While looking back after watching the rest of the franchise, Futari wa has become my least favorite seasons of Precure. However that is more of a sign of how much later entries would improve upon its foundations. That being said, FW is still a good mahou shoujo considering it was enough to get me really interested in continuing my Precure journey.

Each Precure season usually excels in one or a couple aspects that are lacking in others. In this case, the areas where Futari wa shines, that even exceeds later entries, are the relationship of Nagisa and Honoka and the fights. This iconic duo and how they are treated is undoubtedly the best part of the show. The quality of writing and how genuine their friendship is timeless and very few duos in Precure can rival them. Since there aren’t many cures, a huge focus of FW is spent building their relationship. Cure Black and White complement each other so well that it is almost impossible to talk about one without bringing up the other. They are one of the most iconic duos, not just in Precure, but in the entire magical girl genre. The most iconic episodes are the one where their bond develops.

The other element of FW that still holds up even compared to later seasons, are the fight scenes. One of Precure’s most unique traits as a MG is how intense the combat can be, and that element was cemented from the very beginning. This season may have the largest amount of hand to hand battles in all of Precure. There are magic attacks but they are mostly used as finishers. Almost every fight is done with fists and kicks, making for some intense and impactful battles. There is some great choreography here and there especially considering the time and how long the series is.

A trademark element of the franchise is that each season has a distinct theme to them. FW’s theme is that of duality. Black and white, dark and light, and much more. It is prevalent throughout the whole show in both explicit and more subtle ways. This theme is used with great success in enforcing the main relationship. Opposites can attract and what strengths and weaknesses you may have complemented by those of somebody else. Precure has always been excellent at conveying simple subjects in effective ways and it all began here. The story is a very plain good vs evil plot but there is a certain charm in the way it is handled.

Unfortunately there are multiple reasons as to why my appreciation has fallen, despite me very much enjoying the season when I first watched it. The biggest fault of FW is the lack of plot progression. Magical girls generally have slower stories compared to normal anime, however after Futari wa and especially Max heart, Precure would increase the amount of story elements making progression feel more tangible. Besides Nagisa and Honoka’s development, FW has the least amount of progression in the whole franchise. If you take out the battles, this is the closest Precure has been to a pure SOL with very little development. Aside from the lack of story beats, besides the duo, Shiny Luminous in Max heart, and a few others, the characters are not as good as with later entries. The best part of Precure is always the characters and there are only two and one additional cure hurts this season in retrospect. In addition, both the villains and most of the side characters are quite bland and forgettable, a problem that later seasons would resolve.

Considering Futari wa was the very beginning of Precure, I would still say that is a great start for what would become a legendary franchise. Despite my complaints, they only become more apparent in retrospect as future seasons would improve its foundations, which needed to be set in the first place. FW still has elements that make it a good show. The battles are still intense, well presented, and carry a lot of weight. It definitely has heart when it comes to the relationship of Nagisa and Honoka, which is definitely the best part of the series. This duo is incredibly iconic and it thanks to the writing and the emotions behind them. While having a lot of flaws FW still manages to be a great mahou shoujo and I’m also glad it didn’t start out perfect as it opened the doors for some of the best content in the whole genre to come. Without this season, we wouldn’t have the greatest magical girl franchise in all of anime.