Yes, yes, yes! I agree with this. Hugtto is really at it's best during it's first half and worse during it's second. They have a lot to work with and I think the arcs are done really well. My main problem with the series stem from the fact that it was clear they bought off more than they could choose. The fact they spent too much time on Emiru and Ruru and then having almost 9 villains did the show a disservice. I think in this case they should've limited their options. They clearly did not have enough time to make a grandiose epic season. Which is weird of me to say because this season has very little filler. I did hear they had production issues with two groups working on some stuff so things get muddled, and if so, that's a shame. This season has such highs and lows its hard to put it on a list of what I like. I think it's top 10, but no where near top 5 for me. You need to be a bit more consistently good. So final verdict: C. Solid C. Not the best, but not the worst. Would rank this above Suite any day in terms of okay precure seasons. If the pacing didn't turn to crap in the last part, it would be higher, but it has way better build than other meh seasons like Suite. Characters are good. Hana is pretty good protag, Homare is the best yellow cure in a long time, Harry is the best fairy in a long time, but characters like Saaya, Ruru, and Emiru get shafted hard after their first arcs. Henri being a cure was nice considering he is an actually fully-developed character. The Story is okay. At some points it's pretty fantastic, but at other points it's just so dull. Powerups were used waaayyyy too much to much as an end-all. I like the side characters, but the villains sadly get shafted due to how many there are of them. They could've done better with that. I also think some things are explained well enough. I can buy the Mother being an entity, but what happened to the future cures? A lot of things just aren't explained well enough. The plot was a good idea, but I think limiting bad future to "TIME STOP!" is really disappointing. There's much more they could've done with it. However, I do like these themes of what the future will entail. Lastly, I don't find the notion of everyone becoming a Precure a bad thing, because really the message from the beginning (at least of the new era) was that if you had the will of heart anyone could become a cure. I think that's a good message to kids that as long as you have the will to do good, you can be a precure.
If there’s one way to describe Hugtto, I say it’s kinda like the Kingdom Hearts 3 of Pretty Cure. In fact, it shares a lot in common with that game that it basically is. Both installments of their respective franchises actually has a really interesting theme and story with a great introduction, lot of great elements, and high quality moments as it goes on. Not to mention the characters are one of the best thing about it, containing a solid cast. Presentation are off the charts as well. Unfortunately, after their ambition in the crossovers, the pacing in the final act of the main story was kicked into high gear. Things happened so fast and as a result, some of the events that happened right after were major hits or misses in varying results and some characters clearly got a better payoff than others despite not being the fault on the characters who didn’t (Poor, poor Kairi and Saaya). That being said, the heart and effort are still there and despite the flaws, the products still turned out to be an overall great and solid entries in the end. Of course, I wish KH3 and Hugtto were better than what they are now but hey, it was enjoyable and I was glad to experience both. And at least it’s no Kirakira/Maho Girls or Re:Coded/Chain of Memories in terms of......well, everything. I find it ironic that both would still end up being some of my favorites in their respective franchises despite the issues I had. Then again, alot of my personal favorites in not just Pretty Cure or Kingdom Hearts, but video games and animated shows alike, are far from perfect. Yet, I still enjoy them a lot more. I guess I’m used to imperfect masterpieces. Here’s to hoping Pretty Cure will go on another 10 years while the next Kingdom Hearts game doesn’t take another 10 years to be released. XO Congrats on entering Unclehood, Adam!
In my opinion, your idea of Ruru making her own PreHeart would've been better. Maybe she would've made her own but would've failed to make it work. She'd feel sadness and empathy, which is a proof of someone's humanity. After gaining more humanity, Mother would've seen Ruru's strong will to become human and Mother would've transformed her PreHeart into a real one, plus giving her a Mirai Crystal. Plus it would have fit into the "Not giving up" theme of the season.
Wow, your words at the end really touched me. I don't know why I feel embarrassed about watching an anime targeted for children when it has so many good values and offers something to learn for any age or relate to at any time in somebody's life. Honestly, PreCure helped shape me into a more openminded, kind, strong person. There's always a character I relate to or an episode that helps get me through a hard time in my life. There are plotholes but I can understand with the budget they have and it can be overlooked because of the overall positive impact it's had. I think Hugtto was a nice refresher compared to the last two seasons, it wasn't perfect but I enjoyed it a lot. I think people could lighten up a bit. Anyway, I always appreciate your videos, loved this review!
I really wanted Hugtto to live up to my wish of being a better season than Mahotsukai and KiraKira, and while Hugtto is certainly above those two, I have to admit that yeah, Hugtto didn't quite reach the high bar of being a top 3 or top 5 season, despite all that I still had a good time and enjoyed it. Let's see what the power imagination has in store for us now.
Looking back on it after hirogaru sky, I'd say out all 3 seasons celebrating the 10, 15 and 20 years of precure this is probably the best, like the other 2 it has issues but not quite as many
So i have one thing to say about Hana’s PTSD, it’s not a defense but more so a fact that I wish to bring up. Japan has a really bad type of community shunning of a single person if they do anything out of the norm or even just do something that opposes someone in a higher rank. I’ve heard many stories and seen this in a few manga (That Wolf Boy Is Mine being one example). And while I personally feel like you do make good points... I do also feel like Emiru isn’t needed and they could’ve put her to the sidelines. If I ever do a “rewrite” of this series then she won’t be removed as a character but probably a cure. Outside of her introduction and maybe a few episodes before she became a cure herself, Emiru just seemed like she, along with Lulu being so heavily tied to her character, that they wanted a duo for nostalgia. Lulu however had a really good arc of learning to be human and while Emiru’s familial arc was also interesting with her brother and grandfather being stand out to me I still feel she wasn’t needed. I do think Saya needed more screen time and the classmates at the beginning of the show only getting one episode sucks. It just kind of makes me wonder how much Toei makes the staff of each season cut for time. I have many more feelings but considering I was crying so much at this ending I really can’t get mad.
gongrats for ur sister i hope the baby will be happy and healthy as an series hugotto [ eventough i only watched ur reviews ] made me think about my own futere . as someone who is scared of growing up i feel like that fear is never going to go away but we all keep moving toward the futere i have already tought of what path i want in life being in the third year of dutch high school means choosing wich subjects you will get in your exams years . i havent even tought of what career but i want to do something with animals and despite what people try to push me to do im going to make my own choices i want to be happy with my work later in life and this is the path i need to take in order to reach it
True, I agreed. It was an okay series? But... somewhere around the Dokidoki, Fresh corner of my top fav list... def. not a Top 5 for me. I feel like it was always missing something, like it wasnt just pushing it there. One reason was the fight scene; as Im ALWAYS prioritizing fights, Hugtto kinda fell off abit... the fight still felt Doki Dokish as it tried to bring fight energy but it was missing. Don't get me wrong, they aren't the weakest, but when Black and White arrived there was a clear boundary between the two teams. I wished they kinda used more of their special attacks during the finale, like a combo of their hand and weapon. It kinda failed; we NEVER saw their individs attacks much after the trio's wand premier and either for the hand attack for Amour and Macherie (Heart song and dance)! It kinda fell to waste. Storywise, I really liked it but character development was really unbalanced. It felt like: 1. Lulu (25%) 2.Hana (25%) 3. Emiru (15%) 4. Homare (8%) 5. Saaya (2%) 6. Harry (15%). Lulu and Hana got the overall story dev (with movie helping Hana), Emiru was a fun ditzy young girl character (I thought she would be Muse or Ace type, but turned out she was likeable!) and Harry with Hugtan's backstory was also well developed. The two I felt really disappointed was with Homare and Saaya. Homare, I was expecting her to carry on her hesitation with ice-skating after half way through the season and would eventually regain the confidence to ice-skate with courage. The first few episodes really tried to sell us well... until i think in episode 6, she IMMEDIATELY went back to Ice-skating without no problem with her coach. WTF, later on her episodes were less developed that she is only determined as an Ice-Skater but nothing else (only the love triangle with Harry and Cure Tomorrow, but I wanted to know more about her past ice-skating history). Saaya, on the otherhand, I got to say... really disappointing... From the intro, I saw her reading a book with wings flapping out. I was hoping she would either be in a drama play or see what her acting pursuit would be. However... We only get to see at most 2 or 3 scenes where she would be acting, virtual holograph experience with her mum and a rival scene. Nothing special that helps her stand out or develop much into her character. We get Ange means Angel; she defends more than fight, but can't there be anything that can better convey her into this theme instead of being a children's doctor in the finale? She was really the most undeveloped Cure in my opinions. Though there are still many plotholes to be filled, I really liked how they introduced the first ever male Cure in the series, but I was hoping the Male Cure would have a little more screen time and even a named Individ Atttack! The outfit, I can only say I hoped they would have a more better design that resembles an warrior ice-skater as it looks like an outfit from Aikatsu. Overall, an average series between Dokidoki and Fresh in my opinion. A few surprisingly good things, like Futari Wa, All Stars, Career themed and Maturity plot, but the fight scenes still lacks a ton along with character developments. Hope Miracle Universe can help develop them further as Senpai Cures.
I agree with a lot of what you said. Ruru became too human too fast and too best friendsy with Emiru and they crammed Twin Hearts down our throats. I personally don’t think Hana’s bullying trauma was particularly out of nowhere because I think they eluded to that since episode one or nine or something? But yeah. That did “resolve” too fast. The second half with the villains was a trainwreck. I liked them as people but they were used awfully in the plot. Dr Traum was severely wasted because he could have scattered a lot of plot breadcrumbs leading to his eventual defeat but nope! They gave us his backstory after he was defeated in a battle not solely the main season team. I also wish we got to see Bishin’s oshimaida summon more than once. I do like everyone’s relationships though but sometimes I felt a divide between Hana-Homare-Saya and Emiru-Ruru in terms of best friendness.
Actually, the kimi to tomodachi, from the series help me with somethibg that happened in my life recently. A freind of mine pased away and the song help me remember evrything memorable about him and his relations with my entire fammily. And thanks to that, this series became one of my favorite ones. May my friend rest in peace.
I really liked Hugtto, though I do admit that the 2nd half was a bit of a mess. One thing I loved about it was the strong friendship between Hana, Saaya and Homare. I liked how they were always supporting each other and being there at their worst times. Sadly with the addition of Ruru and Emiru it felt awkward since they didn't feel like they were friends with the main 3. It felt like we had two different precure teams in one. Like I'm really disappointed with how Ruru turned out. I agree that giving her more human emotion so soon was pretty bad. For me, her most endearing characteristics was her robotic nature and awkwardly coming to terms with human emotions. Also even though she was living with Hana under the same roof, they weren't close at all. I thought it would almost be a good relationship just like we got with Love and Setsuna, but the writers determined that Ruru's only bond would be with Emiru. Also wasn't the biggest fan of them being an idol duo. I loved all the characters, but Saaya was unfortunately shafted. She had one of the best precure designs in Hugtto. It does make sense that dreams could change, but I wish she would have stuck with being an actress since it's such a blue cure cliche to become a doctor. Also I think it was implied that she got with George because there was a man running to the hospital with the same type of flowers that he would always give Hana. Wish I could rant more about Cure Macherie and Amour, that would be too long, lol.
I guess I'm kinda late to the party but I was ruminating about it for a while... Hugtto would be really great if it would be TWO separate seasons. There's just way too many things that writers squeeze in and they either felt extremely shoehorned, rushed or like a plot points that got dropped hard. In a perfect world Emiru and Ruru would get their own PreCure series that would exist instead of trainwreck that was Star Twinkle and the OG Trio + Cure Tommorow would be focus of Hugtto.
Well that's a strange fate, but early congratulations is in order, I suppose! Looking forward to hear good news (about the baby) and your thoughts (about the precure/other otaku stuff that you want to talk) in the next video!
i agree to most of what you said, about the writing, the poor handling of the main cast and the antagonists. I dont however feel the same about the ending as i feel at the time (and even after now watching your review) still feel incredibly disappointed. The last half so bad and uninteresting the moments that it could have turned me around just fell flat and limp and just waved off with hugs. I wont forget that it has really had good ups that make you want to drag your friends to watch it but it was little as much as like Happinesscharge and Smile. Great post series review! It started off my day!
It kind of make sense how the villains that are taken out by the Cures forms a power ladder, and this time the ladder went beyond level grinding and required 11th-hour fighters. Hugtto team first took out Charalit on their own. Ruru defected so not counting. It took Honoka and Nagisa helping to take out Papple. Daigan was team-killed by Traum so not counting. Traum took the 55-member Pretty Cure All Stars to take out. Then finally taking out George required making at least all townspeople Cures.
If I had to my top 5 favorite Precure characters and or series would look like this: *CURES* 5. Kanade Minamino 4. Saaya Yakushiji 3. Hagoromo Lala 2. Erika Kurumi 1. Nozomi Yumehara *FAIRIES* 5. Fuwa 4. Candy 3. Aroma 2. Harry 1.Mofurun *SERIES* 5. Futari Wa 4. HUGtto 3. Yes 5 2. Smile 1. Heartcatch Hugtto stuff was in all of these because I loved how it *attempted* to make an impact on this franchise. I’m just now hoping STPC does better and doesn’t give to much attention to the future sixth ranger Cure Cosmo.
I feel like the only one who actually liked the second half of hugtto. I liked how it explored Hana’s ptsd, I liked the darker themes, and I LOVED seeing George do more and more fucked up shit every week. I’m still shocked by how much they got away with with him. They basically put akio ootori in precure, and at the same time as all this crossover stuff it makes it really interesting to compare him to villains past and he’s just...*so* different I loved his dynamic with listol and tbh I wanted a more direct confrontation between them in the finale. I still think it’s weird they made it look like hana got with him, even if it’s a different version of him when hinase was *right there* and loved hana for who she was.
Lol I also did like the second half! But I’ll have to disagree on one thing.... I literally *just* rewatched HPC, and I can’t for the life of me remember who the fuck is Hinase... So not a fan of Hana ending up with him personally. 😬 I too am surprised by how far they were able to take George, but comparing him to Akio _might_ be a bit too much? I think the former’s meant to be way more sympathetic than the latter, what with all the sad boi writing and imagery...
My final thoughts: Huggto: the series that took the rulebook of Precure (one that took over 14 years in the making), and tore it in half, beat the cover with a sledgehammer, shredded its pages, burned it all, buried the burnt remnants under 2 feet of dirt and burned the dirt.
I watched it but It’s not in my top 5 I think it’s lower. My favorite was cure Etoile .(Homare) Then saaya Hana Emile Ruru.......lulu I will go with ruru In the dance I’m homare and Ruru....lulu I think it’s ruru
I consider Hugtto a fairly satisfying level, more for the characters (especially the Lead Cure, who I still miss) and the setting than for the arcs. Ultimately its being the 15th anniversary series did quite a bit more harm than good, and Emiru and Lulu's arc got a bit too much attention, Saaya got too little instead. There was also the problem of some clarifications about the finale coming from interviews rather than the show itself.
As always thanks for the insightful review! Agree with almost all of your points, except with regards to the ending. This one messed me up really bad, and left me very confused and conflicted. They simply don't provide us with enough answers. Were there two timelines? Three? Only one? Did the "new timeline" replace the original one (Back to the Future style), or do the two still exist in parallel? Either option gives us an esoteric...and dare I say, unhappy...ending. If the new timeline is the only one that's left, did our friends ride Traum's kaeru train into oblivion? If both timelines still exist, is the train still headed for a post-apocalypic world? Will "our" Harry and "our" Hugtan (Cure Tomorrow) ever see "our" Hana and her friends ever again? (it's generally standard for Precure teams to remain in contact post final episode, even if they separate). And what's the deal with George? Why is he in the desert? Why was college student George crying? Does he ever go back to 2043 (in either timeline?) Does he ever truly reform? What causes him to snap to begin with? (he does speak of people being evil and a WW3-like apocalypse, not his wife's supposed death) Does he ever marry Hana (in either or both timelines)? Why would Hana ever consider marrying him after what happened? What symbolism does Hana's haircut convey? Why do some people think Hana died in the original timeline? "Word of God" explanations from Tsubota don't count! All in all, the viewer is left to coming up with their own story, and like you mention, you can come up with whatever happy or unhappy ending your heart desires. I don't like this at all. They should've explained what happened in the series itself. Again to your point, Tsubota rushes everything at the end, so obviously they never get a chance to explain things. ps I personally love the "new timeline replaces the old one, the apocalypse never happens in the first place (grandfather paradox aside), everybody reunites fully once the train arrives in 2043, and they all lived happily ever after!"
Hugtto did a lot of things wrong. They did Ruru less and less of a robot in question of 1 or 2 episodes, she was like an OoC until the whole thing with Traum came up and actually made her likeable for me. Villains like Jeros & her butlers, Bishin and specially *Listol* had their story rushed at the speed of light. Saaya is probably the freaking Luminous of this season and you see her more being knocked than knocking someone, not to mention her whole thing with her mother and her dreams didn't get a good development (Just like the same shit they did with Minami. Freaking girl spent more than half of the season with the same dream and bam! It's gone for some random secondary character). Emiru was also kind of ignored, most of the time, episodes about her where in majority "Ruru this, Ruru that" and her brother and Henri, she deserved a proper story honestly. The team mechanic sucked, we waited more than 20 episodes for a group pose and most of the time, Yell is the one who does the most physical damage while Twin Love spams their guitar attacks, Étoile seconds Yell and Ange...yeah, more knocked than knocking and sometimes she was not as smart as she appeals. Hugtan as Cure Tomorrow was a disappointment, she was pretty much a Luminous too and we never saw her fighting with her mom. Not to mention the fact that she was used for a trolling love triangle. George Kurai didn't make any sense, the story and time paradox with him didn't make any sense, the dude was a creep and we don't even know how he got power, how old was he in the present and if he really is Hugtan's father since he treated her as a tool for much of the freaking series. Aside from anniversary, the crossover episode wasn't necessary and reduced the time for other holes in the story. Only things that were actually saved from this awful and rushed writing were Hana, Hugtan, Henri, Homare and Harry. Yet, this might be one of the best series just for the single fact of make you attached and connect to the characters plus some fanservice and finally, making real the premise of *You can do anything and you can become anyone* .
While i agreed with almost everything you said what you said about minami is not true it was not a shit plot twist and was implied early on that she loved the marine life and have doubts ,it was about her realising that she can have her own dreams and life and not live on the expectations placed upon her by her status and family, it was actually very well executed unlike saya that was rushed, predictable and to cliche for a blue cure
I feel like why Huggto failed for me was because of the simple fact that I COULD NOT fall in love with the main characters at all, like I tried so much to like them and get into them, but at the end of the day I did NOT care for them at all.
Yeah, Hugtto is mixed. It had some serious guts to go to the places it did and just how deep it threw its characters into mental despair, both protagonists and antagonists. From Hana's self-loathing over Hugtan ending up in a coma, Henri being literally thrown under a truck to brutally nail the coffin on his skating career shut, to Homare's past trauma, as well as some drama from several of the earlier villains, it brought a lot of true drama. It also comes with some great messages about freedom and Henri's character is a great addition to exemplify individualism. I also like how they start each opening with the message of "You can do anything, you can be anything", but in its actual story provides nuance and shows that that isn't necessarily the case. Several characters simply cannot fulfil their dreams, life simply doesn't deal them the cards to continue on that path. Hana will never be as academically proficient as Saaya or as athletically skilled as Homare, Homare will never be Harry's girlfriend, Emiru can't get Ruru to stay with her in the present timeline, neither Papple nor Charaleet get to be successful at Criasu and Papple doesn't get to stay with George either, and Henri doesn't get to have a career as a professional figure skater. Instead of sticking with "you can do anything, Hugtto instead lets some dreams shatter, and then focuses on building its characters by showing that no matter what, there is always a new path that you can take forwards, even if it goes to a different direction. All you need is friends or family supporting you and giving you a good hug during times of need, and the spirit to keep on going. All of it is very courageous that they went there, and I applaud Hugtto for it. However, the later half is very rushed and goes all over the place in terms of tone. The later half was stacked with villains that were poorly developed and didn't get the chance to truly have a journey. There were just too many of them. Criasu also has very vague goals here. In the earlier half it's implied that they wanted the Precure to generate the Mirai crystals so they could steal them afterwards and use them to stop time, but even after the Precure gathered all the crystals roughly half-way into the series, the villains mostly continue to just summon monster after monster to cause havoc but with no clear goal. Then we get the Traum final cross-over that essentially just states that instead of needing the Mirai crystals for their asu-power, Criasu has the ability to go to the different Precure universes and just steal all their asu-power. Why didn't they do that in the beginning? It makes no sense. And after Traum gets defeated we get the Halloween episode, where Criasu seems like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel. They lost Traum, probably their most capable asset, Bishin is mostly moping over Harry instead of being a productive villain, Gelos is going through her own weird phase, and they didn't get Henri to join them either, so they even try to recruit Daigan again, the old guy who literally contributed nothing to the show either as a villain or as a reformed character. And in the episode after that they suddenly have some old Traum tech left, manage to create virtual worlds, and get the Precure into a virtual future and weird Traum labyrinth. Criasu's powers are all over the place and don't make any sense. One other gripe I have with this series is how it develops its Precure power-ups or handles its climactic battles. They often come hand-in-hand in Precure, with the hardest of battles being the catalyst to some kind of power-up. But aside from the Charaleet fight where they unlocked their first group finisher they kind of missed the mark there. Papple's fight was kind of hijacked, at least the physical portion, by Cure Black and White, Traum's final showdown ended up also being overblown with so many other teams that it took away what could have been a very good and emotional boss battle from their own team. Their early 30s total group finisher was literally unlocked when fighting some weirdo's that turned into a monster that didn't even manage to land a single hit on any of the Precures. And then they got another group finisher in episode 39, which was an episode so chaotic and rushed it was kind of hard to get a clue on what was going on. Add in the final boss essentially being a pessimistic guy with a book that shoots lightning, and it's just a bit underwhelming in terms if fights. Cure Yell and her team just didn't get all that many cool fights to really show off their skills. The fights, while often not bad from a narrative point of view, were often quite boring physically with the villains doing little more than summon more monsters and rarely changing their tactics. There were so many villains, but pretty much all of them just went with the same stick making the faction as a whole just a bit sloggy and not offer enough momentum to keep the main plot going. Overall, Hugtto had strong themes of working towards a better future, raising kids, and brought some serious drama with guts, it had some amazing ideas, but especially in its later part often didn't manage to get its pieces aligned properly to get a good execution. The storytelling was just so rushed that it often didn't manage to get some vital status exposition in, it made Criasu look really inconsistent as a threat and the backstory a bit messy since it's quite confusing with the different timelines and everything and them rushing so much through the exposition.
I feel like Recruiting Daigan would be an interesting idea if played right. You know, he's ~45-50yo and if we match the timeline, Criasu came from ~15years into the future. If we assume that he was not lying about being actually strong in his prime time, then there was somewhere a 30-35yo Giga Chad Daigan and Criasu instead decided to reach to literal old boomer.
Although The only seasons I saw were the dubbed versions of smile and dokidoki[the former I didn't even know was part of a bigger franchise,] and clips of Maho Girls, Kirakira, and the seasons after that, Hugtto became one of my favorites. One reason was for the Explorers of Sky threat. Both stories dangers was the Planent Paralyisis, and a duo went back in time to try to save the world, only to have one member of the duo suffer during the trip to the past, and the truth slowly being revealed. And of course, both characters had to deal with saying good-bye to their friends. Of course their are many differences between the two stories but I love both stories.
Some reasons I like certain series despite only reading about them, is voice acting reasons. Heartcatch had Moonlight-Palutena and Dark Cure-Dark Pit. DokiDoki had Hades-King Mercenare. And of course Healing Good had Kaname Madoka as Grace. There are others, but yeah.
First of all, congratulations on entering Unclehood Azenzone. ^w^ As for all of this, hmmm... *arms crossed* ...lets see...Hugtto Precure. Hugtto Precure...how should i put this *thinking* After 2 epic flops that is Mahou Tsukai AND ESPECIALLY KIRAKIRA, what do i think of Hugtto? Personally, despite its flaws and rushed production, both character and plotwise, i overall enjoyed the season. At the very least, not one of the main Hugtto 5 are unlikable (though some get more screentime than others...). Not having the "Best Season" title of course (i agree that Futari Wa, Heartcatch and GoPri are the best ones~), but faaaar off from being the "Worst Season" title (u already know who =3=). In a way, i describe this season as a "guilty pleasure" of mine.
How i describe the characters overall: Hana/Yell: Great first impression overall...until the bullying and PTSD part. I hate it...both plotwise and personal wise... I feel like for one thing, its just shoved in just cause for Hana to have her own personal drama out of the blue, and two they just rushed in the resolution of the bullying part. THOSE episode (23, 24 and 31) made me just...mindblown, in a negative sense. but the less i talked about it, the better. But despite those personal issues about those moments, I still like her. at the very least, she's way better than Ichika and Mirai before... Saaya/Ange: *sigh* im just sad when it comes to her. she's still my favorite Blue Cure. oh if only they give her more depth in character...not like this. Though surprisingly enough, shes the only Cure in the season who STILL uses her old moves (i.e. she uses both Heart Feather and Feather Blast in combat compared to the rest who mainly relies on their new attacks). Homare/Etoile: Dirty Furry/Baby s** aside, as a character, shes...eh. Pretty decent. Could've focus more on regaining her skating prowess than her wanting to make out with a hamster...just saying ^^; Emiru/Macherie and *Lulu/Amour: as much as i like them both, the problem is they have waaay too much screentime. No wonder Homare and especially Saaya get the short end of the stick. *in her case, in terms of her robotic part, you're absolutely right. she could've made her own device and yes, i get the humanity part buuut...too soon =3= Hugtan: =w= *pat her head* ...no gripes on her. at the very least, she's both cute and has a purpose Harry: *same case as Hugtan...despite the dirty implications.... *shivers**
Villains A: Charlie and Purple: both are decent...though in Purple's case, they're clearly attempting to show that George had an affair with Gelos. Its obvious from the bed =3= Daigan: =______= *sigh* Villains B: Mr. Steampunk (Dr. Traum): honestly, hard to say for me. i mean, my only gripe for him is the unanswered questions about his real daughter's death =3= Trap (Bishin) and Listerine (Listol): wasted potentials and poorly rushed resolution Gelos and her Butlers: forgettable. Big Bad: George: one word to describe him: WHAAAAAAAAT?! im just...utterly confused throughout all what he did in this season, mainly the second half. Like Dr. Traum, im just...lost it, but in his case, its much worse =_____=
Sadly it's not well explained but it's implied that the Mother is Hana but in a different form. Think of it like and alternate universe. One in which Hana is a mother ( the one we follow), the bad future in which she dies, and the original future in which George takes over.
Splendid I'll be looking forward to it,@@AzenzoNe Ohh my personal head-Canon of this is that They might have been planning to save the Pretty Cure's Joining together for the Final Episodes of the Series where they Join Hana against George Kurai, I would love to Read the Original Script's of the Franchise.
I understand Hana giving up on the sword because of empathy gor Charaleet but couldnt Bandai design a weapon that actually looks like a sword i mean in Kamen Rider and Super Sentai they can but the Melody "Sword" is just a generic magical girl magic stick.
I love how heartwarming Hugtto was but in the end I’m disappointed. With the rush character developments, fast pacing in the last two arcs, and what I dislike the most in any story is plot holes. Like Mother heart and the Mirai Crystals. Who was mother heart and we never understand who she is. And the Mirai Crystals was supposed to turn Hugtan back into cure tomorrow and that never happened and the villains want the Mirai Crystals to stop time but in the end they didn’t need them to stop time. To me this is the probably the same level of great but flawed season as mahou tsukai. I adore mahou tsukai and Hugtto and they’re both my 6th and 7th precure season respectfully but mahou tsukai didn’t have any plotholes like Hugtto did but Hugtto did have great villains that we get to know unlike mahou tsukai. Though I agree that I wish it was amazing but sadly that didn’t happen.
I think the whole male precure thing should've gone to Masato, along the time we knew him, he grew and changed from being cold and going along with what he thought was normal to more kind and compassionate. THAT'S what being precure is all about.
You know, I've always wondered how AzenZone is able to keep up with all the new episodes. I mean, Glitter Force is the only version of the show that I know has been put onto something like Netflix.
I can't help but be annoyed that the only person talking about PreCure on RUclips is also the only person giving this series crap. Everyone else agrees this is one of the best Magical Girl anime of all time, and Emiruru was the the best Ship of 2018.
Not sure about "best of all time" but most people seem to agree Hugtto was one of the better Precure series. I haven't watched it yet (I was kinda away from Precure for a while and only got back last year) but not only it's one of the few precure seasons I see mentioned by anime fans outside the core fanbase, I've seen a lot of people really praising its supposedly more mature themes and what not. Even people fighting over whether or not the end is good. But the thing is, I would never know that from the people I usually see talking about Precure. I remember fan groups I asked about saying it was trash and lumping it with the previous two seasons (and Star Twinkle) as really disappointing, wasted potential seasons that become crap in the second half. Until I started seeing praise to Hugtto pop up elsewhere I really thought there was nothing good in Precure since GoPri. I'm wondering what the disconnect here is, but it'll be a while before I watch Hugtto to see for myself - I'm rewatching GoPri and plan to watch the seasons I missed in release order.
Adam has the right to not like this season as much, and he does justify his viewpoints reasonably.... But yeah I agree, it’s a real shame that he’s the *only* opinion on Hugtto we get on RUclips... I also wish I could understand Japanese, because the discussions around Precure, and in particular HPC, seem to be more numerous and interesting there... Precure is underrepresented on English-speaking internet, especially RUclips.
Tbh I think the Star Twinkle villain designs are amazing. They actually look some what terrifying (Kappard probably more silly but the two females have been solid)!!! Sure they're not pretty but are villains supposed to be drop dead gorgeous or threatening? I'm going with the latter on this one.
Hugtto is not bad, it had a good start, I just really dislike Hugtan, she is not even a cute baby, and don’t even get me started with Etoile falling for the mascot character.
I agree for the most part, Hugtto Precure starts off really great, but went off the deep end later down the line. Heck, one of my favorite Precure reviewer gave this series second last rank in terms of story, and I can't blame her for that. The settings is totally broken, and some that are established were either never brought up again, never developed or not enough development, or develop way too fast. She even made a theory that Hugtto Precure is one HUGE time loop that will never end or never have a future according to her research on Tsubota's interview, that is having only one timeline. And speaking of Tsubota, sorry after the damage she had done with Hugtto, I really don't want her to get involved in Precure again. Let others take the spotlight. The one thing that really bothered me about Hugtto Precure is just how weak they are. Chararit is the ONLY general that they defeated by themselves. The rest, got helped by other Precures, other side characters, and they pretty much just did what Sailormoon usually did with the MOTWs in the anime series, using the finishers. I am glad that Star Twinkle have more personal fights with the generals now, and even more than ever, which is great. The Hugtto really weren't kidding when they chose a toy rather than the sword. As for the characters, they are a mixed bag. They have strong introduction, but later down the line, their development is really not balanced. And some of their characters contradict with what has established or developed, leaving me feel really confused in the end of what they are. I guess at the end of the day, I felt that Hugtto Precure really loses their own identity as a Precure of their own. Sure they managed to create a story with the message fully played out, even though one could still theorize that this whole series is one giant time loop ala the Terminator movies (minus Genesys), and they don't really have the "Legendary" title so they really don't need to prove themselves much, but I still can't really see or even rely on them as heroes or saviors, let alone a team that helped save the future. Which brings the question, is there really a future for Precure after Hugtto? Obviously we have Star Twinkle, which I hope they really didn't follow the footsteps of Hugtto, EVER! Thanks for this review, and I am looking forward to your Doki Doki review.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Yes, yes, yes! I agree with this. Hugtto is really at it's best during it's first half and worse during it's second. They have a lot to work with and I think the arcs are done really well. My main problem with the series stem from the fact that it was clear they bought off more than they could choose. The fact they spent too much time on Emiru and Ruru and then having almost 9 villains did the show a disservice. I think in this case they should've limited their options. They clearly did not have enough time to make a grandiose epic season. Which is weird of me to say because this season has very little filler. I did hear they had production issues with two groups working on some stuff so things get muddled, and if so, that's a shame.
This season has such highs and lows its hard to put it on a list of what I like. I think it's top 10, but no where near top 5 for me. You need to be a bit more consistently good.
So final verdict: C. Solid C. Not the best, but not the worst. Would rank this above Suite any day in terms of okay precure seasons. If the pacing didn't turn to crap in the last part, it would be higher, but it has way better build than other meh seasons like Suite.
Characters are good. Hana is pretty good protag, Homare is the best yellow cure in a long time, Harry is the best fairy in a long time, but characters like Saaya, Ruru, and Emiru get shafted hard after their first arcs. Henri being a cure was nice considering he is an actually fully-developed character.
The Story is okay. At some points it's pretty fantastic, but at other points it's just so dull. Powerups were used waaayyyy too much to much as an end-all. I like the side characters, but the villains sadly get shafted due to how many there are of them. They could've done better with that. I also think some things are explained well enough. I can buy the Mother being an entity, but what happened to the future cures? A lot of things just aren't explained well enough.
The plot was a good idea, but I think limiting bad future to "TIME STOP!" is really disappointing. There's much more they could've done with it. However, I do like these themes of what the future will entail.
Lastly, I don't find the notion of everyone becoming a Precure a bad thing, because really the message from the beginning (at least of the new era) was that if you had the will of heart anyone could become a cure. I think that's a good message to kids that as long as you have the will to do good, you can be a precure.
To be honest....I thought it was a great season and definitely one of my favorite seasons.
If there’s one way to describe Hugtto, I say it’s kinda like the Kingdom Hearts 3 of Pretty Cure. In fact, it shares a lot in common with that game that it basically is. Both installments of their respective franchises actually has a really interesting theme and story with a great introduction, lot of great elements, and high quality moments as it goes on. Not to mention the characters are one of the best thing about it, containing a solid cast. Presentation are off the charts as well.
Unfortunately, after their ambition in the crossovers, the pacing in the final act of the main story was kicked into high gear. Things happened so fast and as a result, some of the events that happened right after were major hits or misses in varying results and some characters clearly got a better payoff than others despite not being the fault on the characters who didn’t (Poor, poor Kairi and Saaya).
That being said, the heart and effort are still there and despite the flaws, the products still turned out to be an overall great and solid entries in the end. Of course, I wish KH3 and Hugtto were better than what they are now but hey, it was enjoyable and I was glad to experience both. And at least it’s no Kirakira/Maho Girls or Re:Coded/Chain of Memories in terms of......well, everything. I find it ironic that both would still end up being some of my favorites in their respective franchises despite the issues I had. Then again, alot of my personal favorites in not just Pretty Cure or Kingdom Hearts, but video games and animated shows alike, are far from perfect. Yet, I still enjoy them a lot more. I guess I’m used to imperfect masterpieces. Here’s to hoping Pretty Cure will go on another 10 years while the next Kingdom Hearts game doesn’t take another 10 years to be released. XO Congrats on entering Unclehood, Adam!
Chain of memories had the best story though
@mohamed o I have to disagree. Birth by Sleep or 368/2 Days does.
In my opinion, your idea of Ruru making her own PreHeart would've been better.
Maybe she would've made her own but would've failed to make it work. She'd feel sadness and empathy, which is a proof of someone's humanity. After gaining more humanity, Mother would've seen Ruru's strong will to become human and Mother would've transformed her PreHeart into a real one, plus giving her a Mirai Crystal.
Plus it would have fit into the "Not giving up" theme of the season.
Wow, your words at the end really touched me. I don't know why I feel embarrassed about watching an anime targeted for children when it has so many good values and offers something to learn for any age or relate to at any time in somebody's life. Honestly, PreCure helped shape me into a more openminded, kind, strong person. There's always a character I relate to or an episode that helps get me through a hard time in my life. There are plotholes but I can understand with the budget they have and it can be overlooked because of the overall positive impact it's had. I think Hugtto was a nice refresher compared to the last two seasons, it wasn't perfect but I enjoyed it a lot. I think people could lighten up a bit. Anyway, I always appreciate your videos, loved this review!
I really wanted Hugtto to live up to my wish of being a better season than Mahotsukai and KiraKira, and while Hugtto is certainly above those two, I have to admit that yeah, Hugtto didn't quite reach the high bar of being a top 3 or top 5 season, despite all that I still had a good time and enjoyed it.
Let's see what the power imagination has in store for us now.
Second half was off the rail
Hugtto still won anime of the yr last yr.
Looking back on it after hirogaru sky, I'd say out all 3 seasons celebrating the 10, 15 and 20 years of precure this is probably the best, like the other 2 it has issues but not quite as many
My favourite season it was awesome 9/10
So i have one thing to say about Hana’s PTSD, it’s not a defense but more so a fact that I wish to bring up. Japan has a really bad type of community shunning of a single person if they do anything out of the norm or even just do something that opposes someone in a higher rank. I’ve heard many stories and seen this in a few manga (That Wolf Boy Is Mine being one example). And while I personally feel like you do make good points... I do also feel like Emiru isn’t needed and they could’ve put her to the sidelines. If I ever do a “rewrite” of this series then she won’t be removed as a character but probably a cure. Outside of her introduction and maybe a few episodes before she became a cure herself, Emiru just seemed like she, along with Lulu being so heavily tied to her character, that they wanted a duo for nostalgia. Lulu however had a really good arc of learning to be human and while Emiru’s familial arc was also interesting with her brother and grandfather being stand out to me I still feel she wasn’t needed. I do think Saya needed more screen time and the classmates at the beginning of the show only getting one episode sucks. It just kind of makes me wonder how much Toei makes the staff of each season cut for time. I have many more feelings but considering I was crying so much at this ending I really can’t get mad.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. The ending topic was beautiful and I glad you shared that with us.
gongrats for ur sister i hope the baby will be happy and healthy
as an series hugotto [ eventough i only watched ur reviews ] made me think about my own futere . as someone who is scared of growing up i feel like that fear is never going to go away but we all keep moving toward the futere i have already tought of what path i want in life being in the third year of dutch high school means choosing wich subjects you will get in your exams years . i havent even tought of what career but i want to do something with animals and despite what people try to push me to do im going to make my own choices i want to be happy with my work later in life and this is the path i need to take in order to reach it
True, I agreed. It was an okay series? But... somewhere around the Dokidoki, Fresh corner of my top fav list... def. not a Top 5 for me. I feel like it was always missing something, like it wasnt just pushing it there. One reason was the fight scene; as Im ALWAYS prioritizing fights, Hugtto kinda fell off abit... the fight still felt Doki Dokish as it tried to bring fight energy but it was missing. Don't get me wrong, they aren't the weakest, but when Black and White arrived there was a clear boundary between the two teams. I wished they kinda used more of their special attacks during the finale, like a combo of their hand and weapon. It kinda failed; we NEVER saw their individs attacks much after the trio's wand premier and either for the hand attack for Amour and Macherie (Heart song and dance)! It kinda fell to waste.
Storywise, I really liked it but character development was really unbalanced. It felt like:
1. Lulu (25%) 2.Hana (25%) 3. Emiru (15%) 4. Homare (8%) 5. Saaya (2%) 6. Harry (15%).
Lulu and Hana got the overall story dev (with movie helping Hana), Emiru was a fun ditzy young girl character (I thought she would be Muse or Ace type, but turned out she was likeable!) and Harry with Hugtan's backstory was also well developed. The two I felt really disappointed was with Homare and Saaya. Homare, I was expecting her to carry on her hesitation with ice-skating after half way through the season and would eventually regain the confidence to ice-skate with courage. The first few episodes really tried to sell us well... until i think in episode 6, she IMMEDIATELY went back to Ice-skating without no problem with her coach. WTF, later on her episodes were less developed that she is only determined as an Ice-Skater but nothing else (only the love triangle with Harry and Cure Tomorrow, but I wanted to know more about her past ice-skating history). Saaya, on the otherhand, I got to say... really disappointing... From the intro, I saw her reading a book with wings flapping out. I was hoping she would either be in a drama play or see what her acting pursuit would be. However... We only get to see at most 2 or 3 scenes where she would be acting, virtual holograph experience with her mum and a rival scene. Nothing special that helps her stand out or develop much into her character. We get Ange means Angel; she defends more than fight, but can't there be anything that can better convey her into this theme instead of being a children's doctor in the finale? She was really the most undeveloped Cure in my opinions.
Though there are still many plotholes to be filled, I really liked how they introduced the first ever male Cure in the series, but I was hoping the Male Cure would have a little more screen time and even a named Individ Atttack! The outfit, I can only say I hoped they would have a more better design that resembles an warrior ice-skater as it looks like an outfit from Aikatsu. Overall, an average series between Dokidoki and Fresh in my opinion. A few surprisingly good things, like Futari Wa, All Stars, Career themed and Maturity plot, but the fight scenes still lacks a ton along with character developments. Hope Miracle Universe can help develop them further as Senpai Cures.
Black and White randomly appearing out of no where is still the most funniest thing for me. The most randomest thing I have ever seen in precure.
I agree with a lot of what you said. Ruru became too human too fast and too best friendsy with Emiru and they crammed Twin Hearts down our throats. I personally don’t think Hana’s bullying trauma was particularly out of nowhere because I think they eluded to that since episode one or nine or something? But yeah. That did “resolve” too fast.
The second half with the villains was a trainwreck. I liked them as people but they were used awfully in the plot. Dr Traum was severely wasted because he could have scattered a lot of plot breadcrumbs leading to his eventual defeat but nope! They gave us his backstory after he was defeated in a battle not solely the main season team.
I also wish we got to see Bishin’s oshimaida summon more than once.
I do like everyone’s relationships though but sometimes I felt a divide between Hana-Homare-Saya and Emiru-Ruru in terms of best friendness.
Actually, the kimi to tomodachi, from the series help me with somethibg that happened in my life recently. A freind of mine pased away and the song help me remember evrything memorable about him and his relations with my entire fammily. And thanks to that, this series became one of my favorite ones. May my friend rest in peace.
I really liked Hugtto, though I do admit that the 2nd half was a bit of a mess. One thing I loved about it was the strong friendship between Hana, Saaya and Homare. I liked how they were always supporting each other and being there at their worst times. Sadly with the addition of Ruru and Emiru it felt awkward since they didn't feel like they were friends with the main 3. It felt like we had two different precure teams in one. Like I'm really disappointed with how Ruru turned out. I agree that giving her more human emotion so soon was pretty bad. For me, her most endearing characteristics was her robotic nature and awkwardly coming to terms with human emotions. Also even though she was living with Hana under the same roof, they weren't close at all. I thought it would almost be a good relationship just like we got with Love and Setsuna, but the writers determined that Ruru's only bond would be with Emiru. Also wasn't the biggest fan of them being an idol duo. I loved all the characters, but Saaya was unfortunately shafted. She had one of the best precure designs in Hugtto. It does make sense that dreams could change, but I wish she would have stuck with being an actress since it's such a blue cure cliche to become a doctor. Also I think it was implied that she got with George because there was a man running to the hospital with the same type of flowers that he would always give Hana. Wish I could rant more about Cure Macherie and Amour, that would be too long, lol.
I guess I'm kinda late to the party but I was ruminating about it for a while... Hugtto would be really great if it would be TWO separate seasons. There's just way too many things that writers squeeze in and they either felt extremely shoehorned, rushed or like a plot points that got dropped hard. In a perfect world Emiru and Ruru would get their own PreCure series that would exist instead of trainwreck that was Star Twinkle and the OG Trio + Cure Tommorow would be focus of Hugtto.
Well that's a strange fate, but early congratulations is in order, I suppose!
Looking forward to hear good news (about the baby) and your thoughts (about the precure/other otaku stuff that you want to talk) in the next video!
7:12 you made a lot of cure armour fans angry
i agree to most of what you said, about the writing, the poor handling of the main cast and the antagonists. I dont however feel the same about the ending as i feel at the time (and even after now watching your review) still feel incredibly disappointed. The last half so bad and uninteresting the moments that it could have turned me around just fell flat and limp and just waved off with hugs. I wont forget that it has really had good ups that make you want to drag your friends to watch it but it was little as much as like Happinesscharge and Smile. Great post series review! It started off my day!
No matter how bad the last arc was, I still cried at least five times. Twice in the Bishin and Listol reformation episode.
Okay, I fall on love with your Hugtton Ending headcanon
It kind of make sense how the villains that are taken out by the Cures forms a power ladder, and this time the ladder went beyond level grinding and required 11th-hour fighters. Hugtto team first took out Charalit on their own. Ruru defected so not counting. It took Honoka and Nagisa helping to take out Papple. Daigan was team-killed by Traum so not counting. Traum took the 55-member Pretty Cure All Stars to take out. Then finally taking out George required making at least all townspeople Cures.
I bet the Lore of Hugtto is Save her Mother from Dying Young.
Hey, at least they had a male Cure!
We were on the verge of greatness, We were this close.
Great video! And congratulations! 🎉🎉
If I had to my top 5 favorite Precure characters and or series would look like this:
*CURES*
5. Kanade Minamino
4. Saaya Yakushiji
3. Hagoromo Lala
2. Erika Kurumi
1. Nozomi Yumehara
*FAIRIES*
5. Fuwa
4. Candy
3. Aroma
2. Harry
1.Mofurun
*SERIES*
5. Futari Wa
4. HUGtto
3. Yes 5
2. Smile
1. Heartcatch
Hugtto stuff was in all of these because I loved how it *attempted* to make an impact on this franchise.
I’m just now hoping STPC does better and doesn’t give to much attention to the future sixth ranger Cure Cosmo.
I feel like the only one who actually liked the second half of hugtto. I liked how it explored Hana’s ptsd, I liked the darker themes, and I LOVED seeing George do more and more fucked up shit every week. I’m still shocked by how much they got away with with him. They basically put akio ootori in precure, and at the same time as all this crossover stuff it makes it really interesting to compare him to villains past and he’s just...*so* different
I loved his dynamic with listol and tbh I wanted a more direct confrontation between them in the finale. I still think it’s weird they made it look like hana got with him, even if it’s a different version of him when hinase was *right there* and loved hana for who she was.
Lol I also did like the second half!
But I’ll have to disagree on one thing.... I literally *just* rewatched HPC, and I can’t for the life of me remember who the fuck is Hinase... So not a fan of Hana ending up with him personally. 😬
I too am surprised by how far they were able to take George, but comparing him to Akio _might_ be a bit too much? I think the former’s meant to be way more sympathetic than the latter, what with all the sad boi writing and imagery...
My final thoughts:
Huggto: the series that took the rulebook of Precure (one that took over 14 years in the making), and tore it in half, beat the cover with a sledgehammer, shredded its pages, burned it all, buried the burnt remnants under 2 feet of dirt and burned the dirt.
I watched it but It’s not in my top 5 I think it’s lower.
My favorite was cure Etoile .(Homare)
Then saaya
Hana
Emile
Ruru.......lulu I will go with ruru
In the dance I’m homare and Ruru....lulu I think it’s ruru
I consider Hugtto a fairly satisfying level, more for the characters (especially the Lead Cure, who I still miss) and the setting than for the arcs.
Ultimately its being the 15th anniversary series did quite a bit more harm than good, and Emiru and Lulu's arc got a bit too much attention, Saaya got too little instead.
There was also the problem of some clarifications about the finale coming from interviews rather than the show itself.
Gregory House well technically Star Twinkle a Pretty Cure is the 15th anniversary series if you’re going by the solar calendar
As always thanks for the insightful review! Agree with almost all of your points, except with regards to the ending. This one messed me up really bad, and left me very confused and conflicted. They simply don't provide us with enough answers.
Were there two timelines? Three? Only one?
Did the "new timeline" replace the original one (Back to the Future style), or do the two still exist in parallel?
Either option gives us an esoteric...and dare I say, unhappy...ending. If the new timeline is the only one that's left, did our friends ride Traum's kaeru train into oblivion? If both timelines still exist, is the train still headed for a post-apocalypic world? Will "our" Harry and "our" Hugtan (Cure Tomorrow) ever see "our" Hana and her friends ever again? (it's generally standard for Precure teams to remain in contact post final episode, even if they separate).
And what's the deal with George?
Why is he in the desert?
Why was college student George crying?
Does he ever go back to 2043 (in either timeline?)
Does he ever truly reform?
What causes him to snap to begin with? (he does speak of people being evil and a WW3-like apocalypse, not his wife's supposed death)
Does he ever marry Hana (in either or both timelines)?
Why would Hana ever consider marrying him after what happened?
What symbolism does Hana's haircut convey?
Why do some people think Hana died in the original timeline? "Word of God" explanations from Tsubota don't count!
All in all, the viewer is left to coming up with their own story, and like you mention, you can come up with whatever happy or unhappy ending your heart desires. I don't like this at all. They should've explained what happened in the series itself. Again to your point, Tsubota rushes everything at the end, so obviously they never get a chance to explain things.
ps I personally love the "new timeline replaces the old one, the apocalypse never happens in the first place (grandfather paradox aside), everybody reunites fully once the train arrives in 2043, and they all lived happily ever after!"
Hugtto did a lot of things wrong. They did Ruru less and less of a robot in question of 1 or 2 episodes, she was like an OoC until the whole thing with Traum came up and actually made her likeable for me. Villains like Jeros & her butlers, Bishin and specially *Listol* had their story rushed at the speed of light. Saaya is probably the freaking Luminous of this season and you see her more being knocked than knocking someone, not to mention her whole thing with her mother and her dreams didn't get a good development (Just like the same shit they did with Minami. Freaking girl spent more than half of the season with the same dream and bam! It's gone for some random secondary character). Emiru was also kind of ignored, most of the time, episodes about her where in majority "Ruru this, Ruru that" and her brother and Henri, she deserved a proper story honestly. The team mechanic sucked, we waited more than 20 episodes for a group pose and most of the time, Yell is the one who does the most physical damage while Twin Love spams their guitar attacks, Étoile seconds Yell and Ange...yeah, more knocked than knocking and sometimes she was not as smart as she appeals. Hugtan as Cure Tomorrow was a disappointment, she was pretty much a Luminous too and we never saw her fighting with her mom. Not to mention the fact that she was used for a trolling love triangle. George Kurai didn't make any sense, the story and time paradox with him didn't make any sense, the dude was a creep and we don't even know how he got power, how old was he in the present and if he really is Hugtan's father since he treated her as a tool for much of the freaking series. Aside from anniversary, the crossover episode wasn't necessary and reduced the time for other holes in the story.
Only things that were actually saved from this awful and rushed writing were Hana, Hugtan, Henri, Homare and Harry. Yet, this might be one of the best series just for the single fact of make you attached and connect to the characters plus some fanservice and finally, making real the premise of *You can do anything and you can become anyone* .
While i agreed with almost everything you said what you said about minami is not true it was not a shit plot twist and was implied early on that she loved the marine life and have doubts ,it was about her realising that she can have her own dreams and life and not live on the expectations placed upon her by her status and family, it was actually very well executed unlike saya that was rushed, predictable and to cliche for a blue cure
I feel like why Huggto failed for me was because of the simple fact that I COULD NOT fall in love with the main characters at all, like I tried so much to like them and get into them, but at the end of the day I did NOT care for them at all.
Yeah, Hugtto is mixed. It had some serious guts to go to the places it did and just how deep it threw its characters into mental despair, both protagonists and antagonists. From Hana's self-loathing over Hugtan ending up in a coma, Henri being literally thrown under a truck to brutally nail the coffin on his skating career shut, to Homare's past trauma, as well as some drama from several of the earlier villains, it brought a lot of true drama. It also comes with some great messages about freedom and Henri's character is a great addition to exemplify individualism. I also like how they start each opening with the message of "You can do anything, you can be anything", but in its actual story provides nuance and shows that that isn't necessarily the case. Several characters simply cannot fulfil their dreams, life simply doesn't deal them the cards to continue on that path. Hana will never be as academically proficient as Saaya or as athletically skilled as Homare, Homare will never be Harry's girlfriend, Emiru can't get Ruru to stay with her in the present timeline, neither Papple nor Charaleet get to be successful at Criasu and Papple doesn't get to stay with George either, and Henri doesn't get to have a career as a professional figure skater. Instead of sticking with "you can do anything, Hugtto instead lets some dreams shatter, and then focuses on building its characters by showing that no matter what, there is always a new path that you can take forwards, even if it goes to a different direction. All you need is friends or family supporting you and giving you a good hug during times of need, and the spirit to keep on going. All of it is very courageous that they went there, and I applaud Hugtto for it.
However, the later half is very rushed and goes all over the place in terms of tone. The later half was stacked with villains that were poorly developed and didn't get the chance to truly have a journey. There were just too many of them. Criasu also has very vague goals here. In the earlier half it's implied that they wanted the Precure to generate the Mirai crystals so they could steal them afterwards and use them to stop time, but even after the Precure gathered all the crystals roughly half-way into the series, the villains mostly continue to just summon monster after monster to cause havoc but with no clear goal. Then we get the Traum final cross-over that essentially just states that instead of needing the Mirai crystals for their asu-power, Criasu has the ability to go to the different Precure universes and just steal all their asu-power. Why didn't they do that in the beginning? It makes no sense. And after Traum gets defeated we get the Halloween episode, where Criasu seems like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel. They lost Traum, probably their most capable asset, Bishin is mostly moping over Harry instead of being a productive villain, Gelos is going through her own weird phase, and they didn't get Henri to join them either, so they even try to recruit Daigan again, the old guy who literally contributed nothing to the show either as a villain or as a reformed character. And in the episode after that they suddenly have some old Traum tech left, manage to create virtual worlds, and get the Precure into a virtual future and weird Traum labyrinth. Criasu's powers are all over the place and don't make any sense.
One other gripe I have with this series is how it develops its Precure power-ups or handles its climactic battles. They often come hand-in-hand in Precure, with the hardest of battles being the catalyst to some kind of power-up. But aside from the Charaleet fight where they unlocked their first group finisher they kind of missed the mark there. Papple's fight was kind of hijacked, at least the physical portion, by Cure Black and White, Traum's final showdown ended up also being overblown with so many other teams that it took away what could have been a very good and emotional boss battle from their own team. Their early 30s total group finisher was literally unlocked when fighting some weirdo's that turned into a monster that didn't even manage to land a single hit on any of the Precures. And then they got another group finisher in episode 39, which was an episode so chaotic and rushed it was kind of hard to get a clue on what was going on. Add in the final boss essentially being a pessimistic guy with a book that shoots lightning, and it's just a bit underwhelming in terms if fights. Cure Yell and her team just didn't get all that many cool fights to really show off their skills. The fights, while often not bad from a narrative point of view, were often quite boring physically with the villains doing little more than summon more monsters and rarely changing their tactics. There were so many villains, but pretty much all of them just went with the same stick making the faction as a whole just a bit sloggy and not offer enough momentum to keep the main plot going.
Overall, Hugtto had strong themes of working towards a better future, raising kids, and brought some serious drama with guts, it had some amazing ideas, but especially in its later part often didn't manage to get its pieces aligned properly to get a good execution. The storytelling was just so rushed that it often didn't manage to get some vital status exposition in, it made Criasu look really inconsistent as a threat and the backstory a bit messy since it's quite confusing with the different timelines and everything and them rushing so much through the exposition.
I feel like Recruiting Daigan would be an interesting idea if played right. You know, he's ~45-50yo and if we match the timeline, Criasu came from ~15years into the future. If we assume that he was not lying about being actually strong in his prime time, then there was somewhere a 30-35yo Giga Chad Daigan and Criasu instead decided to reach to literal old boomer.
Although The only seasons I saw were the dubbed versions of smile and dokidoki[the former I didn't even know was part of a bigger franchise,] and clips of Maho Girls, Kirakira, and the seasons after that, Hugtto became one of my favorites. One reason was for the Explorers of Sky threat. Both stories dangers was the Planent Paralyisis, and a duo went back in time to try to save the world, only to have one member of the duo suffer during the trip to the past, and the truth slowly being revealed. And of course, both characters had to deal with saying good-bye to their friends.
Of course their are many differences between the two stories but I love both stories.
Some reasons I like certain series despite only reading about them, is voice acting reasons. Heartcatch had Moonlight-Palutena and Dark Cure-Dark Pit. DokiDoki had Hades-King Mercenare. And of course Healing Good had Kaname Madoka as Grace. There are others, but yeah.
First of all, congratulations on entering Unclehood Azenzone. ^w^
As for all of this, hmmm... *arms crossed* ...lets see...Hugtto Precure. Hugtto Precure...how should i put this *thinking*
After 2 epic flops that is Mahou Tsukai AND ESPECIALLY KIRAKIRA, what do i think of Hugtto? Personally, despite its flaws and rushed production, both character and plotwise, i overall enjoyed the season. At the very least, not one of the main Hugtto 5 are unlikable (though some get more screentime than others...). Not having the "Best Season" title of course (i agree that Futari Wa, Heartcatch and GoPri are the best ones~), but faaaar off from being the "Worst Season" title (u already know who =3=). In a way, i describe this season as a "guilty pleasure" of mine.
How i describe the characters overall:
Hana/Yell: Great first impression overall...until the bullying and PTSD part. I hate it...both plotwise and personal wise... I feel like for one thing, its just shoved in just cause for Hana to have her own personal drama out of the blue, and two they just rushed in the resolution of the bullying part. THOSE episode (23, 24 and 31) made me just...mindblown, in a negative sense. but the less i talked about it, the better. But despite those personal issues about those moments, I still like her. at the very least, she's way better than Ichika and Mirai before...
Saaya/Ange: *sigh* im just sad when it comes to her. she's still my favorite Blue Cure. oh if only they give her more depth in character...not like this. Though surprisingly enough, shes the only Cure in the season who STILL uses her old moves (i.e. she uses both Heart Feather and Feather Blast in combat compared to the rest who mainly relies on their new attacks).
Homare/Etoile: Dirty Furry/Baby s** aside, as a character, shes...eh. Pretty decent. Could've focus more on regaining her skating prowess than her wanting to make out with a hamster...just saying ^^;
Emiru/Macherie and *Lulu/Amour: as much as i like them both, the problem is they have waaay too much screentime. No wonder Homare and especially Saaya get the short end of the stick.
*in her case, in terms of her robotic part, you're absolutely right. she could've made her own device and yes, i get the humanity part buuut...too soon =3=
Hugtan: =w= *pat her head* ...no gripes on her. at the very least, she's both cute and has a purpose
Harry: *same case as Hugtan...despite the dirty implications.... *shivers**
Villains A:
Charlie and Purple: both are decent...though in Purple's case, they're clearly attempting to show that George had an affair with Gelos. Its obvious from the bed =3=
Daigan: =______= *sigh*
Villains B:
Mr. Steampunk (Dr. Traum): honestly, hard to say for me. i mean, my only gripe for him is the unanswered questions about his real daughter's death =3=
Trap (Bishin) and Listerine (Listol): wasted potentials and poorly rushed resolution
Gelos and her Butlers: forgettable.
Big Bad:
George: one word to describe him: WHAAAAAAAAT?!
im just...utterly confused throughout all what he did in this season, mainly the second half. Like Dr. Traum, im just...lost it, but in his case, its much worse =_____=
Klrkira anime still a bad anime really bad
16:07 dogs and cats living together!
So... who’s the Mother then?
Sadly it's not well explained but it's implied that the Mother is Hana but in a different form. Think of it like and alternate universe. One in which Hana is a mother ( the one we follow), the bad future in which she dies, and the original future in which George takes over.
Inkfy makes sense
@@Inkfy I think they should have made Hana's adult design closer to Mother because they literally don't look alike 😫
@@nutnutnutnutnut That's one theory but as much as we know it can be just.... literal..... entity aka Goddess.
HadeaRin another Hikari perhaps (she is the reincarnation of the Goddess of Light)
Now this was a fitting Vid, Good Job #AzenZone, A question just popped up, Will you be planning a Review of the next Hugtto PreCure Manga?
Yes. I'll get a copy as soon as it comes out in March.
Splendid I'll be looking forward to it,@@AzenzoNe Ohh my personal head-Canon of this is that They might have been planning to save the Pretty Cure's Joining together for the Final Episodes of the Series where they Join Hana against George Kurai, I would love to Read the Original Script's of the Franchise.
I'm making my own Pretty Cure series and it is called the Painting Colors Pretty Cure.
13:03 poor bed Kun yeah
I understand Hana giving up on the sword because of empathy gor Charaleet but couldnt Bandai design a weapon that actually looks like a sword i mean in Kamen Rider and Super Sentai they can but the Melody "Sword" is just a generic magical girl magic stick.
16:51 cure mermaid I think they're trying to make rule 63 jotaro
Antz?! Well that's an old and unexpected reference.
George madoka magica is that way, I think you and houmura will get along just fine
23:55 Wait! So she wrote Tri? No wonder it sucked so much.
I love how heartwarming Hugtto was but in the end I’m disappointed. With the rush character developments, fast pacing in the last two arcs, and what I dislike the most in any story is plot holes. Like Mother heart and the Mirai Crystals. Who was mother heart and we never understand who she is. And the Mirai Crystals was supposed to turn Hugtan back into cure tomorrow and that never happened and the villains want the Mirai Crystals to stop time but in the end they didn’t need them to stop time. To me this is the probably the same level of great but flawed season as mahou tsukai. I adore mahou tsukai and Hugtto and they’re both my 6th and 7th precure season respectfully but mahou tsukai didn’t have any plotholes like Hugtto did but Hugtto did have great villains that we get to know unlike mahou tsukai. Though I agree that I wish it was amazing but sadly that didn’t happen.
I think the whole male precure thing should've gone to Masato, along the time we knew him, he grew and changed from being cold and going along with what he thought was normal to more kind and compassionate. THAT'S what being precure is all about.
19:34 Granted they shouldn’t made a mini all-star because of that(because to fight that many precure at once Needs that kinda enemy)
I dont think it's that flawed I liked it
It's got problems yeah but like lupin vs pato i enjoyed it all the same
14:01 we never knew him
🙏
You know, I've always wondered how AzenZone is able to keep up with all the new episodes. I mean, Glitter Force is the only version of the show that I know has been put onto something like Netflix.
10:37 Babies in precure are OP
I can't help but be annoyed that the only person talking about PreCure on RUclips is also the only person giving this series crap. Everyone else agrees this is one of the best Magical Girl anime of all time, and Emiruru was the the best Ship of 2018.
Not sure about "best of all time" but most people seem to agree Hugtto was one of the better Precure series. I haven't watched it yet (I was kinda away from Precure for a while and only got back last year) but not only it's one of the few precure seasons I see mentioned by anime fans outside the core fanbase, I've seen a lot of people really praising its supposedly more mature themes and what not. Even people fighting over whether or not the end is good.
But the thing is, I would never know that from the people I usually see talking about Precure. I remember fan groups I asked about saying it was trash and lumping it with the previous two seasons (and Star Twinkle) as really disappointing, wasted potential seasons that become crap in the second half. Until I started seeing praise to Hugtto pop up elsewhere I really thought there was nothing good in Precure since GoPri. I'm wondering what the disconnect here is, but it'll be a while before I watch Hugtto to see for myself - I'm rewatching GoPri and plan to watch the seasons I missed in release order.
Adam has the right to not like this season as much, and he does justify his viewpoints reasonably.... But yeah I agree, it’s a real shame that he’s the *only* opinion on Hugtto we get on RUclips... I also wish I could understand Japanese, because the discussions around Precure, and in particular HPC, seem to be more numerous and interesting there... Precure is underrepresented on English-speaking internet, especially RUclips.
@@etherealsky7078 Well now Tyranno's PreCure series has reached Hugtto so we have that.
What in the world is the hasi era?
“Hagumi”
“Hug me” right?
I guess so.
I know, why are you telling me that?
Yes it is the second best anime of 2018 the best anime of 2018 is pop team Epic sure you can have your Goblin Slayer
Aaaaaaaaaaa none of that really affected my enjoyment lol
A problem while half a series went off the rails
You better be happy that hugtto villain design are not as bad as star ⭐️ twinkle
Tbh I think the Star Twinkle villain designs are amazing. They actually look some what terrifying (Kappard probably more silly but the two females have been solid)!!! Sure they're not pretty but are villains supposed to be drop dead gorgeous or threatening? I'm going with the latter on this one.
Nicke
Sounds like it's on the same level as Fresh? Amazing concepts and characters, problematic pacing?
Hugtto is not bad, it had a good start, I just really dislike Hugtan, she is not even a cute baby, and don’t even get me started with Etoile falling for the mascot character.
I agree for the most part, Hugtto Precure starts off really great, but went off the deep end later down the line. Heck, one of my favorite Precure reviewer gave this series second last rank in terms of story, and I can't blame her for that. The settings is totally broken, and some that are established were either never brought up again, never developed or not enough development, or develop way too fast. She even made a theory that Hugtto Precure is one HUGE time loop that will never end or never have a future according to her research on Tsubota's interview, that is having only one timeline.
And speaking of Tsubota, sorry after the damage she had done with Hugtto, I really don't want her to get involved in Precure again. Let others take the spotlight.
The one thing that really bothered me about Hugtto Precure is just how weak they are. Chararit is the ONLY general that they defeated by themselves. The rest, got helped by other Precures, other side characters, and they pretty much just did what Sailormoon usually did with the MOTWs in the anime series, using the finishers. I am glad that Star Twinkle have more personal fights with the generals now, and even more than ever, which is great. The Hugtto really weren't kidding when they chose a toy rather than the sword.
As for the characters, they are a mixed bag. They have strong introduction, but later down the line, their development is really not balanced. And some of their characters contradict with what has established or developed, leaving me feel really confused in the end of what they are.
I guess at the end of the day, I felt that Hugtto Precure really loses their own identity as a Precure of their own. Sure they managed to create a story with the message fully played out, even though one could still theorize that this whole series is one giant time loop ala the Terminator movies (minus Genesys), and they don't really have the "Legendary" title so they really don't need to prove themselves much, but I still can't really see or even rely on them as heroes or saviors, let alone a team that helped save the future.
Which brings the question, is there really a future for Precure after Hugtto? Obviously we have Star Twinkle, which I hope they really didn't follow the footsteps of Hugtto, EVER! Thanks for this review, and I am looking forward to your Doki Doki review.
Still NEVER going to get a ENGLISH DUB EVER.