mirage. Seiji tying to work up the courage to ‘confess’ his love for childhood friend and neighbor Mugami. Cure Princess trying to find love with someone, or at least peace with Cure Fortune.
Suite Precure. A mastery of plot twists, where the main bad guy is the beloved father of Cure Muse, who will battle even team Suite Precure to rescue him. Further plot shifts when the forces of the Minor Kingdom can turn any victim into an inveterate foe of the Pretty Cure. Finally, there are no true baddies, just pawns of a remorseless Noise … and he’s not so bad once you get a little joy in his life.
Hugtto! Precure. The best set of episodes which explains the cheerfully optimistic philosophy of the Pretty Cure mentality. With the theme of protecting the sparkling future for all of us, in the end it would not be the five-member team of Hugtto! Precure who’d save the world, but a symbolical ‘all of us’ o rise and propel the girl-warriors to victory. That, and I think Hana raised Hugtan better than Mana did Ai in Dokidoki.
Smile Precure. Double the adventure. In a twofold effort to gather decors to save the world and Marchenland (Glitter Force’s Jubiland seems a better moniker) from the evil Emperor Pierot (Glitter Force’s Nogo, again the preferred brand), the five girls who bear a striking resemblance to Yes! Precure 5 discover power-up after power-up to overcome the odds and defeat unimaginable superpowers.
5.MahoTsukai Precure. The saga of the legendary warriors with a touch of magic. Born in different realms, Murai and Riko combine a love for magic and adventure to find an unbreakable bond of friendship that normal divisions of background and culture cannot separate. Battling the enemies of dark magic and mugic to save their realms it comes about that this victory means the Magical and Mundane Realms must forever part. But …
Enough of excellent plotlines. Back to Yes! Precure 5. Again, its importance is not in the story, but in the thrust of new directions. Here are Yes! five key contributions to the Precure franchise:
The cure who can transform independently. In Futari wa [Max Heart] and Splash Star, the cures must link hands to transform. Two change or no change. In Yes! a cure can battle alone, as Cure Dream must do in episode one. But, then this augments the notion that the best legendary warrior has her team to help her through conflict and common day problems. This singularity proves the overall theme of the unity of friendship.
The mass transformation sequences. It would eventually be mocked for a magnificent time-waster and advocate for file footage. But to see three, four, five girls in the same frame begin their transformation into a Pretty Cure and watch the series of dazzling costume, hairline, boots, bangles, accessories … the catchphrases and mottoes … the [im]patiently waiting villains who would get munched shortly after the metamorphosis is complete (going on seventeen seasons, and it never occurred to any of the bad-nicks that a quick preemptive strike could have been the ticket). What a visual rush!
Hope vs. despair as the guiding theme. The battle of light vs. dark of Futari wa and the quest for environmental themes in Splash Star now gives way to a grander topic. All Pretty Cure series will adjust for the ideals of following dreams and securing futures, but the verge of the shadows of gloom must be ever thrown back. Granted, Yes! did a poor job in expressing his, other than the title of the penultimate episode. Better was the next-to-last episode of Hugtto! Where Hana Nono and George Kurai argue their positions. George: All efforts for happiness tend toward eventual failure. Hana: So what? We just get up and strive again.
The transition from dealing with the opposition (elimination to purification). It’s hard to work for Nightmare. The retirement plan? Cold and sudden and gloomy. But, with the last-minute reformation of Desperia to bring down her own kingdom of despair about herself is the first glimpse of a villainess whom we might find redeemable … ere too late.
The color-coded Precure. Those energetic/leadership pinks. Those hot-blooded red/orange. The friendly yellows. The ambitious greens. The sagacious blue/purple.
Good achievements for a Precure series. But the plot? Yikes! It rambled about around a goal of a promised restoration of the Palmier Kingdom of Coco and Nuts (hey! I don’t name ‘em, just report em). Nozomi et. al. must gather 55 pinkies (never saw it happen ... it was suddenly just over). The Dream Collet is the only hope for having the dream fulfilled but it is sought by Nightmare. The evil organization gains the Collet and uses it, but the dream of the Palmier Kingdom restored is still accomplished, though at personal sacrifice of the Pretty Cures’ powers. Butterflies form the theme and all the villains transform into the enemies of order Lepidoptera. The action is disjointed and is mercifully over at episode 49.
Wait! There’s something called Yes! Precure Five GoGo? And that this series and Kirakira Precure ala Mode is all that is left in my odyssey of the Precure universe? Let’s plow on!
Screenshots
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