In the history of Precure, Yes! Precure 5 is particularly important. This fourth series, which introduces the third set of Cures, is the first to feature more than two officially-named Cures (Shiny Luminous doesn't have “Cure” in her title, and the same goes for MICHIRU and Kaoru) and to expand into what are now viewed as the traditional Cure colors. It's also the first series to feature an overt romantic subplot and fairies who can transform into humans, making it a landmark in terms of the way the franchise evolves. Also interesting is that Yes!5 incorporates elements of tokusatsu shows, not just in the color-coded fighters in familiar shades of red, pink, blue, green, and yellow. Their transformation items are worn on their wrists and look like smartwatches (although those weren't all that common in 2008), and their movements are sharp and angular, another marked departure from Futari wa Precure and Splash Star. It's also fun to see the traditionally masculine tokusatsu genre tweaked for an intended feminine audience; unlike in “ranger” shows, the leader is Cure Dream, the pink one, while Cure Rouge (red) is her most immediate aide.

Speaking of Cure Rouge, it's interesting how she and the other girls join the team. Initially, only Nozomi is chosen as Cure Dream, but at least two of the others have difficult relationships with their roles as far as first becoming Cures go. Rin only becomes Cure Rouge because of Nozomi – unlike the Cures in prior seasons, the two of them have been friends since early childhood, and she specifically joins the team out of a desire to help and protect Nozomi. For her, it's not about helping the Palmier Kingdom or a to fight for justice; it all comes down to wanting to be there for her best friend, which frankly feels like one of the best reasons for becoming a magical girl and is very much in keeping with the genre's themes of love and self-sacrifice. Karen, on the other hand, is very much opposed to becoming Cure Aqua, to the point where her initial attempt at transformation fails. She, too, wants to protect her friend (Komachi, Cure Mint, in her case), but she's also held back by her emotional burdens. Karen is the requisite Cure whose wealthy parents aren't around, similar to You and Idol Precure♪'s Nana (Cure Wink) or Delicious Party Precure's Kokone (Cure Spicy). Karen is also the student council president. Between that and her parents' absence, she feels burdened by responsibility. She's afraid to add being a Cure to that because she hasn't had much, if any, experience in having partners to help her. Her first attempt at transformation could be said to fail because she hasn't realized that she doesn't have to do it alone; the others may need her help, but that doesn't mean they won't help her in return. It's not until she understands that she's no longer a solo act that she's able to become Cure Aqua, a realization that fits with her role as the Pretty Cure of Intelligence.

It's not Karen who's the Cure on the outskirts of the group, however. That's Urara, Cure Lemonade, something that we can even see in her outfit; while Cures Mint and Aqua have identical outfits, and Cures Dream and Rouge's are very similar, Cure Lemonade alone has a frillier, fluffier look without even the shorts under her skirt that the others get. This is symbolic both of the fact that Urara is the lone first-year among the group and that she's a working idol. While she doesn't always overtly act like the outlier, episode twenty shows what it looks like when she fully accepts that she's part of the group. Meeting her father and grandfather in episode nineteen starts that process, as we learn that Urara's mother died when she was little, creating a sense of impermanence in her life. Her family is also the exact opposite of Karen's – Urara's dad and grandpa are very hands-on and doting, which is in its way as awkward for Urara as Karen's hands-off parents are for her.

Apart from the character interactions, which are consistently evolving in ways that deepen our understanding of each girl and the obnoxious Milk, who comes into the story at episode twenty-one and stands in contrast to the others by being remarkably selfish (I fully admit to not liking Milk until Power of Hope: Precure Full Bloom), this season is remarkable for its villains. Nightmare is a literal corporate nightmare, an evil empire structured like a black company. Its drones all wear masks with blood-red tear tracks down their cheek. Its lieutenants are mostly humanoid insects, like Bunbee (bee), Arachnea (spider), and Girinma (praying mantis). Nightmare is genuinely scary, growing more and more alarming as these episodes go on, culminating in episodes twenty-three and twenty-four when they manage to infect the Cures. Each Cure is shown her worst nightmares, from Urara having to choose between being an idol and a Cure to Komachi being consumed by her own fiction, and eventually, Nozomi is left alone. When Nightmare tries to absorb her too, a very frightening scene has her sitting at a table with her friends, all of whom have their eyes closed, while hers alone remain open. It's effective symbolism, showcasing that Nozomi has the strength both to resist and to redeem her friends; it feels like an homage to Sailor Moon when Usagi is often the only Sailor Guardian left standing who can bring an end to whatever seasonal menace she's fighting.

Also like Sailor Moon, as I mentioned, this season has a distinct romantic subplot, and it's a bit contentious. Coco and Nozomi develop feelings for each other over these episodes, which is an issue because Coco's masquerade in the human world is as Nozomi's teacher. While an argument could be made that he's not that much older than her (he certainly doesn't act like it, and neither does Natts), the fact that he's working at her school is very uncomfortable. These episodes don't do a ton with this subplot, but it's still unmistakably there and a point of contention historically for this series, and that's not even getting into the fact that Coco mentions being more comfortable in his mascot form than his human one.

Still, even with that wrinkle, the first half of Yes! Precure 5 is a good one. Even a few subtitle errors (Cure Rouge is referred to as Cure Dream in episode eight) or bizarre choices (Nozomi speaks English to Urara's father, and the subs are in French) can't hold it back. It's a good first half to a seminal series, and one that's likely to appeal to classic magical girl fans in general, even if you've never watched a Precure series before.