User blog:GlitterInformer/Smile Pretty Cure!/Glitter Force SDC: Episode 45 (Sub), 37 (Dub)

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Japanese title: "The Beginning of the End! Pretty Cure vs. the Three Subordinates!!"

English title: “The Miracle Jewel”

Ah, “The Beginning of the End!” Is there a more fitting phrase for this episode? It’s the end of the fillers and the start of the final showdown. The Bad Energy Memory/Wheel of Doom is set to complete today, as well as the Décor Décor/Charm Chest. After this episode, things will never be the same.

Unfortunately, the dub doesn’t seem to be off on a good start. Every episode of Glitter Force has an image that appears as the video is loading. This episode’s is of the three subordinates as pixies. Way to spoil that, Netflix (I doubt that Saban has control over what the preview image is).

The episode begins with the spiky Pierrot/Nogo ball thing floating towards the Earth. The huge behemoth appears in the sky, turning the sky dark and confusing the populace. Yayoi/Lily says the thing is getting closer. Then, the Royal Clock senses Pierrot/Nogo, unleashing a light onto Candy and turning her into a weird, winged jewel. With this, we get the opening themes.

We then cut to the Bad End Kingdom/Shadow Realm, where Joker/Rascal has rounded up the other three villains. Despite their repeated failures, he’s given them yet another chance because he’s found the Miracle Jewel. After the establishing shot, we see the three glaring at him. In the sub, there is no dialogue over this; in the dub, Rascal lectures them as they glare.

Joker uses one of his cards to livestream the girls panicking over Candy’s transformation. It turns out that she’s become the Miracle Jewel. In the sub, the other three beg Joker for another chance; in the dub, they fight over who gets to grab the Miracle Jewel.

Alright, now the dub makes a change that I really don’t like. In the sub, Joker says they don’t have much time left to defeat Pretty Cure because every time they use Black Noses, it sucks their life energy, and that if they use it once more, they’ll die. Sure, Joker says “disappear”, not “die”, but judging the reactions of the other three, the meaning is clear.

In the dub, Rascal says he’s created a new Black Nose that will summon dark versions of themselves rather than Twilight Buffoons, but that it could be dangerous. The three have certainly been in danger before, so their horrified reactions are unwarranted, and it’s all because Saban thinks kids can’t handle death. Have they ever heard of The Lion King??

When the three get all freaked out, Joker/Rascal asks them where all their hype from earlier went and asks them if they really want to become what they were before. Rascal additionally proposes that the others work together. The three panic again. In the sub, there’s a period of silence after this; in the dub, Rascal follows this with, “Well…?”

Wolfrun/Ulric agrees to fight Pretty Cure, and Joker/Rascal gives the trio the Black Nose. The dub decides to do some more bowdlerizing; in the sub, the three say they’re going to Hell but that there’s no other way, and in the dub, they say they regret their decision but that they don’t have any other choice. Joker/Rascal ends the scene by sending them off. Joker mentions that the Black Nose he gave them is different, while Rascal tells them to leave the Miracle Jewel to him.

We get the title card in the sub. Then, we cut back to town. The girls are still panicking about Candy, but the dub ruins the mood by having one of them say that the jewel “is filled with Candy.” Then, Pop flies down from the sky and screams that there’s trouble. In the dub, they all awkwardly say, “Look, it’s Pop!” at the same time. You really couldn’t have had just one of them speak, Saban?

Anyway, Pop tells them that the giant spiky ball has Pierrot inside of it. In the sub, he says it’s Pierrot’s egg; in the dub, he says it’s Nogo’s cocoon. Miyuki/Emily shows him the jewel Candy turned into. In the sub, Pop is about to tell them what exactly the jewel is; in the dub, Pop says he can’t believe the jewel is Candy.

Then, the Bad End Trio interrupts and Akaoni/Brute tells them that Candy is the Miracle Jewel. After the girls react in confusion, they summon a Bad End together. In the sub, they say the usual summoning speech; in the dub, Brooha has composed a poem for them all to recite as they summon the Bad End together, which they all recite in sync except for when Brute messes up at the end and Ulric scolds him.

In the sub, we see each of the girls’ families falling into despair and a group of random townspeople. In the dub, Chloe’s family and the townspeople are cut. I understand cutting the latter shot due to having to edit several frames of Japanese text, but why leave Chloe’s family out when the other four families are left in?



<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">However, the three are angry and confused at their short-lived changes of heart. They turn dark, their eyes glow red, and they resolve to attack Pretty Cure/the Glitter Force once again. As they run towards the girls, dialogue is added where Ulric says they won’t fool him. Happy begs someone (presumably God) to calm the trio’s rage, while Lucky says they weren’t lying about their sympathy for them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Happy/Lucky’s shiny new (well, not that new anymore) Cure Décor/Glitter Charm appears, and a light comes out of her and engulfs the villains, returning them to the states they were in before they were upgraded. Also, for some reason, they’re in some sort of alternate world filled with white and a giant Ultra Cure Happy. Dialogue is added where Ulric asks what’s going on and where the other two panic about Lucky being giant.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Happy/Lucky scoops the three up in her hands and thanks them for making all the fairy tales she loves happen. The three are shocked that she’s thanking them, and she says that she’d like to be friends with them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Dialogue is added where Ulric comments that he feels strange. Then, the darkness in their hearts leaves them and dissipates, and the three turn into fairies/pixies. Then, we return to the real world, with just regular Happy/Lucky instead of Ultra Happy/Lucky. All five of them see the fairies/pixies sleeping on the ground. As we see them, it’s silent in the sub and Lucky exclaims that they’re pixies in the dub. Additionally, the sub has the girls gasping in amazement, while the dub has them saying, “Awww!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Pop calls out to the girls, waking the fairies/pixies up. Then, he notices the transformed trio and states their real names.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Name Change: Wolfrun’s fairy form is named Wolrun. Ulric’s pixie form is named Ricky. I know that there doesn’t seem to be much difference between the two Japanese names, but in the Japanese version, Wolfrun is pronounced “Urufurun” and Wol-run is pronounced “Worurun”.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Name Change: Akaoni’s fairy form is named Oni-nin. Brute’s pixie form is named Rufus.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Name Change: Majorina’s fairy form is named Majo-rin. Brooha’s pixie form is named Margy.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Pop says that it’s been a long time since he’s last seen the three and welcomes them back while crying. The others cry, too, and say they’re glad to return home.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">A black ball floats down from the sky and pops open, revealing the last Cure Décor/Glitter Charm. However, one of Joker/Rascal’s cards steal it. Dialogue is added where Glitter Sunny says, “Hey!” Up in the sky, Joker/Rascal says that the other three bought him time to collect Bad/Negative Energy from the entire world. Joker thanks his former subordinates, while Rascal scolds them for losing yet again.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Joker/Rascal then turns the Bad Energy Memory/Wheel of Doom to its final click. Then, he grabs onto a flowing, dark blob-thingy. Joker says that this is the sadness of the entire world; Rascal says it’s the sadness that used to reside in the three pixies. He combines this with five cards, each one of a different girl’s color, and the last Décor/Charm to create evil clones of Pretty Cure/the Glitter Force.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Name Change: Pretty Cure’s evil counterparts are called Bad End Pretty Cure. The Glitter Force’s evil counterparts are called the Glitter Shadow Force.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Joker/Rascal asks how Pretty Cure/the Glitter Force will fare against Bad End Pretty Cure/the Glitter Shadow Force. The episode ends with Happy/Lucky’s evil counterpart smirking at the viewer, with an evil giggle in the dub.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">But all is not over yet, for Glitter Force has one last ending theme! This is a remix of the opening theme. It’s okay. Oddly, the verses are instrumental, except for the signers shouting, “Go, go!” periodically. At least this time, the backgrounds are (mostly) not minimal, given that the Glitter Force is dancing on clouds with a rainbow behind them, and the choreography is pretty good, too.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Overall: This was a wonderful way to kickstart the climax. While the fighting wasn’t as good as 23->20, the revelation of the subordinates’ motives more than made up for it. It was wonderful to see a new side to them and enheartening to see them reformed as fairies/pixies. Plus, the addition of dark clones of the girls is an interesting touch that makes me look forward to next time. I wish Saban had done a bit better of a job, though. Kids can handle the threat of death, you know.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Next episode: Pretty Cure/the Glitter Force fights Bad End Pretty Cure/the Glitter Shadow Force!