It is the year 2021. We are still in a pandemic and all of us wished that it would go away. Some of us even lost motivation to do anything because of this, and for that, Toei Animation decided to make the next entry in the long-running Precure franchise be filled with motivation as the main theme, to let kids know that everything is going to be OK.
Tropical-Rouge! Precure is like no other; it is a unique season that has its own charm. Besides the usual plot of “non-human goes to human world to find girls to become Precure and bond with them”, TroPre also focuses on the Tropical Club, a newly-formed after school club that acts as a catalyst for the friendship between our five main Cures this season.
At first glance, TroPre feels like a spiritual reboot of Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch which aired back in 2003 due to the “ocean-themed magical girls” imagery that is imposed in both shows. While MMPPP’s characters are all mermaids hailing from the sea while fighting villains by singing, TroPre shares quite a few similarities with that but not entirely; there is only one mermaid character from the five main characters and they undergo hand-to-hand combat instead of using their weapon entirely.
In terms of characters, we have the energetic klutz Manatsu Natsuumi/Cure Summer, a common trope for most Precure leaders. There is also the laid-back Sango Suzumura/Cure Coral who loves fashion and makeup, the bookworm Minori Ichinose/Cure Papaya who is also a writer, Asuka Takizawa/Cure Flamingo who is sporty and acts as a big sister, and last but not least, Laura Apollodoros Hyginius La Mer/Cure La Mer, who used to be an egocentric mermaid hailing from Grand Ocean, only to be changed by Manatsu and friends when she discovered them. While I think the characters in TroPre are fine, I believe that this is one of the weakest bits of this anime, because the overarching point of this show focuses on the relationship between Laura and Manatsu, leaving the other three girls behind, not getting much of a spotlight. While there are a few episodes focusing on their growth, it is not that impactful and it actually shuns them out of the spotlight. I wish that we got more episodes focusing on Laura with Sango, Minori, or Asuka, but most of them seem to be about Laura with Manatsu instead.
The villains, unfortunately, were not the greatest this season. None of them seem to be flashy in terms of personality and most are just straight up bland. The final boss of this season also did not do much due to their lazy nature. The only thing the villains do is just take other people’s motivation and not take them back unless the Precures stop them, and in my humble opinion, none of the villains will be memorable to me. I wish that the villains were more interesting, just like the ingenious writing and development of the villains of Hugtto! Precure.
If the characters are a weak point of this show, then the designs and animation are what makes me favor this show. This is actually the first Precure season since Futari wa Precure (the very first season!) to have a leader Cure whose theme color is not pink. The designs of TroPre finally deviates away from the usual convention of the pink-blue-red color scheme and it is groundbreaking; it finally introduces the first white leader with rainbow accents and it is such a big feat for this franchise as a whole. And these designs are illustrated by none other than Yukiko Nakatani, who is also the character designer for my favorite entry in the Precure franchise AND my third favorite anime of all time, Go! Princess Precure. Nakatani’s artstyle is very distinct and very pleasing to the eyes, and seeing her return to become the main character designer for TroPre made me so happy.
The animation of TroPre is stellar, especially with the henshin (transformation) scenes. My favorite one is Cure Summer’s due to how colorful, fluid, and clean it looks. It is mainly animated by Nishiki Itaoka and I believe that his works are always the best. The henshin sequences of the other girls are also very well-done since it’s such a feast to the eyes. I also realized that each girl may have a different animator, especially with the distinction of Cure Flamingo’s. Her henshin sequence is more “choppy” and less fluid in a way, and this might be because of her personality. I believe that the girls’ personalities reflect how they transform, both in terms of sakuga and how they apply their makeup.
Now I will talk about sound, firstly the music. Shiho Terada returns to compose the OST since Healin’ Good and it’s honestly much better than Healin’ Good. The henshin music actually gives off a tropical feel due to the usage of steel drums, which is an instrument highly associated with the beach and everything tropical. Meanwhile, the OP and ED are very catchy as well. Machico (more known to be as the singer of the Konosuba openings) sounds very energetic in the OP, which is what the show is all about. Meanwhile, both endings are very earwormy too. I prefer the first one compared to the second one, though.
In terms of character’s sounds, all the voice actors did an excellent job in bringing the Cures and other characters to life. I really liked Manatsu’s voice the most since it fits her energetic image, same thing goes for the other Cures. The voice cast of TroPre is perfect since Toei brought in big-name voice actors, which is an unsual feat for a kids show.
In conclusion, Tropical-Rouge! Precure was an improvement from Healin’ Good♥Precure, especially with how the pandemic badly affected the series. The fact that motivation is the main theme of the show makes so much sense especially with how we are all living in trying times. It is a smart move for Toei Animation to include this as the theme as it tells kids all over Japan to not give up. While TroPre still has plenty of flaws, I’ll give it a generous 7/10 due to its unique execution of storytelling, which does not only focus on how the Precures work together to fight evil, but also on their beloved Tropical Club that should forever be treasured.
This is my first review, thanks for reading! Here's hoping that Delicious Party♡Precure will be great!
