GO! PRINCESS PRECURE

DESCRIPTION

CAST

ANIME ActionFutari wa Precure
MOVIE FantasyGo! Princess Precure: Go! Go!! Gouka 3-bon Date!!!
ANIME FantasyHappinessCharge Precure!
ANIME ActionMahoutsukai Precure!
ANIME ActionHUGtto! Precure
ANIME ActionYes! Precure 5
ANIME ActionFresh Precure!
ANIME ActionHeartcatch Precure!
ANIME ActionFutari wa Precure: Splash☆Star
ANIME ActionSuite Precure♪
ANIME FantasySmile Precure!
ANIME FantasyDokidoki! Precure
ANIME ComedyKirakira☆Precure a la Mode
MOVIE FantasyPrecure All Stars: Haru no Carnival♪
MOVIE ActionPrecure All Stars: Minna de Utau♪ Kiseki no Mahou!
MOVIE ActionPrecure Dream Stars!
MOVIE ActionHUGtto! Precure ♡ Futari wa Precure All Stars Memories
MANGA ActionGo! Princess Precure
ANIME AdventureStar☆Twinkle Precure
ANIME ActionHealin' Good♥Precure
ANIME ActionTropical-Rouge! Precure
ANIME ActionDelicious Party♡Precure
ANIME ActionHirogaru Sky! Precure
MOVIE Mahou ShoujoPrecure All Stars F
ANIME FantasyWonderful Precure!
ANIME Mahou ShoujoKimi to Idol Precure♪

REVIEWS

• 

  Juliko25

  88/100
  Hey! A girly show about princesses that doesn't suck! Woohoo!

  Confession time: when I was little, I absolutely HATED girly things. Well, my mom says I played with a lot of Barbie dolls when I was a kid, but other than that, I hated anything remotely girly. I still hate dresses and skirts to this day though only because of sensory issues, I didn't watch shows like My Little Pony, Bratz, or anything of the like when I was young, I despise makeup because I don't like the way it feels on my skin, and I used to think that all shows for girls were bad and were all about pretty princesses who did nothing but giggle at nothing, have endless tea parties, and cry over the stupidest things...and I'm a girl! I was VERY into shows like Pokemon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Monster Rancher, Codename: Kids Next Door, Danny Phantom, etc. Anything that had cute monsters saving the world and characters who weren't archetypes and that had compelling stories were a win for me! Admittedly, I did watch the English dubs of Tokyo Mew Mew and Ojamajo Doremi back when 4Kids was still around, but I just considered them good shows. When one of my favorite bloggers was praising a show called Heartcatch Precure up the wazoo, I got curious and decided to watch it...and I'm glad I did, because it completely changed my perception of shows for girls, and this was BEFORE My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic came around! Now, if you were to tell me ten years ago that I would fall head over heels for a show called Go! Princess Pretty Cure, I would have called you stupid. But here I am, loving Go! Princess Pretty Cure in all its frilly, cutesy, pink, princess-y glory!

  Haruka Haruno has always dreamed of being a princess, even at age 13. When she was young, a boy named Kanata gave her a strange pink key, telling her that she can fulfill her dream. Years later, she transfers to an elite middle school called Noble Academy in the hopes of becoming a fine young lady. When she meets two fairies, Puff and Aroma, they're being chased by Close and his monster, a Zetsuborg. Strangely, the key she's held onto winds up turning her into a magical girl, Cure Flora. As it turns out, Puff and Aroma are fairies from the Hope Kingdom, which is being conquered by an evil lady named Dyspear and her minions. The prince, Kanata, is trying to help however he can and needs 12 Princess Keys in order to get Hope Kingdom back. Joining them are calm natured do-gooder Minami Kaido, Cure Mermaid, and sassy, upbeat model Kirara Amanogawa, Cure Twinkle, and later, the revived princess of Hope Kingdom, Towa, aka Cure Scarlet. Can they defeat DysDark and save both their world and Hope Kingdom?

  The animation is a major step-up from Happiness Charge. It looks so much more clearer, the movements are more fluid, the transformation sequences are just brimming with life, and while the CGI does look a teensy bit out of place in places, there are times when its integrated better. I definitely liked the animation for the first ending theme. The second one...not so much. The characters still fall into uncanny valley territory when the CGI is there. The colors are bright and the animation doesn't have that weird, smoky, murky quality about it that Happiness Charge was plagued with a lot of the time.

  While it's well known that the Precure series reuse music from other seasons, even when they shouldn't due to not being connected with each other, Go Princess did have this problem at first. Thankfully, once the second half came, the Doki Doki music disappeared entirely, and what original music it does have does its job well. I do think the insert songs are a bit to peppy and don't give certain scenes impact, but they're not bad, and the rest of the music is pretty good as well. The opening theme is definitely a major step-up from Happiness Charge and it doesn't grate on my ears. The first ending theme is absolutely beautiful, and it sounds more like it'd be in an anime about classical music like Your Lie In April rather than Precure, but it does fit the "want to be a noble princess" theme rather well.

  Again, the characters are also massively improved from Happiness Charge. All of the characters here are endearing and engaging, have reasonable personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and dreams that all come into play in the series, all of them get episodes in the limelight, and no one character outshines another nor is anyone given more importance than the other. Plus, they're all reasonably developed and aren't just walking catchphrases meant to shove morals down kids' throats! Even side characters are given focus, and although some could have used better development or were just terrible (I'm looking at you, Ranko!), they all played their part in the show in a good way, and they don't just disappear when the going gets tough, either. Such is the case for one girl, Yui Nanase, who isn't a Pretty Cure nor does she fight any enemies physically like Seiji from HapiCha did, but she contributes in her own way, and everyone loves her for it, me being one of those people. Also, the mascots. I thought Aroma would be annoying since he insults Haruka sometimes, but he completely grows out of that, and Puff is the most adorable little puffball ever! The villains are also improved and have MUCH better, more refined personalities than HapiCha's and aren't bland archetypes. However, when one of them gets redeemed halfway through the series (You'll know who I'm talking about), he doesn't do anything throughout the show, instead being shy and clinging to Siamour all the time. I like him, but I felt the show could have made better use of him, or at the very least made him do something worthwhile.

  Any flaws that the show has are for the most part pretty minor for me. It did have one bad episode that just made me cringe (Episode 37, the one with the school play) at the fact that they're willing to worsen a kid's injury just so they can get on with the play rather than do the reasonable thing and have someone replace him, and Ranko was an annoying little hypocrite who ruined everything in her debut episode and got in the way despite telling Kirara not to do the same. However, those were just small problems, and everything else was relatively great. But I won't lie, this isn't a show for everyone. It is ridiculously girly, the whole show is riddled with bright colors like pink, yellow, red, and white, there's large, poofy dresses, the girl characters are unabashedly attached to their dreams, and it can get rather sappy at times. But for me, it wasn't so sappy that it made me cringe from how girly it was. Show's like G3 My Little Pony and Lady Lovely Locks relied too much on cuteness, enforcing female gender roles, and overall saccharineness rather than telling a compelling and genuinely entertaining story, or didn't utilize what potential they did have, which is why they're either little known or disliked, because they thought that excessive girliness would attract an audience, but it didn't work. It let its saccharine image drive away potential audiences.

  Normally, shows about princesses, or shows for girls in general, have gotten a lot of backlash over the years because of their low quality and emphasis on being as inhumanely cute and girly and saccharine as possible. Thankfully, this mindset seems to be dying out, both for fans and creators. Lauren Faust created My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic to appeal to people of all genders and ages, and as a result of its strong focus on storytelling and developing its characters, it became the cash cow franchise it is today. Other shows such as Candy Candy, Snow White With The Red Hair, Yona of the Dawn, Miraculous Ladybug, Steven Universe, Madoka Magica, Ever After High, Monster High, and many others, are well loved by audiences because they're changing the standards for shows for girls: that just because the show is aimed at girls or has princesses or girly elements in it, it doesn't mean its bad, and if its executed well, it can be loved by anyone or everyone. I can say proudly that Go Princess Pretty Cure completely changed my views on princesses forever.

  If you want to watch a good show with your daughter, little sister, niece, or whoever, Go Princess Pretty Cure is the show for you, and it shows that even in poofy dresses, girls can kick butt!

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• 

  MetaThPr4h

  100/100
  Princess Precure shows us the value of dreams with a great story that everyone can relate and appreciate.

  Dreams are beautiful and worth protecting, something that moves forward people and gives us a goal to reach in our way to happiness. Poor/unappealing execution and disliking the characters aside, the theme of "working hard to reach your dreams" is one of the most compelling ones there is to me, and well, here is an anime where the characters having a dream and the enemy trying to take them away is the main theme! I was already hooked from the start, and the execution couldn't have been better.

  “I want to be a princess!” Said our clumsy, but hardworking and absurdly lovable protagonist Haruka when she was a kid, the rest laughed at her for having such childish dream, maybe you did you too after reading this thinking about how absurd that might be, but that hurt her, a lot. Thankfully, one day she met a mysterious person who looked like a prince and he cheered for her dream and that she could become one, and that moment is what pushed her to stay that way and continue having that dream she wanted to reach all the way to when she joined Noble Academy, a school where this fantastic story is set.

  In this entry, the antagonist side is an organization called Dysdark, that focuses on bringing despair to the people by locking away their dreams (and them in the process inside of a cage), they already showed their power by taking full control of Hope Kingdom and the people living there, with the few who managed to run away asking the Precures of this entry for help. While some comedic interactions with the girls are still there, I have to say that Princess clearly went more serious when it comes to showing the villains as the evil force they are, and how threatening Dyspear (the main antagonist of the story) is definitely helps on that.

  And this is where the Precure come to action, and what a nice job they made, the cast of this anime is so likeable and this is especially true for the main characters of this story and Yui, another student who isn't a Precure but is always with the girls, we follow them in their way to accomplish their dreams and this includes all the happy, sad, and very emotional moments of that, it's so easy to root for them and each episode is really enjoyable no matter who takes the spotlight, I was hooked to this anime from the first episode and it only made but get better, reaching godlike status in the last cour where it became a string of amazing episode after amazing episode into a conclusion that left me immensely satisfied.

  The animation of the series is fantastic, especially delivering hard in the transformations and action scenes that are characteristic of the series, it's honestly surprising how consistent the quality is considering that Precure never really stops airing.

  

  With that said, it's time to tackle the only negative I can think of this anime: some use of the CGI. Together with the “real life looking” issue I have with the toys the franchise obviously wants to advertise to keep going as mentioned in my Heartcatch Precure review, the magic spells and the CGI models that come along with them can be pretty jarring, but it really becomes a minor complaint when everything else in the series was just so great.

  The series is also very solid in the music department, and god, I love the second ED of the series so much even if having the issue I mentioned, it's a great song and it also has different versions (one for each of the Precure), alternating between them, most of the time fitting with who was the main focus of the episode, it was unskippable and a fantastic way to end the episode.

  Princess Precure is no anime “just for kids”, the themes of the story and how well they are handled are made in a way that anyone can enjoy this anime and feel connected with the cast and their dreams, maybe also being able to relate with your own ones and feel an extra push for your objectives. One of the best series I have watched and an anime I can't recommend enough to everyone.

  
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• 

  cureV

  80/100
  Modern mahou shoujo gets a fairytale makeover - with ballgowns and spectacular fights

  __This review does not contain any spoilers. It’s safe to read before watching. It doesn’t require any knowledge of the franchise.__ *** As I watched more and more Precure, I started comparing the series to one another. I want to write down some notes on that. It's the first Precure series I've finished (but not the first one I've seen - I was halfway through another one when I binged _Go! Princess_). I want to see all of them and report my opinions. Each one I see will add to my experience, so I'll try to compare them a bit, too. A short explanation for those not accustomed with the series: - Sunday morning kids show targeted for young girls, - the longest consecutively running mahou shoujo franchise ever - over 20 years of non stop anime, - (almost) every series follows a similar pattern, introducing a new group of magical warriors, fairy mascots, and a lot of magical gadgets. *** _Go! Princess Precure_ is the 12th Pretty Cure series, which started airing in 2015. It brought some minor changes to the established formula, but mostly is a fine example of the franchise's current style. As good a place to start as any. The themes of the story are princesses and dreams. Apparently the success of Disney's _Frozen_ was the reason to make a series focused on that. It's a cute sentiment, especially since Precure’s idea of princesses is very fairytale-like: it's not really as much about royal blood or societal position, as it is about being “strong, kind, and beautiful”. A princess has to know how to behave, how to dance, how to… cook? Well, it doesn't make that much sense, but the protagonist’s goal to become a princess is just more endearing because of that. The story follows 13 years old Haruno Haruka who just entered a new chapter of her life: started education at a prestigious, fancy boarding school. She’s super determined to make her childhood dream - becoming a princess - a reality. The chance comes quickly, as she stumbles into the first episode of your usual mahou shoujo story: she meets cute mascots, gains magical transformation and powers, and has to fight evil. There are others quickly joining her, and soon a cute team of Precure princesses is saving the world from the powers of darkness. How is it? Well, the story is far from unique and it relies heavily on tropes. It's not necessarily a bad thing, and the series does handle it with quite a lot of grace… most of the time. Since the story takes place in a boarding school, there are less family moments that happen in other series - it’s mostly interactions between the main girls and other students or school staff. The overall story is simple and cute, just as it should be… but while it's well executed, there are things that could be pulled just a bit better, taken just a bit farther. But that's just me nitpicking. It's a solid story and execution for a quite long running kids series. As I compare it to other series, I feel like it did manage to have some kind of fairytale vibe. A bit dreamy, a bit light, yet keeping something more serious deep within. It didn't tackle any particularly dark topics, of course, but the harsh reality was there… only to be trampled by the power of dreams. Because apparently if you dream hard enough, you can achieve anything. Sometimes with the help of magic, but still. As a quite long, episodic series, _Go! Princess_ obviously had to heavily focus on the characters. We get three Cures, and then a fourth one; two fairies, and then two more; a trio of returning villains, and the Big Bad. The main girls, just like the story, rely on many tropes. The protagonist fits the role of most pink magical girls: she's sweet, optimistic, a bit naive, a tad clumsy. She doesn't get much more character than your typical mahou shoujo team leader, but she's cute and likeable. The other girls, well, they are pretty plain. Minami is a perfect school's council president type of character - calm, collected, well-behaved, and of course she's from a strict rich family and has some kind of parents issues. It's nothing new, but I like how it’s developed and ended, so there's something to look forward to. Kirara is a model who wishes to follow in her famous mother's footsteps, and she tries to balance it with being a magical warrior. She's popular and has a strong personality, and her career oriented story works well enough. The final, fourth girl (who I won't describe more because of the spoiler-y nature) offers an interesting premise, but is heavily underused. Are they likeable? Of course. They play their roles in the story well, and they have just enough character development to not be boring. I like them, but they won't become my fav Cures. Well, maybe Haruka, she's such a silly sweetie, and her clumsy attempts at ballet remind me of _Princess Tutu_. The fairies are pretty good too. I found only one of them annoying, which is a fine score, since the mascots can be insufferable. The villain trio plays a huge role, and I think they deliver. The main antagonist is okay too, but it's obviously the three silly guys who steal the spotlight. Their designs are fantastic, distinct and memorable, especially Shut and Close. Their personalities are also unique and each of them works nicely in the story. Precure, as a series, definitely believes in the old truth: you can't fight evil if you ain't cute. The designs are just wonderful. I may not be a fan of the huge ball dresses that show up at times, but the girls' main magical girl outfits are great. I love Haruka’s hair, it matches her traditionally princess-y look. And Saya's whole sea themed look is just incredible. It's such a well put together project, I'm impressed. Other than the main girls, I think Twilight’s design is simply showstopping. The villain trio looks quirky and memorable, I like them too. These all are some amazing projects. I know it's kind of Precure's staple thing, and it definitely puts the bar high. The whole princess-y vibe, well, makes as much sense as any other magical girl theme - be it Solar System planets, endangered animals, or sweets and desserts. It's girly and cute, so it's perfect for a show like that. _Frozen_ was a huge hit in Japan, as elsewhere, so I get why it could be fitting. I didn't really care for it much, but everything's cute and fits well. What's more to want? I’m not a Precure expert (yet). The real experts, the series’s target, are young girls watching the Sunday morning TV, and their opinion… is interesting. _Go! Precure_ didn't actually get much acclaim from its child public. Apparently the intense - at least more intense than in the previous series, I presume - fighting scenes were too scary for a lot of the viewers. It's, well, let's say it's a confirmation that the action scenes were really cool. Some of the fights were actually quite impressive, not only for a kids show, but for an action anime. The series is held in much higher regard by the older audience, especially in the West. I've seen it being considered one of the better Precure titles out there. Can't really judge it that way, but I get where it comes from. _Go! Precure_ works really well as a traditional mahou shoujo anime. The story is alright, the characters are sweet, the designs are fantastic, and the fights are fun. There is definitely a lot that could be improved, but… nah, it's okay. I enjoyed it a lot. For a mahou shoujo series that doesn't try to do anything new, it's awesome. Sometimes you just need a princess to save the day by punching a monster. A lot. Disney’s princesses could never.

  ---

  Here’s my personal Precure rating - it’s a 5 ✿ scale, comparing the series.

  Cures: ✿✿✿
  designs: ✿✿✿✿✿
  mascots: ✿✿
  villains: ✿✿✿✿
  story: ✿
  theme and vibes: ✿✿✿

  ---

  #__Thank you for reading!__
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