Kimi to Idol Precure
Mid-Season Thoughts

A while ago, I was inspired by a fellow enthusiast, angeleyesprings, to make a page where I talk about the current season of Pretty Cure as episodes come out. Since this was my first time attempting such a task, I only wrote to episode 3 and since then, many many many more episodes have come out since then, and I heavily overestimated how much time/energy I'd have to have in order to write each week. It just, was not going to happen lol!
So, I figured I'd take this opportunity during Blaugust to share my general thoughts about how the season has panned out so far.

Kimi to Idol or You and Idol Precure is the 22nd and current running season of a magical girl anime called Precure/Pretty Cure (you'll see me use these names interchangeably), that's themed around idols, hence the name! Other motifs shown throughout are sparkles and ribbons, of course not to be confused with Wonderful Pretty Cure and its ribbon/bow motifs. The theme is also set around the bond that an Idol has with their fans hence the You and I-dol part!
Throughout the show, the team of Idol Pretty Cure have to find Kirarun ribbons as they defeat monsters controlled by the Chokkirine Gang, a sinister group trying to take people's kirakira and plunge the world into a dizzy pitch black darkness. Well, sinister is a strong word. A better comparison would be that of Team Rocket lol!

As per the title, I will be talking about SPOILERS so if you want to watch through this season blind, then I suggest that you click off and while you're at it, try to avoid the #precure tags while you try and catch up lol.

Just a forewarning, I'm not the best at describing things or putting my thoughts into words, (that and I also don't want to constantly be searching through a thesaurus to find like words because I'm not being graded for this), so hopefully this will still be coherent!

Characters

Cure Idol (Uta Sakura)

Uta Sakura is a girl who's loved singing ever since she was small. So much so, she enjoys sharing her gift with customers while working at her family's cafe Cafe Glitter! She reminds me of my love for singing as a kid, I still do in fact!

One day while she was taking her dog for a walk through town, she spots a peach floating through a river. Being a fan of the fable Momotaro, she decides to get her hands dirty and get the peach. Upon her surprise, the peach bursts into a flash of light, revealing a small fairy with big eyes named Purirun! She immediately confides in Uta that she needs to find the Idol Precure in order to restore light back to her home in KirakiLand. Kindhearted, Uta agrees to help, despite Purirun's insistence that she's already Precure material.

When a favorite customer is trapped in a Makkuranda, she urgently tries to stop the monster. Her resolve to reach her friends with her song earns her the Idol Heart Brooch and transforms her into Cure Idol. She debuts with "Smiles in Unison," dazzling the Makkuranda, ending with finishing move "Idol Smiling" to restore the trapped person's kirakira and collect a Kirarun Ribbon.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love love love Cure Idol's design! It's so puffy, so round, so kirakilala! Of course, I love the plaid on each of the outfits and the two ribbon dangles(?). Pink and yellow go so well together, I know it's just color theory, but I always wonder how/why these colors specifically compliment each other! I also love her hair and pink streaks, especially the little heart streak! The heart motifs in general are just so adorable!!!

Cure Wink (Nana Aokaze)

She's always loved playing piano with a passion, until one day she messed up during a concert. The pressure of being perfect made her afraid play again ever since. Years ago, Uta gave Nana a spell of courage when they were kids to help face the stage, and since then, she's taken the advice to heart.

Now reunited, Nana's reinspired to not only try playing again, but to also help Uta when she gets in a pinch in with the Makkuranda-of-the-Week. That spark of bravery and courage gave her the ability to transform into Cure Wink, and with Winking Score, she's able to subdue the monster and finish with Wink Crescendo.

Unlike Idol's cute, preppy, soft edges, Wink's outfit has sharp angles, yet keeps that elegance. Like the yellow edges of her pleated skirt or the heel on the back of her boots (I just noticed that while writing this). I love that, in not just the train of her dress, but her entire silhouette ends up forming a diamond. If you know me, you know I'm a fan of my blues! But, if I had a nickel for every blue magical girl that had an interest in music, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice!

As the season progresses, she's become a bit bolder in offering her kindness instead of just letting things be. Like, when she noticed Zakkuri was being overworked and wanting to help him. Despite being pushed away at every turn, she still wanted to try and reach out to him, and so she did! She's always been softspoken and kindhearted, but ever since joining the Idol Precure, these admirable qualities of hers seem to shine tenfold.

Cure Kyun-Kyun (Kokoro Shigure)

Kokoro is a passionate girl who pours her heart and soul into whatever interest or hobby she gets her hands on. This includes the Idol Precure that have made her heart go kyun-kyun, or beat out of her chest. She even starts a fanclub at school to connect with fellow fans and creates posters and fan-made merch like acrylic stands and themed fans.

One day she's caught in the crossfire between a Makkuranda and the two Idol Precure, whom she thought were simply an Idol Pop group. Purirun had earlier hinted that she can make Kokoro a member of the group, but when she learned about the fight to save the world-something Purirun hadn't disclosed-she hesitated and declined. Her admiration for the group doesn't fade so easily though despite her efforts to bottle everything up and continue living her life.

With Uta and Nana's reassurance that it's okay to feel her feelings now and then, she gains the courage to confront Zakkuri for staging a fake idol concert to steal kirakira. Declaring her unwavering dedication to the things she loves, she becomes Cure Kyun-Kyun, debuts "Kokoro Revolution," and defeats the monster with "Kyun-Kyun Beat." Afterwards she makes a promise to further support Idol Precure not just as a fellow Cure or even as a fan, but now as a friend!

I love Kyun-Kyun's bubbly skirt! Her outfit really conveys that "get up and move" energy, which is very fitting for Kyun-Kyun! Again the complimentary colors show up, this time in purple and teal, mainly in the streaks of her pigtails. I love the way they wrap around, along with the teardrop-shaped buns. Her debut song is also as bubbly and energetic as the rest of her and I think adds that punch to her character, gives me that super excited feeling that I know Kokoro would only describe as kyun-kyun! I also like to think she's autistic or somewhere along that spectrum, which just makes her more relatable to me!

Cure Zukyoon (Purirun)

The main fairy that started it all, and the Cures' biggest fan! She was tasked by KirakiLand's queen Pikarine to find the Idol Precure and restore her home. She's a bit airheaded but always has good intentions, she looks up to the friends she's made both new and old and wants to hangout with everyone and get along!

When the Cures are faced with a challenging monster that almost makes them lose the battle, Purirun feels useless and wants to contribute more to the team. So, she leaves a video for Uta telling her where she is and goes back to KirakiLand with Meroron for answers on how she can help.

She finds that the ribbons they've been collecting thus far haven't been enough to restore KirakiLand's Big Kirakira Ribbon yet and initially loses hope. That is until Meroron shows her the Heart Kirari Lock she's kept with her since birth, saying that it can grant you any wish at the cost of what you value most. Wanting to return the favor for all that Uta's done for her, she takes the offer and viceversa wanting to support Purirun with her decision, Meroron does the same.

As a result, they each get a Kirakira Showtime Mic which grants them the ability to transform as Cure Zukyoon and Cure Kiss respectively, to turn the tide against the evergrowing enemy. When the Idol Precure's initial group song doesn't work on the new Kurayaminder, the duo swoop in to enchant it with their song "Awakening Harmony" and knock it's socks off with thier finisher "Zukyoon Kiss Destiny"!
As a result of becoming a cure, Purirun had to lock her memories of Uta away; despite Uta being the person she made the wish to protect in the first place. Ironically though, Uta doesn't recognize Zukyoon at first and ends up growing an obsession with her, wanting to know who she is and become her friend while also still searching for Purirun in the process. Once she finds out Zukyoon and Kiss's identities however, she's devestated to find out Purirun has no memory of her. Luckily, this toll ends up being shortlived, and Uta finds a way to reach Purirun's memories and bring them back, despite Meroron's disdain.

Cure Zukyoon's outfit is so glamorous, hers and Cure Kiss's! There was already speculation that Purirun and Meroron would be the mid-season cures, but no one was prepared for the fashion! I love the music note motifs and the pink and green, they're incorporated so nicely! I also love Zukyoon's side-poof and the other asymmetrical elements spread throughout like her boots. I need to see Purirun and Meroron more in their human form. I know they have it, it's seen in their transformation. I just don't know what they could use it for yet though.

Cure Kiss (Meroron)

Like Purirun, Meroron originated from KirakiLand and later went to search for Purirun in Hanamichi Town. Once she finds her, she's stuck to her like glue and is immediately jealous of anyone else trying to get in the way of their connection.

Alright, I need to say this. It might be controversial for some...
But I do not care for Meroron. I don't absolutely hate her like some fans I've seen (not picking names). I wanted to like her but she just isn't growing on me, especially in the most recent episodes. Although, it feels like she's understanding a bit more and more why the Idol Precure won over Purirun's heart and is slowly warming up to them as a result. The only thing that's preventing me from hating her completely is that she reminds me of Kuromi lol!

Originally once the two became cures, it seems like the only one that lost memories of the group was Purirun for some reason. What's weird about this is, we still don't know what Meroron had to lock away in the Kirari Lock yet. I mean, Purirun's always been oblivious of Meroron's true feelings for her. Maybe that's what she sacrificed, the likelihood for Purirun to ever reciprocate? Regardless, taking advantage of the fact Purirun doesn't remember her friends, she aimed to isolate Purirun and keep her all to herself. But, of course that wasn't going to work in the longrun. Despite her efforts to keep up the rivalry between Zukyoon-Kiss and Idol Precure, Purirun just can't stay away, she cares too much about the group and so she begrudgingly joins alongside her for whatever shenanigans they have planned, which I appreciate.

I think that Meroron is warming up to the group bit by bit, and I want to think that these little character snippets aren't for nothing. I do genuinely like some aspects of her character, like her love for poetry and the one part where the group helped her record a video talking about all the things she loves about Cure Zukyoon and it ending up being twenty-four hours long! If she ever had a candy or a tea, I'd want it to be dark chocolate raspberry flavored. Dark and mature, yet sweet just like Meroron.

So with that being said, let's get into the stuff I do like about her, like Cure Kiss's outfit! First, I love the tailcoat of her dress, the light lilac compliments it so well along with the sheer black layer (I freaking love layers even though they're so hard to draw). I also love, again, the black streaks in her hair and how it all wraps, her hair genuinely looks like candy!
Even though Cure Black is the iconic black cure as she should be, this makes me want more black cures now. Maybe with other colors like black and blue? Oh, or even black and rainbow!!! I just know that would look so sick!

The Story so Far!

As of writing this, I've kept up all the way to the most current episode, that being Episode 28. So, is this season perfect? No. Is it horrible? Also, no. I'm seeing certain things coming into place, like Meroron becoming more a part of the group and tolerating everyone, it looks like there's gonna be a dedicated episode for that soon. Can't wait to see how that pans out!

Also, I really want to know who that hot topic wannabe is (if you know, you know). Hopefully there'll be some development for Chokkirine too, since she's currently on her own. Maybe Kyun-Kyun could bring out her kirakira, who knows? The rest of the Idols already reached out to each gang member (Idol -> Cutty, Wink -> Zakkuri,).
That's another thing. What are the odds that Cutty and Zakkuri were fairies this whole time??? I'm happy to see they turned a new leaf and are helping with the fanclub. Plus, their voices in fairy form are stinking cute!!!!

I caught a brief glimpse of the special form item on Tokullectibles for preorder. This site has a history of putting items up for preorder that haven't appeared in the show yet, like for example, plushies and figures of the mid-season cures. The PreCure fandom is relentless when it comes to diciphering upcoming bits of the story. Like, apparently there's even a way to push certain electric pins on a magical item to have it say certain lines that hint at what will happen in future episodes. In this case, the Sparkling Ribbon Baton is up for preorder and may be released soon! Just like it says, it's a light-up baton that you can wave around, apparently there's a spinning mechanic in the top ball and you can also play songs. Nothing about the special forms other than the name being Idol Heart Ribbon Style, but that just makes me more excited for the grand reveal! I just know everyone's gonna perform better like a well oiled machine by then!

Just like every season I've watched thus far, I feel like this is turning into another great season for the books. It'll be hard to make a ranking once I watch enough PreCure, but right now I'm giving this season seven kirakilights out of ten. There's still a lot more episodes to go including the movie, so here's to hoping the rest of this year's journey is kirakiranran!!!