User blog:GlitterInformer/Doki Doki! Pretty Cure/Glitter Force Doki Doki SDC: Episode 36 (Sub)

Episode 35 (Sub) | Table of Contents

'''Japanese title: “Raquel’s Pumped Up! The Power of First Love at Full Throttle!”'''



The fairies in ''Doki Doki! Pretty Cure'' don’t really do much. It’s a cool idea to have a fairy for each and every Pretty Cure in a season, and it’s been done before with 2-3 person teams like in Futari wa Pretty Cure and Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star. But when you have 5 people, it’s hard to give screen time to all of those different fairies. Sure, Dabi had a fair amount to do near the beginning, as she was Makoto’s closest friend. And Sharuru had her own focus episode a while back. But overall, the fairies don’t have much of a presence in most episodes.

Well, this episode is going to try and rectify things, at least for Raquel. This episode is all about him, and from what I hear, it’s gonna be a really good one. Will it be as great as people say, or will it just be a disappointment? Let’s find out in episode 36 of ''Doki Doki! Pretty Cure''.

The episode starts with Sharuru and Raquel transforming into humans for the second time in the whole season. Sharuru is happily helping Mana with her paperwork. But just like last time, Raquel can’t help Rikka as much as he wants to. Rikka says it would be weird for a kid who looks like an elementary schooler to be working at a middle school.

In Sharuru’s focus episode, I felt pretty bad for Raquel. While Sharuru was able to help Mana out a lot, neither Raquel nor Lance could do much to help their partners. Lance seemed okay with just being a playful toddler, but Raquel clearly wanted more than that. Sure, at the end of the episode, he did end up okay with just being by Rikka’s side even if he didn’t help her one bit, but I’m sure he still feels useless. Hopefully, this episode will finally give him something to do.

Also, it’s weird that even when they’re human, Sharuru and Raquel still have the same high-pitched voices they do as fairies. Dabi’s voice becomes lower when she becomes human. But these two’s voices don’t change, so they’re somewhat unfitting for their human forms, especially Sharuru’s voice.

Anyway, back to the show. A girl surnamed Yashima suddenly runs in. We first saw Yashima all the way back in episode 1. She got carsick from the bus ride and Mana had to help her out. Now, Yashima has a completely different but even more severe problem: her pet rabbit, Ponpon, has gone missing. Ponpon has its repetitive name because it has two tails. Because of this, the other rabbits didn’t treat it well. Now, Yashima is crying because she’s so worried about Ponpon. Rikka, Mana, and Sharuru agree to help Yashima search for Ponpon. Raquel, though hidden behind Rikka’s back, silently vows to help out, too.

We get the opening theme. The usual footage is replaced with promotional clips from the ''Doki Doki! Pretty Cure'' movie. It’s called ''Doki Doki! Pretty Cure: the Movie: Mana Gets Married!? The Dress of Hope that Connects to the Future''. Long titles like that are par for the course when it comes to Pretty Cure movies. Anyway, it’s common for seasons of Pretty Cure to have their own movies released in the fall. It’s also common for a few episodes of each season to have the opening theme footage replaced to advertise the season’s movie.



I hear the ''Doki Doki! Pretty Cure'' movie is really good. And I am going to review it. That’s what I did with the Smile Pretty Cure! sub/dub comparison, and that’s what I’ll do here. Eventually; it has to come in the mail first.

After the opening theme, we cut back to the neighborhood. Neither Yashima, Mana, Rikka, nor Sharuru can find Ponpon. But fortunately, Raquel does. Once he presents Ponpon to Yashima, she calls Raquel her hero, much to Raquel’s astonishment.

We get the title card. Then, we cut to that night, when Rikka and Raquel are sleeping. Well, Raquel’s trying to sleep. But he can’t stop thinking about Yashima’s smile, and his heart is beating really quickly. Interestingly, Raquel’s heart makes the same sound as the fairies do in the transformation sequences when the center light blinks.

That morning, Raquel tells Rikka about his heart beating so quickly and worries that he might be sick. Raquel’s face is also flushed red, and he’s hot to the touch. Arisu thinks he may have a cold. Of all people, Makoto is surprised that fairies can get colds, too. From any other character, this would make sense; Mana, Rikka, and Arisu are from Earth, and Aguri doesn’t seem to have any memories of the Trump Kingdom. But since Makoto grew up in the Trump Kingdom, she’s been around fairies for her entire life. In fact, Dabi was her fairy partner even before the Trump Kingdom was destroyed; we saw Dabi on Cure Sword’s shoulder during a flashback near the beginning of the series. Of all of the girls, shouldn’t Makoto know whether fairies get colds or not?

Oh, and Aguri says she’s never heard of fairies getting colds before. Meaning she does remember at least some of her life in the Trump Kingdom. So why haven’t we seen any flashbacks to her life there or found out what she did there? We know she has amnesia. How much does she remember?

Suddenly, Dabi pipes in, even though she’s facing the wall and standing far away from the others. She says that Raquel doesn’t have a cold, but is instead feeling lovesick for Yashima. The girls (sans Aguri) ask Raquel if that’s true. When Raquel blushes and smiles while saying Yashima’s name, Dabi’s theory is confirmed.

For some reason, Aguri and Dabi say that Raquel can’t enter a relationship with Yashima because he’s a fairy and she’s a human. Why is this a problem, though? Sure, they probably can’t reproduce because they’re different species, but that’s not what love is about. And sure, they’re keeping the fairies’ existence a secret from humanity, but Aguri and Dabi don’t say why they have to keep up the charade. I guess it’s for the same reason as in episode 2: Raquel falling in love with Yashima would put Yashima in danger. But it would be useful for Aguri and Dabi to actually tell Raquel that reason instead of just saying he can’t.

While Dabi and Aguri are opposed to the idea of Raquel and Yashima being together, Sharuru and Lance hate the idea of Raquel and Yashima being forced apart. Rikka says that they aren’t even dating yet, so it isn’t a problem. The situation escalates into a physical fight between Sharuru and Dabi, though it doesn’t consist of much other than the two fairies repeatedly bashing their chests against each other.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Eventually, Raquel just floats on out the door, saying that Yashima invited him to help her take care of some animals. Speaking of the door, the girls are currently at Solitaire, Joe Okada’s shop. They’ve actually been meeting here a lot over the course of the series. Yet, Joe himself hasn’t been seen on screen for almost 20 episodes now. Also, where’s Ai? She hasn’t appeared at all in the episode yet, but all five girls are currently here. Who’s taking care of the poor girl??

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">While Raquel meets with Yashima and helps her clean out the animals’ pens, Rikka becomes worried about Raquel. She’s increasingly concerned that Raquel really will fall in love with Yashima. Aguri’s worried, too, but Mana tells them both that it’ll be okay because Raquel loves Rikka more than anyone else.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">When Yashima and Raquel have finished cleaning the pens, Raquel suddenly spots a bee on top of Yashima’s head and swats it away. Yashima is pleased by this and calls him her hero again. Once again, Raquel’s heart is sent into a frenzy. But he remembers what Dabi told him and worries about what will happen if they fall in love for real.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Still, when Yashima suggests that they go home, Raquel isn’t ready to leave her just yet. As she starts to walk away, Raquel clings to her bag and begs her to stay for another 30 minutes. She agrees and offers to take Raquel to her favorite spot. As they walk off, Raquel realizes that he really is in love with Yashima.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">We cut to a park, where there are couples everywhere. In fact, the only people who aren’t a couple are Ira, Marmo, and Bel, who are all sitting on a bench. Ira mischievously decides to leave the other two so that they’ll be a couple just like the others. Marmo, disgusted by this, leaves too and decides to fight Pretty Cure once again, like that’ll work any better than before.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">After the eyecatches, we cut to Raquel and Yashima are out on a lake, riding a swan-shaped boat. Raquel is nervous because it’s like they’re on a date, but when Yashima asks if he’s okay, Raquel insists that he’s fine. Yashima tells Raquel that she loves this lake because the water is so clear. However, it only got to be this clear because a lot of volunteer workers helped clean it out. Raquel says he wants to help, too, and Yashima thanks him, causing him to get all flustered again.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Yashima then asks what Raquel does in his free time. For some reason, Raquel tells her that he and his friends fight bad guys together. He doesn’t even just blurt it out; he truly intends to say it. This is coming from the same guy who, along with Sharuru and Lance, insisted that Mana not tell anybody about Pretty Cure so as not to drag any civilians into the fight. Why was it so bad to tell Rikka the truth, but it’s perfectly fine for Yashima to know? Does he not care about her being targeted by the Jikochuu?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Yashima thinks that Raquel and his friends are just roleplaying fighting villains. She did it when she was little and took it very seriously. She asks what else Raquel likes, and Raquel says that he likes the Hundred Poems. He recites one of them for her, and the one he chose just happened to be about love. This makes him even more convinced that he’s in love with Yashima.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">We’re then introduced to the victim of the week: a girl who’s jealous of the people having fun on the lake and wishes the lake would disappear. Marmo turns the girl’s Psyche into a Jikochuu shaped like the swan-like boats everyone else is riding. The Jikochuu sprays everyone with water, scaring the lake-goers away and turning the lake green. Only Raquel and Yashima still remain at the lake. Rather than panicking, Yashima is just saddened and angered because the monster is ruining the lake.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Raquel promises Yashima that he’ll protect the lake. The boat is conveniently right next to a dock, so Raquel is able to run and get his friends. He turns into a Lovely Commune and calls the others, who are already on their way thanks to the other fairies having sensed the Jikochuu. After Makoto and Arisu note that Raquel is especially pumped up and ready to fight the Jikochuu, the girls transform. This sequence starts off with Rikka putting her Cure Lovead onto Raquel, rather than as usual with Mana putting her Lovead onto Sharuru.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Despite this, it’s still Cure Heart who does her catchphrase. No surprise there. Heart refers to the Jikochuu as a duck, but Marmo corrects her and says that it’s actually a potty trainer. That would explain why it’s polluting the lake.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The Jikochuu, instead of shooting just water like before, outright shoots poison, turning the lake purple. This enrages Raquel, who is somehow able to drag Cure Diamond along with him as he flies towards Marmo, telling her that he won’t let her destroy the lake Yashima loves so much. Diamond is determined as well, and she uses Diamond Shower to freeze up the Jikochuu.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Cure Sword tries to karate-chop the Jikochuu while it’s frozen, but it’s able to break one of its wings out and shoot feathers at her. It turns out that the Jikochuu actuall was a duck this whole time and was just pretending to be a potty trainer… for some reason… Anyway, Cure Rosetta catches Cure Sword before she can faceplant into the ground.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The Jikochuu continues to poison the lake, and Raquel can only imagine how horrible Yashima feels now. He’s so pumped up that when Diamond is about to perform Diamond Swirkle, Raquel drags her away again in the middle of the attack so he can teach the Jikochuu a lesson. But the comedy doesn’t stop there. Despite Diamond’s protests, Raquel slams into the Jikochuu, essentially forcing Diamond to smash into it with her butt. Both Raquel and Diamond find it painful, but the Jikochuu is the one who’s really hurt by the attack of the butt. It’s slammed all the way out of the lake. Everyone is just so shocked by this that it’s all Ace can do to suggest they use Lovely Straight Flush.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Thus, with that moment of comedy gold, Heart steals the spotlight once again and the Jikochuu is defeated. With everything back to normal, Raquel turns back into a human and runs back to Yashima. He still has a bruise on his face from slamming into the Jikochuu, by the way.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Yashima thanks Raquel for saving the lake (even though she couldn’t have possibly seen Raquel from that far away, nor could she have known that he was Cure Diamond’s fairy partner). And then, all of Raquel’s hopes and dreams are crushed. See, a very tall dude with the last name of Harada has arrived, and it turns out that he’s Yashima’s boyfriend. So, no interspecies romance for you, Raquel. He tries to keep it cool. But when Rikka and the others appear to take him home, he can’t keep himself from crying.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Back at home, not only is Raquel’s heart broken, but his cheek has swollen up and he needs ice. Sharuru starts crying because Raquel’s got heartbroken, and Dabi can’t help herself but join in on the sobbing. Raquel’s still smiling through tears, so Mana, Arisu, Makoto, and Aguri try to cheer Raquel up by saying that he did an amazing job today.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Ultimately, though, it’s Rikka who cheers him up by telling her that even if the Yashima thing didn’t work out, she’ll always be with him. This causes Raquel’s heart to start beating really quickly, and he jumps on top of Rikka and declares that she really is the best. Mana and the others can’t help but laugh at how quickly Raquel’s woes were resolved. And with that, the episode ends.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Overall: I got the impression that this episode would be really, really good. And it is good. It’s just on the same level as all the other episodes lately: definitely fun to watch, but not an OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS A CLASSIC PRETTY CURE MOMENT THAT I WILL REMEMBER FOREVER episode. It’s great to finally see Raquel in the spotlight, as well as seeing a fairy actually do something in combat. Raquel discovering romantic attraction for the first time was really cute to see. Plus, Sharuru and Dabi also got a bit of time to shine too with their fight over Raquel should get together with Yashima.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The only criticism that I have of this episode is that Yashima is kind of bland. She’s pretty generic except for the fact that she likes animals and the environment. Unlike Raquel, we never get to see her do anything interesting. Sure, there’s only so much you can do with a character who just appears for an episode. But Jun Saotome and Reina Itsutsuboshi were a lot more interesting than Yashima even though they only got an episode each. If we’re talking about love interests in particular, Brian Taylor from Smile Pretty Cure! had a lot more character than Yashima even though he, too, only appeared in one episode.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Next time: Both Aguri and Ai must get over their dislike of carrots!