Heartcatch Precure
Written on 23/08/25
Alright fellas, I'm gonna try my hardest to not gush over every aspect of this show I like. I'ts gonna be tough but forgive me if I end up doing so.
I started watching Heartcatch alongside Fresh Precure, after really getting into the series from Smile. All I knew about Heartcatch before watching it is that it's supposedly dark and that its the most popular precure by a decent margin.
That being said, I completely understand why and it deserves the praise it gets, even with the miniscule gripes that I'll get to later.
I suppose I'll start with discussing the artstyle of the show, since it's one of the things it stands out for compared to all other seasons, and then talk about the characters and other things.
I like the artsyle a lot and how stylized it is. Makes it perfect for exaggerated movements or expressions whilst not being too jarring or out of place, given how the characters normally look. I think the way the show looks also helps with quality of the animation, whether it be character acting or the action scenes. You can just tell that animators had fun being creative how some scenes where done.
Whilst on the animation of the show, I think the transformation scens for this season are super good. Like I'm just gonna leave it at that because if I describe what I like about them in detail, this will become a thesis. They simply just make me grin like an idiot whenever they happen.
Tsubomi Hanasaki
Now onto the characters starting with the lead of the precure quartet of this season. Tsubomi Hanasaki, Cure Blossom. I think she's a great lead, different from almost all the rest I've seen, due to her shyness and lack of self confidence in the beginning. But as the season goes on we see her gradually change, even if its not a drastic change. I'd say she is relatable in regards to her introverted nature and social awkwardness, and she and Erika contrast and compliment each other quite well given how different they are.
I also like how she is shown to be a voice of reason and understanding of others as we see a lot of the time with the MOTW being formed from the insecurities of others. This aspect of her also contrasts Erika like I mentioned earlier, considering she almost always speaks to her mind to a fault.
One other thing I like about her is how she starts off as the so-called weakest Precure. It was interesting to see the main character be in a show like this, be positioned as the most incomptent of the squad. Though I think it makes sense and goes well with her development towards becoming mroe confident and breaking out of her shell.
Her cure form is good but is a case of a design that looks better in motion in my opinion. I like how her hair coils up during her transformation. Something about that just looks right to me.
Post-upload commentary:
Slipped my mind whilst typing but I like the way she looks with her glasses and it's a shame we only see her wear them once in a while.
Erika Kurumi
Next up, the seemingly devicise character, Erika Kurumi, Cure Marine. I've seen a lot of people dislike Erika but to me, like, I can't put into words how I feel about this lass right here. I mean that in a positive way.Erika, as I said, is the polar opposite to Tsubomi. She is blunt, inconsiderate, selfish and lazy at times and in spite of that all she's my 2nd character favourite character in the show.
I can totally see why people dislike or even hate her but I love this little gremlin right here man. In spite of her flaws, she is a rather headstrong and positively stubbron individual. Compared to the more passive Tsubomi, Erika is a lot more confrontational and brutally honest, even if it comes off at rude. As someone who constantly has to filter the way I feel at times, I respect and admire Erika for these traits.
In addition to all that, I like how her relationship with her older sister is protrayed, I now a younger me would relate to aspects of their relationship.
I don't feel too strong about Erika's cure form, it's good. I like how her hair splits off into two and the blues are indeed nice.
Itsuki Myoudouin
Itsuki Myoudouin, Cure Sunshine. I fell for the male act she has going on. I think she's a great character and I relate to her issues regarding how she presents herself. Not exactly, but parts of her character hit close to home for me. I love how she grows to be more comfortable with expressing the feminine sides of herself.
I found the leadup to her becoming Cure Sunshine pretty cool, nice job at building anticipation without it being too obvious until the debut episode came around.
I'd say I appreciate her as an indvidual character more than anything else. I tend to like the formal and polite characters who are discipline and strict to a degree. Saberlikes if you will.
Itsuki's cure form is pretty alright. I like seeing it in motion more than the design itself but I dunno if I should consider that a plus or not. Her sunflower is pretty cool and I dig the unintentional insect she's got going on. Showed her design to a friend and she said she looked like a bee.
Yuri Tsukikage
Finally we have Cure Moonlight, Yuri Tsukikage, the first character we see in the show as she falls in battle against Dark Precure. Yuri is probably my favourite character even if it's mostly just because of her arc of regaining faith in herself after failing so painfully after the loss of her fairy, Cologne.
I really enjoy characters that are stone cold due to past events and then we have moment where they just let it all out and they're overcome trauma or guilt. Likely why Water 7 is favourite one piece arc. Anyway, Yuri is cool, outside of whats he has going on she is calm and collected and her only friend seems to be Erika's sister but we don't get too much context on how that came about.
I like the rivalry or parallel she has with Dark Precure. I'll talk about DP later but seeing those two against each other just pleases me on an aesthetic level. Like pure "hype moments and aura" as people say nowadays.
Her cure design is favourite of this season. Purples and whites are a good combo and I like her extremelt windswept hair. Also love how simple and clean her transformation is, just straight and to the point. I appreciate that in a series full of long individual and group transformations.
The villains
I think the villains this season are alright but besides dark precure I dont have too much to say. Sasorina, Kumojacky and Kobraja are all okaaaaaaay. They have some endearing traits on occasion but for most part they play themselves really straight as villains. Not until a bit later on for Sasorina and then the end for the other two, is there much depth to them but I wasn;t expecting too much anyway. They are perfectly serviceable but I like villain trios from other seasons more.
Dark Precure, like her counterpart, is pretty cool. She serves as a good roadblock for the gang to overcome and she certainly does a good job as one. Like Joker in Smile, a show Precure benefits from a villain that the audience can believably take seriously whenever they appear. I found how she met her end rather pitiful and a little depressing but in a good way. Reminded me a lot of fma2003 now that I think about it.
Sabark, being the father of Yuri and Dark Precure, also looks pretty cool but whilst I think the twist of him being who he is was fine in it of itself, I think it could've been executed better, came kinda late. I feel this way with Dune as well, aspects of those 2 lack proper clarification and end up brining more questions than answers, especially in the case of Dune.
Speaking of Dune, he is okay. I like how plain his design is, positively minimal and he's got that little lizard thing. Yeah, he certainly exists, I like him more than I dislike him but everything surrounding him is kinda vague so I can't really comment on much.
He's at least not completely generic I suppose.
Almost forgot about MOTW for this season which are the desertians, I dunno if you say like torian or trian but whatever. I think they good in what they do, as they are formed from the sorrow or insecurity of people's heart flowers. Because of how Heartcatch is structured I'm pretty okay with their presence and they don't feel too shoehorned in compared to others. Only complaint, though this has more to do with how the villains operate, is that by defeating them the heroines are actively benefiting by getting those seeds. But then again thats not directly from it and is more so a result of whatever character was troubled being able to find some consolidation at the end of the episode, so they might've gotten the seed either way. I'm overthinking this but I hope you get the idea lol.
Side characters/Supporting cast
Heartcatch is probably gonna be the only season to have a section like this. There are a ton of side characters in Heartcatch that get decently fleshed out considering how many of them there are even if they are only relevant for an episode. I think a lot of them are memorable and at worst they are forgettable. Having a big cast of characters that we have somewhat of an idea about makes the world feel a litte more lived in, which I appreciate.
The more typical plot relevant side characters are neat as well. You have Tsubomi's grandmother who was a precure, Cure Flower, before the main cast and she's cool. The first two fairies we are introduced to in this season, Chypre and Coffret of this season are probably not on the shitlist. I find the way they speak sort of funny and they never get annoying to be honest. The ONLY gripe I have with these dudes is that weird thing they do to make the seeds. Forgive me for ranting but I was so confused when I saw that for the first time because of the way it looked. Like, I wish I could've been certain that it was just poop but I was not. Thats all that really needs to be said lol.
Ignoring those two though, there's Lord Coupe who is pretty cool. I liked his role as a sort of deus ex machina earlier on, even if we didn't know that was him at first. Given his wordless demeanour I appreciate that he has a sense of initiative to help out when necessary. Potpurri teeters on being annoying but is endearing enough so it balances out. They also play decent support during fights on occasion which I respect.
OP/ED
The opening for this season is the most guilty pleasure bop I've ever had the privelige of listening to. I don't know if I can consider it guilty at this point because I shamelessly enjoy it. It is one hell of an earbug and I've even memorized lyrics. Other than the music itself the animation on display is really good too. Smile precure used edited stock footage for the action shots but Heartcatch has original stuff and it looks great.
Admitedlly I didn't listen to the endings nearly as much whilst watching Heartcatch but I didn't dislike them. The first one is good, they way the move reminds me the edit mode in project diva but smoother. The 2nd ending caught me off gaurd when I first listening to it, but I like that one too. The visuals for that one in regards to the backgrounds look really good.
Closing thoughts
This is way longer than intended but the length of this review should appropriatelly display how much I love Heartcatch. My complaints are minimal and my praises are endless and oh so very biased. If you wanna dip your toes in precure and not watch a handful of the season, I recommend this without a doubt. Not just a good season of precure but a great anime.
