I’m not an enormous fan of obsessing over tropes. The best way folks would possibly attempt to match every part right into a TVTropes class bothers me, and even when requested questions on what sorts of character pairings I desire, it at all times tremendously is dependent upon context and execution. Regardless of this, I do take pleasure in often watching Overly Sarcastic Productions’ Trope Discuss, and after watching their current episode in regards to the “Dreaded,” I discovered myself questioning what is likely to be my favourite instance.
The reply, as with so many issues, is Heartcatch Precure!, the 2010 entry within the Precure magical woman franchise.
In accordance with TVTropes, the Dreaded is “a personality or a single, unified group whose main attribute is the worry the opposite aspect has of them.” Examples embody Darth Vader, All-for-One from My Hero Academia, and maybe even Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Final Airbender. When it comes to narrative the best way the character’s status precedes them provides to the sense of anticipation for once they do present their full energy, and because the Trope Discuss video factors out, a personality can even lose their “Dreaded” aura if they’re overused or mishandled.
The explanation I like Heartcatch Precure!’s model of that is that there are two “Dreaded” characters, and the best way the sequence handles them each is simply magnificent.
WARNING: SPOILERS
The sequence begins not with ladies who would turn out to be the principle characters, however a conflict the place a warrior named Remedy Moonlight is defeated by a formidable foe named Darkish Precure, who appears to reflect her talents. Earlier than all hope is misplaced, Moonlight’s companion mascot, Cologne, sacrifices himself and creates a gap that can permit a brand new era to take over the battle. Within the first two minutes, Darkish Precure is established as this overwhelming entity who crushed Remedy Moonlight, however then Heartcatch! does one thing essential: Darkish Precure doesn’t present up, at the very least for a very long time.
And so the brand new heroes, Remedy Blossom and Remedy Marine, uncover their new talents and discover their footing as they repel the enemy’s minions and monsters again and again. Then, Episode 10 hits, and Darkish Precure seems, beats them down, and makes all their efforts and progress look hopeless. The primary episode established her as a harmful foe, however this simply exhibits superior she is in comparison with Blossom and Marine. It does an excellent job including to Darkish’s aura of dread.
However when practically all hope is misplaced, a highschool woman they met earlier exhibits up and does the seemingly inconceivable, blocking Darkish Precure’s ending blow. This woman, Tsukikage Yuri, is definitely the previous Remedy Moonlight, and she or he’s utilizing the damaged remnant of her transformation stone as a defend. That is when Heartcatch does one thing that pushes the Dreaded trope to the subsequent degree: Upon realizing who it’s standing earlier than her, Darkish Precure reacts with a warning so completely different from her beforehand stoic perspective that it instantly makes clear what a drive Yuri is. With only a fraction of her energy, she makes a seemingly unstoppable villain hesitate.
Heartcatch Precure! thus establishes its Dreaded characters: one on the aspect of evil, and the opposite on the aspect of fine. What’s extra, each their tales play essential roles long run in varied methods. Relative to one another, they set up a deep sense that they’re every others’ true arch enemies. To the principle heroines, Darkish Precure acts as a litmus take a look at: Because the sequence continues, the ladies go from being outclassed to having the ability to at the very least maintain her off—not sufficient to decrease Darkish’s standing as a Dreaded. Yuri, for her half, is a part of an important a part of the story: It’s by the efforts of the others that she slowly regains her conviction to battle and to cease blaming herself for the dying of Cologne. When Yuri lastly transforms into Remedy Moonlight once more, all of the anticipation that comes from her status pays off in spades.
The presence of a trope doesn’t make something inherently good or unhealthy, and 90% of its effectiveness comes from execution. They’re descriptive relatively than prescriptive, and Heartcatch Precure! makes use of each its Dreaded characters to each entice and reward its viewers over time. It’s simply one of many million causes I nonetheless love this magical woman sequence a lot.
