Witchy Precure! -MIRAI DAYS-

Episode 10

It's pretty normal for Precure villain groups to have one person who functions as the strategist, taking the leader's desires and attempting to make them happen. In the original Witchy Precure!, that was Yamoh, and now he's the only one left from his core group of Dokuroxy followers. Interestingly, it's equally normal for the Cures themselves not to have a dedicated strategist; rather than having specific roles, they typically work together to figure things out, and while each Cure may have a specific strength, you don't see the same dynamic between the two groups. It's perhaps meant to contrast the Cures' equality and love for each other with the villains' more selfish setup, but Mirai Days' core group is currently badly in need of someone to help direct them because Chronosto is nothing like Dokuroxy. And that, of course, is where Yamoh comes in.

As we learn at the end of the episode, trusting him fully isn't a great plan, but when things start, they don't have much choice. The entire population of the Magic World has been captured by Chronosto and no one in the Non-Magic World knows what's going on – their default is to blame Maho Girl, which does make sense; she's the only evidence of the supernatural that they have. But that also means that overt action could be taken the wrong way by the Non-Magic citizens, even without considering that the snailiner has also been turned to stone, trapping the Cures in one world or another. Joining forces with Yamoh may be risky, but it's a chance that they have to take.

It also helps to show us that, despite the changes time has wrought, the Cures are still who they've always been. They're a group, and that's how they function best. Even when Mirai was doing her lone Maho Girl act, she had Mofurun, and during her isolation, she kept the bear by her side as a reminder that she was, once, part of a team. That Yamoh can't quite figure that out is both entertaining (I love his conversation with Mofurun trying to sort out what she is) and significant. He's helping, but he's not a team player, and being the only one of Dokuroxy's minions to remain unpetrified won't make him any more trustworthy. Liko, at least, probably realizes this deep down, but again, what choice do they have? Yamoh's strategic mind and knowledge of dark magic are their only chance to get to where Chronosto is waiting.

We're into the final battle and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned. Mostly this comes down to the fact that both Mirai and Liko are flashing back to the past in their visions – the future seems to have vanished from their psychic lexicons. Since Chronosto's entire deal is trapping people in their dreams of a better time, building on the rosy memories of past triumphs and desires, the Cures suddenly only seeing the past either means that his powers are working on them or that a future has ceased to exist. If they want one to come to pass, they'll have to seize it with their own hands and reject Chronosto's tainted offering. The perfect past he's giving to people in exchange for their time isn't real. It's static and built on nostalgia, and while that's fine to visit, forgetting about the future is dangerous. Mirai and Liko, at least, could be easily trapped in a past where they were always together, like when they were in middle school. Recognizing that they must keep moving toward the future days promised in the show's title may mean an ending that we're not thrilled with. But I'm starting to think that may be the message of the series: the future has to come, no matter how little we may want it to.

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