A brand new day begin after the girls saved the future, everyone went back to their normal lives. Dr Trauma was about to finish a time machine that resemble a train (Back to the Future 3 Reference!?) and Hana suggested to everyone that they go out and enjoy themselves at the town place.
The girls went to various places and met back the acquaintances from the previous episodes and had a great time together. As they are walking back home, they found an unusual looking pen and at the same time, Fumito was releasing negative energy which caused Dr Trauma's time machine turning into an Oshimaida. (A repeat of the first episode as Fumito was the first victim)
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| Emiru's expression was priceless... |
The girls went to battle the Oshimaida. Hoshina Hikaru was nearby and transformed to Cure Star to aid the girls. After the girls purified the Oshimaida, Hug-Tan gave the pen to Hikaru and a picture of Hug-Tan appeared on the pen. Hikaru suddenly saw a Kappa in the river and rushed off. Everyone wondered who Cure Star/Hikaru is and Hana believed they will meet again. (In the all star movie this March!) At the same time, George was walking alone however his eyes were gleaming with hope of the future.
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| In tears...(sob) |
The time machine was ready to move off and Harry took back his store and place in his suitcase. The girls hugged Ruru and Harry brought Hug-Tan to the train. As the train started to move off, the girls ran after it and Hug-Tan started calling "Mama" to Hana and Hana held her little hand before the train headed to the future leaving Hana to call out Hug-Tan in tears...
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| Papple looked even better in the future! |
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| My god, Kotori is a beauty! |
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| Grandma has a long life! |
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| Even Homare's dog and that cat survive this long! |
In the year 2030, everyone has went on to have successful lives. Hana was the chairman of a corporation and was goofing around when she suddenly went into labour. Saya who is an obstetrician began to prepare for Hana's delivery while Homare rushed from the airport to the hospital.
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| Little Ruru is sweet! |
Dr Trauma introduced Emiru to a child version of Ruru and she was speechless. Ruru did not recongise Emiru at first but when Emiru started playing their song, Ruru started to remember the lyrics and sang along with her.
Hana was struggling in her delivery while Saya and Homare were beside her. Finally her baby was born and Hana named her Hugmi as they began a new life together...
Wow! This is probably one of the more mature and better endings from the Precure series. If you didn't shed a tear when Hana was chasing after Hug-Tan, you have no soul. We finally confirmed that Hana is Hug-Tan's mother and even named her Hugmi which is her real name. Although Toei leave it open for who is Hana's husband since we can't see his face as he rushed to the hospital with Hana's parents.
Seeing everyone grown up and what are they doing now is interesting. Although it is funny that Genos, Charlaeet, Jinjin and Takumi as little kids while Daigan and Papple still looked the same. I actually like the scene when Emiru saw Ruru again after all these years and no matter how long it took, their song is still everlasting in their hearts.
Hikaru was okay as Cure Star and she only used her protection shield to aid Cure Yell. I still have to get used to her voice as it is a bit high pitched and why Hug-Tan's picture appear on the magic pen? Like what Hana said, we have to wait till March to find out more.
Final Thoughts: After the controversy of violence and slightly dark matters that parents complained, Mahou Tsukai and Kira Kira took a nosedive in their action and story telling as such I was really worried that Hugtto Precure will follow suit. But instead, it delivered not just action that was good (Although they still hold back their punches especially in the later episodes) but good characters development to not just the five main girls but the villains. (minus George and Genos)
Let's start with Emiru and Ruru since they are a pair. When Emiru first appeared, she was overbearing but she meant well in her action. However her family was pretty dysfunctional. Her parents are living in their own world, her brother Masato who was a real jerk no thanks to their grandfather's teaching. (Until Masato opened his eyes to Henri and they are now an item) But when she meet Ruru who is basically like a fish out of the water, Emiru started caring about her and the pair hit on very well.
I like the scene when Emiru was willing to give up being a Precure when there was only one Preheart changer until the goddess appeared out of nowhere and make an extra changer out of thin air. After that, the pair was inseparable and among the five girls, Cure Macherie and Cure Amour has the best looking costumes and seriously, the two could carry the show without the other three girls since they have the best chemistry.
Ruru is adorable since she initially started off as an android who know nothing about human emotions until she meet Hana and company. I love it when she decide to betray Crisis and was turned into a killing machine before Cure Yell and Emiru saved her "humanity." But after that, she was reverted to comic relief and often seem munching like a glutton. Although I love her interaction with her "father" Dr Truma especially when Ruru used her deadpan voice to reject Dr Trauma's overbearing love.
Homare is probably my least favourite character among the five as I thought she behave more tough since her inital character looked like a rebellious student but instead, she is just a shy girl who has self confidence issues after her ice skating accident. Her crush with Harry is puppy love since she spent most of the time with the only male adult in the series.
I was actually glad that they didn't pull a Nozomi/Coco ending but ended with Harry rejected her confession. (Which seriously one episode is enough to settle her issues but instead they used two episodes to repeat the same issue again!)
Saya is my favourite as she is not just sweet but a strong and smart girl. Of course, it took a while before her character was developed since she behave similar to Rika from Doki Doki but when Ruru began a rivalry with her, you can tell that Saya was having fun with someone her equal.
She too also set her mind like Minami from Go Princess and not following blindly in her actress mother's footsteps. Her focus episodes were probably the most fun to watch and Toei loved to make Cure Ange a badass when she is dealing with the Oshimaida.
Finally Hana herself who is not one of the best Pink cures but one of the more complex and interesting characters in the Precure Franchise. We initially thought that Hana is just your typical comic relief who always remain positive and optimistic however as when Hana's dark past was revealed about her being bullied and isolated by her peers, it is understandable that Hana knew what depression does to a person since she experience it herself first hand.
That's why she remain a pacifist and didn't took any of the villains' life as she understand they too are victims of circumstances and they deserve a second chance. Although she goofed around like a typical Pink cure but when shove come to push especially the last few episodes, you do see that Hana is one who not just have incredible willpower but has compassion to her enemies.
The villains themselves are a step up from the last two season and I loved it when former enemies became allies and although the initial trio-Charlaeet, Papple and Daigan didn't really do much other than comic relief, they too also help in the final battle and even become temporary Precures for that few minutes. I felt Ristle and Bishin's changing sides was pretty rushed in episode 47 and could have a single episode dedicated to the two generals each to show their development but Toei has to throw everything and see what sticks in order to reach the finale.
George himself was even a bigger mystery like Noir from last season. Another human turned into a super powered villain with no explanation why he is like that. Although I still think it has something to do with that magic book he always carried. Yes, George is another villain who loathed humanity because of their selfishness. We also didn't know what make him snap as it is probably hinted that Hana is his future wife and something terrible happened to her.
Even the goddess known as Mother who granted Hug-Tan/Cure Tomorrow her powers which we have no idea where or who she was. It looked like Toei forgot this plotline after the All Star two parter and Mother is just as a plot device to grant the girls their cheerful style and ultimate attack.
As this is also the 15th anniversary of Precure, it is understandable that Toei reintroduced Cure Black and Cure White to aid Team Hugtto. But the all star two parter episode which itself is like a mini movie was fan service to all the fans who enjoyed the series. (Yes, I did watched the All Star Memories movie and everyone returned to have at least one or two lines spoken unlike the two partner which was odd that some characters remained dumbstruck during the final battle)
However to me, they could have the final battle to include the All Star cast to aid Team Hugtto which will definitely raise the ratings but because they need to accommodate the All Star movie release date in October that cause Hugtto's storyline to go off track and why characters like Dr Trauma reappear again and now given a back story which if he was given earlier in the series, his send off in the two parter will be more meaningful.
Overall, Hugtto Precure is probably my top five series since I started reviewing Smile Precure years back. With interesting characters and a back to basic storyline with more mature themes, this series is one of the better series in recent years.
As Cure Yell passed the baton to Cure Star, it also represented the end of an era as Hugtto Precure is the last Precure series in the Heisei Era and Star Twinkle Precure will begin a new chapter when the Heisei calender end on 31st April 2019.
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| Thank you, Team Hugtto! |
We now bid farewell Hana, Saya, Homare, Ruru and Emiru as they began new chapters in their lives and welcome Star Twinkle Precure next week! Until then, thank you Hugtto Precure and see you in the next post for the first episode of Star Twinkle Precure next week!
