User blog:GlitterInformer/Smile Pretty Cure!/Glitter Force SDC: Episode 17 (Sub)

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'Japanese title: Hot-Blooded! Akane’s Comedy Life!'

Welcome, everyone, to the second Japanese-only episode of the show! I hope you’re all excited, because honestly, I’m a bit worried about this one. This episode focuses on manzai, a Japanese type of comedy that has never personally appealed to me. I’m not sure if it’s my tastes, or if it’s an American cultural thing. Manzai focuses on a duo: the dumb boke who doesn’t get anything and the straight-laced tsukkomi who tries to explain things to him/her. It involves a lot of puns, which is a very good reason why this episode never got dubbed.

Also, if it’s anything like the manzai episode in Fresh Pretty Cure! (link contains spoilers for the season), an earlier season of Pretty Cure, I doubt that overseas fans will be missing much. Episode 27 of Fresh was about the main characters participating in a manzai competition with the real-life famous manzai duo Audrey. It wasn’t too bad, but the show seemed to be trying too hard to make Audrey look good, especially with them having physical combat prowess just like the Cures themselves all of a sudden. Even worse, the Cures were weak that episode, and had to be saved by Audrey. It’s a subpar episode of a wonderful season.

Then again, there is another episode with a real-life comedian: episode 17 of Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo! (the characters section of the linked page contains spoilers). The featured comedian, Takumen, isn’t a manzai comedian, but he’s still a celebrity comedian. The episode is much better done. The fight still is left up to the Cures rather than the girls becoming damsels in distress for Takumen to save. Plus, the girls don’t even recognize Takumen at first. This doesn’t keep the show from showing him in a positive light; Takumen is passionate about his art and perfectly willing to keep the girls’ identities a secret after they transform in front of him.

This episode focuses on a different manzai duo, the Fujiwaras, who are also real. Let’s hope this is more like episode 17 of ''Yes! 5 than episode 27 of Fresh!''

The episode starts with someone (it’s never revealed who) using the Banana Décor from last episode to summon a banana for Candy to eat. Just as Candy is about to eat it, Miyuki tells Akane about a boy she has a crush on. Miyuki makes Akane guess, asking if she knows him or if she’s finally fallen in love with a real boy. It turns out she’s really into Momotarou, a fairy tale character who was born from a peach. This leaves Akane upset.

Then, Yayoi and Nao clap and Reika asks why Akane has been asking Miyuki the same questions over and over again. It turns out Miyuki and Akane are practicing a manzai routine for the Nanairogaoka Mall Comedy Contest (Nanairogaoka, meaning “Rainbow Hills”, is the town the characters live in) tomorrow, and the Fujiwaras are going to be the special guests.

Reika asks who the Fujiwaras are, and after the others express shock that Reika doesn’t know who they are, Yayoi explains that Fujimoto and Haranishi, the Fujiwara brothers, are a popular comedy duo who are even on TV. Akane says she’s excited to perform in front of them and she and Miyuki vow to win the contest.

We get the opening theme. Then, we cut to the Bad End Kingdom. Majorina is making a potion. Akaoni asks her what it is, and she tells him to back off. Then, Wolfrun notices a poster of the Fujiwaras. Majorina explains that they’re a legendary comedy duo (geez, Smile, stop shilling the Fujiwaras already!) and Haranishi knows a trillion jokes. She’s concerned because the Fujiwaras are going to fill the town with smiles and laughter. Fortunately for the Bad End Kingdom, Majorina has a pair of large green rings that will help her stop the Fujiwaras. Not to be outdone, Wolfrun and Akaoni decide to form their own manzai duo: the Bad End Bombers.

We get the title card. The subbers translated the title as “Blazing! Akane, the Comedian!” I understand “Blazing” because it’s close enough to “Hot-Blooded”, but “Akane, the Comedian!” is simply wrong.

We cut to the contest. Akane plans to go backstage to get the Fujiwaras’ autographs. Reika and Nao, however, say Akane shouldn’t barge in backstage. However, they go back anyway. Akane asks a man if the Fujiwaras are backstage, only to find that the man is Fujiwara Fujimoto. The girls are all excited, except for Reika, who has to be told who he is.

Fujimoto asks if the girls are helping organize, and Miyuki and Akane explain that they’re fans of his who are participating in the show. Akane asks where Haranishi is, and Fujimoto says he got lost and it’s going to take a while to find the others. Then, Haranishi barges in and says, “Ni-hao!” (the Chinese world for “hello”).

When Reika asks who he is, Haranishi introduces himself. Fujimoto asks why Haranishi is late, and Haranishi begs for forgiveness. Fujimoto says, “That’s not begging! That’s not anything!” which causes the girls to laugh. I don’t get it. Miyuki and Akane say they’re huge Fujiwara fans. Haranishi asks why nice girls like them would be such big fans, and Fujimoto says it’s because he has a big head, which gets the girls laughing again. Still don’t get it.

Reika says that it isn’t polite to laugh at Fujimoto’s big head. Nao tries to explain that it’s just one of Fujimoto’s gags, but Reika still doesn’t get it. I have a feeling that Reika is going to be my favorite character in this episode.

Akane asks if Haranishi really has a trillion gags, and the Fujiwaras invite the girls backstage to find out. The girls are all super excited, except for Reika, who asks the others to show some etiquette. Akane then begs for autographs, handshakes, and a photo. She then asks the Fujiwaras to look over the material she wrote. Nao tells Akane to stop pestering them, and Miyuki agress because Akane is hogging the Fujiwaras. Reika suggests they leave Akane and the Fujiwaras alone, and Yayoi protests because she wants to get their autograph. Candy voices her agreement with Yayoi, and the five of them try to cover up Candy. How is it that nobody has discovered Candy’s sentience yet, with all the attention the girls draw when trying to cover her up?

Fujimoto and Haranishi actually do notice, though, and the girls try in vain to excuse Candy’s speech as ventriloquism. However, it goes downhill. Fortunately, the Fujiwaras confuse the ordeal for an elaborate comedy act and tell the girls that they’re really good at comedy. They suggest that all five of them enter the comedy contest. The girls agree and try to come up with a name.

We cut to the beginning of the contest. As the first act, Dynamite Barbeque, performs, Wolfrun and Akaoni wait on the side of the stage to perform. Akaoni is nervous, but Wolfrun says they’re going to do well. Dynamite Barbeque’s act ends surprisingly quickly, and the Bad End Bombers take the stage. Wolfrun yells into the microphone that comedy and laughter are useless. Then, Akaoni shouts that the story of Momotarou proves that the oni is supposed to win, and Wolfrun says that the entire world is going to get a Bad End. All the while, Akaoni is cheering Wolfrun on with giant signs.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">For some reason, the crowd doesn’t laugh at the ridiculous display. The Fujiwaras say that the Bad End Bombers’ act was bad comedy, and Haranishi says he couldn’t tell who was supposed to be the straight man. Akaoni is mad, but Wolfrun says that by putting a chill on the humans’ moods, they did what they were supposed to do.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">We then cut to the girls preparing to go onstage. Yayoi is confused by the Bad End Bombers (geez, guys, don’t tell me you saw a red demon and a talking wolf and didn’t immediately think of Wolfrun and Akaoni!) and Akane tries to cheer up Miyuki and Nao, who have stage fright. They are then called to the stage under their group name, 5 Pretty Cure (the subs list this as “GoPrecure”; “go” is Japanese for “five”).

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Miyuki’s parents cheer Miyuki on, and Miyuki cries into the microphone her shock that her parents are here. Akane’s brother, Genki, shouts at Akane not to mess up, and Akane yells at him to shut up. This gets the audience laughing, much to Akane’s embarrassment. When Miyuki introduces the group, she hits her head on the microphone, getting the audience laughing again. Akane and Miyuki try the skit from the beginning of the episode, but they’re so embarrassed that they say it really strangely. Before they can finish, Yayoi shouts that Miyuki’s crush is Momotarou and Nao gets mad at her for ruining the joke. This only makes the audience laugh harder.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Reika tells Miyuki that she thought her crush was Peter Pan. Nao and Akane tell her to stick to the script, but to no avail. Reika asks Miyuki if she was lying on their field trip, which makes the audience laugh again. I really love Reika in this episode!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Miyuki calls time out and pushes the other four offstage to start over. However, Miyuki trips, making the audience laugh one last time. The announcer says there’s going to be a short break, and we cut to the embarrassed and ashamed group offstage. Even though Fujimoto says the girls were funny, they disagree. Yayoi apologizes for messing it up, and Akane apologizes for dragging them all into it. Akane says she loves comedy, but it isn’t the thing for her. Haranishi tells her that’s not true and that Akane should think about why she loves comedy. Then, the Fujiwaras are called to perform. However, Majorina has a plan…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">We get the eyecatches, which show Cure Sunny and an Akanbe. Then, we cut back to the contest, where the Fujiwaras run onstage. Before they perform, Majorina throws here disks, which fasten themselves around the men’s necks. The necklaces ruin all their jokes; their accents disappear, Fujimoto says he has a “reasonably-sized” head, and Haranishi says he knows five to six gags. The audience is extremely disappointed.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Majorina then summons a Bad End. Candy shouts Majorina’s name (the subs, for some reason, translate this as “Witchylina” this time. “Majo” is Japanese for “witch”, and because Japanese doesn’t have separate “r” and “l” sounds, “rina” could actually be “lina”. I still prefer “Majorina”).

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Majorina announces that she has used her Unfunnyizers on the Fujiwaras. Akane gets angry and tells the girls to transform, which they all do (Cure Peace goes with paper). Somehow, the Fujiwaras become slightly more aware and notice the Cures. Majorina then summons a red-nosed Akanbe and a blue-nosed Akanbe, which she makes out of billboards of the Fujiwaras.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The girls try to attack, but the blue-nosed Akanbe, made from the Fujimoto billboard, attacks with his big head, and the red-nosed Akanbe, made from the Haranishi billboard, says Haranishi’s trademark greeting as it beats up the Cures. The Fujimoto Akanbe then sits on the girls, trapping them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Majorina declares that she’s doing the world a favor by getting rid of comedy. This gets the Fujiwaras mad, causing them to break out of the Bad End funk. Haranishi says that comedy makes people happy, and Fujimoto says he won’t let Majorina make everyone sad. Majorina asks how they returned to normal, and Fujimoto says it’s because he has a big head. Majorina asks why the Unfunnyizers aren’t working, and the duo says it’s because they’re the greatest comedy duo of all time. This breaks the Unfunnyizers…

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Okay, Fujiwaras. If you were capable of resisting the Unfunnyizers all along, then why the heck didn’t you do so during your performance? You just lost a bunch of customers and money because you didn’t! Do you guys even care about customers who aren’t part of Pretty Cure?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Anyway, the Fujiwaras say they’re willing to fight and ask the girls what to do. Candy suggests that they might be Pretty Cures as well, and Fujimoto asks why the “plushie” is talking. Candy says she’s not a plushie and tells the duo to shout “Pretty Cure Smile Charge!” and transform. Haranishi agrees and uses his cell phone to “transform” into Cure Gorilla (his “catchphrase” is “Natural power, born of bestial spirit! Cure Gorilla!”) Even though he pantomimes and twirls around, nothing happens. Fujimoto naturally ridicules him.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Majorina and the Fujimoto Akanbe burst into laughter, the latter falling over laughing and releasing the Cures. Haranishi shouts that that’s the power of comedy. Sunny then flashes back to everyone laughing at the team and Fujimoto telling her to think about why she loves comedy. She says she’s realized why she loves comedy. The Haranishi Akanbe tries to crush the Fujiwaras, but Sunny blocks its punch and says that she loves comedy because she loves making people happy. The Fujiwaras realize that Sunny is Akane, and Sunny tells them to keep it a secret. She then engages in an epic fistfight with the Haranishi Akanbe and finishes it off with Sunny Fire.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The fight isn’t over yet, though. The Fujimoto Akanbe looms over Happy, Peace, March, and Beauty, but the four kick it into the ground. The five of them then kill it with Rainbow Healing. The Fujiwaras cheer, and Candy puts a trophy-shaped Décor, the Sports Décor, into the Décor Décor.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Majorina teleports away, and we cut back to the contest, with the Fujiwaras onstage again, performing like normal. We then cut to backstage after the contest, where the Fujiwaras thank the girls for saving them. Akane thanks the Fujiwaras for teaching her why she likes comedy. The Fujiwaras say it’s their job to make people smile, and Reika says Pretty Cure’s job is to make sure nobody stops them. Akane asks the Fujiwaras to keep them being Pretty Cure a secret, and they agree.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">We then cut to Akane’s house, where Akane is freaking out over the Fujiwaras making Pretty Cure jokes. We cut to a bunch of pictures of the Fujiwaras and the girls, and the episode ends.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Overall: This episode was okay. I don’t like how much everyone was praising the Fujiwaras in the first half of the episode. We get it: they’re funny, and you’re an advertisement. Fortunately, the Fujiwaras weren’t all-powerful as I worried they’d be. Their performance was almost ruined by Majorina. Also, in the fight, they saved the Cures and the Cures saved them. The Fujiwaras weren’t suddenly martial arts masters either; they fought the villains with comedy. I do understand this episode not being dubbed, though. Not only was it manzai-focused, but it isn’t a big deal that it was left out. Glitter Force viewers may wonder what the Sports Charm is, or why the Wheel of Doom skipped a spot, but that's nothing they haven't dealt with before.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Next episode: The girls participate in a relay race!