User blog:GlitterInformer/Smile Pretty Cure!/Glitter Force SDC: Smile Pretty Cure! novel

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This is going to be a bit short. Unfortunately, only four chapters of the novel, plus a tiny bit of the fifth, have been translated, and since I can’t yet buy the novel for myself or understand the Japanese language well enough to comprehend it, this review will only cover chapters through 4, plus what has been translated of 5. Fortunately, the translation is still happening; it’s simply in progress. Eventually, all of the novel will be available, and I’ll be able to edit this article and complete my review.

The fact that I can’t read all of it is a big shame, because I loved what I saw of it. Since the characters are now adults, the novel has a darker, more adult theme. That’s not to say it isn’t kid friendly, but it deals with things such as disillusionment, failing businesses, and forgetting about childhood friends that simply couldn’t be tackled if the characters were still teens.

Quick note: the translation is honestly not all that great. Were I the one translating this, it would probably come out similar, if not worse, but the subs’ translations, despite their occasional and tiny flaws, are way better. The dialogue gratuitously uses third-person (in Japanese, third-person is usually used where an English speaker would use second person), odd words are sometimes used so it takes a bit to figure out what the text is trying to say, and there are some just plain weird formatting errors, such as paragraphs repeating two or three times and paragraph breaks mid-sentence. But at least the story is legible, so I’ll take what I can get.

The first chapter focuses on Miyuki, who is working as an assistant at the Station-Front Bookstore (which, by the way, has over 41 volumes of Miracle Peace, which happens to match up with episode 41 focusing on the comic). She isn’t very successful at the moment; her boss always chides her for being late and not doing good work, and she still lives with her parents. However, she finds happiness in reading her now-completed picture book, “The Greatest Smile”, to a young girl named Yoshimi. Unfortunately, she mysteriously has no memory of her time as a Pretty Cure, and she assumes that “The Greatest Smile”, which tells the story of her and her friends saving the Earth and M ä rchenland, is just fiction.

Even worse, she finds that the bookstore is closing in a month. Miyuki suggests transforming it (e.g. making it a book café or a mobile bookstore), but the managers are ready to throw in the towel. She lies to Yoshimi and says that she’ll be waiting for her at the bookstore every day, not wanting to disappoint her with the truth.

Then, she bumps into Akane for the first time in years. It takes a bit, but eventually, the two remember each other. Akane’s restaurant is still doing well, and her ever-optimistic attitude gets Miyuki’s spirits up. After saying goodbye to Akane, Miyuki visits Yoshimi’s house to apologize for lying to her. At first, Yoshimi is mad at Miyuki, but she eventually calms down and Miyuki entrusts Yoshimi with writing the sequel to “The Greatest Smile”.

Miyuki returns home and hears a familiar voice. We know that the speaker is Candy because the sentences end with “-kuru,” but Miyuki doesn’t remember Candy. She does, however, know that Candy is a character in “The Greatest Smile”, so when Candy calls for help, Miyuki enters the book portal to save her.

Already, we’re off to a great start. Smile Pretty Cure! itself was light and fluffy, which isn’t a bad thing at all. However, I’m a sucker for dark themes, and I love how this chapter showed that you don’t always achieve your dreams right away, even if you’re an adult. Despite being dark, it was also an encouragement; it showed that if you’re an adult and still struggling, it’s okay. Your bright future will arrive eventually, as long as you don’t give up. It’s a nice twist on the moral of Smile Pretty Cure!

We continue with chapter 2, told from Akane’s perspective. Unlike the sub I watched, which didn’t reflect Akane’s Kansai dialect in the subtitles, the novel translation has a country accent for her chapter, since many stereotypes of the country accent match with those of the Kansai accent. This is a neat touch.

Akane is still working at her restaurant and doing pretty well. Like Miyuki, she doesn’t remember her friends or being Pretty Cure. However, she is doing better than Miyuki, as the restaurant is still pulling in business.

It should be noted that Akane breaks the fourth wall a lot and talks directly to the audience. I feel that her character really stands out in this chapter, which makes it the best part of the novel so far.

Anyway, Akane flashes back to the past. She may not remember the other girls, but she does remember Brian, her crush from episode 36. After Brian left Japan, they kept sending letters back and forth, and Akane greatly improved her English. However, they started writing to each other less and less, and that’s when Akane’s father sent her to England to improve her cooking.

Unfortunately, Akane’s passport and wallet got stolen after she arrived. She tried cooking okonomiyaki in the streets, but nobody paid her any mind, probably because she forgot to speak English. Akane was wondering where she would go when, as luck would have it, Brian saw her and invited her to stay at his house.

For four years, Akane lived with Brian. Eventually, she was able to get customers and set up a thriving okonomiyaki business in England. She even taught Brian how to make it, too. Eventually, she returned to Japan, and Brian came with her. Now, he’s still staying at her family’s house.

One night, Akane decides to propose to Brian. However, he’s sleeping, and Akane discovers via his open laptop and email account that he’s going to return to England very soon. Akane is furious that Brian didn’t tell her. After this, the quality of her okonomiyaki goes down, and much like episode 10, she has to search for the secret ingredient that makes it better. Unfortunately, without any memory of episode 10, it’s quite difficult.

That’s when Yayoi comes in, and after a while, the two recognize each other. Yayoi is still drawing manga, though she doesn’t want to talk about it with Akane. Akane is so excited to see her long-lost friend that she cooks up some special okonomiyaki just for her. This gets her to remember the discovery she made in middle school: the secret ingredient to a great okonomiyaki is wanting others to enjoy it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Yayoi absolutely loves the food, and as the two say goodbye, Akane is in a good enough mood to talk calmly with Brian. She apologizes for yelling at him, and he apologizes for not telling her. Brian explains that after having discovered so much about Japan, he wants to return to his home country to teach other British people about it. Akane says that even if it means that they’ll separate forever, she’ll support him in his dream.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Then, much like the ending of the previous chapter, Candy calls out to Akane for help. Akane doesn’t remember Candy, but she goes through the book portal anyway.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The second chapter of the novel is even better than the first. Akane is a spunky, fiery narrator, and like Miyuki, she struggles in achieving her dream. I also love how Brian gets more development in this novel. Pretty Cure has an unfortunate tendency to downplay its romantic pairings, so most of its romance subplots are left unfinished. I like that the writers are committed to seeing Akane and Brian’s relationship through, and I hope that they get their happy ending. Either that, or Akane gets together with Nao instead, but I doubt that will happen.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">It's followed by chapter 3, which centers around Yayoi. It starts with her elaborating on two of her favorite shows as a middle schooler: Justice Hero Solar Man, a tokusatsu show about a fighter who defeats his enemies using beams of solar power, and Iron Soldier Robotter, an anime about a boy and a sentient robot who work together to defeat evil. In case you don’t remember, Solar Man appeared in episode 9 (in Yayoi’s alarm clock), and episode 30 (when Yayoi pretends to be Solar Man in front of a crowd of Americans). Robotter had an entire episode centered around him: episode 35, which had Cure Happy turn into a giant robot.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Throughout this explanation, Yayoi does a great job of explaining the importance and impact of heroes, and how they inspire people to become better versions of themselves. She then talks about how she drew the Captain Peace poster in episode 3 and the Miracle Peace comic in episode 41. Like Miyuki and Akane, she doesn’t remember being a Pretty Cure.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Nowadays, Yayoi works on the 41ststory of a high-rise building – hey, there’s the number 41 again! It’s cool how they keep referencing the episode number in which Miracle Peace first became a comic. It turns out that after spending the whole show as an underdog who kept getting only honorable mentions despite doing her best work, Yayoi has finally achieved success as Miracle Peace is an extremely successful comic. In fact, she even dropped out of high school to work on it after it became popular. This is really cool, as I’ve never seen dropping out of high school portrayed in a positive light in fiction before. More works need to realize that not everybody needs to learn math, English, history, etc. If you want to go down a more specialized path in life, high school may be unnecessary for you, and that’s okay.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Unfortunately, success is bitter for Yayoi, who feels overworked due to working on the same comic continuously for several years. She doesn’t have time to speak with her family or friends, and her only source of socialization is with the fictional characters she writes. Because of this, after seven long years of success, Yayoi has decided to bring the hit comic series to an end.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">There’s a flashback to a month ago, when Yayoi first told her editor-in-chief that she wanted to end the series. Not only is the scene sweet, as the editor-in-chief reminds Yayoi of her deceased father, but there’s also another Easter egg: a staff member named Tо̄dо̄ Izumi. Tо̄dо̄ Izumi is a pen name used collectively by producers at Toei Animation. And there’s another cool thing: during the flashback, Yayoi heard thunder, which references her alter ego of Cure Peace. This novel’s references are just so cool.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Anyway, during the flashback, the editor-in-chief was understanding of Yayoi’s fatigue, but he still wanted to find a way to reignite Yayoi’s passion for Miracle Peace, as he didn’t want the manga to end.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">This prompts a flashback within a flashback, and I swear the novel itself isn’t as confusing in this regard as this summary is. Yayoi recounts the precise moment that she realized that she no longer wanted to work on Miracle Peace. That day, her mother had visited her, but Yayoi was too busy with the comic to interact with her much. It was only after her mother had left that Yayoi had realized why her mother had visited: that day was the anniversary of her father’s death. Every year since his death, Yayoi and her mother had visited his grave to pay respects to him. That anniversary had been the first one that Yayoi had forgot. Yayoi now feels that she’s been so focused on making money with her manga that she’s been hurting both her mother and her deceased father.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">After Yayoi told the editor-and-chief about this, he finally agreed to let Yayoi end Miracle Peace. He even referenced episode 9, the April Fools Day episode, to say that it hurts Yayoi not to be truthful. He told her that she could visit her father’s grave after she finished the manuscript for the final issue and told Yayoi to be proud of creating a comic that will go down in history.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">An interesting tidbit: the final issue of Miracle Peace resembles Yayoi’s inner conflict. Miracle Peace’s family is held hostage, and it’s up to Miracle Peace to choose between her career (saving the world) and her family. In the end, she reunites with her family, just as Yayoi does after finishing the manuscript.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">It’s here that we start to get into the weird magic that has affected Miyuki and Akane. Yayoi apologizes for not visiting her mother for so long and is shocked to hear her mother say that she was here last week. Yayoi suddenly remembers it, but she’s still put off at having forgotten it so easily. By the way, the visit last week was when Yayoi visited Akane at her restaurant.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Yayoi tells her mother that she’s done with Miracle Peace and is surprised when her mother is disappointed by this. She says that she doesn’t want Yayoi to quit the comic just for her and tells her that Yayoi’s father wouldn’t want Yayoi to blame herself for missing his death anniversary.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">That weekend, Yayoi goes to the park and tries to remember the friends other than Akane that she had during middle school. It’s no use. Then, she sees a live show of Miracle Peace being watched by a ton of kids. One of these kids is a lot like Yayoi when she was younger. She’s making a surprisingly good drawing of Miracle Peace, and when Yayoi tries to look at it, she freaks out and hides the drawing. Yayoi persuades the girl to show her her sketchbook. It’s then that she realizes that the girl is Midorikawa Yui, the youngest sister of Midorikawa Nao. And as if on cue, Nao arrives and is shocked to see Yayoi.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Yayoi and Nao catch up with each other, and Nao tells Yayoi that Yui used to have low self-esteem due to lacking talent in school and sports. That changed when Miracle Peace inspired Yui to start drawing. Yui’s skill in drawing now causes her to be a bit more confident. Nao thanks Yayoi for improving her sister’s life. Yayoi denies having that big of an impact, but her heart is still extremely warmed by Nao telling her this. She confesses to Nao that she’s ending Miracle Peace. However, now that Yayoi has seen the impact her comic has had on children, she wants to draw more comics, even after Miracle Peace is over. As Yayoi leaves Nao, she tells Nao not to tell Yui that she wrote Miracle Peace, as a heroine has to keep her identity a secret.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Suddenly, as she’s heading home, Yayoi remembers Miyuki and Reika as well, but she still doesn’t have any recollection of being a Pretty Cure. Then, her editor calls her. It turns out that Yayoi subconsciously drew Candy on the final page of the final issue. Yayoi remembers Candy from Miyuki’s picture book, “The Greatest Smile”. She believes that Miyuki based Cure Peace, a character in the book, after her. However, Yayoi has more memories of Cure Peace than are actually in the book. It’s as if she actually was Cure Peace… but that’s totally impossible. You all know that.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Then, we have the obligatory part of the story where Yayoi hears Candy calling to her and goes through the bookcase and into the Mysterious Library. This rendition is pretty cool, though, as Yayoi puzzles her way through this occurrence by thinking of fictional stories in which people go to another world and relying on fantasy clichés to figure out what to do next. As Yayoi arrives in the Mysterious Library, she is determined to leave Miracle Peace behind and write a new story.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">This third chapter was just as great as the other two. Unlike the other two, Yayoi has been very successful. It’s interesting to see the book acknowledge the serious problems that can result from great success. Despite Yayoi’s burn-out, I am so happy to see that Yayoi is the most successful of the main characters so far, as she was the underdog throughout the show. Additionally, I particularly like the many little references to the show and Toei as a whole. Additionally, it’s sweet how Yayoi’s father is tied into the story, as well as how Yui is fleshed out as a character.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Alright, on to chapter four! The chapter starts with Nao going over every member of her family. Her father, Genji, is a stern, gruff carpenter obsessed with straightness, and her mother, Tomoko, taught Nao how to cook, sew, and raise children. Keita has been trained by his father to be a carpenter, but he wants to be an architect; Haru loves plants and works at a flower shop; Hina loves animals and often brings home stray dogs and cats; Yuuta is passionate about tennis and has a rivalry with the soccer club; Kouta loves comedy and is a fan of the comedy duo FUJIWARA; and Yui loves drawing and is a fan of Miracle Peace. Speaking of Miracle Peace, Nao has already forgotten Yayoi’s name.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">It’s interesting to note that Nao’s voice kind of reminds me of Akane’s. She doesn’t have the thick accent that Akane does, but she’s informal and she takes pride in her family. What’s interesting is that Nao loves to talk about her family, but she’s reluctant to talk about herself. However, she does anyway.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Nao is currently a soccer coach at Nanairogaoka International University. Due to Nao’s impressive soccer skills, many prestigious universities offered to recruit her, but Nao chose to stay in her hometown so that she could be with her family. Nowadays, Nao doesn’t play soccer anymore, but she refuses to tell us why. As a side note, Nao doesn’t remember Miyuki, Akane, Yayoi, or Reika. But that’s a given by now.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">After practice one day, Nao sees that one of the soccer players has left her towel on the ground. When Nao goes to the girls’ locker room to return it, she overhears the players talking about her. They respect what she’s trying to do, but they feel that she’s annoying and is projecting her dreams of playing soccer onto them. It’s implied that Nao can’t play soccer anymore due to her right leg being injured.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">As Nao goes home, she tells us that adults aren’t any stronger or more powerful than kids; they just hide their fears and worries to appear strong. As she wonders what face to put on in front of her students the next day, she crosses the road and suddenly finds that a truck is blazing towards her. Nao tries to move out of the way, but her legs won’t move. She’s reminded of a traumatic event from two years ago…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Then, just in time, she’s pushed out of the way of the truck by a tidy-looking woman whom Nao quickly recognizes as Reika. They talk for a bit, and Nao finds out that Reika is a teacher at Nanairogaoka Middle School. As thanks for saving her, Nao takes Reika to her house and has her younger siblings line up to greet her. They’re all excited to see her, except for Yui, who didn’t come down at all and is drawing in her room.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Nao shows Reika her room, and Reika asks what happened to her leg. Nao tries to brush it off, but Reika says that she noticed something was wrong because Nao didn’t run out of the truck’s way like she would have when she was younger, and because she saw that Nao favored her right leg as she walked up the stairs. I love seeing how observant and smart Reika is. Nao isn’t as delighted, however, as now she has to tell her about her past.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">It all happened two years ago. It was a foggy night. Yui had gotten lost, and nobody in the family could find her. Nao eventually found her drawing, but as Yui crossed the road to go to Nao, a truck was about to hit her. Just in time, Nao shoved Yui out of the way, but she got hit instead. It was a miracle that Nao survived at all, but as it was, Nao’s leg injury took her out of soccer forever.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Reika is upset to hear that something so horrible happened to Nao. Nao tries to downplay it by saying that she’s a soccer coach now, but after hearing what her juniors think of her, she’s not as confident anymore. Reika suggests that Nao “graduate” from her family and peers and embark on a separate journey to find herself.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Reika then asks if Nao remembers Miyuki, Akane, and Yayoi. Nao doesn’t. Then, Reika pulls out Youkai All Stars DX, the period drama that the protagonists, along with a human Pop, participated in during episode 34. The credits list Miyuki, Akane, and Yayoi, proving to Nao that the three exist. Nao suddenly remembers being friends with them. Reika tells Nao that she came because she doesn’t think it’s natural to forget about precious friends such as those three and she wanted to investigate the cause. However, the two are interrupted when Haru (one of Nao’s sisters) announces that she’s made dinner.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The next day, there’s no soccer practice. Nao decides to walk around, and she comes across three boys bullying Yui for drawing comics. Nao confronts them about it, and they run off. Nao tries to cheer Yui up, but she says that the other kids have a point when they bully her because she relies on Nao to solve all her problems. Yui also says that she was supposed to be hit by the truck, not Nao. Nao harshly orders Yui not to talk like that, and Yui maintains that she doesn’t want Nao dealing with her problems.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Nao then flashes back to episode 42, when she saved two of her siblings, Hina and Yuuta, from Majorina. Nao doesn’t remember Majorina, of course. However, she recalls all of her younger siblings all having the same dream, in which Nao transformed into a superheroine to save them. Nao has a feeling that this dream is the key to unlocking her lost memories.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">That evening, Nao receives an invitation to be a soccer coach on a big-league team. Also, Yui shuts herself in her room and won’t come down. Nao goes downstairs to talk with her father, and he makes her plane wood with him. Nao is no good at it, though. She asks him if she interferes too much with her younger siblings. Her father replies that standing back and watching is a form of love, too, and that Nao will never fully realize her strength if she stays with her family forever. Nao realizes that her father’s advice is similar to Reika’s.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The next day, Nao once again comes across the three boys bullying Yui. This time, she resists the temptation to step in and lets Yui take care of things herself. Yui musters up the courage to stand up to the bullies, and she gets them to leave him alone. Nao comes out of hiding and congratulates Yui, and Yui apologizes for being so mean to Nao. Yui really wanted Nao to not have to worry so much. Nao then tells Yui that she’s decided to leave Nanairogaoka and go to Tokyo. Yui is upset by this and starts crying, but she ultimately accepts.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Nao makes her decision public, and both her soccer team and her family give her a warm-hearted farewell. Her siblings even buy a makeup compact for her as a present. This reminds Nao of a similar compact that appeared in “The Greatest Smile” and was used by a character in it named Cure March. Like Yayoi, Nao thinks that Cure March isn’t real, but she has faint memories of being her. Then, she hears Candy’s voice. A gust of wind comes from Nao’s bookcase, restoring her memories of being Pretty Cure. With this, Nao leaves her family behind and enters the bookcase to save Candy.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Before I read this chapter, I was stupid and read a review first. Thus, I got spoiled about Nao breaking her leg and being forced to quit soccer. I was shocked that this happened. (It was also the exact same thing that happened to Fujimura Shougo in a fanfiction of mine, but that’s irrelevant.)   Unlike the other girls, Nao is literally incapable of following her dream. Plus, she’s got to deal with choosing between her family and her individual development. After seeing a highly successful Yayoi, seeing such a burdened Nao is quite the shock. However, the story never got horribly sad, and it was still fun to read.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">On to chapter 5! So far, only three pages have been translated. Like with the other characters, Reika’s character is well-conveyed through her narration. Reika uses complex words throughout her passage. Additionally, the chapter starts right off with a Reika-style monologue about the Path. Everyone faces many hardships, says Reika, and thus often lose sight of their paths. However, with the help of friends, they can find them again and succeed in their journeys. Reika then apologizes for the long-winded monologue, saying she just wanted to introduce everyone to her character, and introduces herself to the reader.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Like chapter 4 said, Reika is a teacher at Nanairogaoka Middle School. She also serves in the Archery Club and Calligraphy Club. She then goes on to talk about her grandfather, Aoki S ōtarō, who taught her calligraphy and instilled in her the importance of the Path. Reika greatly admires her grandfather. But one day, he collapsed.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> Reika is lost in thought about this incident when she’s called back into reality by her former teacher, Sasaki Namie. Namie tells Reika not to overwork herself, and Reika confesses to Namie that her grandfather was recently hospitalized. Reika continues to work on grading tests. Then, Namie gives her an urgent message: the school headmaster wants to see her.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> And that’s all. So far, other than Reika’s grandfather feeling unwell, Reika doesn’t have problems like the other four do. This means that the chapter isn’t as engaging yet as the first four. However, I trust that this will change, as we’ve only got three pages. My theory is that the headmaster called to tell Reika that her grandfather died. That would be an interesting scenario, as the Pretty Cure franchise very rarely deals with death and its effects on other people. As bad as things have gotten for the girls in this book, nobody’s died yet. I wonder what will happen…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">However, I won’t find out for a while, because we’ve reached the end of the line. It’s a shame. With the high quality of these four chapters, I’d absolutely love to see what heights the other two reach. I’d also love to see an older Candy; I’m sure she’s changed from the little kid we all got to know during the series. And how did Joker come back from the dead, and how did the cast lose their memories of their life together? So many unanswered questions… but I’m sure they’ll be answered soon. Right now, the translator of this novel is hard at work finishing chapter 5. When that happens, I will edit this post with new information.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Even if the translation is unfinished and quite flawed, I highly recommend looking at it. These chapters, even by themselves, are a great read. The first three chapters are here, the fourth chapter is here, and the preview of the fifth chapter is here. Enjoy!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Next time: Let’s take a look at all of the songs in Smile Pretty Cure! and Glitter Force!