Happiness Charge is the 10th anniversary Precure show, and it's easily the one I've heard the least good things about. I think it's generally considered that HapCha is "the weak one", and it performed pretty badly when it aired too. But you know what? Splash Star didn't do too hot either, and I loved that one. And I like Happiness Charge too. It's by no means one of the best Precure shows out there, but it's definitely one of the most fun.
Happiness Charge has the coolest premise for a Precure show to date, hands down. Spoiled blue-haired princess Hime accidentally freed the evil Phantom Empire, who proceeded to destroy her kingdom and is targeting Earth next. So Hime becomes a Cure to atone, but since she's super cowardly and bad at it, she picks a random girl named Megumi on the street to be her partner as they combat the Phantom Empire. The villains are pretty cool here, especially Phantom and Queen Mirage, but the bulk of the world-building is definitely more focused on Earth itself. Happiness Charge takes place in a world where Cures existing are common knowledge. There's a vast international population of Cures, and towns get wrecked by bad guys are a regular occurrence. So Megumi starts the show knowing what a Cure is and desperately wanting to be one, and the main town setting starts off basically on the verge of being destroyed, which is just really sick. Happiness Charge probably could've expanded on the international Cures side of things (though maybe it's for the best since some of them are pretty stereotypical), but I don't blame Toei for wanting to focus on the main town and cast, and it still allows for a pretty unique framing device even if it isn't super fleshed-out. Expect to hear that a lot.
Happiness Charge is directed by the guy who made Heartcatch and you can really tell, but not in a bad way. Even if I think Heartcatch is still the better show, it's not hard to see how this season tries to expand on some of Heartcatch's ideas. For example, the aforementioned world-building feels like an extension of the Cure Flower and Cure Moonlight lore. In addition, Happiness Charge's main gimmick are these PreCards that the Cures can use to change their appearance. Once again, this feels like a natural extension of the fashion focus that Heartcatch had, and the fact that these cards can be used for plot purposes, action, and for comedy means they are easily the best and most versatile MacGuffins in the franchise. And unlike in Heartcatch, the fairies don't poop them out this time, thank goodness. It's just a shame there's so many of them that, yet again, none of them are super developed individually, even the ones used in combat. In terms of Heartcatch improvements, I also wanted to praise Happiness Charge for taking after Doki Doki by not letting its victims of the week overshadow the main characters, and only giving them extra focus if it actually relates to the main themes of the episode. I'd actually say this is one of those Precure shows that nails the slice of life/plot balance pretty much perfectly. There's just as much strong comedy as there is forward-moving serialization.
I don't think I've vibed more with a Cure team than I did with this one. I love this cast so much. Megumi is as sweet and earnest as you'd expect a pink Cure to be while also having one of the most insanely badass fighting styles, Iona defrosting over the course of the show is super fun to watch, and while a bit one-note, Yuko is an absolute treasure and the perfect mom friend, with a love for food that rivals my own. But the highlight here is Hime Shirayuki, easily one of my new favorite Cures. What makes Hime so special is that, at least for the season's first half, she is the main protagonist despite being a blue Cure, which is such a breath of fresh air for the series. Rather than fitting into the same genki girl stereotype where the only flaw they have is caring too much, Hime starts off super spoiled, anxious, and cowardly, and gets some truly stellar character development as Megumi and Yuko help her become more confident. Hime is also just an utter joy to watch, her plights with social anxiety are super relatable, the antics she gets herself into are Erika levels of hilarious (the whole show is super funny actually, Precure's been nailing its comedy lately), and her frequent usage of random English always cracks me up. And that's not even getting into her incredibly gripping conflict with Iona, whose sister disappeared thanks to Hime's freeing the bad guys. I love that Hime and Iona are both flawed here, neither of them are portrayed in the most flattering light, and seeing them sort out their issues, grow as people, and become truly great friends by the second half makes for such an amazing mid-season arc. I really can't rave enough about the Happiness Charge cast, but Hime especially carries this show hard, and her arc throughout the first half is some of my favorite Precure material to date.
However, that's still just the first half. Once Hime and Iona's subplot is resolved, Megumi becomes the main focus throughout the second half, which is a shame. The blue Cure being the main focus was such a great change of pace, but by the end of HapCha, the pink Cure is the one to lay the finishing blow as per the usual. There's still a lot to like in the second half, particularly the arcs around Cure Unlovely, Cure Tender, and Queen Mirage, but it is a lot more uneven than the first half, and Red is kind of a weak final boss even if his fight was admittedly great. The second half of HapCha has also always been criticized for the amount of romance it has, but I didn't think it was that bad. The bulk of the romantic drama was really just in the pretty short summer break arc, which has always been the weakest part of a Precure show anyway, so I didn't mind much. It helps that I think a lot of the romantic storylines are pretty solid. Seiji is a genuinely great love interest for Megumi that dodges a lot of the pitfalls a lot of other Precure romances fall into (they have chemistry, he's genuinely nice, and they're the same age), Megumi crushing on Blue despite him having eyes for someone else does a good job at dealing with heartbreak, and Blue and Mirage's romance is pretty fascinating. Mirage as a whole is a super interesting villain and it's her dynamic with Blue that makes her sympathetic. Ultimately, my biggest issue with the romance that the writers tried to cram so many different types of subplots in a single season that they all get kind of muddled in a love dodecahedron that's way too dramatic and angsty than it had any right to be. But fundamentally, I don't think the romance is that bad. It doesn't go on too long, and the bulk of it is fairly compelling by Precure standards. As per the usual for this show, I just think HapCha bit off more than it could chew.
As far as production goes, Happiness Charge is a bit more uneven than the last few shows. Moment-to-moment movement can be pretty stiff and there's a fair share of off-model faces, but I still really like the artstyle and the simplistic animations can be used for some really fantastic comedy at points (once again, just like in Heartcatch). You can also tell Toei wanted to save the budget for the action though, because that's still as great as always, as well as the transformation sequences. We even have some special CGI-animated attacks that actually look really good to this day, and that's not even getting into how stellar the endings look. The music is pretty good too, not as consistently amazing as the Doki Doki soundtrack but just as lovely and orchestral. Oh yeah, and since this is an anniversary show, Toei had a new Cure show up in the eyecatch for each episode. Personally, I thought this was super cute. It was always a joy to see who'd show up (Cure Passion was third after Black and Dream, as she deserved), and I'd much rather a fun easter egg like this over having to deal with crossing continuities and all that mess.
Highlights:
The Transfer Student is a Princess!! The Great "Help Hime Make Some Friends" Operation! (episode 4): It's a Hime episode, of course it's great. This episode really delved into Hime's social anxiety, even using some creatively animated imagine spots to capture her mental state, and I can't help but find it incredibly relatable. Even better is that this episode also had Hime's first major strides in terms of character development. She wins her first fight and asks Yuko to be her friend. Progress!
The Singing Pretty Cure! Cure Honey Appears!! (episode 10): Cure Honey has hands down the funnest debut out of any Cure. She shows up last episode, sings a song about rice to motivate Megumi and Hime, and that song was so catchy and good that this entire episode after is about the song being stuck in everyone's heads, including the villains. And the big fight scene of the episode is a singing battle between Cure Honey and Hosshiwa, how can you not like this?!
I Am Mass Communication!! I Shall Find All the Pretty Cure's Secrets!! (episode 16): THEY BROUGHT BACK MASUKO MIKA. Well okay, kinda. The character's name is Masuko Miyo, but she's similar enough, maybe even a relative. Either way she's just as lovable, and actually manages to learn about the Cures' identities this time. Her storyline this episode about wanting to be a Cure herself was really sweet and does a good job at differentiating herself from her predecessor.
The Entire Mid Season Arc (episodes 20-23): As I implied, Happiness Charge has one of my favorite mid-season arcs in the franchise so far. It may not have any redemption Cures, but it tells a great character-driven story that I found super compelling. From the reveal that Hime opened the Axia Box, to Hime running away out of fear that her friends will reject her, to Iona finally letting Hime help her, the drama in these episodes is so engaging, and both Hime's struggle with her guilt and Iona's struggle with her blind revenge are really engaging. The highlight is easily Episode 23 though which uses the deceptively simple premise of "Hime and Iona go shopping together" to create a bunch of super heartwarming and fun bonding moments between the two. Also the Precure graveyard is such a dark concept, I love it.
Phantom's Secret Plan! Another Cure Lovely! (episode 30): Precure rarely pulls the Dark Cure trope on us but when they do, it's almost always a banger. Cure Unlovely might be the best one to date because she's not just an evil version of Megumi. The Dark Cure 5 and Bad End Cures both have philosophies that are so wrong and so out of whack that they rarely ever caused any internal conflict in the Cures, but Cure Unlovely goes the extra mile to make Megumi question her own abilities.
An Unexpected Partnership!? Cure Honey and Phantom (episode 31): Cure Honey is often criticized for being one-note and lacking in depth, but that's what makes her so great. Yuko is someone with her head firmly on her shoulders, a balancing force amidst all the chaos. While everyone else is tangled in some romantic subplot, Yuko's tells a long dramatic story about her "first love" only for it to be her dog. She not only blocks Red from shooting Blue but walks towards while he's aiming at her, before promptly flying around singing her Rice Song to power everyone else up. What an absolute legend.
Let the Four Cure's Song Resonate! Innocent Purification (episode 38): There isn't much to say about this one. Cure Fortune's storyline gets a great ending here as she's forced to fight her brainwashed sister. Blue also comes dangerously close to freeing Queen Mirage from her own brainwashing, albeit to no avail.
Clashing Emotions! Lovely and Mirage (episode 43): This was yet another season where the highlight wasn't the final arc, but the arc directly before the final arc. The big final battle with the Phantom Empire was fantastic across the board, but it all culminated in this truly legendary episode of Precure. Lovely Vs Mirage really is one of the best Precure fights, fluidly animated, super emotionally intense, and just dripping with style and atmosphere. The animation got a massive bump in this episode, especially with that moody shading. Everything about this battle works, it expertly pays off everything this series has been building up to, and it does so with so much panache.
The New Threat!? Red Saiark (episode 44): Even if it rushed a few plot elements (Hime's reunion with her parents needed more screentime), this episode did a good job at wrapping up a lot of the show's romantic themes. Megumi struggling with being simultaneously happy for Blue and bitter about him being with Mirage was really compelling, and Seiji trying to support her through it only solidified him as best boy. Also, Hime and Yuko insulting Blue at the start of the episode was just priceless.
Love Will Shine Forever! Everyone's Happiness! (episode 49): As I said, I don't love the final arc of HapCha. It's not series-ruining or anything, but it's kind of a mess and Red is a pretty boring villain. However, I did really like this episode. Cure Lovely and Red's final fight was super fun and well-choreographed, and the final scene really was a perfect bookend to the whole season.
Overall, Happiness Charge is a victim of its own ambition. It tries to do so much, between Hime being the focal Cure, portraying many of its characters in an unflattering light, the International Cures, the form changes and costume cards, the anniversary bits, and the several romantic subplots, that not everything feels quite as developed as it should be. However, that's really the only issue I have with the show. I enjoyed the plot, I adore the cast, the comedy is great, the artstyle is charming, the action is stellar, and Hime's character arc is one of my favorite things Precure has ever done. HapCha may have tried to juggle a bit too much, but all of its ideas are great and shine through regardless.
4/5 Stars
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