A Blue episode? Blue usually isn't very good.
- It's the old "opportunity to study abroad" story. It doesn't really work here because Reika has never displayed any ambition in the show so far, so the conflict that this brings is pretty artificial.
- Hey, her grandfather's actually being useful.
- Joker's turn to fight? That bodes well for the action.
- There's some pretty nice group shot composition here:
Not only is there a nice contrast of light and shadow, but the characters are composed to make use of the space rather than placed in a flat plane. It's always pleasant to see the animators put in extra effort like this.
- Joker's demotivational speech is pretty good! Although he could have accomplished more by not even showing up.
- What do you know? They manage to justify false conflict by using the strong chemistry in the cast.
- And Cure Beauty finally uses her sword(s)! And bow! This fight scene might be even better than the ones in the last few focus episodes. This is Toei doing their best to match Heartcatch's visuals.
- Too bad they use the Precure Royal Rainbow Burst again.
Overall, this episode was a lot better than I expected. Reika is still a boring character, but the Cures have such strong chemistry that they still manage to overcome that. The fight scenes are sharp and fun, and the direction is strong.
Episode 44
Time for Pink. Miyuki isn't that great a character - she's okay in an ensemble, but she really doesn't have enough presence to pack much of a punch on her own. Luckily for her, Smile Precure is very much an ensemble show, and the chemistry of the characters make up for most weaknesses.
- Winter time, and it looks like Miyuki is going to have a more melancholy time this episode than usual.
- Wolfrun's still around? I wonder if he can still be an effective villain after the beating he took at the hands of Cure Sunny.
- Oh look, here's some background info we should have gotten forty episodes ago. Anne of Green Gables is too perfect as reading material.
- It looks like time for the story of how Miyuki got her Happy - a bit strange that it comes from her imaginary friend. Damn, it's really weird learning all this so late in the game. That bit in the OP is finally explained as well.
- Wolfrun makes his entrance and wastes no time laying the smackdown on Cure Happy. And for once, the Ultra Happy coming in to save the day is completely earned. It wouldn't work emotionally if we haven't seen the great interplay between the characters so far.
- The fight is pretty good, and Cure Happy's new finisher looks darned good. Too bad they still have to use the group finisher. It really does dampen the mood after the character in focus has just reached what should be their emotional epiphany.
This episode was another great entry in this last set of character focus episodes. The weakest aspect of it was that it introduced a character aspect of Miyuki that should have been display long beforehand. However the direction was really good, and the overall effect makes up for it. Curiously, I noticed a lot of extreme close-ups this episode. There seem to also be a lot of unusual camera angles and framing as well. These flourishes are used effectively though, so it's all good.
This set of episodes is overall better than the last set. The rating for this set would be Green -> Yellow -> Pink -> Blue -> Orange. However, they're still all pretty good. Given the quality so far, even if the rest of this show is just a loop of Miyuki saying "Ultra Happy!", I'd say that Smile Precure is a good show.