Score: C+

This was an interesting episode in a few ways. It tried to split the focus a bit between Mashiro and Tsubasa. Though I’d also say it was somewhat an episode just to pad things out a bit. They aren’t ready to move into the next major incident so we’re kind of just having a bit of fun with the cast while waiting for that moment to arrive. And that connects to how the episode ended.

I love her parents

I was surprised with how this episode handled Mashiro and her family. It set up the arrival of Mashiro’s family…and covered their departure in about a minute. It kind of feels like the episode was planned out and someone had an “oh no, we forgot about Mashiro’s family” and had to hastily write in something at the very end. A minute after Ageha talked about a touching family reunion…we were already in the ED!? The family of a kid we were just introduced to got more focus than Mashiro and her parents. There was absolutely no dialogue in it. They basically got a montage and that was it.

The setup for the episode made me think her parents would hang around for an episode or two. I know Precure can be very episodic at times. But I didn’t think the status quo was so essential that it had to be immediately restored without a single break. I share Mashiro’s feeling in wanting her parents to meet her friends. Technically they did. But we didn’t really get to experience that. The show gave me a feeling like Mashiro’s family not being around was an impactful part of her character arc. But if that’s the case we aren’t ready to tackle that yet. It’s too bad since I enjoyed little things like her father being too excitable when it came to Mashiro and that “I love Mashiro” t-shirt that was getting handed out. It feels like a missed opportunity.

Another case of Wing vs Weather

Maybe giving Tsubasa the transformation sequence, this time was appropriate. I thought the episode was about him and Mashiro, but I guess it really was just about Tsubasa. He spent more time figuring out how to fly in turbulent winds than Mashiro spent with her parents. Obviously if there is any chance to focus on flying then Tsubasa is your guy. But I feel like nothing really happened there. Tsubasa proved once again that he really gets the science of flight. And it was nice seeing him connect with Shoko. Nothing wrong really with showing his passion for flight connecting him to other people.

I still find it a bit funny that the story treats Tsubasa’s flight dream as if it’s over. Ellee did give him the power of Precure and I’m sure she won’t intentionally take that away without warning. But it’s not guaranteed to be a permanent thing. And is flying as a Precure a total replacement from wanting to fly as his bird self? Is he ok with not trying to make that work? The obvious answer is that he is since they haven’t questioned it.

The face of a fool

Minoton got a bit more interesting here. And that’s mostly because the episode highlighted that he’s an idiot. He really seems like the muscle that was brought in for just the fighting. I think it’s safe to say he hasn’t put a single thought into what his people want with Ellee and what will happen to her. All he cares about is getting a good fight. And he’s so full of himself he presumes the Precure…are fleeing the country. He can teleport right? Even if they were fleeing the country what would that even matter? The guy just harasses people at an airport (which already is difficult enough) and almost gets several flights cancelled. It’s probably not the greatest harassment to the public in the show, but it’s actually up there. No magical fixing of the scenery is going to get those people refunds!

It could work if the show keeps playing with Minoton being an idiot who doesn’t realize how evil his side is. This proud warrior steadily realizing that his pride and warrior attitude isn’t always the best thing for every situation. And the cast did note that to a degree so maybe they really will go there.

A blink and you’ll miss it scene

This episode was fine. It did feel like filler and probably was intended to be filler. Nothing really changed and the story wasn’t pushed forward at all. The only impact might be Mashiro’s silly shirts having a potential to appear in the future. I liked the potential of the episode though. Mashiro’s parents seem like nice people that have to work far away from their kid quite often. It would have been nice seeing them get more than a very quick montage. But I guess that’s something the show could pay off in the future. The next episode looks potentially interesting, but it might be another episode just to kill time until the next major plot point unfolds.