Image from ZaBlancJake here on Reddit
The Cure Eclair mystery is driving the entire fandom insane, but friendly reminder: we haven't ruled out the furry little companion who wears blue regularly AND has a ponytail! Uh-huh. You know the one.
I've just baked a batch of brownies for my twin friends' birthday next week, and after thawing them overnight, I want to zap them in the microwave for 15 seconds just so that they're warm when I give it to them. Is overnight thawing too long? Can I just leave them out for 2 hours and it'll do the trick?
While learning about reactions of ethanol, my chemistry tutor mispronounced “photosynthesis” as “photosynthesix” and then I realized that was really clever once you realize all the reactants and products in that reaction are multiplied by 6. Not that he did it on purpose, or even noticed, but I don’t want him to since I want this to be a inside joke that only I’m in on (kinda defeats the point of telling y’all but Alas!)
Ok, I get this has been a known fact, but as the seasons go on, haven't y'all realized the girls (specifically the leads) just instantly know how to fight and have no problem going against these monsters the size of a house, despite having no previous fighting experience (or at least, none that's shown to us) whatsoever? Sometimes it makes sense, like Cure Sky, who's whole thing is that she's been training to be a hero. However, a bright, cheerful, almost unbearably sweet "genki-type" lead like Uta would have no reason at all to know how to throw hands. Sure, she had her doubts in the beginning, but she just went at it after landing one booboo on the Makkuranda. I kinda got it for Hana, with her background of being bullied, but that's more so steering into headcanon territory. I choose to believe she learnt to defend herself. This change is really weird in my opinion and kinda ruins the immersion of becoming a magical girl for the first time. And while we're here, how do they know the exact words to say? Yeah, yeah, magic or whatever, but afterwards they BARELY seem fazed about their transformation. The second they come off their henshin high, they're ready to fight. I kinda get why they did it though, to save time or whatever, and granted, it was kinda overdone. By about S14 (Kirakira) we knew the whole shebang. Even then, there are extents to how far my disbelief can be bent. Again, I'm probably just reiterating what others have already said, and I know this might get taken down 😭. But yh...what do y'all think?
Wonderful Precure! (Toei Animation) by Pixiv Id 2418236 Mobile Wallpaper
Daifuku (left): Bouncy feelings fill up this world! Cure Lapyon! We're bros for life, aren't we? (fist-bumps camera cuz he a real one)
>弾む気持ちはあふれる世界！キュアラピョン！僕らはマブダチだろう？
(hazumu kimochi wa afureru sekai! Cure Lapyon! bokura wa mabudachi darou?)
Satoru (right): Wisdom and kindness are nurtured in this world! Cure Sage! What will we discover today? (smirks and strokes chin while side-eyeing camera cuz he knows he's hot)
知恵と優しさが育ってる世界！キュアセージ！今日はどんな発見をする？
(eichi to yasashi-sa ga sodatteru sekai! Cure Sage! kyou wa, don'na hakken wo suru?)
Together we are (spinning around hand-in-hand)... Pyonderful Pretty Cure!
僕らふたりはぴょんダフルプリキュア！
(bokura futari wa Pyonderful Pretty Cure!)
As you may or not may know, Miraculous is currently airing here in the UK on CBBC, the kids' division of the BBC, and available to stream on BBC iPlayer. And it's only afer watching through a British child's eyes, as if it was made by British producers for a British audience, and honestly? S1's dialogue feels like a Brit's interpretation of what American highschoolers sound like, and it's never more apparent than in this scene, in this episode. Cat Noir is giving MAJOR high-school-jock energy when he's flexing in front of Marinette here. Even before this, Sabrina's rant about how Marinette has something "really important to do" feels very dumb blond-coded, or at least stereotypically. Not that this is bad or anything, I just thought it's sorta humorous, and I can't believe I didn't notice this earlier.
I know, I know, Volpina is technically the real finale of S1, but chose Origins specifically because it's a 2-parter. Part 1 (Ladybug and Cat Noir) is focused more on how the heroes and Hawk Moth came to be, and explaining the magic rules in place. Whether or not they make any gosh darn sense is another discussion, but Part 2 (Stoneheart) focuses more on the characters. The birth of the love square, Marinette gaining more confidence as both her civilian self and her Ladybug persona, Adrien breaking free of his cocoon by being allowed to go to school, and so much more. I really like this because it really feels like the 2 episodes are equally weighted, just focusing on different aspects of the show that allow the story to exist in the first place.
Most subsequent finales fall into the habit of the first part being buildup for the action to actually unfold in the second part, so Part 1 itself isn't all that interesting. A prime example of this is Catalyst (Heroes' Day Pt.1); I watched Mayura (Heroes' Day Pt.2) first, not of the show's fault by any means but because it was the only part available on YouTube at the time (since I was 9, that was my only resource) and understood it almost perfectly. Sure, watching Catalyst first would've made the experience much better and helped me understand what Ladybug meant by "Volpina's illusion" or why Hawk Moth and his akumatized minions looked like pomegranates (and of course, who the heck Catalyst is). But apart from that, Catalyst itself felt like it walked so Mayura could run. It had some nice character moments, but only existed to set up the final battle (of the season obvi). It didn't have much of a story of its own, so to speak. Risk (Shadow Moth's Final Attack Pt.1) would go on to receive the same treatment, with Strikeback (Part 2) being generally talked about more amongst fans. Heck, a large portion of people don't even call the S3 finale by its proper finale name (Battle of the Miraculous), opting instead to use the name of the second part only (Miracle Queen)
The mid-season 2-parters also do this well (i.e. The Queens' Battle, The Kwamis' Choice). Style Queen was exploring Chloe's relationship with her mother who has been absent so long, and a bit of setup in that Chloe found the Bee Miraculous thanks to a blunder by Ladybug, but that's generally how a story works. Queen Wasp delved into Chloe's motivation to become Queen Bee and become a superhero: was she doing it solely for fame and power or to finally gain her mother's approval as being exceptional? I mean, it was obviously both, but which motivated her more? It was really interesting and again, the 2 episodes each had a plot of equal importance, and the same can be said about Transmission and Deflagration. Marinette and Adrien's love story takes center stage in the former, and in the latter, Gabriel sets his plan in motion to steal the Miraculouses now knowing the new holders identities, with the kwamis and the main duo coming to realize they're better off keeping their Miraculouses with hope in their hearts that they will defeat Monarch. The concept of the Miraculouses being renounced by the main duo has been kinda overplayed by this point (ESPECIALLY on Adrien's part) but they at least had the common decency to feed us with some good hecking Adrienette (BIG Adrienette stan here, btw!) and some badass activity from both Alya and Marinette in both parts.
This is my take on the season finales so far, and given the absence of a traditional 2-part season finale for S6, I hope they take inspiration from Origins and keep the episodes equally weighted for all 3 episodes, which are apparently meant to be watched in order (which should be said for the WHOLE show, but we'll gloss over that one.) Focusing on different aspects of the story that don't overlap too much is a great approach to make the episodes equally weighted.
