#mahoupre

First things first: THAT FINAL BATTLE WAS *EPIC*. The action was jam-packed from start to finish, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. So many twists being thrown when I least expected them, and it was just really thrilling and exciting. Not to mention the animation during the fight itself was stellar as always (ESPECIALLY the impact frame that featured Miracle upon Chronosto being defeated).

Something else that really stood out to me that wasn't the fight itself was actually at the start of the final episode, when it picked up from the cliffhanger at the end of episode 11. It was showing us additional perspectives of the girls' past, even ones that weren't in the original MahouPre season! I honestly loved these as these are not only examples of just how strong Chronosto's powers are, but they also provide additional continuity, and show us some of the interactions that otherwise occurred off-screen in the original MahouPre!

We only got to see these, however, because despite the girls' best efforts at the start of the battle in episode 11, Chronosto still managed to corner them and turn them to statues, trying to seal them into their pasts. It looked like hope (and the battle) was going to be lost at first. But just before the group got turned into statues, they had one last idea: Embrace. They were all shown holding hands right before being sealed by Chronosto. Which allowed them to see Ha-Chan's past instead of each of their own, and still be together.

Episode 12 kicks off with a bang, but not in the action way. It starts with the girls recollecting their memories after forgetting everything to escape being stuck in the past. The screenshot directly above being one of the memories that was shown being recollected. Then things kick into overdrive, as the entire group were able to reconnect, with one final cameo of Hisui, and finally breaking free of Chronosto's spell once and for all, kicking off the second half of the final battle.

This whole sequence for the final battle was just JAW-DROPPING in my opinion! I already mentioned the amazing animation, but there were also some things that first appeared in MahouPre's movies that showed up here too!

First was the super forms that Miracle and Magical got in Precure All-Stars: Singing with Everyone - Miraculous Magic! These were new to me personally as I didn't see that movie yet (It's definitely gonna be on my near-term watch list though-), so you can imagine my surprise when these showed up, even if it was brief.

BUT THEN CURE MOFURUN FROM THE FIRST MAHOUPRE MOVIE GOT TO COME BACK ALONG WITH THE SPECIAL POWER-UP FORM SHE AND THE REST OF THE GROUP GOT IN THAT MOVIE, TOO. I was NOT expecting this cameo in the slightest, and was VERY thrilled to see it! This part may or may not got me screaming in excitement... And to deliver the final blow to Chronosto, Mofurun transformed back to normal while Miracle, Magical, and Felice transformed to their Alexandrite forms. It was a hard-fought battle for the Cures, but what a victory it was. Easily one of the greatest battles I've seen in Precure.

Life was able to return to normal for everyone in both worlds following Chronosto's defeat, but at the cost of Mirai and Liko no longer being able to have visions of different points of time. Thus allowing their lives to get back to normal, too. Not before Mirai, Liko, and Ha-Chan having an emotional farewell before Mirai left Magic World to go home. At least they're not cut off for years unlike the original MahouPre finale (Should've at least hugged Liko when you had the chance here, Mirai). 🥲 And to make matters better, Liko and Ha-Chan shortly return to Non-Magic World to join Mirai and assist her as Mahou Girls. I'm so happy about this, as the family is able to be united once again. Finally, a Mirai Days episode that has a properly happy ending!

Closing thoughts: I personally felt like Mahou Tsukai Precure Mirai Days was INCREDIBLE. The original MahouPre was already one of my favorite Precure seasons, and this sequel did it justice in my opinion. The plot was insane from start to finish, the animation was STUNNING, and the fights were intense. Really the only complaint that I have is Ire and Hisui being cut-off rather abruptly halfway through the season before seeing their characters being fully fleshed out. But that's really only it, as the rest of it was just fantastic. It definitely exceeded my expectations even though I was already really excited going into it.

One of my favorite details is just Mirai's character development. She seemed to have a hard time accepting and embracing the future (Like parting ways with people she held dear and close to her and growing older), causing her to yearn for the past. But throughout the season (And especially in the finale), she comes to terms with moving on, and embrace any changes the future may bring. I already felt like I relate to Mirai a lot when I watched the original MahouPre last year, but Mirai Days really amplified those thoughts. To the point where the show becomes a little TOO relatable for that matter. 😅 But Mirai was definitely the highlight character for this season for me.

Plain text: wanpre / mahoupre poster

ID: A poster of Komugi and Iroha Inukai, Yuki and Mayu Nekoyashiki, and Daifuku and Satoru Toyama from Wonderful Precure. The Inukai duo smile wildly as they hold up a basket of heart, star, paw, ribbon and cat cookies. Beside them, the Nekoyashikis smile softly while holding up a ribbon and heart cookie each. Behind them, Satoru holds up Daifuku the lop rabbit.

Going back to the initial announcement for both OtonaPre and the MahoPre sequel, it's interesting to note that they only tentatively call it Mahou Tsukai PreCure! 2. They don't outright call it something like Otona Mahou Tsukai PreCure!, so maybe it's not really tied to the OtonaPre brand.

This would be a welcome change because one of the main problems with OtonaPre was that they tried to juggle a main cast of 8, arguably 10, or even 13, in just 12 episodes. This meant that several characters got shafted in development, notably Rin, Komachi, and Mai. In a MahoPre sequel, we'd only really need focus on Mirai, Riko, Haa-chan, and Mofurun, and maybe a few of the other side characters. Realistically I don't see what other seasons they could try and jam into MahoPre2, like not GoPriPre or KiraPre. MahoPre has such a distinctive style to it with all the witchcraft stuff.

Another thing to note from that initial announcement is that MahoPre2 will be airing on the late-night Animazing!!! block owned by TV Asahi and ABC TV, on Sundays 2:00-2:30 AM. This is quite the unusual choice because even OtonaPre, which aired on NHK-E, aired as late as Saturday 6:30PM. Similarly, Tokyo Mew Mew New aired around midnight when it broadcasted. I don't know what this really means in terms of "adult content" though, because even TMMN was mostly restrained in that regard. OtonaPre aired on a night/afternoon timeslot, but it also aired in the same block that had stuff like Spongebob, so they couldn't get too "adult," the most being stuff like alcohol consumption and climate change.

From this article back in March, Producer Takashi Washio notes that when NHK-E ("E" standing for education) was chosen to air OtonaPre on, he was asked if they could focus on topics related to SDGs, sustainable development goals. This is why OtonaPre has a large focus on climate change and sustainability, despite it feeling a bit out of place. I appreciate the focus on such topics, but I felt like it was taking up too much space in OtonaPre when combined with the topics of adulthood struggles and usual PreCure stuff, especially for just 12 episodes. I also think that the aforementioned Tokyo Mew Mew New, which aired last year and earlier this year, was much better at conveying these topics.

There's not much we know about MahoPre2, but I think I can say for certain that it won't have much of heavy environmental theme to it, and more so focus on expanding the lore of the Witch World. I expect the sequel to have 12-13 episodes like OtonaPre did, so not trying to jam several themes into such a limited scope will be good.

Another thing, that's a bit small is that, personally, I wasn't a fan of the art direction, notably the character designs, of OtonaPre. Toei outsourced the anime primarily to Studio DEEN, so most of the staff, character designer, series director, animation directors, art director, etc. were assigned to people who didn't seem to be that familiar with the series and the final product sort of reflected that. It's understandable why Toei outsourced most of the production, as this year, they also had to focus on the usual yearly PreCure, One Piece, the Sailor Moon Cosmos films, etc., and I expect more of the same next year for MahoPre2.

But I think that, at least in terms of character designer, we might get Emiko Miyamoto, who was the CD for the original MahoPre, back. The reason why Toshie Kawamura, who was the CD for Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!, didn't come back for OtonaPre, seems to be that she's currently not accepting new work due to her poor health, as stated in her Twitter bio. This makes sense, as Kawamura recently did the character designs for the all-male Dancing Star PreCure, which, as a live-action stage play, had less commitments for her to deal with compared to OtonaPre. In contrast, from what I could gather, Miyamoto appears to be in good health, and she hasn't really done much work since Dragon Quest: Adventure of Dai, which ended last year. She did do some small animation work for the recent PreCure All Stars F film, but that's pretty much it. I think there will be time for her to return next year for MahoPre2, along with other staff like head writer Isao Murayama and series director Masato Mitsuka.

Ideally, I would hope that MahoPre2 has the women transform into adult Pretty Cure, unlike what OtonaPre did, but there's really nothing right now that I can predict, other than that it seemingly not being apart of the OtonaPre brand may raise some hope.

1. Go! Pri

Sonomiya Hana is a huge fan of Nanase Yui's novel, "Princess Pretty Cure". One day, when dreaming of the Pretty Cure, a girl named Refi appears, who was never part of the book.

On Halloween, Hana visits the Japanese styled confectionary store "Haruya" where her friend Haruno Haruka works. But before they could chat, Haruka disappears in a beam of light. Hana tries searching for Haruka with the help of her grandmother, whom she addresses as "Obaa-chama", however when Hana picks up the doll she saw in her dream, she disappears as well.

When she came to, she saw the Pretty Cure. Her grandmother transformed into the wild boar fairy "Inorin" while she herself had suddenly become Refi. This world was different from the Pumpkin Kingdom in her dream. Looking at Cure Flora, Hana recognized her to be Haruka, since Yui's book was based on Haruka and the others' experiences. And that's when she knew, the real Refi had disappeared.

While Hana acts as Refi, Inorin goes to the castle to search for clues about Refi and the Cure's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Hana hears something and follows a fake voice while Flora feels an evil force.

2. Mahoutsukai

Mirai, Liko, Ha-chan and Mofurun prepare for the Magic School's 4000th anniversary festival but are sent 25 years into the past due to "The Book of Dark Magic"! Can the four return to the present? The great heart-throbbing adventure begins!

3. Max Heart

Misumi Nagisa is the new captain of the Lacrosse Club while Yukishiro Honoka is the new president of the Science Club, all while still spending time with each other outside school. However, despite helping out at the Tako Café, Kujou Hikari is questioning why she even exists. But one day, a strange phenomenon happens where things around the trio may multiply or disappear... This is the 7th installment in the novel series!

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Now that Otona Pretty Cure has come and gone, I wonder when we are getting more news on "Mahou Tsukai Pretty Cure! 2" as it is tentatively titled. The home release for OtonaPre comes out in Japan on April 24, so maybe they're waiting until then to show any visuals. We should definitely have a logo pop up in the Japanese trademark office soon though.

Here's something interesting though. As mentioned in the initial announcement, "MahoPre2" is set to air on the late night programming block, "ANIMAZiNG!!!!" This block airs on Sundays from 2:00-2:30 AM.

Other notable anime that have aired on this block include: Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie, The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious, The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!, SK8 the Infinity, Iwa-Kakeru! Sport Climbing Girls, I Shall Survive Using Potions!, and Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement.