Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. It’s been a long and richly rewarding journey, but I am afraid the final battle of Hugtto! Precure is upon us. Our heroes have found lifelong friends, challenged scores of villains, and reckoned with that alluring horizon that is adult life, considering, pursuing, and reassessing the futures that might await them. Though seeking a happy place in the adult world is an intimidating process, they have been comforted along the way by the many confident examples around them, as well as those who’ve demonstrated how personal reinvention is a lifelong process, and that no unhappy ending needs to last forever.
Having struggled and fought to find peace with their own futures, our Pretty Cures must now fight for the futures of all, squaring off against a villain who believes a certainty of peaceful stasis is preferable to the chaos of an uncertain future. Criasu Corp’s ranks have been reduced to two misled hamsters and one nefarious overseer, but a great beast now stalks the shoreline, George’s cynical will made manifest. Let’s charge once more into brave battle, as Hana and her companions fight for a brighter tomorrow!
Episode 47
We begin right where we left off, with mega-George creepily extending his phantom arms towards the town below
Hugtan is captured, George makes his exit, and our two misguided hamsters arrive to guard his escape
“The Final Battle! Let’s Restore the Future!”
The poor deluded Bishin is the first to attack, her oversized performance of delight at this apocalypse seemingly most intended to convince herself this is the right path. She is of course blocked by Homare, continuing their quasi-rivalry
Risutol is more pragmatic, stating “this optimism of yours is too dangerous.” A groundless faith in a better tomorrow was precisely what drove humanity to the brink of extinction
Ooh, I like this hand-to-hand combat choreography as Risutol faces off with the heroes. Saaya’s got moves!
“I will think no longer. I will be free from this existence and all its suffering.” Risutol’s story might be the saddest of all, as at this point he’s no longer “deluded” by George. He fully understands that the endpoint of George’s philosophy is essentially nonexistence, as to exist is to change, but he’d actually prefer that to the agony of again watching his people die
He requisitions an army of Oshimaeda that look noticeably despairing and exhausted compared to the usual crowd
But who’s this!? Popple and the gang, here to fight for their own hard-earned hope in tomorrow
“We should be the ones thanking you. You Precure gave us a second chance to dream.” The returning villains embody one of my favorite aspects of Hugtto’s philosophy, emphasizing how even if we make mistakes or end up regretting where our initial path towards adulthood takes us, there is always time for personal reinvention later down the line. Anime can frequently offer the impression that you’re basically ready for the retirement home at twenty-five, but most people do not actually pursue the same job their entire adult life, and embracing that reality significantly reduces the pressure that Hana and her companions are facing
“You’ve already failed once. What more do you think you can do?” And Risutol is of course happy to embody the opposite instinct, believing every failure is final. At this point he has to believe that, as it’s the only thing that justifies his complicity with George’s actions
God, Popple’s got such a great design. Love her
Ooh, some great cuts of Homare flying around on a star while smashing enemies. I like how these cuts integrate her figure skating abilities into her attack patterns
Meanwhile, Lulu and Emiru just gun enemies down with their rocket-guitars
“Not just that, but they’re all with me… I’ve got my army of 25 subscribers, too!” Reach for the stars, Charaleet
They are soon joined by Doctor Traum. “Don’t you know? Old folks have their own dreams, too!”
He immediately starts making speeches and embarrassing Lulu. My god I love those two, what a delightful late-season dynamic
The way this series went about rehabilitating its villains certainly added some meat to its second half. We were essentially still “recruiting party members” right up to the ending, making the overall world feel less static than if they simply exited the scene upon defeat
Traum even sneaks in an apology to Daigan for betraying him. They were squabbling over scraps before, but now they both believe in a greater love, and forgiveness comes easily
“If we can only live on…” “We can start over again and again!” Do not fear the future. Your choices are not a life sentence. You can always begin again. A theme that obviously resonates with me strongly
Harry steps in to block the blows aimed at our former villains, emphasizing how much they’ve become a part of the team
He breaks the seal on his corruption, taking on his monstrous form. Even the other Precures get antsy at this, but Homare believes in his judgment
“My body will never be healed. But I will accept myself as I am and carry on into the future!”
And Risutol at last breaks down, no longer able to deny his own identity, or his tightly guarded hope of a happier future. If Harry can be strong enough to accept the cruelty of fate while still looking forward, then Risutol will stand beside him
Abandoned by everyone, Bishin transforms into an oshimaeda in turn
“Traitor! Beg for your life! Just try!” Bishin has always sought a receptacle for their pain, some target to assign their suffering to and thus righteously attack. To someone so full of anger, so desperate to lash out and correct the unfairness of the world, the forgiveness and sympathy of their companions feels worse than outright betrayal
It’s a common psychological trend – life often disappoints us in ways that are out of our or anyone’s control, but the need to “make things right” still fuels us with a burning anger. It is a hard thing to simply swallow our disappointment, to take solace purely in the fact that if we let anger consume us, we will only rob ourselves of future opportunities for happiness
Risutol refuses to offer this condemnation. He can only offer love
Satomi Arai’s really killing it as Bishin here, capturing a frustration too intense for words
And thus Bishin is restored. Gosh the three of them look cute in their little hamster forms
Awfully hard to take Risutol seriously when he keeps monologing as a tiny hamster with eyeshadow
I do appreciate him offering battle commands from Popple’s shoulder, though
“This is no time for your father-daughter comedy routine!” Homare, you have never been more wrong
Then Gelos pops up with a jet ski to drive them right to their target. Gotta be my first experience with a jet ski ex machina
The crew face off with George in a largely featureless void, the nothingness he hopes to bring about
“I will erase the future. This child bears the power of Mother.” A common thematic fusion, having motherhood embody the promise of tomorrow. You also run into a lot of Eves when it comes to this “cradle of humanity” business, as I just recently witnessed in Megazone 23
Hana is then trapped in a birdcage, another easy metaphor for George’s perspective – he wants them to stay young, beautiful, and entirely imprisoned
Having just recently watched the entirety of Sailor Moon, it strikes me that Hugtto’s characters similarly refer to each other solely by their Pretty Cure names when in costume. I assume that’s tied into protecting their alleged secret identities, but I wonder what established that trend, and why shows in the Nanoha lineage (Yuki Yuna, Madoka) avoid it
George continues to be his condescending prick self as he laments “if only you knew how pointless your struggle was”
George traps the girls in evil trees and starts electrocuting them, as you do
Hana actually seems on the verge of giving up when her teammates roar and break free. Returning the confidence she’s offered to them time and again
“The weeds are choking out the most beautiful flowers.” George’s metaphors maintain his paternalistic tone, while referring to the girls as “flowers” further plays into his idea that joy and beauty are inherently ephemeral
Having freed Hana from her cage, her companions exit the stage. The final battle begins!
And Done
You know, I gotta say, I’m not a fan of that George fellow. He’s a real piece of work in that “father knows best” sort of way, which I suppose makes him the perfect villain for a story about breaking free of limiting self-images and embracing the open canvas of the future. But George aside, it was delightful to see our former villains all get their moments to shine here, and the animators’ clear Bishin bias (along with Arai’s terrific performance) made that final moment of commiseration and redemption shine. I’m sad to say goodbye to this delightful cast, but happy they’re all getting their big hero moments as we charge towards the finish line. Go get ‘em, Hana!
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