KiraKira PreCure 32! KiraKiraru Creamer Review!!
Welcome! As the largest counter argument to the abundance of negativity in the review that is posted weekly in the community, I have decided the better method of combating the “technical” reviewer is the begin a series of reviews myself. This will be a lot different than the other reviews posted, as I will be reviewing the episodes in chronology rather than “sectionalized” areas based on characters or plots. I believe this to be easier to follow rather than jumping around the episode all over the place, which can confuse people and throw them off with comments that make no sense and are later contradicted by some other action in the episode.
Anyway, the format will be simple and easy to follow. As I will be starting the review series from the current episode (Episode 32), I will be reviewing weekly until a bulk-review will be done at the end of the current arc. Assuming we get a traditional series layout, this will be sometime after episode 38 or so.
The episode seems to pick up directly after the end of Episode 31, with a change in locale. The girls have returned to the mysterious shrine within Strawberry Mountain that they discovered in episode 21. It’s clear and obvious that they now have questions regarding their Crystal Animals that they have finally unlocked after Whip’s was the last to change shape.
The goal is to get answers from the past PreCure, whom they believe to be the one to bestow the crystals unto them in the first place.
Chorou nor Pekorin are able to provide answers, and there’s no real way to get answers simply by asking for them. That’s just a given in any cartoon or series really.
Bibury has arrived! Bibury was last seen getting a major Regina-esque power boost from Noir. The goal? To finally take out the PreCure.
Honestly, I was expecting Grave or Elysio to kick the bucket at this point, similar to how Labu was defeated with the introduction of the Rainbow Carriage, and Leva and Gula were defeated after losing to the Lovely Pad’s first appearance. These have been a series of “last-minute villains we came up with the counter the mid-season Cure” according to information we’ve received from the staff of those seasons mentioned in the MOOKs.
I’m really happy that Bibury’s power boost was able to finally counter the girls’ attack. It’s not unrealistic that their strongest attack to date would lose to a severely powered-up villain. So why do these kinds of failures happen? It’s easy. Just as the girls’ powers grow in each season, so do the villains’. No one’s power levels are set in stone, and are obviously subject to fluctuation based on stamina, their feelings, and the situations (in this case, Bibury received extra power from Noir, thus enabling her to withstand the Wonderful A La Mode attack).
Thus we see our patisserie goddess appear! The past PreCure is more likely to appear in this location due to the proximity of the shrine apparently, considering this is the second time she’s appeared to help the girls.
Pekorin gets excited and follows suit. Now it’s down the rabbit hole.
Welcome to the past! The girls arrive in the past, yet they aren’t exactly aware at the immediate moment. After all, who would be able to just transport somewhere and immediately know the date and location they’ve landed in?
It’s not until we see the past PreCure fending off these Dark Animals (that we’ve truly yet to even be introduced to, so no worries there), that the girls can undoubtedly say they’re in the past of Ichigozama Town.
So in true comradery, our girls assist with their minor attacks to fend off the attacking… beasts? I’m a little surprised there wasn’t even a “What are those?!” line when they first showed up. But I’m assuming we’ll get that all next week.
So the girls help out and introduce themselves (Hello time paradox!) to Lumière. Ichika’s a bit… forward. Too forward if you ask me. She’s got no candor in assuming that Lumière sent the girls the crystals and called them back to the past. So why does Lumière look confused? We’ll get to that…
But first! Bibury’s in the past too! Without Iru, who’s still in the present laying on the ground motionless, Bibury’s found herself wandering the streets, wondering why it’s so dull. Yet, it seems familiar.
We’re given a glimpse into her memories. She recognizes this place AND time. This is important because it highlights part of her major developments and revelations this episode in that she is from this time period. She states that it is the same day as she was left alone. What strikes me is that she’s asking WHY she’s alone. That’s something I’ve seen a few people comment on in that we have no idea how she came to be alone and that would not justify her feeling sad and lonely in the first place… But the truth is that Noir’s behind it all.
It seems like Bibury is finally able to see the truth behind Noir’s darkness. She’s come to see that he manipulated her and left her alone in that town. Due to Noir’s darkness spreading, Bibury was presumably left behind alone… thus easily susceptible to Noir’s evil intentions.
Back to the girls! Something that I enjoyed about this little time-travel stint was that unlike Go! Princess PreCure’s take on it in episode 29 of that season, the girls have ACTUALLY gone back in time rather than to a memory of a time.
How do we know this?
Lumière knows nothing about the girls, nor the Crystal Animals. Is this a problem, you think? I don’t believe it is a problem. From my perspective, it’s only natural that she’d know nothing, since she’s only given the girls the crystals in the future as her spirit remaining at the sweets shrine. She didn’t actively send the crystals from the past to the future, especially since she’d have no way of truly knowing the situation in the future anyway.
Anyway, Lumière’s got more to worry about than these strange time-traveling girls. She’s got sweets to bake.
Let’s talk a minute about this scene here. The KiraPati is FILLED with customers it looks like. However, they’re so glum and depressing. We’ve seen them wandering the town covered in darkness. Though we got no explanation to it, it seems that Noir and the Dark Animals have filled the town with darkness and sucked all of the KiraKiraru out of the citizens.
One of my biggest disappointments with the episode was the lack of information. While we got an introduction to Lumière and the past of Ichigozama Town, I was hoping to get some answers about the Dark Animals, where Noir came from, and what exactly happened post-battle between Lumière and Noir. I was also hoping that there’d be an explanation as to Lumière’s spirit left behind at the sweets shrine.
My only guess at this would be that we MAY (or rather likely won’t) get an explanation little by little over the next 19 episodes. It’s not unusual for PreCure seasons to give us these kinds of details in intervals (specifically the details of the battle against Noise in Suite, the ancient PreCure’s treasures from DokiDoki, Mirage being a Cure using the Shining Make Dresser in HappinessCharge, the castles from Go! Princess PreCure, etc.), so I’m hopeful we’ll at least get some answers. The one I can imagine being given to us is regarding what happens during the battle between Lumière and Noir. That’s something CRUCIAL for us to learn eventually.
Azenzone put it excellently in his review that we really could have used some of this world-building earlier on, and he’s definitely right. I wish Toei would have used a similar flashback scene at the beginning of the first episodes showing Lumière going off to fight Noir and fading into the light, bringing us to the present. That would have at least given us an idea about a past PreCure (really we didn’t learn of a “past PreCure” until the shrine appeared and protected Pikario).
I hope that we’ll come back to this history later on in the show. It’s got some neat details and background information we could use to rationalize events that we’ve already seen.
Back to the episode! The girls make the cupcakes, everyone’s back to being happy in the town thanks to Lumière and the girls. I appreciate Lumière’s resolve to make people smile, giving her the power to become a PreCure. It’s traditional for the PreCure franchise, and it’s a nice reminder that yes, this IS PreCure still, despite all of the changes. It’s good to see some things never change.
Anywho, Noir appears because the darkness is fading thanks to our miraculous baker, and Lumière sends off to fight him. She does so not before sending the girls back to their time, along with her cream piping tool (in the hands of Pekorin no less). It’s important to note that while she had NO idea what the crystals were when she initially met the girls, she was able to see that they were a crystalized form of power for the girls. They were born from their individuality and uniqueness. This would give them more power, because no matter how different they are, they still work together so well!
Back in the present, Bibury is still distraught from learning of Noir’s deceit. The girls appear before her in an attempt to comfort her. Ichika does an excellent job as a leader here; she reminds not only Bibury but everyone that they are all different, yet it’s those differences that enable them to work together and share their feelings. This is important because it builds upon Ichika’s development from last episode to not hold back feelings, and to share how she’s feelings with her friends.
Iru is taken over by Noir’s shadow and swallow Bibury up. The girls do a quick transformation, so nothing new. They jump right in and use their finishers combined to try to purify the super-powered Iru. Unsurprisingly, it fails.
Pekorin returns from the time loop to hand over Lumière’s gadget, and her spirit reminds them of their new powers. The resolve of all six girls to rescue a trapped and desperate Bibury is the final key for them to unlock their crystals’ powers.
I appreciated the writers here for utilizing their “________ and ________” traits to form the KiraKiraru Creamer. It’s neat that the girls do get to use that creativity to create their weapons, rather than having them bestowed upon them.
The finisher was a fantastic and whimsical attack! I thoroughly enjoyed the carousel theme, and it was a nice glimpse into their animal powers and motif that has been sitting on the back burner for 32 weeks now. I am looking forward to the future of the season to see how they flesh out the animal theme more.
So let’s recap, shall we?
PROS - Bibury’s development was the best this episode. We got more information on her as well as a clear path to redemption ahead. We did get a glimpse into the past of Ichigozama Town, and into the past of Lumière and Noir. Ichika’s development from last episode was also built upon, and it seems like we’re in store for some more from all the girls in the future! The animal theme made a huge comeback and we’ll hopefully get more on it in the future. I loved the new attack, and I’m looking forward to new Dark Animals next week.
CONS - Animation was up and down most of the episode, but that’s the least of my concerns/worries. The lack of information we truly got about Noir, the situation of the past, Lumière, the battle between Nori and her, and the whole of the time travel paradox was disappointing. I wish they had fleshed this out more, but I understand the timing constraints. I do hope they remedy some of these answers next week (since the Dark Animals also tie into Noir, the past, and the battle between the PreCure and Noir), but we’ll have to see… I’m not too hopeful at this point.
Overall, this episode was one of the best done episodes of the season, so I’m hopeful we get more episode of this caliber in the near future!
Feel free to comment and share your thoughts and feelings below!
Anyway, the format will be simple and easy to follow. As I will be starting the review series from the current episode (Episode 32), I will be reviewing weekly until a bulk-review will be done at the end of the current arc. Assuming we get a traditional series layout, this will be sometime after episode 38 or so.
The episode seems to pick up directly after the end of Episode 31, with a change in locale. The girls have returned to the mysterious shrine within Strawberry Mountain that they discovered in episode 21. It’s clear and obvious that they now have questions regarding their Crystal Animals that they have finally unlocked after Whip’s was the last to change shape.
The goal is to get answers from the past PreCure, whom they believe to be the one to bestow the crystals unto them in the first place.
Chorou nor Pekorin are able to provide answers, and there’s no real way to get answers simply by asking for them. That’s just a given in any cartoon or series really.
Bibury has arrived! Bibury was last seen getting a major Regina-esque power boost from Noir. The goal? To finally take out the PreCure.
Honestly, I was expecting Grave or Elysio to kick the bucket at this point, similar to how Labu was defeated with the introduction of the Rainbow Carriage, and Leva and Gula were defeated after losing to the Lovely Pad’s first appearance. These have been a series of “last-minute villains we came up with the counter the mid-season Cure” according to information we’ve received from the staff of those seasons mentioned in the MOOKs.
I’m really happy that Bibury’s power boost was able to finally counter the girls’ attack. It’s not unrealistic that their strongest attack to date would lose to a severely powered-up villain. So why do these kinds of failures happen? It’s easy. Just as the girls’ powers grow in each season, so do the villains’. No one’s power levels are set in stone, and are obviously subject to fluctuation based on stamina, their feelings, and the situations (in this case, Bibury received extra power from Noir, thus enabling her to withstand the Wonderful A La Mode attack).
Thus we see our patisserie goddess appear! The past PreCure is more likely to appear in this location due to the proximity of the shrine apparently, considering this is the second time she’s appeared to help the girls.
Pekorin gets excited and follows suit. Now it’s down the rabbit hole.
Welcome to the past! The girls arrive in the past, yet they aren’t exactly aware at the immediate moment. After all, who would be able to just transport somewhere and immediately know the date and location they’ve landed in?
It’s not until we see the past PreCure fending off these Dark Animals (that we’ve truly yet to even be introduced to, so no worries there), that the girls can undoubtedly say they’re in the past of Ichigozama Town.
So in true comradery, our girls assist with their minor attacks to fend off the attacking… beasts? I’m a little surprised there wasn’t even a “What are those?!” line when they first showed up. But I’m assuming we’ll get that all next week.
So the girls help out and introduce themselves (Hello time paradox!) to Lumière. Ichika’s a bit… forward. Too forward if you ask me. She’s got no candor in assuming that Lumière sent the girls the crystals and called them back to the past. So why does Lumière look confused? We’ll get to that…
But first! Bibury’s in the past too! Without Iru, who’s still in the present laying on the ground motionless, Bibury’s found herself wandering the streets, wondering why it’s so dull. Yet, it seems familiar.
We’re given a glimpse into her memories. She recognizes this place AND time. This is important because it highlights part of her major developments and revelations this episode in that she is from this time period. She states that it is the same day as she was left alone. What strikes me is that she’s asking WHY she’s alone. That’s something I’ve seen a few people comment on in that we have no idea how she came to be alone and that would not justify her feeling sad and lonely in the first place… But the truth is that Noir’s behind it all.
It seems like Bibury is finally able to see the truth behind Noir’s darkness. She’s come to see that he manipulated her and left her alone in that town. Due to Noir’s darkness spreading, Bibury was presumably left behind alone… thus easily susceptible to Noir’s evil intentions.
Back to the girls! Something that I enjoyed about this little time-travel stint was that unlike Go! Princess PreCure’s take on it in episode 29 of that season, the girls have ACTUALLY gone back in time rather than to a memory of a time.
How do we know this?
Lumière knows nothing about the girls, nor the Crystal Animals. Is this a problem, you think? I don’t believe it is a problem. From my perspective, it’s only natural that she’d know nothing, since she’s only given the girls the crystals in the future as her spirit remaining at the sweets shrine. She didn’t actively send the crystals from the past to the future, especially since she’d have no way of truly knowing the situation in the future anyway.
Anyway, Lumière’s got more to worry about than these strange time-traveling girls. She’s got sweets to bake.
Let’s talk a minute about this scene here. The KiraPati is FILLED with customers it looks like. However, they’re so glum and depressing. We’ve seen them wandering the town covered in darkness. Though we got no explanation to it, it seems that Noir and the Dark Animals have filled the town with darkness and sucked all of the KiraKiraru out of the citizens.
One of my biggest disappointments with the episode was the lack of information. While we got an introduction to Lumière and the past of Ichigozama Town, I was hoping to get some answers about the Dark Animals, where Noir came from, and what exactly happened post-battle between Lumière and Noir. I was also hoping that there’d be an explanation as to Lumière’s spirit left behind at the sweets shrine.
My only guess at this would be that we MAY (or rather likely won’t) get an explanation little by little over the next 19 episodes. It’s not unusual for PreCure seasons to give us these kinds of details in intervals (specifically the details of the battle against Noise in Suite, the ancient PreCure’s treasures from DokiDoki, Mirage being a Cure using the Shining Make Dresser in HappinessCharge, the castles from Go! Princess PreCure, etc.), so I’m hopeful we’ll at least get some answers. The one I can imagine being given to us is regarding what happens during the battle between Lumière and Noir. That’s something CRUCIAL for us to learn eventually.
Azenzone put it excellently in his review that we really could have used some of this world-building earlier on, and he’s definitely right. I wish Toei would have used a similar flashback scene at the beginning of the first episodes showing Lumière going off to fight Noir and fading into the light, bringing us to the present. That would have at least given us an idea about a past PreCure (really we didn’t learn of a “past PreCure” until the shrine appeared and protected Pikario).
I hope that we’ll come back to this history later on in the show. It’s got some neat details and background information we could use to rationalize events that we’ve already seen.
Back to the episode! The girls make the cupcakes, everyone’s back to being happy in the town thanks to Lumière and the girls. I appreciate Lumière’s resolve to make people smile, giving her the power to become a PreCure. It’s traditional for the PreCure franchise, and it’s a nice reminder that yes, this IS PreCure still, despite all of the changes. It’s good to see some things never change.
Anywho, Noir appears because the darkness is fading thanks to our miraculous baker, and Lumière sends off to fight him. She does so not before sending the girls back to their time, along with her cream piping tool (in the hands of Pekorin no less). It’s important to note that while she had NO idea what the crystals were when she initially met the girls, she was able to see that they were a crystalized form of power for the girls. They were born from their individuality and uniqueness. This would give them more power, because no matter how different they are, they still work together so well!
Back in the present, Bibury is still distraught from learning of Noir’s deceit. The girls appear before her in an attempt to comfort her. Ichika does an excellent job as a leader here; she reminds not only Bibury but everyone that they are all different, yet it’s those differences that enable them to work together and share their feelings. This is important because it builds upon Ichika’s development from last episode to not hold back feelings, and to share how she’s feelings with her friends.
Iru is taken over by Noir’s shadow and swallow Bibury up. The girls do a quick transformation, so nothing new. They jump right in and use their finishers combined to try to purify the super-powered Iru. Unsurprisingly, it fails.
Pekorin returns from the time loop to hand over Lumière’s gadget, and her spirit reminds them of their new powers. The resolve of all six girls to rescue a trapped and desperate Bibury is the final key for them to unlock their crystals’ powers.
I appreciated the writers here for utilizing their “________ and ________” traits to form the KiraKiraru Creamer. It’s neat that the girls do get to use that creativity to create their weapons, rather than having them bestowed upon them.
The finisher was a fantastic and whimsical attack! I thoroughly enjoyed the carousel theme, and it was a nice glimpse into their animal powers and motif that has been sitting on the back burner for 32 weeks now. I am looking forward to the future of the season to see how they flesh out the animal theme more.
So let’s recap, shall we?
PROS - Bibury’s development was the best this episode. We got more information on her as well as a clear path to redemption ahead. We did get a glimpse into the past of Ichigozama Town, and into the past of Lumière and Noir. Ichika’s development from last episode was also built upon, and it seems like we’re in store for some more from all the girls in the future! The animal theme made a huge comeback and we’ll hopefully get more on it in the future. I loved the new attack, and I’m looking forward to new Dark Animals next week.
CONS - Animation was up and down most of the episode, but that’s the least of my concerns/worries. The lack of information we truly got about Noir, the situation of the past, Lumière, the battle between Nori and her, and the whole of the time travel paradox was disappointing. I wish they had fleshed this out more, but I understand the timing constraints. I do hope they remedy some of these answers next week (since the Dark Animals also tie into Noir, the past, and the battle between the PreCure and Noir), but we’ll have to see… I’m not too hopeful at this point.
Overall, this episode was one of the best done episodes of the season, so I’m hopeful we get more episode of this caliber in the near future!
Feel free to comment and share your thoughts and feelings below!