Delicious Party Precure

Episode 26

Was this episode paid for by the Japanese Green Pepper Council? I'm aware that green peppers are the anime equivalent of broccoli in American children's media, filling the role of “grossest/most hated vegetable,” but this definitely felt like a bit much, if not outright green pepper propaganda. I also recognize that the episode runs up against a couple of cultural and personal issues that I have with the “you must eat all foods” attitude; not only do both of my younger sisters have specific dietary restrictions, but I can't count the number of times the fact that I don't eat pork (and specifically bacon) has caused problems, mostly with people trying to make me eat it “because it's so good.” Therefore the idea that Kokone and ※Kome ※Kome have to eat and/or appreciate a specific food doesn't sit well with me.

But really, the bigger issue here is that the story more or less derails. There's nothing wrong with a lighter, sillier episode every now and then, but this one just doesn't feel like it serves a whole lot of purpose except the promotion of green peppers. That's possibly an unfair statement of me to make, because we do see Cure Spicy's new crusty bread shield, but it's pretty buried under the other story elements. The fact that this particular Motto Ubau-zo is drastically more dangerous than previous monsters the group has battled – Spiritoru skips right over things like spatulas and combines his wok with drills, which I don't think belong in a kitchen – feels underutilized. It absolutely is the perfect monster for Spicy's new attack (defense?), but I'd have liked to see the fight be a little more fraught than it turned out to be. The same goes for Mari's quick mention of the Special Delicioustone – he brings it up, briefly explains it, and then it's gone for the duration of the episode. While I'm confident it will come back in a later episode, it feels like a throwaway here, just tossed aside in favor of hijinks. This show has proved that hijinks and plot can coexist nicely, so why not here?

In all fairness, there are some good moments, with Takumi taking on a slightly bigger role than usual making up quite a few of them. Black Pepper sneaking off when he hears that the girls are counting on Takumi cooking them pepper dishes that he hasn't even started; for all we know, he just dropped the box of bell peppers and ran when he spotted Spiritoru on the street. ※Kome ※Kome's King Green Pepper fantasies are also really fun, and I love how the art style changes to picture book format for those sections. It's interesting how in her fantasies Kokone is the same age as her, as if she knows that disliking bell peppers is something she's meant to grow out of, and Kokone's dislike of them makes her somehow younger than her physical age. There's also an attempt to frame Kokone's determination to revisit the vegetable as evidence of her character growth, although that feels a little sketchier, less like something she's willing to try because she's got friends and more because she's embarrassed that she still doesn't like them at her age. But I do appreciate the effort.

There are some off visuals this time as well, mostly with Kokone's guardian's mustache, which looks like a strip of felt he glued to his upper lip. Likewise, off-model shots are more frequent than usual, mostly in profiles and when Finale kicks the Motto Ubau-zo during the fight. It isn't a bad episode, but it's also not up to Delicious Party Pretty Cure's usual standards, even if we take my own issues with its message out of the equation. Hopefully next week will be a return to form.

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Delicious Party♡Precure is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.