Kirakira Precure
Okay I cannot work out a way to make these pics anything but gigantic BUT at least you get to bask in the cuteness. Kirakira is the season with my absolute fave designs ever and even back when this season was everyone's punching bag for being too "kiddy" (I mean, this is a franchise for little children at the end of the day) I always adored it and the sugarcoated aesthetic is a big contributor. I really like the fusing of the dessert and animal theme, which just adds a little extra something to each girl. Ichika's outfit is nicely plain in a way that makes her seem like a real girl walking down the street, while the strawberry socks and hairties add some thematic identity. I love the choice to make her ginger, too. Pigtails, tried and true as a bunnygirl feature, imply her rabbit connection and also give her an appropriately energetic, outgoing look. I also love her big red eyes!
Cure Whip is so perfect. The costume is mostly cream-white, allowing for the reddish-pink of her big fondanty pigtails and costume accents to especially stand out. There's such a pleasant distribution of colour here! The Kirakira designs all feel simultaneously campy and tasteful in the way that appeals to my exact style. There is so much to love here in the little details, like the skirt resembling a sliced shortcake and the cottontail earrings. The bodice evokes an apron, the animal features (which, btw, are organic and functional!) are scaled to suit the human proportions in a way you don't always see, and Ichika's hairties become the centre of the strawberry bow. Like, directly, that's the same strawberry design. SO so cute. And so shiny-looking; the fact they make their own cure forms out of ambiguous sweet substances really shows, like she could be a cake topper. All the Kirakira girls could. Cure Whip you will always always be famous.
I've always loved Himari who is just this tiny nervous probably autistic 14-year-old scientist. She's always quivering, so of course she's the pudding and squirrel themed girl. I really like the grandma simplicity of her constantly oversized civilian clothing--I never use grandma as anything other than a compliment btw!--like, Himari just looks comfy and happy. In Precure world casual practical nerdy girl clothing still means easily-stained pastels and cutesy cherry accessories and I honestly love that. I also always like seeing characters with natural hair and eye colours from time to time! Oh honestly all of the Kirakira girls are just so lovely it hurts. Having a six-girl magical team and making all of them EQUALLY lovable and unique is very impressive.
Cure Custard has a very endearing look, oozing again with Kirakira-brand cuteness. Her hair is cleverly swept up to give off a more confident air while also allowing the true star of the show, her massive squirrel tail, to shine. No disproportionately tiny animal tails here--that thing is HUGEEE and amazing. The ears maybe look a bit less believable but they ARE orange which might be the root, and while I might have preferred her animal traits to be brown, orange is also a nice complimentary colour to her yellow dress. The pudding skirt is so sweet and oh my gosh I almost forgot to mention their little paws--I love all the animal paw shoes in this season. If Custard's shoes matched her other brown accents I think I'd like them more but they're functional. I also really enjoy the donut pouches all the girls keep their compacts in. Nice, practical touch, since they need those things to fight with at first!
Aoi is a runaway rebel princess who wants to be a rockstar, and that definitely shows with her outfit. The leather jacket on top of a more dainty outfit, and the punkish hair tied with a polite ribbon...and she has anime fangs yayy! Her little crown icon is a cool touch, of course alluding to the whole "lions are the kings of the jungle" idea. As Cure Gelato Aoi gets to fully come into her rockstar identity, with a full mane of hair, an even cooler upgrade of her daily leather jacket, a microphone/wafflecone pendant, and a skirt which resembles both a cloudy blue sky and ripped fabric. SUPER clever details. I adore her big chunky gloves and shoes, giving her a sort of Sonic character look, and I always smile at the part of her transformation where you see her pull up only one sock; she made the CHOICE to leave one rolled down. Character details like that will never fail to make my day. Iconic.
QUEEN ALERT. Technically Yukari is our first real absolutely canon lesbian (joined shortly by our next girl) and I think she deserves that spot. She's a refreshing example of a confident, fashion-fascinated, and fickle sort of female character who isn't forced to completely change, but rather to face her own insecurities. (Looking at Haley from Stardew Valley my poor wife). Yukari's face stands out, with slightly less wide eyes and a more defined lip, as well as a sharper jaw. I like seeing that kind of variation, even if Precure keeps it minor. They do a good job of making Yukari look older than the first three girls, who are fourteen to her seventeen. She has an elegant, simple trenchcoat with a beautiful flare, sleek pretty hair, and of course killer boots. As Cure Macaron, her hair really doesn't change much, just grows a bit longer. It's already perfect, though the concept art of Macaron with a bob does make me froth at the mouth wishing we got that. Her dress is more haute couture and stylishly splices a bodice which could pass for casual elegant womenswear with a macaron-shaped skirt. This is another design which expertly enfuses white to break the main colours. I LOVE her claw-like ribbons, which connect visually to her collar (wow, like a cat collar?) and her pawlike long gloves. The little ring around her ankle is cute, too, kind of like a cat toy or the pads of a paw. AND the macarojn beret??? This girl should be invited to the Met Gala.
This is lowkey the butchest girl you can show Precure without them getting scared but I'm still here for it. Akira, our butch lesbian and Yukari's more down-to-earth and reliable girlfriend, is one of my favourite characters and I may have had a crush on her until I was eighteen myself. Her civilian design has such a nice simplicity and a suave air (no wonder Ichika had a crush on her for an episode) with a pleasant muted palette. The dog tag is a nice touch too. Honestly they nailed the look of a soft masc girl. Meanwhile Cure Chocolat retains Akira's style, only more frilled up and extravaggant, of course. Chocolat is a reference to Takarazuka Revue, which involves female actors playing all roles, including the roles of male characters. Not only is this a super cool theming choice, but it's referenced all over her transformation sequence, which is jaw-droppingly choreographed, as all this season's transformations are. Chocolat is clearly meant to look princely and heroic, a vibe they nailed. Making her cowlick huge while her actual hair is still short is a beautiful way to give her cut a sense of enhancement without just lengthening it. She looks like a Valentine's chocolate box, with all her red and dark stripes! The effect is gorgeous. Some details I love include her retained dog tag, the chocolate dripping from her dapper top hat, and the fluffiness of her tail. Akira's personality shines so clearly through this costume.
My problematic daughter Ciel initially got some flack for being conceited and not green enough but I will genuinely defend her no matter what. I think she was a clever addition to an already fairly large cast, because she really doesn't disturb the existing dynamic, only enhancing it. I like that her civilian design is, in some ways, similar to Ichika, because the two of them do kinda serve as friendly foils. Her fairy form even looks like a rabbit. Ciel is basically just a human disguise, so it makes sense that Cure Parfait regains some of her fairy form's features such as pink hair. I find Parfait does stand out a bit in the team, but that aligns narratively, and, well, I just love the design too much to mind. The glasslike top and the sundae-themed rainbow skirt is just so fun. Maybe the final red frill could have been shorter as to not clash with her already long horse tail, but ah well. Her little wings also look sliightly silly but making them any longer would have been sillier. My most beloved trait here though is definitely her horse shoes. They are so ridiculous and perfect??? I need. Anyway if you couldn't tell MAN I LOVE KIRAKIRA PRECURE ToT