Tanaka Yuta has been my favorite Precure director for a while now. He was the main episode director of Fresh (my favorite season up to now), he helmed some of my favorite episodes of Suite through Doki Doki, and he even made the anniversary messages for HapCha. So when I found out he was directing this one, I couldn't be more excited, and he did not let me down. A lovable main trio, strong character development, a school setting, awesome side characters, fairies based on real animals, a redemption Cure, insanely good action, stylish presentation, amazing music, Go Princess is everything I want from a season of Precure and then some.
Go Princess Precure is about Haruka Haruno, who joins a prestigious noble school with the dream of becoming a princess. She meets an actual prince named Kanata who gives her a Precure transformation trinket which she, and her two classmates Minami and Kirara, must use to find nine keys and save the Hope Kingdom from where he hails from the evil Dys Dark. In a similar vein to Yes 5 and Heartcatch, GoPri is at its core a very character-driven Precure season. Each of the three main Cures has a strong and well-defined arc that they have to go through, usually involving a dream of theirs, though Haruka obviously gets the best arc here. Her growth from a naive princess wannabe to a proper princess in the face of constant bullying, ridicule, and people trying to crush her dream is so well-executed. I also absolutely adore the school setting in GoPri, it's a breath of fresh air that reminds me quite a lot of Princess Tutu. It also allows for a pretty wide array of memorable student characters, like the fun duo of Seira and Ayaka, the dog-opposed Reiko, and of course, Haruka's roommate Yui who follows the lead of Seiji from HapCha in being an awesome normal friend to the Cures. As GoPri goes on, it's hard to not get really attached to the whole class and not just the Cures. There's a great amount of slice of life too, GoPri constantly dedicates time to developing the characters and their bonds to one another. And while there is a victim of the week format, the show continues to iterate on the concept by having a quick flashback of the dreams of each victim, a structure that I think works pretty perfectly.
The plot in GoPri is very well-executed too, even if it's a bit simpler than in the last two shows. I think what elevates it is the lead villain Dyspear, who is absolutely ruthless. From seemingly killing off her subordinates to frequently pulling fast ones on the Cures, Dyspear is always scheming and that gives the show a good sense of forward momentum to spice up the standard "object-hunting" plot. The fairies are pretty stellar this time as well, with the super cutesy Puff and the more abrasive Aroma being a perfect pairing. Miss Shamour is the highlight though, a hammy spotlight stealer whenever she shows up. I've always preferred the fairies that look like normal animals so I couldn't be happier with their designs either. And of course, Go Princess also has a redemption Cure in Towa (aka Twilight aka Cure Scarlet). She's no Setsuna or Ellen and she was once again brainwashed, but I think her storyline was still pretty well-executed. Her villain form Twilight is so gleefully sadistic compared to the more hammy Siren and the eternally confused Eas, and when she snaps out of her brainwashing, the season does a good job of digging into the fact that she's a princess who lost months of her life and is forced to live as essentially a commoner, not to mention in a school that requires its students to be self-sufficient.
And of course, I can't talk about Go Princess without talking about how damn good the production is here. The fight scenes are absolutely wild, and not just in the super important episodes. Nearly every fight scene in Go Princess goes hard, they're so kinetic, fluidly animated, visually inventive, and bombastic as hell. And even when the Cures aren't duking it out, Go Princess is expressive, colorful, stylish, and confident in its direction. The only complaint I could really say is that the CGI attacks don't look quite as good as in HapCha but they still look pretty stellar, especially for the time. Obviously, Tanaka Yuta deserves praise for his direction but he only actually directed three episodes here, the whole crew at Toei did a phenomenal job. Go Princess feels like one of those seasons you can only get when the stars align perfectly, everyone involved was at the top of their game. That applies to the music too. The background music still doesn't quite top Doki Doki for me, but the transformation, attack, and fight themes, as well as the OPs and EDs, are fantastic across the board.
Highlights:
I’m A Princess? Cure Flora Is Born (episode 1): Tanaka Yuta directed the first episode and man, what a perfect and confident Precure pilot. It introduces Haruka's main conflict super efficiently and caps off with an absolute show-stopper of a fight scene.
Big Big Big Pinch!? Pretty Cure VS Close (episode 11): This episode feels like a season finale, but it's literally just the last battle with the first villain. The action here was amazing even by GoPri standards, and for the first time in years, the Cures just flat-out kill Close. And yet even with all that bombast, the real star of the show is Yui Nanase, who, despite having just learned about her friends being Cures, still risks her life to save Haruka.
Secrets Of The Picture Books! What is a Princess? (episode 18): When working on a Precure show about being a princess, the crew at Toei had a question to answer. What makes a princess? You could go with the born of nobility definition and make GoPri about a bunch of actual princesses, but then you lose that relatability factor for the kids. So instead, GoPri posits that being a princess is what you make of it. it's about being the best version of yourself. The entire show deals with this conflict between the literal and metaphorical definitions of princess and is all the better for it, but this was the first episode where that really came into the forefront. But on top of that, this episode also had a really cool fight between the Cures and Twilight so it had a nice spectacle element in addition to those interesting themes.
Deliver The Feelings! Princess Vs Princess (episode 21): It may not have the utter devastation of Love Vs Eas or the operatic scale of Siren's turn, but the final battle with Twilight is still fantastic. The action itself is fantastic, Dyspear finally showing herself is great, and Kanata's sacrifice for Towa gives the episode some real emotional heft.
Flames Of Hope! Her Name Is Cure Scarlet (episode 22): "Then I shall live with my sins, I will carry their burden and try once again, and aim become a Grand Princess". Damn, that's raw. From Haruka breaking through Dyspear's vines onward, this episode goes from great to perfect for pretty much the rest of the episode. The violin duet, Towa's transformation, the first fight and the music that accompanies it, this is one of the sickest transformations a mid-season Cure has ever had. Of course, Yuta Tanaka directed this one, so you also get some super stylish cinematography to boot.
Together Forever! We are the Four Princess Pretty Cure! (episode 23): And this is the usual "redemption Cure struggles to atone" episode. This one takes a bit more of a comedic bend as Towa tries to work on her own only to realize she has no idea how Earth works, but the core arc of not feeling like she's allowed to be happy until she's fully atoned is still super compelling.
The Heart is Together! The Light of the Sun that Shines on Pretty Cure! (episode 28): Oh? You thought this was just gonna be a cute beach episode about Towa not being able to swim? Nope, instead for the first time in the entire franchise, the villains manage to steal the transformation trinkets, at least from everyone from Towa. That's a great twist that sets the stage for one of the season's best arc. And yet, I think Towa had my favorite bits. Her interactions with Yui were really sweet.
To the Future! The Crystal of Power, Princess Palace (episode 30): Like with the final battle with Close, the final fight with Lock is pretty much pure action from start to finish. The whole episode is stunning to watch, but once Lock turns into his monster form, the action gets cranked up to eleven and doesn't let up.
A Suspicious Trap...! The Lonely Princess! (episode 38): Man, that was a hard episode to watch, a token tragedy. After spending the entire season in pursuit of her dream of being a princess, Close manages to manipulate poor Haruka into believing all she's doing is hurting people. The awful timing of Kanata's comment didn't help matters at all, and I'd argue it's one of the best usages of an anmesia storyline in general.
Time for the Flower of Dreams to Bloom! Flutter, the Revived Princess (episode 39): What a brilliantly-executed episode. Visually striking, emotionally intense, amazing action, and a perfect cap to Haruka's character arc. The flashback sequence where Haruka reflects on why she wanted to be a princess to begin with was just perfect, and the big fight scene was one of the largest scale in the franchise.
Yui's Dream! Thoughts Within a Canvas...! (episode 41): Similarly to Smile, we get some pretty amazing character-focused episodes right before the final arc to complete some of the show's bigger arcs. First off is Yui, who finally gets some time to shine. Her storyline about entering a drawing contest isn't particularly novel for the series, but it is very cute, and seeing her manage to slightly overpower Dys Dark's trap shows that you don't have to be a Cure to be badass.
Dreams or Pretty Cure!? Sparking Kirara's Chosen Path/Kirara the Top Star! Toward the Stage of Twinkling Dreams (episode 42/43): Out of the character-focused episodes, Kirara had my personal favorite. It felt like the perfect culmination of everything she's been dealing with, as the weight from both being a Cure and being a model finally collapses in on her. Kirara is forced to make several decisions between the two facets of her life and both times, it's crushing. Episode 42 has Kirara miss her flight to fight with the other Cures and save her new assistant Karin (who by the way, is very adorable and memorable for a brief side chaacter), and Episode 43 has her take a job in Paris even if it means leaving her friends. Oh, and that mock fashion show was one of the funniest and most heart-warming things I've seen in a Precure show.
The Raging Feelings! Minami's Real Feelings!/Feeling I Want to See! To the Ocean of Minami's Dream! (episode 44/45): While not quite as much of an emotional rollercoaster as Kirara's arc, Minami's storyline is pretty stellar too. It's a bit more subdued of a two-parter, with more dialogue-heavy heart-to-hearts between cast members, like Minami and Kirara's chat on the beach and of course, Minami opening up to her parents about her new dream. Also, the christmas party sequence was once again a ton of fun.
Like a Flower...! Strong, Kind, Beautiful (episode 47): This is the perfect culmination of Haruka's character arc, and an inventive one at that. I don't think Precure has ever had the "perfect dream world" trope yet but it works perfectly for Haruka. After all of her growth throughout the series, she rejects the idealized life as a Flower Princess that she had initially wanted because, as she says "A dream you can reach without any effort isn't a dream at all". This is a very thematically resonant episode with a strong message, one that finally gives the show's mission statement that it's been setting up throughout its entirety. Being a princess is a dream that never ends, because it's about always striving to be the best you possible.
The Approaching Despair...! The Princesses in Grave Danger! (episode 48): This was the first time since Fresh where it really felt like the Cures revealing their identities was treated with the gravitas it truly deserved. Yui was the real star of the show in this episode, though, being the one to explain everything to rest of the students, breaking out of her cage on her own, and managing to encourage everyone else to do the same. I know everyone wanted Yui to be a Cure, but this moment would not have nearly the same impact. Yui may not be a Cure, but she's one hell of a hero. Oh yeah, and Shut decking Close in the face was pretty sick too.
The Decisive Battle Against Dyspear! Birth of the Grand Princesses! (episode 49): Once again, Yui is the real hero here, leading the student body to bring the Cures out of despair and helping them finally become Grand Princesses. That final blow with the giant key was pretty great.
To Our Dreams in the Far Distance! Go! Princess Pretty Cure! (episode 50): After a string of weaker finales, this is the best one we've had in a while. The fight between Flora and Close is fantastic, easily saving the best action sequence for last, and the message that hope and despair are two sides of the same coin is a pretty great way to end the series. The epilogue was the perfect length with everyone's farewell being given the emotional weight they deserved, there's a montage that shines a spotlight on every student, Haruka stating she wants to become her own princess is the perfect cap on her arc, and that ambiguous ending is just perfect.
Dishonorable Mention:
Minami's Fiancé!? The Super Celeb Makes a Come Back (episode 32): So normally I wouldn't do this especially with a show as good as Go Princess, but when every other episode was good at worst, Episode 32 being such a blemish really stands out. Kimimaro is the worst, such an utterly disgusting simp, and we're forced to watch half an hour of him trying to control Minami. And the Cures just think he's being funny? Eww, no, get a restraining order yesterday! The only redeeming factor is how Haruka and Minami act like they're dating the whole episode, though then again that's basically the entire show.
Go Princess Precure really is a perfect magical girl season, a complete package. It's an uplifting and thematically rich series with an engaging plot, lovable and developed characters, intimidating villains, show-stopping action, and one hell of a final stretch. This is the best Precure season yet, and it'll be a hard one for Toei to top.
5/5 Stars
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