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precuredaily · 5 years

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Precure Day 118

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 20 - “Dorodoron is Singin’ in the Rain!” Date watched: 5 May 2019 Original air date: 25 June 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/iruZezg Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Oh man what an episode. It’s Dorodoron’s last stand, and he goes out in style. Michiru and Kaoru are at an ethical crossroads about their mission, Saki and Mai go on a day date to another beautiful scenic spot and Minori tags along to make a drawing for a school assignment. It’s a pretty bittersweet day for Dark Fall.

Surprisingly, the rain helps. Saki and Minori are hesitant to go out but decide to try anyway, and the rain does clear up for a bit. While they’re out, they run into Michiru and Kaoru, who were actually conversing with Dorodoron a moment before. Minori is extremely happy to see Kaoru, who was so nice to her at the bake sale a few episodes ago. Kaoru even reciprocates the kindness to a degree, surprising her sister. She honestly seems to be having fun, even when Minori is talking her ear off.

The quintet arrives at Mai’s secret spot and it is really beautiful. It’s a bamboo forest surrounded by wildflowers (hydrangeas specifically) and there’s lots of wildlife: birds, bugs, snails, everything. (Also, as a nice callback, the route involves passing through the farm from episode 4.) Mai, Minori, and even Kaoru are taken aback by the scenery. The light glistens on the raindrops on the flowers and some of the closeups are gorgeous. Minori finds a plant she wants to draw and gets busy. Unfortunately, the serenity is short-lived. Dorodoron makes his appearance, and Kaoru quickly escorts Minori away to safety. Dorodoron is strangely enthusiastic, and he reveals that when the weather is rainy and the ground is muddy, he can absorb more energy from the earth to power himself up, growing giant.

“We have a Hulk.”

Mai and Saki transform, but Dorodoron tosses them around like a salad. When they refuse to give up the fountains they’ve recovered so far, he decides to power up even more, absorbing so much energy that it saps all life from the surrounding area (a lot like Karehaan’s final attack). Choppi cries that this is how the Fountain of Earth was taken over, and Cure Bloom is sad that rain has this much destructive capacity. Flappi, however, rejects that idea, insisting that rain brings life and nourishment and Dorodoron is just abusing its power. The monster of earth doesn’t care, and he powers up even further by summoning an Uzainaa around himself, turning himself into a more monstrous form that resembles a shakoki-dogu doll.

This proves to be his undoing, as he’s very top-heavy and has a hard time balancing himself to counter the girls’ kicks and punches, so they knock him off balance and perform Twin Stream Splash on him before he can rebound. Dorodoron stealthily escapes from the Uzainaa before being destroyed, and then waits for Saki and Mai to detransform before divebombing them from the sky.

same energy

Unfortunately for him, he didn’t fully escape the purification and he’s used too much energy, and he crumbles into dust.

vimeo

I regret nothing.

There’s no time for mourning though, the Legendary Warriors have collected seven Miracle Drops which means it’s time to restore a fountain! They set off for the Fountain of Earth, which appears to be a collection of hollowed out tree stumps filled with water, surrounded by loose foliage and some other trees. I don’t know exactly what kind of biome this would be, not compared to the previous fountains.

As usual, Princess Filia appears, but this time everybody can hear her! Unfortunately, she can’t hear herself yet, but she says that the fountains they have restored so far have started to heal the Great Life Tree and that may turn into a great source of power for them in the future, but a great hardship still lies ahead of them.

From their post on Gourd Rock, Michiru and Kaoru comment that it’s their turn next and they’ll recapture the fountains quickly enough.

Back at the Hyuuga residence, Minori shows off her completed drawing to Saki and Mai: a picture of all five of them surrounded by flowers! She says she drew what brought her the most enjoyment.

If you find these last few statements to be in contrast..... well, wait and see.

Oh, there is so much to discuss here. First, let us give an ode to Dorodoron. He wasn’t as fun as Moerumba, but despite being constantly shat upon by the Kiryuus and Gohyaan, he was actually the most competent villain so far. (Admittedly he got some advice in the softball episode) He made plans to weaken the girls before he even fought them, tried to keep them apart from each other to prevent using their powers, and almost won. He had generally good plans, losing because he underestimated the power of their bond, because he played his hand too early, or because he was a tad overconfident in himself and the girls exploited an opening. I’m trying to remember how Ms. Shitataare plays out, I don’t think she is terribly crafty, and Kintolesky is all about being strong so strategy isn’t really his ballpark. The Kiryuus have good ideas.... but they mostly fed them to Dorodoron. I’ll weigh in on them after episode 22.

As for the Kiryuus, Kaoru in particular seems to be turning over a new leaf. She demonstrates sincere enjoyment at spending time with Minori, seems to appreciate the nature, and at once point she notices a snail on a leaf. It falls off, she bends over and places it back. None of this escapes Michiru’s notice, who asks her later if she was protecting Minori, and has some kind of sympathy for the humans.

vimeo

Michiru is having a harder time accepting the good side of her and her sister, and she still seems to sincerely believe that Dark Fall is the side to play for. Kaoru clearly has more reservations, and she’s more open with her feelings. @sailor-rurouni made the following observation on my episode 18 review: “I feel like this... shows us the difference between how Kaoru and Michiru “pass” in society: Kaoru doesn’t even bother to try and so she is perceived as either brutally or refreshingly honest..., and Michiru does get why she should try to act normal and makes a pretty good attempt, but this results in her compartmentalizing her feelings and, arguably, being more ruthless.” That has never been clearer than in this episode, as Kaoru just does what she feels like while Michiru tries to play nice but doesn’t understand her sister’s actions. I mentioned this last episode as well, but due to real life circumstances, Kaoru has a new voice actress now, Okamura Akemi, who has a much sharper voice than her predecessor. The two sisters were almost indistinguishable in voice before, now Kaoru speaks more curtly, not mincing her words. This speaks to her personality better, and while it’s jarring to hear the change, it might work out better in the long run.

I like the small commentary by Flappi and Choppi about how the elements of nature can be used or abused. Rain is useful in sustaining life, but too much rain creates mud, which is a hard environment for terrestrial plants. Perhaps there’s a metaphor in this show about how the disparate forces of nature, when separated (Dark Fall), can wreak havoc, but when they all work together, life prospers. That might be a level deeper than intended, or it might be right on the money. I won’t say I’m the most astute at picking out subliminal messages.

Last thing I want to talk about: Saki totally dabs in this episode.

dab on ‘em

yes, I made this joke on PCD-Status as well, but it bore repeating.

Okay so obviously it’s not really a dab, Saki did that anime thing where someone falls over after having their expectations subverted, but the posture is about right. Just roll with it.

Next time, Michiru and Kaoru have to defeat the Precures and recover the fountains. What will this mean for their friendship? Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Zekkouchou Nari!

Miracle Drop Count: 7, then 0

#Precure #Pretty Cure #Futari wa Precure Splash Star #FWPCSS20 #PCD018

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