Kirakira Pretty Cure A La Mode

(This review may contain spoilers. Please avoid reading this before watching the entire series.) Kirakira Precure A La Mode, the sixth season I'm watching in the Precure franchise. This season definitely took a very out of the box thing as its theme- Desserts. And like desserts, I think this season was bittersweet in both story-wise and quality-wise. Basically, it's kinda awkward to pinpoint how I feel. Story: 7/10 Definitely a bit different from what I'm used to from the first five seasons I've watched. We first start out with a whole bunch of smaller villains before moving on to the main ones, which isn't something I've ever seen,so that's cool. One thing that makes me feel awkward about giving a lenient score like I always do in this aspect is just how far the season can be divided between the two extremes. The thing is the following- The main villain in Precure usually has some kind of big goal for what they exactly want to accomplish and sometimes very great motives behind it. This season managed to screw up both parts of having a decent villain. Noir's motive for his villainous acts was really awkward in comparison to seasons like Heartcatch and Hugtto. And from there, as many other seasons do, he takes advantage of the negativity of his allies, the old stuff. But to be quite honest, their acts to achieve their goals this season were quite weird. How does one plan to spread hatred by getting rid of kirakiraru again? XD However, on the other side of the spectrum is the amazing KiraPika siblings arc, aka the Cure Parfait arc. This arc was the absolute bomb. It was an intense emotional roller coaster and ended on a heartbreaking note. The development of both this arc and Cure Parfait after that would go on to be excellent. As for the main Cure storylines, most of them are very pleasant and good. I say good because for real though, it seemed rather simple this time around. This was one of Kirakira's weaknesses: A 6 Cure Team. We haven't seen one in almost a decade and it definitely strained the balance of development between Cures. Art: 8/10 I originally didn't exactly like the art style but soon it would grow on me as some other seasons did. I especially love how sometimes the art compliments the mood of the scene. Plus, this season's Cures probably have some of the most exotic character designs due to their double design theme of Animals and Desserts. Some of them were great, some were... Okay. Seriously though, can we all agree Cure Whip has the most gigantic twintails of any Precure ever? XD Sound: 10/10 This season had pretty freaking amazing background music and I love the effort on matching certain scenes with certain tunes. They really bring out the vibes. Character: 8/10 This part is a bit more complicated. Honestly, there's not much wrong with the characters and they're very much fine this season. But it's just that. This season doesn't exactly bring too many new things to the table in terms of character personalities, so they may get stale. (Heh, the puns!) Ichika and Himari have pleasant arcs but they have a lot of room for improvement. Their stories are quite smooth and relaxing to sit through, sometimes touching. Aoi's arc had an awesome start and her personality and interests were a creative idea. It was nice overall, but of course, it could've been more powerful. Yukari and Akira's entry in the team makes this season only the second ever time to have senior high Cures (First being Moonlight from Heartcatch.) While Yukari I found and feel a bit out of reach in some cases for the usual fanbase, Akira's story with the addition of her sister Miku was both sweet and fun to see. And then we have the highlight: Ciel. Ciel's story was mixed in with her brother Pikario's (aka Julio's) backstory. Her celebrity flair and her level of professionalism stand out amongst the rest and she has a beautiful and bittersweet arc overall. In her arc, she learned what it truly meant to be a patissier despite how great she had already been being one, and I think that's a nice touch to her character. Overall, some Cures had better devs than others, and most of them have room to improve. Meanwhile, the villains seemed to see a falling slope of quality as the season dragged on. Undoubtedly, Julio was the best of them and after his reformation, played a huge role in explaining the Cure Parfait arc and making his sister's story the more bittersweet. The others? Not much to touch on. Enjoyment: 9/10 In truth, since I've started to become accustomed to the rhythm of Precure, combine that with how this season didn't exactly bring too much new stuff to the table, I did enjoy this season a little less, but I can't say I didn't enjoy it. Despite much criticism on the fight scenes, I personally found many hidden gems throughout the season, such as episode 40 and the finale. This was also a season where the Cures seemed to take a more ranged approach as opposed to usual close combat. I think it provided a lot of room for imaginative attacks in that sense and the attacks looked very nice, although again, it could get stale after a while. The overall pacing was fine, could've been faster, and I love some of the character interactions, particularly the KiraPika siblings, Ichika and her mother and Ciel and Bibury (Episode 26), and a few others. Overall: 8/10 Kirakira Precure A La Mode isn't as amazing as some of the other seasons I've watched. However, on its own, it provides a very nice emotional ride and it's the kind of show that I really love, where I could sit back and relax, and watch something to brighten up my day. But don't take my word for it- Especially with how high my score is! XD

~Let's La~ ANIME REVIEW~ Story: Honestly,they had a good thing going with the story. I had high hopes. Alas, I was disappointed. At first, I thought it was going to be a lighthearted, fun Precure season, but it soon became clear that it would become more depressing. Character: It was soon revealed that all the Precure had mental illnesses. It was just depressing. They also made it so that I had no attatchment to the characters whatsoever. They didn't connect with me as much as the other Cures. I really hated Cure Parfait becuase of how they introduced her and how much stronger she was thanthe cures. Overall: I am in love with the precure fanchaise, but this truly is disappointing.

It's best understood when you realize that the theme of this series isn't just about sweets - it's about what you love, and what you don't, something that comes across much better with a little understanding of Japanese that it does without it. That said, it's still far from the best Precure ever. STORY: 6.5 Oh, how it tried. It's perhaps best seen by splitting the series in two. The first half starts out ambitious, before loosing steam. The protagonists motivations seem not entirely logical, the enemies aren't that interesting or even scary, and frankly, not much really happens. Sure, you get to know all the cures, fairies,and their families a little more in depth than the same span of other seasons, but that's about the best of it. But oh, the second half! Everything is deeper, louder, stronger, angrier, and even depressing (in a good way.) There's a much better villain - or, well, villains. There's genuine threats. There's character arcs that are not only relevant to the overall arc, but are also genuinely devastating to the characters, and are entirely unique to this series. The end is as joyous as it is heartbreaking. Needless to say, it's by far the better half, and unfortunately can't be understood without the first. CHARACTER: 8 This is where Precure shine, and KiraPre is no exception. There's wonderful and relatable individual arcs, fantastically realistic friendships - especially conscidering there's a large age gap between the late-teens Macaron and Chocolat and the other tween cures - but with good character and relationship development, it just all fits. Whip's motivation - her love for her mother and baking - make her unique. She's clumsy like Happy, but quicker to stand up, and continues to improve and become stronger throughout the series. She struggles often, but persists, and this makes her a wonderful protagonist to watch. Gelato breaks many stereotypes for both Blue cures and the 'tomboy'. Custard manages to be the epitome of shy yellow cures, while also standing up for herself (and staying an introvert at the end, which is wonderful yet sadly rare.) Macaron is fairly typical of purples, but also brings an unusual element of mental health problems to the table. Chocolat will remind many of Sunshine, but in a much more elegant and confident way. They're a fantastic cast with far more depths than are generally found in children's anime. Parfait is an initially painful addition, and takes over the story almost entirely for her own for a short while, but overall she's an interesting addition and quite unique as far as Precures go. ART: 7 KiraPre is a VERY mixed bag on the art front. Their costumes are fantastic and unique. The movement is impressive. The backgrounds are adorable. The food looks actually delicious. The art style, while not as extreme as Heartcatch, is equally unique and quirky. Unfortunately, they removed the physical battles iconic of Precure, in favour of 'whipped cream'... weapons? It's hard to describe, but it's pretty average to look at, and they end up using more stock footage than most Precure seasons, which is unfortunate. The transformation sequences are also very mixed, with some looking gorgeous and others being shorter, awkward looking, and generally underwhelming. The group 'power up' scenes in particular suffered quite badly, becoming much flatter looking. SOUND: 9 As far as music goes, KiraPre hit the nail on the head. Shubidubi Sweets Time will go down as the catchiest, most sing-along song in Pretty Cure ED history. It's an absolute gem. The OP, other ED, and transformation soundtracks are just as fitting, sparkly, and upfliting as they ought to be. They're unique to KiraPre, always well scored, and just plain enjoyable.

[Sorry for my not so good english, my main language is spanish] Having previously watched go princess & Heartcatch, this season was so blatantly bad (script/direction wise) that i couldn't stop thinking about it while watching each episode. Let's start with the "good" about Kirakira Precure: - The precure character designs were great, specially post-henshin. - The transformation sequences were mostly great ~! Chocolat, Parfait & Gelato had the best ones but the other 3 were good. - The fighting style lacked impact but was as creative as you can get with a sweets related theme for a weekly kid show with a average budget as most anime get. -Action Animation / Sakuga wise episodes 1~3, 5, 6, 12, 23 & 48 were the best kirakira had to offer. - OPs, EDs & Insert Songs were really good and memorable. - Yukari is best girl Now for the "BAD" about Kirakira Precure: - The friendship & sweet creation aspect between the precures felt so forced that i had to pause some episodes several times. - The Villains motivations were almost cringe worthy sometimes + the execution that lead to their forgiveness was bland. - Ichika's voice is almost asta's (black clover) level of unbearable from time to time. - Ichika's personality and motivations felt a bit too forced (EP1 D:<) - The fights (besides the ones that i mentioned in the good about this season) were so bland, boring and forgetable... Who thought that attacking with cream, chocolate & all that cr*p was a good idea? - Kirakiraru .... just hearing that phrase makes me cringe.