#EternalUnity

[mineofilms]

Nova

The most beautiful creation of all the universe Supernova you are, a light to traverse. Through the quicksand, I cannot move alone, But with you, I’ll always call it home.

We struggle through the negativity, Yet find strength in our connectivity.

Condensing onto itself due to the sheer mass, Smaller and heavier it gets, pulse by pulse. Unity eternal, too vast to surpass, A rhythm that echoes, our hearts in convulse.

Our flowers bloom in its solar wind, Expanding, colliding, forming something within. To live, love, lust, expand, and explode, Into the Nova that you have become.

Nova by David-Angelo Mineo 12/24/2024 97 Words

[toastiejapan]

‪ 秘湯感のレコーディングは例によって一発録り、念のため歌だけ別録するけど、変な声もヘタもあとで1人で仕上げて歌うのより断然いい感じってなっちゃう。6年ぶりのメンバー、色々だけどアツイ再発。 ここではEU子♨︎、いい湯=Eternal Unity だよw、5／1新宿ピットインレコ発‬ ‪#秘湯感‬ #EU子♨︎ #eternalunity #癒し系 https://www.instagram.com/p/BvA9TtHjWet/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=k0uioqvvdqw5

[animemascotarchive]

Today’s anime mascot(s) of the day is...!

The Heartiels Part 1 (Pation, Seekun, Horpun, Hapinen, Harmonin, Braven, Prosen, Lovelun, Inteligen, and Eternalun) from Futari Wa Pretty Cure Max Heart!

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 096

Episode: Futari wa Precure Max Heart 45 - “Infinite Darkness, Eternal Light” Date watched: 14 November 2018 Original air date: 15 January 2005 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/3rmxS0f

Here we are, part one of the three part finale. Or part two of the four-part finale, depending on your perspective. It’s a busy one, too. We need to save Hikari, meet the final Heartiel, resurrect the Dark King, and fight for the future of the world after all, and it’s all in a day’s work.

I’m going to combine my recap and analysis into one here to see if I can find a better flow. You’d think after almost 100 essays I’d have this down to a science but it’s just the opposite. Bear with me, I don’t know if I’ll ever be satisfied. Also this is kind of a series retrospective since it ties up most of the ongoing plots.

It turns out Hikari and Hikaru were brought into the Dusk Zone, which Baldez knew but didn’t tell anybody else, so while Viblis, Uraganos, and Circulas search around for him, and Nagisa and Honoka ask around about Hikari only to discover that people are starting to forget about her, Baldez was setting up their meeting all along. His plan is finally revealed, and it’s a shrewd one: let the Queen’s growth push the King’s growth and then have him absorb her energy to become even more powerful and spark his revival. It’s cunning and clever and incredibly risky. Unfortunately it’s not a good enough plan to justify an entire year’s worth of meandering. Obviously, Baldez kept his plans close to his chest and didn’t tell the other three not to destroy the girls, which led to some internal conflict when he stepped in on more than one occasion. I am not a fan of how the show approached this, as it seems like they wanted to have their cake (the villains giving the heroines a true fight) and eat it (have them hold back or not want to cast the final blow in pursuit of a greater endgame) with the result of the series just feeling dull. The villains never really got better, and Baldez was just kind of off in the corner saying “Just according to keikaku.”

Oh also Baldez finally reveals that Hikaru is the Dark King’s Life. Even if I hadn’t said from the beginning I wasn’t going to maintain any pretense about it, I hope most people would have deduced it after this long, it really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone in the real world.

Porun and Lulun figure out where Hikari is and, with Lulun’s miraculous power, break into the Dusk Zone to rescue their partner, in the process upsetting the balance of light and darkness. The sky turns from gray to amber and Hikari is rescued.... but she appears to be dead. Everybody cries over her until she wakes up to console Porun. Somehow this awakens the last Heartiel, Eternalun, who gives a short speech believing in their strong convictions for eternity, listing off the twelve wills, and immediately entering the Chairect. Keep in mind that Seekun has said from the start that she enters last, so she’s still floating about. But now that we’ve got all 12 heartiels let’s recount the Queen’s twelve wills: curiosity, passion, harmony, purity, intelligence, happiness, hope, wishes, bravery, prosperity, love, and eternity. A lot of those are very vaguely defined ideas that we never saw the queen OR Hikari demonstrating, since it was usually Nagisa embodying the will that gave it closure. They make good moral/ethical guidelines for the show in theory, though the execution has been lackluster. The writers couldn’t decide whether they wanted them to embody lessons to be learned or just Macguffins to collect so they once again try to do both and succeed at neither.

we barely knew ye

Immediately after this, all four generals show up with Hikaru and brag that they’re reviving the Dark King, and if the girls want to stand a chance they have to revive the queen, after all isn’t that what they’ve been working towards? Honoka and Nagia adamantly reject this, finally. Sure, there's been uncertainty all along, which has grown stronger as the girls' friendship with Hikari blossomed, but they always brushed off the subject of whether they truly wanted to revive the queen and lose Hikari. I'm glad to see them state in no uncertain terms, especially to Baldez and in front of Hikari, that they value her friendship and identity. The dilemma over removing the queen at the cost of a friend's existence is interesting and will be explored again to an extent in Dokidoki, but for now let me say I wish they'd touched on it more before these last few episodes.

The Dark King is reborn and he begins to mindlessly consume the Garden of Rainbows while the four villains attack the Precures. It's a great fight, nobody is holding back anymore and the stakes are higher than ever. Duplicitous attacks abound and the girls are barely holding their own. At the same time, Hikari transforms to defend herself and reaches out to Hikaru, who is still standing in a bath of dark energy. She can see that he's crying, he doesn't want this to happen, and she tries to rescue him from the control of the King. She hugs him and holds him close as Lulun activates the shield around them... but as she does, the King releases more chains that land in front of them, leaving us uncertain about their fate as the scene fades and the credits roll. And much like last season, the somber cliffhanger ending feels completely at odds with the upbeat ending song, as much as I like Wonder Winter Yatta.

It’s a great episode undercut by moments that would have been more powerful if the show to this point hadn’t been so wishy-washy and noncommittal, but I do really like the conclusion. Hikaru rejecting his fate and identity as the life of the Dark King, and also rejecting the companionship of the four generals who, as he is realizing, only wanted what was inside of him, is great. Hikari is ready to accept him as the innocent child he is, and protect him from those who would do him harm, even as she is struggling with her own identity crisis. She knows she is wanted by her friends but there’s still tremendous pressure on her shoulders to become the Queen again and this can all be resolved. We’ll see the result of this in the remaining two episodes but I want to say that this theme of identity and self has been one of the better parts of the series.

Some small things that I want to point out in appreciation:

* a scene near the start showing all the side characters going about their lives with Nagisa/Honoka, Intelligen, and Elder (yeah he’s involved in this too) discussing the impact of the Dark King’s resurrection, with the implication that they’ll all be gone if they don’t revive the Queen.

mainly because I think Yuriko got shafted this season

There’s also shots of their families going about their lives, including the only known picture of Nagisa’s mom with friends.

And also the melancholy piano tune that plays over this scene. Really sets the tone of the episode.

Side note, Intelligen and Wishun the only Heartiels who have made recurring appearances after entering the Chairect. I low-key wish that more had recurred to chip in their wisdom or insight.

That’s all I have to say about this one, and it’s more than I meant, but hey, it’s a finale. Next time, Seekun enters the Chairect!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Arienai