Bel swallow King Jikochu into his body but instead of becoming stronger, he was consumed by it and the true form of Jikochu was born-Proto Jikochu.
The girls transformed and together with Regina battle Proto Jikochu. However he was too strong and even their ultimate attacks is useless against him. Everyone was on the ground but Cure Heart stood up and told Proto Jikochu that even if he get rid of everyone in the world, he will be all alone and there will be no purpose for him anymore.
Proto Jikochu hated her preaching and went to plunder Cure Heart. He finally corrupted her heart and extract it out of her body. The others went to her aid as Proto Jikochu held her heart. Suddenly her heart reverted back to normal and returned to her body. Cure Ace claimed that even if their heart is gone, their spirit will never be broken.
Cure Heart instructed everyone to combine their powers to her and together with the legendary items, she became Cure Heart Parthenon Form. She started overwhelming Proto Jikochu with her strength and used a power up version of My Sweet Heart on him. Proto Jikochu claimed that as long as humans has negative feelings, he will return. Cure Heart agreed that humans are not perfect but as long as friends and families are there to support each other, humans will overcome it.
Proto Jikochu finally admitted defeat and vanished without a trace. All the people of Trump Kingdom were restored and the damages was repaired with the rainbow light (I still don't get it where did it come from?)
When the battle was finally over, Ange appeared in the sky talking to them. She explained that she cannot be revived since both Aguri and Regina's heart have grown fully. The two girls ensured Ange that they will take care of the King. Makoto was upset that she couldn't do anything for Ange however she advised Makoto to use her song to promote love and her spirit will live on in Ai-Chan. Bel somehow survived but he is now a rat. Ira and Mammo took him and decided to wait for another 10000 years for King Jikochu to return...
Some time later, Mana stepped down as Student Head President and Jun took over her role. Regina also enrolled in Mana's school to start afresh. The King announced his retirement and Joe became the President of Trump Kingdom. Rika still write embarrassing poems and teased by Rakeru. The gateway created by King Jikochu remained open and people from both sides were able to communicate with each other. Alice went to do business trade with the Trump Kingdom. Aguri became more open to her classmates and Makoto became an international star and went overseas to promote her songs.
During Makoto's concert, Mana received a call from the government that a satellite is crashing down to the city. She met with the others including Regina and head out to stop it with the people in the city cheering for them...
A pretty all right finale but not as epic like Smile Precure. It is more similar to Suite Precure where they battle a human size final boss instead of a Planet Buster Final Boss. Of course the previous trailer indicate a power up and only Cure Heart got it which I can now said that Cure Heat is OP! Proto Jikochu's character is close to a wailing kid like King Jikochu as he refused to admit he is wrong. Only when Cure Heart claimed that people will always support one another in times of despair then he was finally defeated. One more thing-Bel lived! As a rat and looking at Ira's expression, he know it will take another lifetime for him to see Rika again.
Ange's farewell was probably the saddest since everything the girls especially Makoto did to see her alive again was in vain. However Ange has passed sadness and bless everyone to move on with their lives...
Final Thoughts: My second year in reviewing Precure series and what do I think of Doki Doki? The story is good in some parts, the villains were much more interesting but the Precures are not. I went back to look at all the episodes before this review and let me say, it is a mixed bag for me.
Before you start flooding the comments section, let me explain that I don't hate the Doki Doki team completely. It is just that I don't find myself investing in them so much like Smile Precure and Heart Catch Precure. Most of you will probably guess that the character that I dislike most is actually Mana/Cure Heart.
When I watch the first episode, I already got a vibe that Mana is too helpful, a goody two shoes and over the top expressions. Most of the time, she usually come up with the plan or already know the solution to the problem and overcome with ease. Yes, she faced crisis that are too big for her like Regina turning evil and slapping herself after the Magic Mirror was broken and went back being herself in the time frame of 15 seconds.
You may say that she has the attitude of an Energiser Bunny who never give up. I said it is lazy writing. When King Jikochu's heart was moved by seeing Cure Ace, Cure Heart with all her "wisdom" claimed his heart is touched and suggested going inside the body. May I wonder how in the name of lazy writing did she came up with that theory? I was expecting maybe Cure Ace who has experience or Cure Diamond with her wisdom to figure it out but it was Cure Heart who thought of it.
Let me ask you. Why do we love the underdog characters like Tsubomi, Yayoi and even Miyuki who grew from strength to strength despite facing many troubles and finally becoming someone we like in the end. It is because we can related to them but Mana is too perfect that it is not realistic. I know kids want to see their hero win every time but if the hero always have the solution to the problem without trying, it make an uninteresting character to relate to. You may say Mana is the student council president which prove she is capable and yes, I find that there is nothing big deal of announcing to the world that you are a student council president because most student council president in animes are douche bags and hypocrites.
Which bring me to the next character, Rika/Cure Diamond. Rika is the friend that everyone will want to have-smart, logic thinking and a bit of a mother hen. If Mana is the husband than Rika is the wife who take care of the little details in the house. If Rika didn't help Mana in the student council, Mana's popularity will have went down hill so actually the real hero to thank is Rika. She does have her own episodes to shine like when Ira has amnesia (The shipping of them together begin) and when she was jealous of Makoto getting all the attention with Mana. She has proven to be a good friend and should be awarded best supportive Precure for all the hard work she done.
Alice/Cure Rosetta is also a well developed character (It seems the yellow cures have the best episodes in my opinion) A well-manned, soft spoken but will not hesitate to use action when needed Ojou-Sama. The most calm among the five girls and probably the best in combat. She know her attacks are mostly defensive but her innovation and training make her one of the better yellow cures and is probably on par with Sunshine but I think Rosetta is more flexible-Remember Rosetta Reflection Fans?
Makoto/Cure Sword was a disappointment in her character development. She started off strong as a lone fighter and does not trust Mana and the others in the beginning. As I said before after their first arrival in Trump Kingdom, the writers shouldn't have reveal Makoto's agenda so early in the series. If you watch enough Kamen Rider and Super Sentai shows, the new member is always seem to be cool and mysterious and it usually take around the 20 plus episode to join them officially but because of Regina and Cure Ace's unexpected arrival, Makoto was given a very short time to develop and most of the time, she just blend in when the plot required to. The only good episode is the one which many agreed is the solo she sang for Regina but after that, everything else is focus on Aguri/Cure Ace.
Aguri/Cure Ace is probably the unexpected character for this series. Many has speculated her real identify is Regina (which I dislike it) or Ai-Chan but Toei gave a big troll and surprise! It was a new character all along! Aguri started off arrogant and preaching about "the Way of the Precures" however when the others learned about who she really is, their attitude towards her is like a younger sister they never have which remind me that all the girls in Doki Doki is an only child.
Aguri tried to brag that she is more senior but in reality, she isn't that any difference from them in term of combat and experience. Her five minute warning was also a bad plot device and the Jikochu just exploit it easily when they learned about it. Her best episodes are her relationship with her grandmother and her battle with Regina. The carrot and school festival episodes were pretty silly as it just show the immature side of her.
Regina is the second most hated character that I disliked. Mostly because she is nothing more than a spoilt brat. Some may argue is because of King Jikochu's brainwashing that turned her to a bully. But even after the final battle, she still is very immature and stick to Mana like glue. The last few episodes may make her a face character but her status will be a supporting role like Kaoru and Michiru and not a Precure.
The supporting cast like the fairies and the family members are nothing special. Sharuru and the other fairies just blend in and they are only needed when the plot required. Although the episodes when they become humans were interesting but if you replace it with another human character, it won't make any different. The family members were all right and they don't really have much of a plot for them. Maybe for Aguri's grandmother, Mari as her relationship with her was special. Sebastian who I want him to be awesome like Madea from Fresh Precure or Masa from Seto no Hanayome just failed short in being a memorable side character.
The Jikochu were better developed than the Bad End generals but they also have their own flaws. Ira started off as the evil brat who hated everything until his memory loss. But it was just one episode and he went back being a villain. However he learned to be less temperamental and even help Cure Diamond (secretly) and hint at Regina to watch herself in the final battle. Mammo was less interesting and it is her vanity that create the problem-remember the pimple on her head? Reva and Gura were completely plot-device characters and they couldn't even last for a quarter of a season!
Bel was interesting as he scheme his way up to the top-by being Regina's whims and murdered Reva and Gura at their weakest. All in order to become the top dog but he got what he deserved in the end and ended up being the lowest denominate as a rat. But what happen to the remaining two generals that appear in the flashback? If they return in Happiness Charge Precure then we can clearly said that it is a indirect sequel to Doki Doki Precure.
You might think I really hate this season but no, the only good factor is it's story. About 90 percent of the episodes were related except for a few like Rakeru's first love, Makoto's visit to the dentist and Aguri's hatred for carrots. They didn't focus too much on finding the Royal Crystals and the legendary items didn't went on forever. The battles were all right sometimes but due to budget and time constrict, the art works became pretty bad. Doki Doki Precure has also one of the worst Final Team Attack with the Royal Lovely Straight Flush and their power-up is just a pair of wings that enable flight only.
All right! I said enough about my rant on Doki Doki Precure. Overall, it is an all right show with characters you might love or hate it, the story was pretty consistent although the finale is lukewarm and not over the top like some of the previous series. If you think that I said something unpleasant about some of your favourite characters, I apologise but it is my own views. If you love someone in the series more than me then more power to you. Well, what's past has passed so like what Ange told everyone to move on, we bid farewell to Doki Doki Precure and welcome Happiness Charge Precure next week!
P.S: I have placed a poll to ask your overall view of Doki Doki Precure. Enjoy and see you in the next post!
