Iroha has 2 moms even though the show pretends it's a straight couple

Wonderful Precure Episode 1 Review - Very Wonderful

My review of the new Precure show is finally here! Thanks to Hirogaru Sky, I find the franchise quite entertaining! I can’t wait to see what this show has to offer as it has a different feel to its predecessor!

While Hirogaru Sky was a more high-stakes, fantasy/storybook type of story with princesses, knights and nefarious villains, Wonderful Precure feels more light-hearted as it seems to have low stakes. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad. Pokemon had its fair share of light-hearted anime series and so does Yugioh; I’m a fan of both franchises, so I know what it’s like to enjoy the mature, darker aspects and the light-hearted ones because both are precious. Remember that the target audience for Precure are little kids.

I love the animal themed premise of Wonderful Precure. It seems that everyone in Animal Town have animal companions and live harmoniously with them. Even the major characters have pets. Iroha Inukai owns a Papillon dog named Komugi. Mayu Nekoyashiki owns a cat named Yuki. Satoru Toyama owns a rabbit named Daifuku. There’s also the classic “other world” that Precure often has that is filled with animals too. The GaruGaru, the episodic villains, all seem to be possessed animals in a way.

The fight scene with the GaruGaru doesn’t seem to be as intense as its predecessor as Komugi doesn’t really do kicks and punches and prefers to use barriers and hugs to purify the enemy. Will this change? I mean, I don’t mind the hugs, but not all animals would be susceptible to them in the future if one were to make assumptions. 

The transformation scene is actually super short. I do like that Komugi moves around a lot in a short sequence. Not all transformation have to be minute long segments that is basically rinse or repeat. This sort of reminds me of the evolution scenes in Digimon Ghost Game where it’s not an entire segment, but a short, brief one that has good animation nonetheless. Given how choppy and messy some transformation scenes in Hirogaru Sky were (I’m looking at you, Majesty and Prism), sometimes, it’s best to keep it short and simple.

The series introduces its first animal Precure as Komugi is granted the power to become a Precure in order to protect her owner Iroha (note that while Tsubasa from Hirogaru Sky is technically a bird who can transform into a boy, he’s more of a bird fairy as he’s a fictional bird race and not an actual animal). As a dog, Komugi has typical dog traits from being a menace to their owners when its time to wake them up to having separation anxiety when apart. In Komugi’s case, her separation anxiety is very bad. She gets upset when Iroha leaves for school and even wishes to become human just so she can spend more time with her. As a Precure and a human, Komugi’s dog traits are still present as she says to the GaruGaru that being bad won’t get you treats and thinking running off means racing. She also speaks childishly given that dogs have the intelligence of a two-year-old, so it makes sense that her words and dialogue are a bit choppy. Since this episode mainly showed Komugi as a dog with crippling separation anxiety, I do wonder if her character arc is about overcoming it. Now, it pegs the question of whether Komugi will lose her Precure/human form towards the end of the series because the Mirror Stone/Wonderful Pact is the reason she is able to transform and become human. Losing it means she reverts back to her dog form, most likely. Given how light-hearted this show seems to be, I can’t help wonder how the depressing moments will come in when the time comes? Props to Toei for using a rather obscure dog breed as the main dog. I don’t think I’ve seen media where a Papillon dog is used as a mascot or as a character in a story. I’m not too familiar with Maria Naganawa as a voice actress, but her voice is super cute. It fits Komugi’s childish and cute nature perfectly; it makes her sound like a kid, which makes sense given dogs behave like children at times.

Iroha is actually a lot different from what I expected of her. I didn’t expect that she’d be so outgoing and polite at the same time. I like that! She greets all the animals she sees but is still able to be a conversation starter as she was the one who went up to talk to Satoru without second thoughts. I do like that she has a strong sense of justice as she wanted to protect the boy and his St. Bernard dog by diverting the GaruGaru’s attention towards her; she also plays volleyball. She also seems to be a bit astute as she quickly realized that the girl standing in front of her is Komugi and that the whole situation became too wonderful for her, as she did wish to be able to talk to animals when she was younger. Oh boy, Iroha is gonna have A LOT of explaining to do with her parents regarding this newly bizarre scenario. Iroha is voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki. I’m quite familiar with the name as she voiced a lot of mainstream anime characters like Anya Forger from Spy x Family and Frieren from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. I think Tanezaki is extremely talented as I cannot hear Anya or Frieren in Iroha. 

Satoru and Mayu make small appearances, but their personality is shown a lot. Satoru is a bit reserved, but likes to learn. He’s very interested in learning about the origins and background of the Mirror Stone as it’s called the Mirror Stone, but people’s reflections aren’t shown. He’s also the type that seems to get flustered easily as Iroha tells him that she hopes they’re in the same class together. It makes me wonder if they’ve been friends since elementary school. I’m also curious about Daifuku; that bunny is adorable with its basket and lop-ears. Also, I didn’t expect Takuma Terashima to be his voice actor. If you’re not too familiar with voice actors, Terashima is known for being the voice actor of Mahiru Shirota from Servamp and Shiki from Edens Zero. He’s married to Satomi Satou who voiced Tsubasa’s mother in Hirogaru Sky. In terms of magical girl shows, he’s been on one before this, as he was Gero Akoya from Boueibu (a Magical boy show that parodies usual Magical girl genre). Given that his voice actor is quite reputable, it makes me wonder if he’ll continue the trend of having male Precures. I do wonder who Daifuku’s voice actor is and what gender the bunny rabbit is because Iroha used “-chan” which COULD mean the rabbit is female, but it’s mainly used for pets regarding of gender.

Mayu reminds me a bit of Kokone from Delicious Party Precure with her shy personality, but they’re a bit different. Kokone doesn’t really mind being alone or not having people talk to her while Mayu is a nervous wreck around people. Her cat Yuki’s smug expressions are HILARIOUS! I can see why she’s being memed on social media. Mayu is voiced by Reina Ueda, who’s a rising star as of now. I know her as Kanao from Demon Slayer and Miyo from My Happy Marriage (an excellent show if you like supernatural romantasy). Given that Precure characters are expressive, I can’t wait to see Ueda’s range when it comes to voicing Mayu as it does fall into her usual reserved character tropes, but the first episode alone also disproves it. Yuki, the cat, is voiced by Satsumi Matsuda, who voiced Beryberie in Hirogaru Sky. It’s cool that they get voice actors who voiced characters in past shows in this one.

Iroha’s parents seem intriguing too. Yoko, Iroha’s mother, is A BABE. Holy heck, she is beautiful. I’m a woman and I find her dazzling. I do feel bad for her as Komugi doesn’t seem to like her as much as Iroha or her husband. Speaking of Iroha’s dad, he is JACKED! Wow, I guess Iroha’s athletic sense comes from him. It’s cute to see him in a frilly apron and cooking. Komugi does seem to like him a bit more than Yoko as he gives her food; dogs always obey those who give them food (I would know because my dogs follow my mom around thinking she’ll give them snacks or table scraps when they’re mainly loyal to me).

I’m curious to see what this show has to offer as it is a new Precure show. Will it be cute? Will it be depressing? Will I be able to see cute animals? What I am seeing so far is good, so I can’t wait to see more. What are your thoughts on the premiere?

'PEAK DADDY' IS BACK Y'ALL!

Let's talk about Iroha's daddy, the third star of WanPre's 1st episode for rocking this apron while cooking for his daughter & doggo!! 🥹

SUBLIMATION March 28, 2019 (U-desper Records)

Sublimation (Feat. Hot Toasters) 4:07 Sublimation -instrumental- 4:07

NARASAKI: vocals, guitar, trumpet Masahiko Chida: vocals KANNO: drums Kenjirou Murai (cali≠gari) : bass Morota (Eiji): organ WATCHMAN (Oshima Watchma / Masaki Oshima) : vibraphone, marimba Rie Takeuchi: tenor sax Tsuyoshi Nagasawa, Lily (Old Timer), Lynn Kudou, Kousuke Ouchi: chorus mixed at Iroha Studio

NOTE: The song is a collaboration with the band, HOT TOASTERS. They are also under U-desper Records. It was first released digitally on iTunes on March 28, 2019. 700 physical copies were gifted to the BIRTHDAY BASH concert (April 3, 2019) attendees. photo credit: Yahoo! Japan Auctions Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5Ec445y2yHsEtRZbLC3pea?si=l4nyoV2dT8Opd4G_ChElkw Apple: https://music.apple.com/jp/album/sublimation-single/1456109847 mirror: https://cotdfan.wordpress.com/2022/09/11/sublimation-march-28-2019/

Wonderful Precure Episode 2 Review - Cure Friendy Takes No L's

This episode surprised me a lot. First, there’s the debut of a second Precure already. Second, the formula seems a lot different than previous iterations. Third, it makes me wonder what will happen later on. Regardless, I really liked what I saw in this episode.

I’m still new to Precure, but is it normal to have the second Precure debut in the second episode? Hirogaru Sky had it so that Prism debuted in Episode 4, as well as Delicious Party. I feel like this was to make it so that Wonderful has a motive to keep doing Precure stuff. Despite that, Cure Friendy’s transformation sequence was legit amazing. While Wonderful’s is good, Friendy’s is super well done from the hair animation to the brooch animation to the running animation. I love it a lot! My only gripe about Cure Friendy is that her skirt is poofy like Wonderful’s. Given that Nyammy and Lillian have different skirt patterns, it made me wonder why both Wonderful and Friendy have the same skirt. Also, Friendy? Really? That’s the name you’re going with? Not Friendly? I guess her design and transformation rocked so hard they took the L off of her name. She takes no L’s.

The formula is a bit different from previous series as it seems to revolve around healing corrupted animals without using finishers or combat. I guess it’s to tell kids to not hurt animals in a way? I said that it’s a bit different because the focus character isn’t Komugi but Iroha in a way. She feels more like the main character, which makes sense because she’s a human while Komugi is a dog meaning she has the intelligence of a dog and not a human’s. Because of that Komugi is rather simplistic as a character compared to Iroha who’s more prone to worrying about Komugi because she cares about her so much. I really liked the part where she starts thinking back to the day she met her dog and how her life changed because of her. Despite Animal Town being known as a harmonious place where humans and animals coincide, Komugi was abandoned. This means that Komugi is from outside of the town or there’s someone in Animal Town cruel enough to abandon their pet. I legit felt a bit emotional when I saw Iroha shielding Komugi from the rain with her umbrella. I am a HUGE sucker for any scene where someone shields the other from the rain.

Speaking of Komugi, I was worried about how they were going to handle her human form but it turns out that she can change back into a dog; as a dog, she can finally talk now, which is a whole new set of shenanigans for her as Komugi’s animal instincts have a hard time helping her keep things a secret. She accidentally tries to speak to Yoko, which Iroha covers her mouth and then speaks again when Satoru was nearby. Dogs do have short term memory, so it makes sense if she had forgotten about keeping her newfound talking abilities a secret.

Mayu makes another appearance in Iroha’s family’s pet center. It turns out that Yoko is a veterinarian and Tsuyoshi is a pet groomer as he’s the one who made the collars that Mayu seems interested in. I hope Mayu paid for that blue collar. Satoru seems to be a familiar face at Iroha’s place as he comes in with Daifuku and asks if he could use the dog park. Daifuku is so adorable. There’s a very soothing aspect about Satoru in a way, like his demeanor and aura. The official website for Wonderful Precure states that Daifuku is male, so I will be using male pronouns when talking about Daifuku going forth. I do wonder if Daifuku and Satoru will be mid season Precures.

The animals of this show are so cute. The ostrich was cute and the GaruGaru form was rather adorable looking compared to Mey Mey’s GaruGaru form last episode.  Mey Mey is super adorable! Maybe I’m just biased because I like sheep but look at him! He’s a fluffy sheep! His schtick of saying “Dameeeee” with him crossing his arms reminds me of Lacey in the Indigo Disk DLC who does the same thing with her arms. Mey Mey is from Niko Garden where animals live harmoniously, like Animal Town. I do wonder what sort of darkness befell the garden that it caused all of them to become GaruGarus. It’s also the first time I’ve seen a Precure show where the villains haven’t shown up—just the monster of the day but not sight of a villainous team anywhere. Will they appear later on? Or is the villain just darkness? Mey Mey is voiced by Shinnosuke Tachibana. He’s actually not a newcomer to Precure as he voiced Prince Kanata in Go! Princess Precure. I haven’t watched that show yet, but I’ve heard so many good things about it. Speaking of returning casts, I looked up that Atsumi Tanezaki, Cure Friendy’s voice actress, has voiced Puka in the All Stars F movie, which I haven’t seen yet. It’s cool that they’re getting many returning voice actors to play new characters.

I can’t wait to see what Niko Garden looks like and what our heroes need to do to restore peace and balance to the other world. What are your thoughts about this episode?

Wonderful Precure Episode 14 Review - The Dog Is Out Of The Bag

It’s about time Mayu finally learns the truth about Precures and GaruGarus! I think this is a good point to include Mayu into the story for good now that she’s gotten accustomed to seeing GaruGarus and saw the Precures’ identities minus Nyammy. When will she turn into Cure Lillian? I feel like it’s soon.

I think this episode showcases the worries and fear pet owners go through when they see their perfectly fine and healthy pet suddenly show some signs of illness or weariness. I have two dogs and I know how Mayu feels. I’d fret to death if my dogs suddenly listless for undisclosed reasons. In addition to Mayu worrying about Yuki, the perspective of pets losing their owners comes into play here. Animals and human minds are different, but I do think that animals do worry about not being able to see their humans. Mine have separation anxiety so they cry if I leave the house. However, I think that it’s because pets are so attached to you that they behave this way. Yuki even had her own moments of separation anxiety when Mayu locked her in her carrier and ran off to find Iroha and Komugi.

Yuki’s exhaustion comes from her transformation from cat to human to Cure Nyammy. The mystery behind how she got her human form as yet to be revealed. However, does she have to touch the Mirror Stone every time she wants to become human? It does seem like she has her own little compact as it’s on her collar. 

The little sleepover Mayu has with Iroha is cute! I’m glad that she is able to have her first sleepover. It shows that she’s finally getting the friends she wanted. I was a bit surprised that she didn’t ask about human Komugi before learning her true identity, but it does make sense as Mayu is a careful person and did assume that since Komugi was Iroha’s cousin, she lived elsewhere. It was also nice seeing more of the parents’ personality. Tsuyoshi is a great cook with his specialty being gyoza. Yoko is kind and seems to be the only vet in town as Mayu legit rushed all the way to the Inukais. Sumire likes to ramble on and on about Mayu when she gets the chance, which was why Mayu got embarrassed and walked away.

To be honest, Mayu’s reaction to Komugi speaking and then seeing her transform is actually very on-point with her. If I was her, I’d be freaking out too.

Now that Mayu knows their secret, I do wonder how she’ll contribute to the team. She isn’t as well informed about animals like Satoru. She’s reserved and just a mere human, so she can only be moral support for now, I guess. Given that next episode is about Mayu being in Niko Garden, I guess she’ll be helping him around the garden as something she can do. Oh, but she was the one who pointed out about Komugi’s sensitive hearing, so maybe she can point out things Satoru would overlook.

Now that Mayu is technically ‘involved’ with the Precures and GaruGaru stuff, how will Yuki react to this? Will she antagonize the Precures even more? What are your thoughts on this episode?

Wonderful Precure Episode 5 Review - A Symbol Of Trust

The main topic of this episode is how strong the trust between Komugi and Iroha is to the point that it unlocks a new power for both of them, the Friendly Wand. I do like the usage of the Kirarin Animals and how rescuing them unlocks unique powers.

Trust isn’t instantaneous. While Komugi did develop a liking to Iroha in the past, getting her to put on a leash is another story. Judging from Komugi’s behavior, she seemed like she was abused as she was injured and her previous owner never seemed to have walked her. Komugi is proud to be able to walk on a leash because she sees it as a symbol of trust between her and Iroha. I also love that the leash has a butterfly motif that also compliments Komugi’s breed, which is a Papillon, meaning butterfly; they were named as such due to their ears looking like butterfly wings. Butterflies have other meanings in terms of symbolism; it can mean rebirth, transformation or hope—words that describe Komugi brilliantly.

Iroha being a sort of mentor to Ema was really sweet to see. It’s always nice to see people give advice on how to be better dog owners. She brought Ema and her mom to see her dad Tsuyoshi, who’s a groomer, and then talked about all sorts of things for her dog Pon to gain her trust as it’s different with all dogs. However, she should be watching Dog Signal if she wants the full dog training/counseling experience.

The flashback with Iroha and Komugi was interesting to see. Yuko once told Iroha about how Komugi once had a previous owner and that they could be looking for her; she only allowed her to stay until she found her family. Given how many years had passed since then, the original family probably abandoned her or forgot about her—notice that Komugi doesn’t remember much about her life before she met Iroha; that’s definitely a plot point for the future.

For the fight scenes, they meet the second Kirarin Animal in the form of a GaruGaru Penguin. The strong mutual trust the two have show here as they try to help each other overcome the icy field and find a way to catch the penguin who moves from ice to water swiftly. This is where the Friendly Wand and the Kirarin Animal come in. The Friendly Wand summons a Kirarin Animal and allows Friendy to use rabbit attributes to catch the GaruGaru. However, Komugi cannot use it—because they only have one animal; they don’t know that.

The part with Mayu is adorable and Satoru is always adorable. I do wonder where will the story go from here as our duo will get into an argument next episode. What will that be about? What are your thoughts on the episode?

Wonderful Precure Episode 9 Review - The Dog Goes To School

Komugi going to school was every bit of chaotic as I expected it to be. Since she spent most of her life as a dog and very little as a human, it’s obvious that her animal habits and instincts will dominate her human ones. Iroha legit felt as if she aged ten years due to all of her shenanigans.

How was Komugi able to register for school? Mey Mey got it all solved. He used the power of the Niko Diamond to help her get into school, but how the process went is never explained because Iroha and Komugi stopped paying attention to him. This running joke is starting to get a bit old. It only makes Iroha and Komugi seem a bit disrespectful and Mey Mey a stick in the mud. Hopefully, Mey Mey will find a way to shorten his speeches in a way that they can understand without diverting away.

Komugi transfers to school as Iroha’s cousin, so this is where she uses the Inukai surname as it’s necessary to have one. She reverts back into a dog when she’s tired, so she needs to be extra careful on where she needs to sleep or she’ll be exposed. I do wonder what will happen to parent/teacher meetings. What if the homeroom teacher question Yoko or Tsuyoshi about Komugi and they’re like “What about our dog?”, not knowing that the dog can turn into a person and is going to school as a human. Will Mey Mey go to school as her guardian or something? How will Komugi deal with school subjects too? Like what Iroha warned, if she fails school, she’ll get expelled and she cannot come to school anymore. Komugi never learned anything school-related, so how will she improve academically? If she is able to pass school, she’d be one intelligent dog.

She also gets a rival in a boy named Sho Ikari who is a passionate soccer athlete who never gets his goals through as Komugi finds a surprising talent in goalkeeping and catches all of his goals.The way Ikari and Komugi have a one-sided rivalry is hilarious. Ikari means anger in Japanese, so it makes sense why he’s constantly angry. I do like that he doesn’t look down on Komugi for being a girl. He finds her challenging to overcome, hence a formation of a rivalry. Though, the fact that he has zero sense of danger when balancing the GaruGaru egg on his head surprised me. I’d avoid putting a strange round object on my head.

The GaruGaru segment was…interesting. It was funny how the Precures were gushing over the duck swimming in the lake and then suddenly used Water Gun on them as if it was making them alert of how dangerous it is. It’s nice to implement the goalkeeping part of Komugi’s experience to catch and purify it. The duck just reminded me of Ducklett or Quaxly due to it spitting out water.

I can’t wait to see Komugi on the path to becoming the smartest dog in animated media. Next week’s episode will focus on Yuki and Mayu, so I can’t wait! What are your thoughts on the episode?