#til then here's hoping senpai treats you this Halloween

[ashitomarisu]

Delicious Party Precure (Final Thoughts)

(Bro, chill).

Now that I have gotten through another Precure season, allow me to share some opinions.

Prior to watching this, my first impression was honestly not too optimistic when it originally aired. Kirakira Precure a la Mode also had a food-related theme, albeit more on desserts than actual cuisine. Nonetheless, I had a quota and this was the most recent completed season available; it was bound to happen.

With 45 episodes, this is another short Precure season (alongside Healin' Good), although it works. The plot basically has our protagonists protecting Recipepes from being stolen by the Bundoru Gang. Exactly what are these "Recipepes"?

(Great. I'm getting Healin' Good vibes again, but without the Furi.)

Answer: These adorable food fairies that are subjected to getting kidnapped in almost every episode. They actually belong to three different groups: rice, noodle, and bread. That's where our fairy mascots come in as the protectors of these groups.

Kome-Kome is the main "marketing" mascot (and Cure Precious's partner) of this season (and ends up being the youngest of the three as the story progresses). Obviously, she doesn't talk much at first until later on when she gains power and eventually gains enough strength to lend a hand with the cures. Of course, this is a fox-like mascot, which I adore.

(Fuck, they named one after my aunt. WTF Toei?)

Then, there's Pam Pam, Cure Spicy's partner. She's my least favorite (and not because she's a pompous ass). The writers did not try hard enough to convince me that she is better than the other two; which sucks because I'm a dog and bread lover. *sad face*

(Crunchyroll, it is prounounced "men" not "mem").

Men-Men is the dragon-like mascot partner for Cure Yum-Yum. This one is quite interesting for saying "WONTON" every time Ran transforms. He's a good boi; in fact, my middle nephew is now in love with him and demands plushies. I quite like the dynamic between the two the most for having that savory connection.

Plus, Men-Men has a cool human form.

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Now, let's look at the cures:

Yui Nagomi / Cure Precious

The main protag of the four, Yui sure does love eating. Her late grandma was the reason she became so passionate for food (there is a slight backstory explaining this in a later episode). Her family owns a restaurant that houses these...maneki-nekos (I'll come back to this later). She is quite a fighter, delivering a devastating punch (500 kcal, then 1000kcal, and eventually, 2000 kcal power). I did admire her demeanor, being a wonderful leader.

Kokone Fuwa / Cure Spicy

Contrary to her partner, my feelings are the opposite for Kokone. There's something about her that immediately said "YES. THAT'S THE MISSING KICK IN THE MOUTH I'M LOOKING FOR IN A BLUE CURE". She's not Karen Minazuki levels of cool, but still freaking cool and Spicy had great defense that worked well in offense with the BREAD ROLLS.

(Give me a moment to savor the mental warmth that is bread).

WHAT MORE CAN I SAY? Kokone brought some calming traits that I enjoyed and overall class.

(How are you not related to Rin Hoshizora, FFS?!)

Ran Hanamichi / Cure Yum Yum

I've never in my life wanted a yellow cure that brought literal charisma and flaming passion (and I bet there's one before her that I forgot).

Ran oozes so much life, I don't even know if life can handle her. Her dynamic with Men-Men was one joyride down a noodle coaster and into some Lo mein paradise...or General Tso sauce.

All food pun aside, I've had my eye set on her even before watching; I swear she and Rin Hoshizora would make good "Ramen buddies".

As for Yum Yum, noodles as cutters was a clever way to go. I also like the design, even if it feels a bit awkward at times; however, it works for the idea of a traditional Chinese background. Now that I think about it, I don't even know if it was confirmed if Ran was Chinese-Japanese to begin with. (Surely, someone mentioned this in an interview).

(Student council president with diamonds on her head and yet Arisa Komiya was not considered...but I'll take another Ai.)

Amane Kasai / Cure Finale (formerly Gentlu)

OOOHHHHHHHHH. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT AMANE FOR A BIT.

During her villain arc, Gentlu had this aura of a frosted strawberry pop tart: once you warm it up, it tastes great. She was this sad frosted strawberry pop tart left sitting in a wrapper, waiting for someone to open it and put her in a toaster of love.

Once she became Cure Finale, I started having mixed questions about her drastic hair color change. She barely qualifies as a purple cure in design, despite the rest being multicolored. At this point, the rules in Precure are starting to unravel a bit with the color coding.

Unlike Precious, Spicy, and YumYum, Finale has a sweet motif; even Amane has "amai" or "ama" in her name, which means "sweet". It makes sense for someone who works in a sweets parlor.

Side note: her unofficial mascot partner is a parfait Recipepe that acts so ritzy-titzy it's hilarious; only Pam-Pam and Men-Men can understand it.

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As for the Bundoru Gang, I felt they were a decent bunch.

Narcistoru and Spiritoru were pretty strong; Secretoru in her civilian form was more entertaining and I wish the writers would have done more of that earlier in the show. Then, there's Godatz, who [spoiler alert prevents me from revealing a lot so this censor is all you're getting].

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Moving on to some other opinions:

The OP is a literal earworm; it feels refreshing to hear a more cheerful, upbeat score.

The next to last episode had one of the most hilarious, absurd climaxes to a final boss fight I, in my opinion, ever witnessed.

The movie was surprisingly good for the most part, although Cait Sith was a hell of a movie villain with a somber backstory. When he went AWOL, I was just speechless.

(The STAPLE of Oishina Town became the deus ex machina and I couldn't keep my composure.)

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In the end, yes, Delicious Party Precure, despite my doubts on a food motif, actually impressed me with how it was executed. It surely was more entertaining than Tropical Rouge, but not enticing enough to leave a mark as a favorite. It has some odd moments, but, this is a season involving food and also etiquette; what were you expecting? A five-star lore to come out of it???

Anyways, this is definitely one to check out if you're passionate for food. I would even consider this to be a good starting point if you've never seen Precure at all (alongside Smile, Fresh or Maho Tsukai).

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With that being said, thus ends my yearly Precure season quota, even though Otona Precure 23 just started. As for the rest of the year, it has already been decided on the schedule. The Wheel has now finally been put to rest and hope to God I do not use that thing again.

Next month, look forward to me revisiting another anime title I've covered in the past. Perhaps....the most...clusterfuck of crossovers...featuring a familiar white rabbit looking son of a--