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One of my favorite aspects of Smile Precure and one of the reasons why it’s my favorite season in the Pretty Cure franchise is the dynamic amongst the Cures. They feel like a legitimate group of friends, not teammates telling the audiences that they are friends or a group of followers. I noticed that in some seasons, every time all the Cures are gathered (until an extra member joins them later) they would have a bonding episode or two that follows right after but the rest of the series don’t really emphasize, reflect, or cement their bonds beyond those said episodes. We basically have to accept them as buds for life afterwards. It just feels like a prerequisite, rather than a group of individuals who are becoming genuine friends. Not helped that in some occasions, the team or story itself will treat one or two character as the central figure(s) of focus, leaving the unlucky Cures in the dust.

Although the Forgers are one of the most beloved families in fiction despite being not being a real family, Twilight, under the alias of Loid Forger in his current mission, seems to be the most controversial character amongst them. Quite a number of people are annoyed and vocal about how slow his developing investment in his family is compared to the other members and are quick to lash at him for it, his stoic and cold pragmatism, or how he purposely tries erase any semblance of attachment he has for them.

However, I find these traits quite fascinating and I don’t understand the constant criticism beyond wish fulfillment. Loid’s non-linear journey is a key component that makes his development distinct and actually elevates the story in a way that I don’t think people are appreciative about because they are so fixated on the destination or their interpretations and not the journey.

All of the Forgers and among several other characters are victims of war but what many people seem to forget that they are affected by it in different ways. In Loid’s case, it’s seclusion. Years of people he cares about disappearing in his life, partaking in the actual war himself, and being in a job that constantly discourages any form of attachment is naturally going to make him reluctant in forming connections and have no personal desires of his own. He didn’t have anyone close to him throughout these decades of hardship like how Yor did with Yuri, enabling her to retain the importance of families. And being a child and a domestic animal, Anya and Bond’s desire to have a loving family still reigns fresh in their hearts, despite the issues developed from their misfortune. Make no mistake. This isn’t meant to downplay Yor, Anya, Bond, or anyone else’s difficulties. Just why Loid is far more distant and disconnected in comparison.

Not everyone recovers at a similar pace, especially traumatized individuals. It makes sense that Loid would struggle the most with his feelings because it’s not only something he never felt or has not experienced in years but it’s something he fears that would hinder his duty. And it’s not like it’s a small task either…..he’s burdened with a world war prevention mission. It’s quite a shame to many people overlook this aspect of his character just due to their impatience and prefer to speed run it or dislike the character in general when it this aspect that makes his interactions shine when he does show to care.

Have anyone watched an anime series called Hunter x Hunter? While I’m admittedly not the most informed about this series, I do think Togashi, the series’ creator, did something extraordinary with his story by introducing fascinating concept Nen. There’s way too much information about this but to extremely abridged this: It’s a person’s “aura”. There are different types of Nen based off a character’s personality and characteristics: Enhancement, Transmutation, Emission, Conjuration, Manipulation, and Specialization.

Using this and the “Hisoka Personality Test”, I thought it would be interesting to evaluate the likely Nen types of our beloved fake family and other lovable characters from another anime with an “X” in its title that people seem unsure of to pronounce or not. I’ll go into more detail about these Nen types as I categorize the characters:

Agent Twilight/Loid Forger: Specialist

Twilight is rather difficult for me to pin down because there are other Nen types that also suit him based on his personality and profession. Conjurers are described to be serious, analytical, highly observant, and stoic, which Twilight undoubtedly is (or was force to become) while Manipulators are logical, which Loid also is, being a very logical individual. However, I believe Loid is a Specialist as this probably goes in hand the most with him as a character. Specialist won't say anything important about themselves and will refrain from being close to people, preferring to isolate themselves. However, because of their natural charisma that attracts others, they tend to find themselves surrounded by people. Sounds familiar? Despite his social skills, Twilight is a very reclusive person and although he is currently surrounded by people who quickly takes a liking to him, Twilight tries to exclude himself with them despite the feeling being secretly mutual with his family and a certain informant. Specialists are known to be extremely flexible with wide-ranging capabilities with fits with the sheer versatility of Twilight’s skillset.

Yor Forger/Thorn Princess: Enhancer

It was far easier determining Yor’s Nen type for compared to her fake husband. Yor is undoubtedly an Enhancer. Described to be simple and determined, most Enhancer of them never or can’t lie and are very straightforward in their actions or in their thinking. Their words and actions are often dominated by their feelings above all else. As we all know, Yor is notoriously bad at lying and unlike Loid, she wears her heart at her sleeves, regardless of her own secrets. They also don’t favor complicated matters, which fits since I do remember the creator saying that Yor can’t use complex weaponry like guns hence her preference for blades as an assassin. Enhancers are also described to be selfish but this most certainly does not describe Yor as she easily one of the most selfless characters in the entire show.

Anya Forger: Manipulator

Although our young telepath is nowhere as logical as Twilight is, I do think she’s a manipulator due to the key characteristics in how they advance at their own pace and tend to want to keep their families and loved ones safe. As we all know, Anya strives to have a family. Not just any family but a loving one. After being moved from one family, to another she has abandonment issues and she not ready to leave a family she generally loves or let anything unfortunate happens to them, hence why she helps her parents in secret such as Loid during the bombing terrorist mission or Yor during the Cruise arc. She often use her telepathy to manipulate the situation in her favor.

Bond Forger: Manipulator

Bond is a lot like Anya in that he’s not a logical individual (I know he’s a dog but remember his imagination in what he thinks Loid does?), prefers to go at his own pace, but wants to protect the people he cares about. He was very protective of Anya since their very first meeting, from the bombing terrorist (cowardice aside) and to a random dog in the park. He also has a protective nature in general from saving a kid from a falling sign to a puppy in a burning building and it’s often thanks to his foresight, though there are instances where he’s the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Yuri Brair: Emitter

Emitters are described impatient, not detail-oriented, short-tempered, and quick to react volatilely. Although Yuri is very intelligent and a capable SSS officer, it certainly fits the bill when it comes to his sister, doesn’t it? Whether it’s his admiration for his Yor or anyone he perceives as a negative influence on her, Yuri is quick to react. Emitters are said to resemble Enhancers in their impulsivity. Truly his sister’s brother. Though it’s also said that the difference between them is that Emitters tend to calm down and forget more easily. I think we can all agree that the roles are reversed for the Briar siblings.

Agent Nightfall/Fiona Frost: Transmuter

Being known to be whimsical and fickle, Transmuters have the unique characteristic in that many of them are regarded as weirdos or tricksters. They often put forth a facade while hiding the truer aspects of their personalities. Perfectly describes Nightfall and how her serious stoic front and competence as a spy hides her unusual infatuation for Twilight. And it seems quite effective as nobody can get a read on her. Not even Anya with her telepathy or Loid with his observation analysis. Except for the Handler. Speaking of which…..

The Handler/Sylvia Sherwood: Conjurer

Conjurers are typically high-strung or overly serious. They are often on guard as to be cautious. They are very observant and logical. Sherry is a very composed and highly efficient intelligence officer who prioritizes the preservation of peace between Westalis and Ostania above all else. Which is probably why she works her best agent to death as she doesn’t want to take chances. Thankfully, we do get to see some fun sides of her such as finding herself cute as a nurse.

Damian Desmond: Transmuter

I believe the key aspect of what makes Damian potentially a Transmuter is how he puts forth a facade while hiding the truer aspects of his personality. Even when they don't hide their personalities, Transmuters rarely reveal their true intentions. Damian is shown to be prideful about his family and status but in reality he’s actually feels lonely and neglected when it comes to his family. He didn’t believe his parents were coming from him after his bus was hijacked and while does enjoy studying, he often does it to gain approval from his father.

Franky Franklin: Transmuter

I struggled abit with Franky. I initially believed that he was an Emitter since he is impatient about finding a lady and short tempered but they are also described to be not detailed oriented, which clearly doesn’t fit considering he’s an informant with many connections. I believe him being a Transmuter is more fitting because he’s shown to be whimsical with his many unusual inventions. There’s also the aspect them having a facade while hiding the truer aspects of his personalities which we witness with Franky and his worldview on the political system.

Becky Blackbell: Enhancer

At last……..Pristimon finally joins the Ultimate-level Digimon club. When I heard of Bearcatmon, I thought it was just Toei creating a Digimon combination of two animals…….

…..but no. They are actually based off of real life animals. They are called “Binturongs” but they are also called “Bearcats. I’m guessing Toei went with the latter because it rolls off the tongue more. I’m always pleased when creators use less recognizable animals for their content.

Binturongs are known to be very agile and skilled climbers thanks to their feet and tails, so I’m guessing this is probably why they design Bearcatmon with jet-powered skates.

Of course, even after getting an Ultimate level Digimon, we still get a prerequisite “Reina being a badass” moment by destroying the bomb’s core with one of Bearcatmon’s brass knuckles. Now all that Glowing Dawns are complete (until the inevitable Mega-level Digimon), they are going to need all the help they can get because Gift isn’t showing any signs in slowing down.

Does anyone else finds it quite impeccable that Twilight can disguise himself as anyone (except children) despite being very tall? We already know that he is a master in disguise, being able to change into anyone in a drop of a hat. According to Twilight himself, the only type of people he can’t disguise are children.

In this scene during the Cruise Arc, Twilight goes to deck to reflect on his failure to understand Anya last night. It’s easy to humor ourselves into believing that he’s just overthinking again but I believe it foreshadows a core part of his character, which is why he values learning so much about a topic of interest and his pragmatism. Despite being a perfectionist, he accepts that he is not the perfect spy he thought he was, realizing there are still things unfamiliar to him.

As Loid noted, a person not knowing what they are in for will generate fear for themselves. This makes sense as fear is a fundamental mechanism for survival. Our deep fear of the unknown not only scares us, but it can scramble our brains. Uncertainty can make us so uneasy. We’ve been seeing this through out the franchise: Yor’s fear of not knowing how to be normal, Anya’s fear of being unsure of people’s reaction to her telepathy, Yuri being uncertain if the man his only sister married is good for her, Damian not being sure if his parents actually care for him…..

Twilight denies it at first but was quickly accepted the fact he is indeed fear it. In fact, the unknown or what Twilight doesn’t know is probably his greatest and biggest fear of all. And it’s easy to believe this…..

……because he became a soldier blinded by desire for revenge without knowing the bigger picture of the situation. After the death of his parents, he discriminately believed all Ostanians are to blame, not knowing that he became just as violent as the people he thought them in being. Had Franky not given him an insight in how context can change a person’s view of a situation and his friends not die into a suicidal plan they are unaware of, it would be difficult to imagine Twilight still being the individual who highly values information and understanding the situation. While Twilight forgotten about this fragment of his past memory at this point, he still unconsciously fears it.

This is why Twilight values information so much and his biggest fear the unknown. He regrets the actions he could’ve taken if he had known the truth or the type of person the unknowns might have turned him into. Living off years of nothing but cynicism and pessimism, the worst situation is always a possibility and burden of uncertainty is too great for him.

The Detective Conan franchise is really on a roll with crossovers and references this month, isn’t it? We get a free to watch dub translation of Detective Conan vs Lupin III tv special and now the Pretty Cure franchise is going to have a crossover with Detective Conan in its latest season, Star Detective Pretty Cure, with both shows getting their own episode. 

And just recently, I heard Agent Twilight aka Loid Forger has a tranquilizer watch in the latest chapter of Spy x Family. I found that pretty astounding to learn. If I have to be honest, we haven’t seen a lot of spy gadget from him despite being a secret agent. So to hear the fact he has one that’s an obvious shout out to Conan’s watch is pretty cool. (I’m only posting images of his camera watch from the movie and merch since I’m anime only. I haven’t read said manga)

I think one of the most fascinating aspects of Spy x Family is that despite being a shonen, where the cast in this genre usually features teenagers with some adults here and there due to being aimed at a teenage demographic, the franchise’s main characters and supporting cast is comprised of nearly every age group EXCEPT teenagers. You have the adults (eg. Loid, Yor, Franky, Fiona, etc), toddlers (eg. Anya, Damian, Becky, etc), and senior citizens (Henry and Martha).

If you think about it, Luluka is pretty right to be smug here. As soon as Anna and Mikuru sees her with the cat they were looking for, they immediately transformed and tried to jump on her while she’s still in her civilian form.

They basically rushed to a conclusion, which is a great sin for a detective to commit. It does highlight while they are developing into becoming detectives, there’s room for improvement. It’s a great form of storytelling.

Also, there’s something very interesting that a Japanese Precure fan has pointed out. When Cure Answer uses Answer Hanamaru Sword, she uses a large sword while the sword Cure Mystique uses during Mystique Strike is slightly smaller. There are twelve stars in the outer ring of Cure Arcana Shadow’s Arcana Star Rain. Put them together and what do you get?

As badass as Chiropmon’s Ultimate form is…..it’s abit cruel that his name is Scourgechiropmon when….

…..he already berates himself, thinking he’s the cause of Makoto’s suffering in the family.

No, of course that isn’t the case. It’s actually referring to the misery he will inflict on his enemies because Chiropmon is the only relief in Makoto’s chained world prior to the Glowing Dawns. Honestly, Makoto amazes me with how continues to be a helpful lad. Such a young, gifted (no pun intended), and kind boy who deserves to spread his wings. If his dad won’t let the poor guy do it, the little bat Digimon will. (With a little help from his remorseful brother)

Well……13 episodes in Star Detective Precure and Luluka aka Arcana Shadow has become an instant favorite, even before the show aired. And after seeing her in action……yeah, she’s my favorite too. A strong contender in being one of my all time favorite Cures along side Happy, Moonlight, and Wink if the writing keeps it up. Her long awaited action debut reminded me of Kid the Phantom Thief aka Kaito Kid (aka a character named Kaito who is actually interesting) from the Detective Conan franchise, who just so happens to be one of my favorite characters from that franchise.

Apart from her brilliant design and badass Cure name, she really brings a much needed shake up in Pretty Cure. She’s already a Pretty who opposes her fellow Pretty Cure and actually engages in combat with them. This has happened since the second Max Heart movie and there’s no brainwashing or dark variant of a Pretty Cure whatsoever. She’s also able to challenge their beliefs in truths and lies. Plus, she’s more experienced and clearly knows what’s going on more than most characters.

I believe the reason why Twilight’s traumatic background worked so well for many us viewers is because the story spent time establishing and fleshing out his character beforehand. In certain case when showing the history of a character with a negative attributes, especially in a shonen, it’s treated like a storytelling tool or a justification for their less than desirable traits. Development (should there be any) usually happens after or within the flashback.

With Twilight, it’s not a justification but an enhancement and expansion to his character. Before his flashback, we already gotten a plenty dose of his bad points but we also gotten a healthy dose of his good points as well, along with some slow but gradual development, making him a character to be valued and endeared from the start. He’s a spy highly prioritized on his work but for a selfless goal that add some warmth to his cold character and his family subtly giving him a new view on life. After learning about what he had endured growing up, revisiting the earlier parts of the story with everything we learned about his background makes his already well-built character even greater in retrospect but not the end of his story as he still has plenty of room to explore and grow.