This Week in Anime
Breaking the Mold with Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure
by Christopher Farris & Nicholas Dupree,
The idea of having Magical Boys aboard the Magical Girl franchise has only ever been considered a running gag or joke in the series. But Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure breaks the mold by officially introducing its first ever boy Precure in the franchise's 20-year history. How will it hold up against conventional wisdom that boys should stay away from "girly" things?
This series is streaming on Crunchyroll.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.
Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.
@Lossthief
|
@BeeDubsProwl
|
@NickyEnchilada
|
@vestenet
|
Chris
Nick, I come to you today with that most pressing question of our time:
Have you heard, about the bird?
Nick, I come to you today with that most pressing question of our time:
Have you heard, about the bird?
Nick
Why, everybody's heard about the bird. Or at least everyone who pays attention to kids' cartoons that you need subtitles for.
Why, everybody's heard about the bird. Or at least everyone who pays attention to kids' cartoons that you need subtitles for.
Indeed, Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure, the latest iteration of Toei's storied Pretty Cure magical girl series, has just gotten its second cour underway. And from the jump, one of the biggest talking points about the series relates to Cure Wing here, who's breaking huge barriers in the series' usual roles.
That's right, we have our very first bird Cure!
That's right, we have our very first bird Cure!
Finally, this little orange squishmallow has broken the glass ceiling, unlike his brethren who just smacked into it real hard because they couldn't see it.
Oh, right. Yeah, I guess he's the first full-time male member of an institution so entrenched in its gender roles that they baked "Magical Girls" right into the genre name.
Thankfully, anime fandom is known for not only being very accepting of change but also totally chill about bending arbitrary gender dichotomies. So Wing's arrival was met with a lot of people going "Oh, neat," right?
I mean, I mostly stick to my carefully-curated anitwitter circle, especially as the hellsite becomes more hellacious by the day. So I can actually say that most of the people I follow were resoundingly positive about Tsubasa's addition! Especially after the initial series announcement, once Toei confirmed that he was, in fact, a guy.
Well, I can say that the uh, marketplace of ideas, that is the ANN forums, had decidedly more complicated feelings on the whole thing. Turns out that Magical Boys can be kind of a sensitive topic!
There can definitely be some odd equivalencies to expound on, and it's visible just by comparing Cure Wing to his other Toei contemporaries. Super Sentai has been a co-ed institution since the beginning, and Kamen Rider introduced its first female Rider a full twenty years ago. So what's the difference that it took twenty years for Pretty Cure to allow a guy on the squad full-time?
There are a lot of reasons I can think of, some more justified than others. The main one I can think of is that toy-driven entertainment tends to be run by older people, with decidedly old-fashioned ideas of what children like. For a long time, the common wisdom was that girls were likely to watch and enjoy "boy shows," but little boys wouldn't watch anything girly.
There are certainly some baked-in, arguably misogynistic ideas at play in that kind of conventional wisdom. Girls can transform into spandex battle suits or plastic armor that's super cool. But there are reasons why, for the longest time, the idea of a boy spinning around in expressive poses and donning a frilly outfit was wholly seen as, well,
a joke.
a joke.
Misogyny is certainly the word for it. Among a certain stripe of men, the mere thought of wearing anything as feminine as a ruffled shirt makes them break out in hives. Similarly, I certainly remember a lot of weird pressure growing up to only ever play with "boy" toys and never let myself be near anything pink.
Yeah, and it's the sort of thing you can still see in society today, with dudes throwing together videos complaining about boys' t-shirts being too colorful, or having too many rainbows or whatever. Yet there definitely seem to have been some shifts in recent years. Forget about that pressure to avoid pink because last year, last year Toei introduced the first full-time male Pink Ranger in Super Sentai!
KijiBrother, coincidentally, was also bird-themed.
KijiBrother, coincidentally, was also bird-themed.
Certainly a two-nickel situation, but I support this flamingo man, even if I've never seen his show.
Although both bird boys definitely speak to some shifts in attitudes from the people funding these long-standing media staples. There have been multiple attempts before Cure Wing to introduce boy Precures. But until now, they were either nixed during production or excluded as one-off exceptions. So the fact that Tsubasa is just part of the team is a sign that something has changed.
Although both bird boys definitely speak to some shifts in attitudes from the people funding these long-standing media staples. There have been multiple attempts before Cure Wing to introduce boy Precures. But until now, they were either nixed during production or excluded as one-off exceptions. So the fact that Tsubasa is just part of the team is a sign that something has changed.
I mean, the cynical answer is that the accountants at Bandai and Toei realized they could double their profits by directly targeting sales of plastic noisemakers at the boys in the audience as well. But regardless of glibly understood motivation, you can see them trying this in those fits and starts over the years. 2017's Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode had Rio who, late in the series, joined in the fight with "The power of Precure".
Ah, I can see why it took a while for a full-on guy Cure. They need to figure out a way to not give him terrible hair.
Hey, they work in a patisserie. That's a ton of flour and sticky stuff that's going to be murder on your hair without the proper conditioning regimen.
Meanwhile, in Soaring Sky!'s immediate predecessor series, Delicious Party Pretty Cure, you could see Toei really committing to prototyping the idea with Black Pepper. Though he served a role more akin to ol' Tuxedo Mask, which tended to be how guys active in Magical Girl shows were handled for the longest time.
Meanwhile, in Soaring Sky!'s immediate predecessor series, Delicious Party Pretty Cure, you could see Toei really committing to prototyping the idea with Black Pepper. Though he served a role more akin to ol' Tuxedo Mask, which tended to be how guys active in Magical Girl shows were handled for the longest time.
See, they were still not quite there. He's closer, but he looks like he stole his grandma's favorite church hat. I do like the pink lining to the cape, though.
On that note, even BlackPep continued the "proud" Magical Boy tradition of making jokes about being embarrassed by the outfit.
Psh, if anything he could stand to be more flamboyant. Get some epaulets on there, maybe some fringe on the pants and vest. Something to spice up that pepper.
With that in mind, it's also notable that neither Rio nor Black Pepper got transformation sequences alongside their female Cure counterparts. The one other entry in this subsection who managed that was, of course, Henri, Cure Infini from 2018's Hugtto! Precure. Unlike the others mentioned so far, that one's sadly not available for streaming anywhere. However, Cure Infini basically hits all the presentation points you were saying the others lacked.
Of course, Henri's whole thing in that show was subverting gender roles to such a point that we could probably start a whole new argument over whether the character actually does count as the first "male" Cure or not.
Of course, Henri's whole thing in that show was subverting gender roles to such a point that we could probably start a whole new argument over whether the character actually does count as the first "male" Cure or not.
Yeah, there's a whole lot of Gender around Henri, both subtext and regular text. Again, there's that weird backpedaling about whether or not he "counts" as a Precure, and you probably never saw any toys of him on shelves. But it was an earnest attempt to push against that nebulous and arbitrary barrier between "for boys" and "for girls" in this franchise.
He was absolutely a Guest Star more than a proper part of the squad, hence Tsubasa taking the title of the first true full-time male entrant in a team as Cure Wing. This might make it all the more interesting that—compared to Henri's whole story involving his gender, roles, and presentation thereof—Tsubasa's story is rather entirely unaccompanied by the question of whether a boy (who is also a bird) can transform in a magical girl series.
It's very funny to me that the episode, where he gets upset about being called "Boy" is because Ageha is irritating to him.
I'm not sure what Pretty Cure is trying to say about its ancillary adult audience that the grown-up member of the cast is absolutely the biggest weirdo among them.
There's no singular right way you have to do this, but I do appreciate that Tsubasa is treated exactly like any other new Precure. He gets his focus story and solo transformation, and then boom, he's just a part of the team. No episode about one of the girls thinking he has cooties or gags about his costume. He's just there, as much a hero as his friends, and he's rocking some earrings while he does it.
Just him getting his own transformation sequence is a momentous occasion for the franchise, and it's made all the more remarkable by how unremarkable the show plays it. A Magical Boy on this Magical Girl team, the series is saying, is perfectly normal.
It's both refreshing and a good reminder that a lot of the stuff we're talking about here is entirely made-up. Gendered clothes are entirely an invention of human imagination and they've changed drastically throughout history. There's nothing inherently feminine about frilly clothing, earrings, or a tiny hat that resembles a cupcake decoration. By treating Tsubasa so matter-of-factly, it makes you wonder why we, the audience, are making this a big deal.
It's a place we've gotten to on account of all those prior, prototyped efforts. It wasn't just Pretty Cure, as anime has been pushing the boundaries of how to do Magical Boys for a long while. Of course, you had the aforementioned Tuxedo Mask, the male character in a Magical Girl show treated more as an interest, interloper, or some combination of both. You can even see that old type coming back in the concurrently running second season of the Tokyo Mew Mew remake.
It can be kind of weird to see such an old-school handling of the trope airing alongside the unapologetic progressions of Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure, but at least it's not hewing back to that other idea of Magical Boys solely as objects of parody.
It can be kind of weird to see such an old-school handling of the trope airing alongside the unapologetic progressions of Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure, but at least it's not hewing back to that other idea of Magical Boys solely as objects of parody.
Yeah, honestly I would take a Tuxedo Mask expy over stuff like Magical Girl Ore or This a Zombie?, where the joke begins and ends at "Haha, man in dress."
Magical Girl Ore was a show that felt like it could have had something to say about gender. But in the end it, uh, sure did say something considering it went the gender-opposite direction to "Guy transforms into a Magical Girl" and still came out on the side of jokes about cross-dressing being inherently funny somehow.
See it's funny because the girls turn into buff dudes but still wear the idol outfits. Haha. Hahahahaa. This ran for 12 episodes somehow.
At least on the other end of the spectrum (as it were), you have the likes of Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!, which was more of a broad parody of Magical Girls in general, just incidentally starring a cast of cute guys.
Even that one couldn't avoid going for the lowest-hanging fruit.
Like, that show was mostly a fun, offbeat comedy with alien hedgehogs and capybaras. I liked it. But it is telling that even a totally original Magical Boy show felt the need to wink at the audience and assure you it also thinks boys in something that almost looks like a dress is inherently embarrassing.
Like, that show was mostly a fun, offbeat comedy with alien hedgehogs and capybaras. I liked it. But it is telling that even a totally original Magical Boy show felt the need to wink at the audience and assure you it also thinks boys in something that almost looks like a dress is inherently embarrassing.
That's why we had to wait a couple more years for something like Fairy Ranmaru to come along and unflinchingly embrace the manservice potential of the whole concept.
Yeah, where CHED was a purposefully ironic little comedy with its tongue firmly in cheek, Fairy Ranmaru went hard in every way, especially in the designs.
Just a lot of going hard right there.
Just a lot of going hard right there.
Normal ending credits sequence for a normal, magical adventure show.
For all the bawdiness and camp, I do appreciate that the show took its drama seriously. CHED was entirely about taking the piss and making goofy sight gags, but Ranmaru genuinely tried to pull pathos from its monster-of-the-week stories and characters. It also did that with man meat and musical numbers.
It's deserved when you think about it. Adult-targeted, "subversive" Magical Girl shows have been as much of an institution as their Sunday-morning forebears since Madoka Magica chomped its way onto the scene. It's only fair that guys get a turn with the potential for darker themes and sexed-up character designs.
Heck, some of those "dark" Magical Girl shows were pushing those gender boundaries themselves. The 2016 Magical Girl Raising Project anime had this big reveal about the heroine's childhood friend right in its first episode.
That tracks to me, because I honestly think a lot of the interest in "dark" Magical Girl stories aimed at adult dudes came from a desire to engage with the aesthetic in a way that's culturally acceptable. So they make it dark and add blood, or fanservice to make it less "girly" while still indulging in something that would otherwise make them seem less masculine to an outside observer.
That stigma, incidentally, factors directly into Souta's story in the series!
Magical Girl Raising Project isn't the most revolutionary Madoka-like. It doesn't do too much to explore Souta's boy/Magical Girl feelings before; what generally happens to secondary characters in this genre of show. But I also can't discount a series too much that casually drops this lil' platitude.
Magical Girl Raising Project isn't the most revolutionary Madoka-like. It doesn't do too much to explore Souta's boy/Magical Girl feelings before; what generally happens to secondary characters in this genre of show. But I also can't discount a series too much that casually drops this lil' platitude.
It's a nice sentiment, and I'm glad it's there, even if the show ended up not being much to write home about. There are plenty of boys and men out there like Souta who genuinely enjoy the genre and identify with its particular image of strength. So seeing characters like Tsubasa is genuinely affirming.
Still, it's very funny that he arrived in a show with a pun for 'girl' in the title.
Still, it's very funny that he arrived in a show with a pun for 'girl' in the title.
The cultural component of the occurrence will always lend some amusing elements to Tsubasa's debut here. And lord knows when the big crossover movies happen he comes off akin to that one Simpsons screencap of Homer in the lesbian bar. But while we, on the outside, recognize how he represents a major culmination of all those other efforts we mentioned, that just makes it even more effective that he's not actually bothered that way in the story.
He's just a guy! Just a little guy! If they stick to this, maybe as the franchise goes on, boy Pretty Cures will be a regular sight as girl Rangers or female Riders.
He's just a guy! Just a little guy! If they stick to this, maybe as the franchise goes on, boy Pretty Cures will be a regular sight as girl Rangers or female Riders.
It also immediately rebuts arguments from the other side of the spectrum - the ones who insist that having a boy or two in the cast will rob Precure or Magical Girls as a whole of their girl power or whatever. Turns out, nah, Tsubasa's presence doesn't take anything away from Sora or Mashiro. Both have gotten plenty of focus and development since his arrival, and he's made a great addition to the group dynamic.
I love the way he's fully included in the babysitting element of Soaring Sky!'s story, with no aspersions about guys participating in childcare.
And of course, you gotta dig how, despite being intelligent and accomplished in researching the world of aviation, Tsubasa still immediately starts sharing a single brain cell with the meathead team leader Sora the instant anyone mentions "Heroes."
And of course, you gotta dig how, despite being intelligent and accomplished in researching the world of aviation, Tsubasa still immediately starts sharing a single brain cell with the meathead team leader Sora the instant anyone mentions "Heroes."
They don't call 'em birdbrains for nothing.
Also, I think at this point, we've given up the guise and are just talking about how fun Soaring Sky! is now, which is fine by me.
Also, I think at this point, we've given up the guise and are just talking about how fun Soaring Sky! is now, which is fine by me.
As a semi-regular Pretty Cure follower, it's been a great entry so far! And a lot of that is its commitment to freshening up the formula compared to prior years. It's not just Tsubasa's status as the first full-time Magical Boy; you also have the aforementioned Sora as a rare blue-colored team leader, and Ageha waiting in the wings (pun intended) to join the crew as the franchise's first adult Cure!
Forget dealing with bullies or school club drama; Ageha could potentially wind up indisposed from a week's monster fight because she's busy filing her taxes!
Forget dealing with bullies or school club drama; Ageha could potentially wind up indisposed from a week's monster fight because she's busy filing her taxes!
It's also taken a remarkably slow pace in introducing the new Precures. Usually, they're in a rush to get the initial team together, but we're 14 episodes in, and there hasn't been a whiff of Ageha transforming yet. Yet that extra time means she gets to establish her character first and build a dynamic with the rest of the cast.
It's funny how she flips the usual idea in superhero shows of having a tagalong kid, as she is an adult tagging along with a bunch of young heroes, mostly by virtue of being able to drive them places in her big, stupid yellow Hummer.
However, there are also moments where her (relative) maturity comes through, such as when she subtly tries to get Mashiro and Sora to be honest about having to say goodbye once the portal to Skyland is closed. This dynamic wouldn't really be possible if Ageha wasn't at least out of high school.
Real talk: a lot of Ageha's dynamics with Sora and Mashiro come off as her trying to wingwoman (again, pun intended) for the pair.
It's cute. Something you only get by making changes to the established formula. Soaring Sky! would still likely be a very good show if Tsubasa and Ageha were teenage girls, but it would be a tad less true to itself since even its more conventional characters break the mold in important ways.
It truly sells the show's central theme of "Anyone can be a hero". And that's sweet because spreading out the inclusion of the cast that way makes it feel like the voices behind that declaration actually believe in it, rather than just using it as a yearly springboard to sell a new batch of toys.
Maybe that's why Tsubasa's status as a Magical Boy on the team actually works in its "treated-as-no-big-deal" framing: because the people writing it did so from a place of earnestness, rather than seeing it as a cynical marketing ploy or a subversive swerve.
Maybe that's why Tsubasa's status as a Magical Boy on the team actually works in its "treated-as-no-big-deal" framing: because the people writing it did so from a place of earnestness, rather than seeing it as a cynical marketing ploy or a subversive swerve.
Tradition is fine and dandy, and certainly, Magical Girl shows don't need to break the mold or include a prescribed percentage of boys to be good. But I'll always appreciate a work that earnestly pushes at the arbitrary boundaries of its genre and takes chances.
Now please, give us Cure Butterfly already. I'm begging you.
Now please, give us Cure Butterfly already. I'm begging you.
She would have been here sooner, but she got pulled over for speeding.
discuss this in the forum (27 posts) |
bookmark/share with:
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history