straightforwardly | 0062 | in which I try out Precure, watch Digimon, & get super-emotional over Ogremon (& Leomon)

► I've started watching Go! Princess Precure. Yesterday, I needed something to watch while doing my nails (so I didn't get impatient & ruin them), but I didn't want to start anything really big since I'm already in the middle of rewatching Digimon with my brother. (More on that below.) Despite being really, really, really into the magical girl genre, I've actually somehow never managed to get around to watching any of the Precure series, so when I saw that there was one currently airing that only had three episodes out so far, I figured that this was the perfect opportunity to start watching it.

In short: it's really cute! It's mostly been a typical magical girl series so far, but in an enjoyable way. I definitely liked the first episode best, but the other ones were fun too, though I'm not too attached to any of the characters so far.

Despite all of the emphasis on princesses, the series has been surprisingly... physical, so far? Especially in regards to the fight scenes. Maybe it's just me, but I got the impression that there's much, much more punching and kicking going on in the fight scenes than I'm used to in a magical girl series. I mean, they definitely still use the usual magical attacks to defeat their enemies, but the fighting leading up to using those attacks strike me as being different from the norm.

(sources: one | two)

And it's not just the main character, who seems to be a pretty physical character in general. The super-elegant one gets in on it too:

(source)

I like it. =D

There is something that I've noticed, though. In either the first or second episode, Aroma (one of the magical animal companions), mentions that to be a "true princess", one must possess three traits: strength, kindness, and beauty. I can't help but wonder if each of the three main characters are supposed to represent one of the traits.

Haruka (the main character / Cure Flora) would definitely equal strength. She's as-good-as said that of the three traits, it's only one she's really good at. Cure Mermaid (whose real name I've forgotten) seems to be a fairly kind person— which did surprise me, actually, as I'd half-expected her to be one of those "Ice Queen" kind of characters. And finally, the preview for the next episode seems to suggest that the last of the three main characters is a model or something like that, which would correspond well with beauty.

And that's about all I have to say about it. It's nothing super-special so far, but it is cute and fun, which is enough for me.

...I spent far too much time looking for gifs for this post.

► As I mentioned above, I've also been rewatching Digimon Adventure with my older brother in the evenings. I haven't seen it since I was a kid, literally— there's so much that I'd forgotten! We're also (mostly) watching it in Japanese, which neither of us have done before, so that's been interesting. Whenever something strikes us as being very different from what we remembered, we go back and rewatch that scene in English to compare the two.

Some comparisons:

The English translation leaves a lot to be desired— the Japanese dialogue is definitely much more consistent in its quality. But there are moments where I do genuinely like the English dialogue better.

For example, when the kids are bathing in Devimon's mansion in episode 8, Izzy/Koushiro has a conversation with Tentomon that actually made a bit more sense in English, at least to me.

(in Japanese:)
(after Taichi jumps into the bath)
Yamato: Hey, don't jump in.
Taichi: Don't be silly. I can't help getting excited. Can you, Takeru?
Takeru: No.
Koushiro: True. I couldn't believe my eyes. It's perfect.
Tentomon: Shall I make it an electric bath?
Koushiro: ...No, thank you.
(in English:)
(starting when Izzy jumps into the conversation)
Izzy: Warm water is perfect for removing soil and epidermis. You know, dirt and dead skin?
Tentomon: Whenever my skin gets dirty, I just shed it.
Izzy: ...That would be difficult for me.

I don't know, I feel like Tentomon's comment in the Japanese version came out of nowhere. Plus, I kind of like Izzy being this little kid who likes showing off that he knows all of these "big", fancy words.

Or when Birdramon evolves to Garudamon in episode 26:

(in Japanese:)
Sora: Birdramon! Birdramon!
(in English:)
Sora: Birdramon! I love you!

That was one of the scenes that really stuck with me over the years, so it's quite possible that nostalgia plays a role, but I do really like the weight of Sora telling Birdramon that she loves her at that moment, right after being so afraid that she wasn't capable of loving.

~~And then Garudamon ruins it with that awful English voice. It was horrifying, and my brother & I have been mocking it relentlessly ever since.~~

Some of the voices in the Japanese version are also rather jarring/odd. We've managed to get used to most of them (even Taichi's, which was one of the oddest), but I don't think I'll ever get 100% used to Yamato's. It's just so weirdly deep for such a little kid.

One thing that surprised me was how womanly Gatomon's voice sounds. It's not necessarily a bad thing— though I don't think it's a perfect fit either— but it was interesting to hear.

The Japanese version is also pretty hit-or-miss with the music. I do really like the evolving and battle music, but the timing's not always good. In general, it seems to have a problem with playing music with the wrong mood for the scene, and it can be pretty jarring. I can't say that the English version is perfect with this— after all, I've only seen bits and pieces of it as an adult— but it is a problem that I've been having with the Japanese version.

In the end, though, we've agreed that the Japanese version is generally more watchable, mainly because the quality of the dialogue is much more consistent.

One thing that's really struck me in this rewatch is how young all the characters are. When I last watched Digimon Adventure, I was the same age as the characters, and didn't think much about horrifying experiences they're going through.

Now that I'm an adult, though, all I can think is: holy shit how are they not all traumatized?

Running for their lives on a regular basis, never knowing when their next meal will be, watching their partner (in the case of Takeru & Angemon) being killed by an enemy, being hit on by grown men and women when they're trying to hitch-hike a ride home, watching their friends they've made over the course of their journey sacrifice their lives for them in the Dark Master arc (I cannot blame Mimi for freaking out and thinking it's all too much for her there), and other things I can't think of on the top of my head right now— they're just little kids. I just want to give them all hugs and blankets and tea, poor kids.

Last night, we just finished watching episode 47, and there may have been some actual tears going on. For some reason, I forgot just how sad Leomon's death was— and I definitely did not expect to have so many Ogremon feelings. Just, everything about him in this episode brought on the feelings.

Mimi taking care of him! Him being literally unable to picture life without fighting Leomon, oh be still my heart. Him trying to fight Leomon despite being injured! Leomon promising him that they can fight once Ogremon's healed!

AND THEN LEOMON'S DEATH. ASDFGHJKL; LEOMON APOLOGIZING BECAUSE OGREMON'S GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT A BIT LONGER FOR THEIR FIGHT. OGREMON'S FACE.

AND.

AND.

THEIR HANDS REACHING FOR ONE ANOTHER AS LEOMON DIES.

I DIDN'T NEED THAT HEART NOPE T_T

And now I'm super-emotional over it again.

Tonight should be fun, though— Hikari's my favorite character, and I remember the next episode being one that was super good for me on that front.