The character designs were gorgeous. The girls were extremely cute, and the fact that Purirun and Meroron could also transform into Precure was genuinely fun and innovative. However, that’s about as far as the series went. Things like Uta recycling the same song over and over, or Kokoro’s “kyun kyun” catchphrase, got old very fast. It also really annoyed me how long it took the show to let Purirun and Meroron use their normal human forms. The designs were right there in their transformation sequence, yet they went unused for ages.
The fighting sequences were pretty decent, and using their songs as climax finishing moves was an amazing idea. That said, the girls’ move sets were extremely limited. The few extra techniques they learned, like Nana’s rainbow shield or Uta’s additional transformation, were forgotten almost as soon as the episodes they appeared in ended. Their learning curve was practically nonexistent.
And lastly, the thing that frustrated me the most: the story and the villains. This was easily the weakest aspect of the season, especially Darkiine. There were some genuine highs, like Meroron’s curse or the reveal of Jogi as Kaito’s old friend, but so many plot points either made no sense or were outright discarded. Most importantly, there’s no way Darkiine should have been introduced only in the final episodes. She had zero weight as a villain beyond being evil for the sake of it, easily the biggest letdown of the season.
All in all, Idol Precure was still a fun series, but its wasted potential leaves me with a bittersweet aftertaste, especially regarding the idol concept, only makes me wish the project had been handled with more care and a clearer direction.
