Go Princess Precure Ep 9 Top 3 Moments and Review: Minami's Weakness

Gokigenyou! This is my review of Go Princess Precure episode 9 and it is the night of the Noble Party!

No 3: Let the Party begin!

Didn't anyone notice a dog and a bird holding a glass?

Haruka, Kirara and Yui arrived at the party and Haruka was overwhelmed by the atmosphere. From seeing their housekeeper, Shirogane making mixed drinks at the juice bar, Haruka having a fill of a spread buffet and Yuki was a bit infatuated by Haruka's appearance although he still tease her but couldn't continue because of his female followers.

We are also introduced to two new male characters from the student council-Shun who is the vice president for the male students and Naoto who take charge of the mess hall. Haruka also learned that Minami has been working hard to make the party a success but she handle everything leaving the other members with little to do.

Minami later came by and claimed she looked up to her father and older brother who are very successful due to their management skills. She decided to use the student council to test her management skills so that she can be successful in her future career. Haruka wondered if that is her dream although Minami was uncertain about it.

No 2: When the lights goes out, the ghosts come out to play!

Close turned a student (who dream of becoming a horror film director) into a Zetsuborg and immediately cut the power in the party. Minami, Shun and Naoto went to investigate and we discovered that Minami is actually afraid of ghosts when a cute Casper like ghost created by the Zetsuborg appeared.

Is it me or is Young Minami a chubby little girl?

Even Minami's friend, Azuma mentioned of how Minami was scared of ghosts as a kid when she tried to scare her back then. So when Minami transformed to Cure Mermaid, she was totally scared stiff by the number of fake ghosts appearing in front of her.


No 1: You got a friend in me, Minami!

Flower Wave Kick!!

Haruka and Kirara arrived to help Cure Mermaid. Cure Twinkle hold off the Zetsuborg while Cure Flora got Cure Mermaid off her feet. Cure Mermaid even felt embarrassed to see her being all scared stiff. However Cure Flora hold her hand and told her that when she is afraid, she will hold her mother's hand to overcome it. That got Cure Mermaid to overcome her fear and finally dealt the finishing blow.

My Yuri senses is tingling...no, must resist Sailor Moon jokes!

Once the party is resumed, Minami actually asked Haruka for the first dance which she is happy about it. She even thanked Haruka for making her realise that she can always rely on others for help no matter how big or small the matter is.

Overall, I give this episode a B plus since it is focused on Minami after two episodes of Haruka centric episodes. As I said before in my second episode review, Minami might be Miss Perfect in school but is actually afraid of ghosts which is her weakness. Haruka actually understand how Minami is going through since she too has her fair share of being scared and supported her throughout the battle.

Minami also has to learn on relying on others in need and not shouldering everything as commented by her fellow student council members. As she mentioned, she looked up to her father and older brother as inspirations since they are very successful in their careers. Since she took the role of head president, she wanted to make the party a success which I am thinking maybe she is a bit of a control freak. But I think after this incident, Minami has to learn to delegate and trust her members more since more people can get things done faster.

Now Yuki and Shamour appeared in the credits.

Yuki returned again and I got a feeling that he is probably going to get an episode with Haruka in the future to develop their relationship. After all, he was blushing when Haruka appeared in that beautiful dress at the party. Although I hope if Toei wanted to include Kanata in the mix, please don't make it like Megumi/Seiji/Blue love triangle because that is one of the most forced love triangle I have seen.

Close himself is pretty angry against Cure Flora after his Zetsuborg got defeated. Since Dyspear has already give him one last chance and he blew it, I wondered what will happen to him now? Probably in hiding which surprise, he is still around in the next episode.

What's with the sunglasses?

But enough of fillers as the girls get back to looking for the next Dress up key and somehow they follow Shirogane into the woods and discover...I don't know what it is....anyway, see you in the next episode! Gokigenyou!

P.S: I am aware that Happiness Charge Precure Movie is out. I will have a review about it very soon.

Kantai Collection Ep 12 FINAL: Showdown at MI!

Hello everyone! This is my review of Kantai Collection episode 12 and it is an all out attack against the Abyssals!

Continuing from the last episode, Fubuki arrived to save Akagi from the bombers. Yamato and the other fleets has also arrived to aid them. They tried to take down the Airfield Hime but she still haven't went down and more Abyssals forces appeared.

 

Nagato and the rest of the fleets also arrived too and they help to take down the new waves. However the Airfield Hime changed to an adult form and has regenerative abilities. Suddenly a new carrier which is Taiho arrived with orders from the Admiral-To defeat the Abyssals carriers and the Airfield Hime and Oyodo informed everyone that the Admiral has returned.

Fubuki and Kongo took on the One Eye Abyssal carrier and defeated it. With that defeat, everyone fired at the Airfield Hime and she was finally destroyed. However Fubuki could hear a mysterious voice call out to her but ignored it. Nagato finally proclaimed the mission was a success and everyone returned to base not knowing Kisaragi's hair pin surfaced in the water.

Mutsuki and Mamiya welcome back everyone and they took a deserved break. Fubuki went to the top hill and welcome the Admiral...

This episode is expected with everyone saving everyone skins! Fubuki saving Akagi, Shoukaku and Zuikaku aiding Kaga, Ooichi rider kick an Abyssal to save Kitakami, Nagato kicking ass and Taiho appearing as a final reinforcement.

We finally heard the Airfield Hime spoke and it is creepy. (She is voiced by Sakakibara Yoshiko who is voicing Dyspear in Go Princess Precure) and I didn't know that the Abyssals can evolve and regrow limbs. The whole battle felt like a video game with events stacking one after another. Taiho arriving didn't really change the battlefield that much however with the new orders of defeating the carriers, Fubuki battle the One Eye Abyssal carrier and won. Although did the animation staff felt it is all right to kill the carrier off screen? Lazy writing!

Fubuki hearing the strange voice after the battle and Kisaragi's hair pin surfacing on the water could mean the war is far from over. I am thinking that the Abyssals could be learning their ways and the truth of fallen Kan Musume turning into Abyssals might not be a rumor at all. But for now, everyone got some rest for this long battle...

Final Thoughts: Being one of the most popular and busiest web browser game in Japan and having a huge fan base, an animated series is bound to happen.  So when it aired on January this year, the question on everyone mind-Did it deliver? (I will be comparing it with Strike Witches since they have similar themes and plot lines)

Let's start with the plot. The problem with this show is there is no official back story about the origins of the Abyssals and how the girls came to be. Fubuki arriving in the first episode with no reasons or doubt make me wonder why did the Admiral choose her to join the fleet? This caused the writers to just come with the simplest plot line of why Fubuki join the fleet? Because of "REASONS!"

Are the Kan Musume real girls or created from the souls of the once fallen ships? No one really know and no one even bother to explain where their technology came from. In Strike Witches, at least we know the technology was a creation of magic and science by Yoshika's father. Here, we don't even have a scientist like character to explain how all their powers work.

As a result, we have a show that tried not to take it too seriously but fall into the usual anime tropes like the beach episode, the friendship episode and the training episode. The story is clique except when Kisaragi died in episode 3 and after that, no one died in the finale! Sorry Kisaragi, your death is as clique as Jean Grey from X-Men. That voice that spoke to Fubuki and Kisaragi's hair pin is also teasing us for a sequel which we are getting it sooner or later.

What about the characters? Given that it has more than 200 characters till date, it is impossible for everyone to be animated so the writers took the easy way out and choose the most popular characters as the starting cast. I don't blame them for doing that since I will also do the same thing. The problem is there was not enough time to develop the starting cast and decide to to use Fubuki's POV to see the world around her.

Fubuki played the classic plucky female lead who is like the little brave ship among the bigger and better ships. She is not a bad character as she make friends with everyone and prove to be the key in winning their battle. The only problem in my opinion is she doesn't really have a female lead aura and felt ordinary like a supporting character.

The rest of the cast is all right with Mutsuki and Yudachi playing best friends with Fubuki. Akagi is the senior that everyone look up to but has a serious eating issue. Kaga is blunt but loyal. The three torpedo sisters and the four destroyers sisters are comic relief. Nagato and Mutsu should just get a room with Kitakami and Ooichi. Kongo is a female Guy Sensei from Naruto and her sisters are like her back up comedy partners.Yamato is awesome but undeveloped in character.

Even the Abyssals are one dimensional except the Airfield Hime who spoke but didn't make sense to anyone and the One Eye Carrier who is obsessed in killing Fubuki also died off screen which make a bad rival to Fubuki.

As a result, the show is a mixed bag for me. There were some enjoyable parts but this show should be two cour instead of one in order to develop both the plot and the characters better. I even read comments from Japanese fans to replace the entire animation staff for ruining the story. For me personally, it is all right as there are even worse shows than this. (Example: Cross (Cough) Ange!)

At least I like some of the characters and the final episode is pretty fun. (Full of Michael Bay's explosions) If there is a sequel, please develop the characters and have a more interesting plot for fans and non-fans to enjoy it!

Final Verdict: C Plus! If there is nothing else to watch, watch it to kill some time!

Go Princess Precure Ep 8 Top 3 Moments and Review: Multi Tasking Haruka!

Gokigenyou! This is my review of Go Princess Precure episode 8 and Haruka decided to make her own night gown for the upcoming Noble Party!

No 3: Haruka is multi tasking to her studies and making a dress at the same time!

After deciding to make a dress for the upcoming Noble Party, Haruka tried her hands on sewing to create her ideal dress. However her studies was affected and was reprimanded by the teachers and even Minami who was stern towards her.

Kirara tried to cheer Haruka up but instead Haruka decided to multi task both her studies and making a gown at the same time. Although her studies has improved but her health was affected. What's worse was Puff accidentally spill tea on Haruka's dress. Kirara offered to help but Haruka declined and continue to make amends on her dress.


No 2: Minami believed in Haruka and her dreams.

Kirara complained to Minami that Haruka declined her offer to help repair the dress. However Minami explained she believed in Haruka because she is working hard for her dream to become a Princess. Kirara couldn't really understand until they were battling a Zetsuborg created by Lock.

As the two girls were fighting the Zetsuborg, Haruka arrived to join in the fight. During the battle, Cure Flora claimed that Cure Mermaid was the one who told her before to work hard and never give up in her dream and she appreciate Cure Twinkle's concerns which gave her strength to work harder.

No 1: Kirara is a Tsundere!?

Tsundere Kirara! Priceless!

After Cure Flora defeated the Zetsuborg, she resumed to fix the dress and finally it is completed. Haruka thanked everyone especially Kirara who supported her the most. Kirara was surprised by her thanks and even Puff pointed out her cheeks are blushing. She refused to admit and everyone started teasing her. (It's priceless seeing her reactions!)

Overall, I give this episode a B minus. Although the focus is Haruka trying to make a dress by herself, it also showed how much trust Minami and Kirara have in her. Minami in my opinion is like the older sister who won't lift a finger (unless it is really dire) because she knows the road of high society/princess status is a tough one. If Haruka couldn't overcome this simple task of making a dress and balancing her studies, she is not worthy to work for her dream. Minami actually believe her since her hard work and perseverance has impressed her so many times.

Kirara on the other hand is being helpful but since she only knew Haruka for a few weeks only, she might not realised that Haruka is actually a strong willed person. I could understand that Kirara might want to help her when her dress was ruined. But helping her might cause a reverse effect for Haruka especially since she has worked so hard in making the dress. (I am not really sure what the writers are trying to convey in this episode but I still think a little help from Kirara wouldn't hurt)

Although I am guessing that Haruka knew that everyone is supporting her and she even thank them at the end of the episode. But it is priceless to see Kirara acting all Tsundere at the end when Haruka thanked her the most. The fight scenes was okay, nothing spectacular since Lock was just behaving his usual evil self and the Microwave Zetsuborg turning the heat to full should have vaporised Cure Flora already but it is Precure magic so the intense heat doesn't kill her immediately.   

Since Haruka has finished her dress, it is off to the Noble Party for everyone! But Close has arrived to create trouble in the party! Will the party be ruined by the Zetsuborg? Find out next week! Until then, Gokigenyou!

Blue was so unpopular that his face was blocked by the title card...

P.S: Today's trailer for the Haru no Carnival movie introduce the Happiness Charge team and why is Blue is here? Didn't he go off to space to make out with Mirage and Red? Cure Flora and Cure Lovely punching together which is awesome and finally everyone come together to give their energy to Cure Flora and her team.