MahouS

Doki Doki is the worst season of Pretty Cure in the franchise. It would already be a bad enough show on its own but also decides to tread on the spirit of Pretty Cure, be something it's not, and ends up as everything a season of Pretty Cure shouldn't be. The show is much more plot focused than any other season and here is the first major problem. While heavy focus on the plot isn't inherently a bad thing, in Doki's case it unfortunately comes at the cost of developing the characters and their relationships with each other, especially in the first half of theshow. And despite the creators trying to make a more complex story they fall flat on their face and Doki ends up having numerous plot holes in addition to the ones you'd commonly see in any other season. It's a kids show built around selling merchandise and they simply tried to do to much with it and failed, there are numerous concepts and ideas brought up that never really get expanded on. The pacing in the show feels like they just tried to cram in as much stuff as possible without allowing for any breather room or for things to naturally develop. There are so many plot devices and power ups that come out of nowhere with no or very little build up or foreshadowing. Pretty Cure usually has this to some degree but Doki takes it to a completely new level. The Cures themselves are mostly okay characters. The problem is what the show does with them. You'll never see a Cure more poorly treated and wasted than Cure Sword. She is a veteran warrior from the devastated Trump Kingdom but the show has no idea what to do with her or how to keep her relevant later on. Diamond and Rosetta similarly get the short end of the stick, especially in the first half once again. The fairies are okay for the most part, Davi is in fact one of the better ones from the franchise I think, but they and their relationships with the Cures aren't well developed and for the longest time they don't really feel like friends or even partners with their Cure. Ai-chan unfortunately never stops feeling like she's a plot device more than a character. When it comes to comedy the show is a little weird. At times it tries to emulate the wacky and silly style common in Fresh or Smile but with far less success. There's a lot of really out of place stuff poorly integrated into otherwise serious episodes and it kind of ruins the atmosphere or just comes across as dumb. It has plenty of fun moments and episodes still but a lot of stuff feels like it would've been better or fit in more in a different season. The villains are the Jikochu. The minions in the show are boring. They follow a seven deadly sins theme but it never amounts to more than a one-note character trait at best or at worst having nothing to do with them at all. Bel is an okay villain but keeps going back and forth between comic relief and serious threat and excelling at neither. Anything set up with the minions never really amounts to anything good. Regina starts off as the only entertaining villain the show has but what the show does with her quickly becomes repetitive, annoying, and boring. The main villain of the show is King Jikochu and he is surprisingly a pretty interesting and entertaining villain through the whole show. It would be too big of a spoiler but he's rather unique for a few reasons. The monsters of the week are okay. Some of them have pretty interesting designs and gimmicks and are pretty funny. A lot unfortunately don't really get to shine and there are barely any remotely good fights against them. The fighting in the show is on the whole very weak. Poor animation quality during the fights leave most of it unremarkable and without any impact. Doki does have quite a few silly and unusual fights to somewhat make up for it but it's never great at that. There is a lot of strategy used in some fights and the properties of what a Jikochu is made from sometimes factor into it. For instance a Jikochu made from a stereo runs out of batteries when it's not plugged in. But this happens less as the show goes on and it becomes more straight-forward action. Which is unfortunate because it still isn't good. The general soundtrack is good, the opening and endings just okay. The stock footage in the show is bland. All but one of the transformations are terrible. The one good one is so good it looks like it should be in a different show. The attacks are nothing special, some bad and some okay ones. Possibly the biggest problem with Doki is its main character. Aida Mana, Cure Heart. The show completely revolves around her. Instead of it being about friendships and bonds between all the Cures it's all about how everyone loves Mana and that's why it's everything Pretty Cure shouldn't be. She's completely perfect from the beginning of the show and doesn't grow or learn anything at all. Any supposed lessons she learns are forgotten and repeated later. The show sets up things like how her amazing selflessness might cause problems for her but nothing ever comes of this. Everyone loves her and she never fails. She's completely uncompelling and unrealistic and even worse is a terrible role model for children. Even when she shouldn't be the center of attention or have something in the plot revolve around her it happens anyways because she's the creators favorite. Add to that she's also just a terribly written character as her intelligence and fighting ability fluctuate episode by episode. She is the worst Cure of the franchise because everything she's about spits on what it means to be a Cure. The finale of the show is strange. It's not good by any means. It's hilarious in the same way a particularly bad movie is hilarious. There are some nice moments in it and some nice ideas are used but there is also plenty of dumb stuff, out of place comedy, terrible plot devices, a shoehorned in final fight that makes no sense, and generally poor animation quality and action that ruins it. The finale leaves one wondering where the animation budget went as despite there being some good moments it's really not that good looking and neither were the episodes leading up to it. So Doki Doki is the worst season of the franchise. At most times mediocre, sometimes terrible, never that great, with boring villains, and with the worst lead Cure ever.

NV2301

There is a natural human tendency to be complacent and repeat the same formula over and over again. This includes the Precure franchise with the previous Smile Precure being nothing more than a rehashed Yes5, according to reliable sources. The inability to adapt to a changing world has been the cause of failure of governments, corporations and society. Dokidoki has shown that even a well-established franchise is able to change with the times and cater to Generation Z children who have evolving and different needs. The first and foremost difference is that the Pink cure, Mana takes a far stronger leadership role inthis series compared to the past. In the run-up to Dokidoki, Japan has faced a leadership crisis, having 6 different Prime Ministers in as many years. Mana is a kind, but domineering character who knows no fear of attempting the impossible. Mana's ultimate dream of becoming a Prime Minister is no coincidence and her character is an inspiration to the children of Japan to take more risks, and get the job done in an otherwise risk-averse society. Despite Mana's superb level of competancy in many things, one that children should aspire for through diligence and hard work, it is strongly emphasized that she is only human and is imperfect. At one point, Mana loses motivation and a new character, much like the political opposition takes over the leadership role for a while, developing Mana and the cast until Mana is well again. This really draws paralells with the second coming of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, who after a weak first stint, has returned with strength, dominance and assertiveness not seen since the Koizumi era. That said, governments are essentially a team who need excellent leaders and followers. The cast knows when to stand up and lead, and when to provide excellent support to Mana. Even the said opposition is able to accomplish both roles, a life skill that is necessary for everyone. Dokidoki also takes a concept that is very relevant in life; selfishness. This relatability is a change from fantasy elements such as music, flowers and fairy tales. Almost every episode involves a person having selfish desires. Even the smallest selfish thought can escalate into something big, and Dokidoki shows how such thoughts can be suppressed, a crucial life skill that children need. Each member of the cast faces their own relatable trials and challenges in life and is given time for growth and development. An excellent example of this is the exploration of the theme of conflicting friendships. Little girls have a tendency to become upset when their best friend decides to get to know a new person. They become lonely and jealous, resulting in petty arguments along the lines of "I'm her best friend, how dare you take her away from me?" Dokidoki recreates this situation and provides a viable resolution. The theme of separation is also explored like never before in previous Precure seasons, something very relevant to the globalizing world. The Children of today are more likely to part ways and travel to far-flung places in their lives than ever before. The common reaction of sadness and depression is a strong theme and Dokidoki provides meaningful advice to children in the same situation in order to stand up, keep going, finding happy things in life and getting the job done. Another big theme is brainwashing. In this information age, we have easy access to a wide range of different sources, including less reputable ones. Children are especially vulnerable when it comes to listening to an unreliable source. Dokidoki explores one character who faces such a situation and the amount of love and care that is needed in order to restore and rehabilitate such children who take the wrong path in life. Last but not least, Dokidoki's plot has so many twists and turns that will put Code Geass to shame, catering perfectly to a generation that has ever-shortening attention spans. The wide range of themes that are covered, and the sudden changes in the predicament of the cures will put anyone at the edge of their seats. The transformation scenes are no-nonsense and different background music is substituted in to convey the mood of the situation, in what must be a first for the franchise and is rarely seen in the Mahou Shoujo genre. The endgame also takes a shocking twist which would leave the audience in awe. Combined with a character design that is easy on the eyes, consistently high quality artwork, animation and effective use of music, Dokidoki is a series that has succesfully managed to move on and adapt with the times. This is evidenced by a YouTube reaction video of a 5 year old who is fully engaged with the series, and is shocked and awed by the attention-seeking techniques that Toei animation has used in order to keep today's audience glued to their screens. The antithesis to Dokidoki is the "Aria the Animation" franchise. This series should never be watched as it was made for a previous generation born in the 1990s and is familiar with devices such as the VHS and the floppy disk. These devices are common in the fact that they are slow, and will sedate anyone from the 2000s generation into boredom and sleep.