Ranked #2063

Futari wa Precure: Splash☆Star

"The shining golden flower, Cure Bloom!"
"The sparkling silver wing, Cure Egret!"
"We are Pretty Cure!"

Pretty Cure has become a monster of a franchise with multiple different seasons and continuities, and that's not even counting the movies. Splash Star is the first of those alternate continuities, and in my opinion the best. I will try to make this review as spoiler free as possible, but still be wary. This is an updated version of the review.

Right from the beginning the first thing that anyone would notice about Splash Star is that it looks similar to it's predecessor. The general plot outline and even the main characters look similar, Saki and Mai even fill out the same archetypes of their older sisters Nagisa and Honoka respectively. And this is possibly a big flaw of Splash Star's, that it is too similar to the original at first. However it does indeed come into its own and really ends up distinguishing itself from the original, and similar doesn't mean the same, even with just a few episodes it's easy to see that while Saki and Mai have similar physical designs their personalities aren't really that similar to Nagisa and Honoka. And the plot has enough twists and differences from the original to really be its own. Due to spoilers I won't go into what makes it better and the key differences, you'll have to watch the show.

The story is simple but because of that the series is very consistent in episode quality, and while it never tries to be a really intelligent, thought provoking anime it still has serious and important topics and themes to it that are all able to be conveyed nicely because the characters put so much emotion into them. The show is great at being serious when it wants to be, and Pretty Cure show a sense of maturity and realism when faced with their greatest foes and they need to ask themselves why they even fight in the first place, what's their resolve for continuing their struggles and not giving up? There are some really great lines and conversations in this series, most episodes also have sweet and well done subplots to them as well. And add to that there are some really beautiful and touching scenes in the series, I found myself on the verge of tears several times throughout the show.

Splash Star features a lot more thought and effort put into it's writing than the original, this becomes apparent with what the monster of the weeks are created from, the elemental themes of the minions, the powers of Pretty Cure, and just the whole world of Splash Star in general. The theming of the villains and theme-naming of the Cures actually mean something and tie into the world and greater themes of Splash Star. Several of the biggest twists in the story are foreshadowed far in advance, even episode one hints at possibly the biggest twist in the series.

The characters themselves are of course rather simple, Michiru and Kaoru are probably the most complex the series has to offer, but the leads are just so fun and likable and entertaining that it isn't as big a problem as one might suspect. The series is always more about emotion and heart, and it really gets you to care about Saki and Mai by having you be there with them throughout all their ordeals.
The villains however are in all likelihood much more entertaining and funny than our heroes. Special mention goes to Kintoleski who is without a doubt one of the best things about this show.
Of course though not all the villains are hilarious, both Akudaikaan and Gohyaan have moments that would make them genuinely frightening to the younger audience this series is aimed at. And Michiru and Kaoru's character arc and plight is anything but funny.

Of course you cant talk about Pretty Cure without talking about the fights, and it's here where the first big difference between Splash Star and the original takes place, as Cure Bloom and Cure Egret they fight often using forcefields and blasts of energy, it gives a nice edge to the fights coming right after the original.
As for actual quality of the fights while Splash Star has some of the best fights in Pretty Cure, including possibly the downright best, many fights are rather anti-climactic and can loook rather stiff and have choppy animation. This is more prevalent in the earlier arcs. Aside from the few really good fights the fighting in Splash Star seems to emphasize awesome moments over actual good fighting, for example in the second episode when the girls are learning how to control their powers they throw the monster of the week across the city and into the ocean.

The actual animation quality on the whole is surprisingly pretty good for a year-round show made by Toei. The quality is consistent throughout and occasionally looks great, usually during the better and more intense fights.

As for sound the music is good and very fitting, plenty of happy, relaxing, and melancholic themes when they're appropriate. There aren't too many standout singular tracks though. The opening and endings however are great. Happy and energetic, the kind that get you shaking in your seat. They're the perfect songs for a series like this.

The voice acting is excellent, especially on the villains side. For example veteran seiyu Jurota Kosugi voices Kintoleski and it's no surprise that his performance is the best in the whole show.

Still after all the good things about Splash Star it has some rather noticeable flaws, becuase of it's similarity to the original the earlier arcs are rather dull compared to later on and it really does take longer than it should for the series to set itself apart from the original. And despite the series having much tighter writing and a better thought out plot there is one plot hole that can only be filled by your imagination.

But Splash Star is able to still be a super fun and enjoyable show throughout its run, even with the repetitiveness I found every episode fun and entertaining. And it has possibly the most epic and heart-pounding finale of all Pretty Cure seasons, with the villain throwing Earth-shattering attacks and Pretty Cure never backing down, it's on a level far above anything else in the series. And what happens after is one of the most beautiful and touching epilogues in the franchise.

It's a kids show, Pretty Cure always will be a kids show, but it's also able to have serious and mature moments and topics and pull them off nicely. In the end, Splash Star is great clean fun. read more