(This review may contain spoilers. Please avoid reading this before watching the entire series.)
Kirakira Precure A La Mode, the sixth season I'm watching in the Precure franchise. This season definitely took a very out of the box thing as its theme- Desserts. And like desserts, I think this season was bittersweet in both story-wise and quality-wise. Basically, it's kinda awkward to pinpoint how I feel.
Story: 7/10
Definitely a bit different from what I'm used to from the first five seasons I've watched. We first start out with a whole bunch of smaller villains before moving on to the main ones, which isn't something I've ever seen, ... so that's cool.
One thing that makes me feel awkward about giving a lenient score like I always do in this aspect is just how far the season can be divided between the two extremes.
The thing is the following- The main villain in Precure usually has some kind of big goal for what they exactly want to accomplish and sometimes very great motives behind it. This season managed to screw up both parts of having a decent villain. Noir's motive for his villainous acts was really awkward in comparison to seasons like Heartcatch and Hugtto. And from there, as many other seasons do, he takes advantage of the negativity of his allies, the old stuff. But to be quite honest, their acts to achieve their goals this season were quite weird. How does one plan to spread hatred by getting rid of kirakiraru again? XD
However, on the other side of the spectrum is the amazing KiraPika siblings arc, aka the Cure Parfait arc. This arc was the absolute bomb. It was an intense emotional roller coaster and ended on a heartbreaking note. The development of both this arc and Cure Parfait after that would go on to be excellent.
As for the main Cure storylines, most of them are very pleasant and good. I say good because for real though, it seemed rather simple this time around. This was one of Kirakira's weaknesses: A 6 Cure Team. We haven't seen one in almost a decade and it definitely strained the balance of development between Cures.
Art: 8/10
I originally didn't exactly like the art style but soon it would grow on me as some other seasons did. I especially love how sometimes the art compliments the mood of the scene. Plus, this season's Cures probably have some of the most exotic character designs due to their double design theme of Animals and Desserts. Some of them were great, some were... Okay.
Seriously though, can we all agree Cure Whip has the most gigantic twintails of any Precure ever? XD
Sound: 10/10
This season had pretty freaking amazing background music and I love the effort on matching certain scenes with certain tunes. They really bring out the vibes.
Character: 8/10
This part is a bit more complicated.
Honestly, there's not much wrong with the characters and they're very much fine this season. But it's just that. This season doesn't exactly bring too many new things to the table in terms of character personalities, so they may get stale. (Heh, the puns!)
Ichika and Himari have pleasant arcs but they have a lot of room for improvement. Their stories are quite smooth and relaxing to sit through, sometimes touching.
Aoi's arc had an awesome start and her personality and interests were a creative idea. It was nice overall, but of course, it could've been more powerful.
Yukari and Akira's entry in the team makes this season only the second ever time to have senior high Cures (First being Moonlight from Heartcatch.) While Yukari I found and feel a bit out of reach in some cases for the usual fanbase, Akira's story with the addition of her sister Miku was both sweet and fun to see.
And then we have the highlight: Ciel. Ciel's story was mixed in with her brother Pikario's (aka Julio's) backstory. Her celebrity flair and her level of professionalism stand out amongst the rest and she has a beautiful and bittersweet arc overall. In her arc, she learned what it truly meant to be a patissier despite how great she had already been being one, and I think that's a nice touch to her character.
Overall, some Cures had better devs than others, and most of them have room to improve.
Meanwhile, the villains seemed to see a falling slope of quality as the season dragged on. Undoubtedly, Julio was the best of them and after his reformation, played a huge role in explaining the Cure Parfait arc and making his sister's story the more bittersweet.
The others? Not much to touch on.
Enjoyment: 9/10
In truth, since I've started to become accustomed to the rhythm of Precure, combine that with how this season didn't exactly bring too much new stuff to the table, I did enjoy this season a little less, but I can't say I didn't enjoy it.
Despite much criticism on the fight scenes, I personally found many hidden gems throughout the season, such as episode 40 and the finale. This was also a season where the Cures seemed to take a more ranged approach as opposed to usual close combat. I think it provided a lot of room for imaginative attacks in that sense and the attacks looked very nice, although again, it could get stale after a while.
The overall pacing was fine, could've been faster, and I love some of the character interactions, particularly the KiraPika siblings, Ichika and her mother and Ciel and Bibury (Episode 26), and a few others.
Overall: 8/10
Kirakira Precure A La Mode isn't as amazing as some of the other seasons I've watched. However, on its own, it provides a very nice emotional ride and it's the kind of show that I really love, where I could sit back and relax, and watch something to brighten up my day.
But don't take my word for it- Especially with how high my score is! XD
 Alternative Titles Synonyms: Kirakira☆Precure À La Mode Japanese: キラキラ☆プリキュアアラモード Information Type: TV Episodes: 49 Status: Finished Airing Aired: Feb 5, 2017 to Jan 28, 2018 Premiered: Winter 2017 Broadcast: Sundays at 08:30 (JST) Licensors: None found, add some Studios: Toei Animation Source: Original Theme: Mahou Shoujo Duration: 24 min. per ep. Rating: G - All Ages Statistics Score: 7.351 (scored by 5,108 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #26972 2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #5640 Members: 13,767 Favorites: 192 Available AtResources |
|
