Cure Eclair Derby: Round 4 ~ Rei
I wonder what the writers were thinking when putting Rei's episode last in the Cure Eclair arc lineup and after Kurea's, too. Cuz this only served to prove that Rei can't be Eclair rather than show any solid support towards the theory that she might be.
Though she may not be Eclair, that does NOT mean Rei lacks the qualifications to become Precure! So I will now proceed to rant about the injustice of how we were denied a Green Cure this year.
But let's first go over the most important things that constitutes what we know about Eclair's character. And why these three girls possess none of those essential traits.
For the real identity of Cure Eclair, she has to:
have amnesia of her time as Precure (as a result of the fight against Usonoir and the shattering of the big Makoto Jewel)
be associated with the fragrance of lilies
show at least some instinctual reaction to Luluka/Arcana Shadow, who was Eclair's partner
have a focus episode that isn't filler and actually contributes to the overall plot
Of the four, only Kurea's episode directly discussed point #2.
Of the four, Kurea's episode actually further lays the foundation of Eclair's character while Eriza's, Shiruku's and Rei's do not.
As for the amnesia, you can pick up on who has lost their memories simply by observing how Luluka interacted or did not interact with them.
Luluka has been shown to care greatly for her former partner, to the point of joining the villains in order to retrieve Eclair's Makoto Jewel from Usonoir.
Therefore, she would not ignore Eclair's real identity like she ignored Eriza and Rei.
And she would've had a meaningful exchange with the person who was Eclair even if Eclair herself doesn't remember their past together.
Only Kurea fits that bill. She's the only one who could draw emotions out of the usually nonchalant Luluka while the others were never shown to move Luluka's heart at all.
That's not a hint or a clue. That's proof that something existed between them. The girl who is Cure Eclair must have a past in ordered to be revived because ep 26's title, キュアエクレールの復活！(The Rebirth of Cure Eclair) indicates what was lost will return.
Awesome. So we've ascertained who is definitely Eclair.
But what about Rei then? What qualities does she have that make her suitable to be part of the Detective Precure team?
She gets along quite well with Anna and Mikuru.
She showed some fair ability to deduce while investigating the school for clues on the rumors.
She is incredibly sweet towards Pochitan, who absolutely adores her.
She consistently displays a noble desire to protect (notably, the students, their life at school and the mission of the school).
In order to become Precure, you have to care about something enough to risk yourself to protect it.
Precure is also based on friendship and teamwork so good chemistry among its members is necessary as well.
And you need a good amount of intelligence to be a detective.
Rei has all that (she even triggered a henshin flag and was close to connecting the Cures' identities with Anna and Mikuru!) so there's no doubt she'd be a great addition to team.
However, as things currently stand, we probably won't see it happen.
Midseason Cure slots are typically limited to 2 maximum and it seems this year's only has one which has been reserved for Eclair since the very beginning. With Eclair's debut set to occur in ep 26 (exactly when half the season has already finished), there's not enough time for the story to implement another entirely new Cure.
On top of that, I have a feeling Arcana Shadow might not join the Cures immediately even after Eclair is "reborn". I'd say we'd have to at least give it 2-3 episodes (?) for her to leave the Phantom Thieves, properly reunite with Eclair, and adjust to working with her kouhai before they can truly be 100% functional as a team. By then, we'd already be at episode 30.
And assuming that the Cures get super forms this year (a white lily form of Arcana Shadow has been floating around for at least 3 weeks now but it could be fake), we'd then have to spend at most 6-8 episodes letting Eclair perform her finisher before we get a powered up, complete group attack. Which would land the story close to ep 40 with only 11 episodes left before the finale.
So yea, it's pretty clear that there will be no more Cures beyond the four who had been announced at the start.
Which is a real shame cuz if Rei could become a Green Cure, she'd be breaking some old trends, too.
So far, all the Green Cures we've had usually fall on a range between tomboyish to girly.
Rei doesn't really fit into that spectrum (though she is cute) since she's the student council prez type. And that in itself is refreshing cuz we've never had a serious Green Cure before.
*sigh* Oh well. Hopefully, in a future season, we'll see Rei reincarnate into a Cure. It's likely since she has big name seiyuu, Lynn. However, there's no guarantee Lynn would be voicing a Green Cure.
In which case, UUUURRRGGGGHHH ლ(ʘ言ʘ ლ ) 💢💢
And that's the end of the Cure Eclair Derby, yay~ Woot~ 👏😄
Next week, Luluka SUFFERS. Noooooooo!! 😨
Omg, look at how happy she used to be! No wonder she's so desperate to get Eclair's Makoto Jewel back as that's the only proof of their partnership that hasn't been lost 😭💔
And now, since Usonoir couldn't obtain the original Makoto Jewel, he intends to use Eclair's to become the Dark King which means she will lose Eclair forever if she doesn't act fast.
Poor Luluka. If she ends up being captured and imprisoned by the Phantom Thieves right after Eclair revives (so that the Cures can go save her) then I...I...
...well, I would've called it so you'd hear it hear first, probably 😜
Anyways, it's really great to finally see Arcana Shadow standing with Answer and Mystique on the side opposing the villains.
She's never been serious about stealing the Makoto Jewels and often let the girls have the victory when she was perfectly capable of defeating them whenever. This proves that Luluka's always been a good girl who believes in her kouhai 😊
...does the Agency have two more extra rooms for when Luluka and Eclair rejoin them? If not, will Anna and Mikuru have to room together and each pair has to sleep in bunk beds? 🤔
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