Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we stand on the precipice of eternity, as Hana fights to overcome George’s machinations and restore hope for the future. Having been aided in this battle by not just her Pretty Cure companions, but also the former employees of Criasu Corp, her struggle has embodied the promise of personal reinvention, that an unhappy past not define our future, and that people of all ages are capable of shedding their fetters and seeking what is truly most important. Pupple and her companions, Gelos and her beloved butlers, Traum, Risutol, Bishin – though all once believed their best days were fading memories, all were lead by Hana to see that there is still so much beauty in the world, and so much left to look forward to.
And now, there is only George. A man who appears to have taken all of humanity’s suffering on his back, and who sees the only way to maintain happiness as preserving it in amber, sealing our happy moments in stasis as in a picture, or the paintings he loves so much. George has at times represented the paternalistic misogyny facing women in society, the anonymous cruelty of placing your corporate underlings in brutal competition, or the simpering smile promising escape from destitution through wage slavery. Here at the end, those faces merge into one cold promise, a seemingly compassionate assurance that nothing will ever be better than it is now, so you might as well make the good times last. Through struggle and self-doubt, Hana has refused to give up hope for the future, and I don’t think she’s stopping now. Let’s fight for a brighter tomorrow!
Episode 48
We open with a good old-fashioned Hana greeting right to the camera. It’s nice to know that no matter how dire things get, we can always count on a fond hello from Hana
Man, I am not ready to say goodbye to this crew! Sorta hitting me all at once how close we are to the end, and this gang has been a source of comfort for years now, one of the mainstays of my reader projects in general. Hard to imagine there will very soon be no “next episode” at all
And then a second cold open in that field of eternity, as George asks once more if Hana still means to believe in tomorrow
Hugtan refers to Hana as “Mama,” seemingly recognizing her anew via this display of strength and conviction. Considering Hana’s greatest strength has always been her ability to make others believe in themselves, it wouldn’t surprise me if our final beat for her is seeing her do the same for her own kids – particularly since Hugtto has worked so hard to draw a direct line between childhood and adult anxieties
“I Can Do Anything! I Can Be Anything! Hooray, Hooray, Me!” A title that embodies Hana’s final challenge, one that has haunted her consistently through this journey: her difficulty embracing the same confidence for herself that she’s so good at instilling in others. Hana was initially so unsure of her identity that she essentially reinvented herself, hoping to create a form of herself that she could actually believe in. But after all this time spent growing alongside her friends, she now sincerely understands that she is capable of anything
And she’ll begin that process by punching George square in the face! Some nice immediate cuts of action as she squares off against George’s miasma
Hana kicks his tome right out of his hands! Take that, ya grungy warlock!
“I don’t want your eternity!” An excellent battle cry
“Broken dreams are just sugarcoating.” “Sugarcoating is fine with me! If we can keep believing in the future, a miracle will…” Hope is always aspirational, but that doesn’t make it any less essential – rather the opposite, in fact. It is hope’s greatest strength that it can exist in the absence of justification, even when you have every reason to disbelieve in the future
Fitting that George’s powers are framed through paintings and this spell tome – he believes only in the truths that have been recorded regarding the past, not seeing the future as capable of offering an alternative
“The cool and stylish grown-up I wanted to be… No one decided that for me. That was all me.” Hana is coming to understand that her hope is itself an incredible power, something to be applauded. Hana has so much hope that she’s actually able to share it with others, letting them lean on her faith in their futures when their own faith is lacking
And we see that hope she shared still impacting the world, clear in the resilience of her allies, and the slow dissolution of George’s static powers
Through the amazing people Hana met, she learned that even the strongest among us doubt themselves sometimes. And while George sees that as affirmation of the inevitability of suffering, Hana sees the opposite – that because life can be painful even for the strongest of us, she shouldn’t feel paralyzed by her own pain
Knowing that others can lose their way means that when she is cheering for a better future, she is never cheering alone
“Even so… even if they laugh at my dream, even if they hurt me.” That ‘even so’ in the face of all the world’s torments feels like one of the most iconic, universal sentiments of magical girl dramas. Folks say something like Madoka Magica betrays the spirit of the genre, but it’s also built entirely around that implacable “even so.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but this site is actually named after the same hope that inspires Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon
Nice subtle adjustments to Hana’s design here, giving her a longer face and thus making her appear more mature and confident
Her resolution concludes with a fresh transformation that shatters George’s spell tome, breaking the bindings on the world at large
Thus light returns to the world, as we check in on all our favorite couples and the Nono family
We also get a brief cut to what appears to be Traum and George in the present time, still far from their supervillainous future selves
“Even when you’re laughing, it still feels like you’re crying.” An apt description of George’s intensely bitter, defeated laughter
“My time… will never advance again.” Beautiful composition of a seemingly older Hana reflected in his eye. A strong implication that his utter lack of faith in the future is based in his understanding that his Hana will not be there to experience it
And at last he takes on his final, terrible oshimaeda form, his great limbs trampling over the frozen land
Ooh, love this quick cut of Hana’s feet digging into the ground as she holds back George’s strike. You can really feel the weight bearing down on her here
“We raise babies together! You can’t embrace the future all by yourself!” Hana again connects her hope for the future to the idea of raising children. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if that’s our epilogue here
The collective hope of all Hana’s companions forms a giant hope spirit bomb. “You are all Precure!”
Oh my god, everyone is Precure! We even get Hugman in a golden suit of Precure armor, amazing
And then Masato grows wings and princess carries Henri to the battlefield. I am losing my goddamn mind
With a big hug from the mother Cure, Criasu Corp begins to crumble
But even George deserves someone who believes in him. And thus Hana rushes forward once again, seeking to rescue him from the ruin of his terrible ambitions
Love this final song, a gentle melody of hope as they all watch the rising sun
And Done
Fantastic work, Pretty Cures. It feels precisely on-theme for the finale of Hugtto to testify that everyone contains the power of a Cure within them, and I’m exceedingly grateful for this episode’s charming realization of that idea, right down to Hugman’s fantastic battle gear. And given Hana’s long journey towards self-confidence, it was richly satisfying to see her acknowledge the unique beauty of her own strengths, and how her personal reinvention was not a reflection of fear or timidity, but her courage in imagining a stylish, gallant adulthood. Life is defined by hardship, but there is a light that never goes out, even if only because we refuse to believe it has extinguished. No one can take that hope from us, and from that hope, all that is good in life can be born.
This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.
