Hello there again everyone, RosePal here. Welcome to my second article for Magical Stage. This time we will be looking at Star Detective Precure and trust me, this will not be the last. At the time of writing, there are loads of mysteries that need to be solved throughout the season. How will Anna get back to 2027? What is the Phantom Thieves plan to cover the world in lies? Is Mikuru the young version of Anna’s mum in 1999? Why has Luluka (Cure Arcana Shadow) joined the Phantom Thieves? Well the latter question will play a role here. But perhaps the greatest mystery that is on everyone’s minds recently is:
That’s right my fellow detective enthusiasts. From Episodes 21-26 we had a multi part story arc focusing on characters who were in line to be Cure Eclair. They are Eliza, Shiruku, Kurea and Rei. We have had a few episodes with them already but this arc has officially concluded with Episode 26. So let’s take a deep dive into those episodes that feature these four characters and the variety of clues that helped us along the way. Who was the one to be Cure Eclair and did this mystery pay off? Let’s find out.
Eliza & Kurea in Star Detective Precure Episode 2 – Introducing The Genius, His Name Is Jett-senpai
We first meet the candidates in the first half of the season, in Episode 2 we meet both Eliza the rookie detective novelist and Kurea, the baker of Patisserie ShuShu. In this episode the girls and Pochitan meet Jett for the first time as well as the Curetto Detective Agency after becoming Precure. Soon after Pochitan takes them to a new case this time at Patisserie ShuShu. Eliza is centered to be the victim as her glass pen she used to write her novels was stolen by one of the Phantom Thieves who disguised themselves as an old lady and stole the pen when Eliza wasn’t looking.
Kurea had a minor role in this episode too as she informed everyone that the phone network was down as Eliza tried to call the police. This pen was important to Eliza as she loves writing stories about detectives and she recently won a story competition. Luckily Anna and Mikuru managed to solve the case by figuring out that Nijee was the one who stole the pen and disguised himself again as a high school student who conveniently used a phone when the network was down. Eliza was happy to have her pen back after the girls recovered it as well as the Makoto Jewel that came with it. Everyone wished her luck. Although they had supporting roles and since we didn’t have information on Eclair during this period, Eliza and Kurea fitted into the season quite nicely. Then we had the cameo appearance of Rei in Episode 5, the first part of the Pre-Kit Mirror Loupe arc, but we will get to her focus episode later.
We get the first episode featuring one of my picks to be Cure Eclair, Shiruku in Episode 9. Shiruku is an idol in all trades, both on stage and screen. This is indicated in the first scene where Anna recreates an ice cream advert that Shiruku starred in which was a fun recurring gag in the episode where Agesine does it too. Shiruku arrived at the girls’ school to do a TV show called Try At School, as the drama club is involved in putting their own play of Cinderella in a unique take with the main character caught in a time slip to 1999. Sound familiar? Everyone was a bit nervous but Shiruku helps them with an exercise to calm them down. She was an amazing character as she puts everyone at ease as she knows what they feel as well as making them smile.
Shiruku in Star Detective Precure Episode 9 – Don’t Make Assumptions
Then things go wrong when a blue dress that was going to be used in the play goes missing. Shiruku decides to help Anna and Mikuru after she gives them helpful advice when they spoke to her privately. When they sadly reveal they haven’t had any clients lately, she says these words, “Don’t make assumptions.” That is something that a detective would say and that makes you think she would be Cure Eclair. In a detective’s job you don’t want to jump to conclusions too quickly and see how things evolve both logically and literally. It was awesome to see Shiruku helping the girls in the case as well as learning from them at the same time. Then she gave Anna and Mikuru the time they needed by doing a fun Q&A for the students. It worked out well in the end as the girls brought the dress back and the play was a success. Shiruku enjoyed every single minute of the project as she was happy to see everyone’s smiles. Which brought this episode to a happy note when she came to the detective agency as well as the Pretty Holic shop as the girls wished to see her again. Then we had another cameo from Kurea in Episode 10 when she sees the girls are troubled when they are trying to solve the mystery of a painting. She pushed them in the right direction when they tried the macarons she made. The person that the girls were helping with the painting remembered her mum made macarons but they tasted awful. Kurea had a feeling that would play a part in solving the case.
Then we have Rei, who is the school council president at Anna and Mikuru’s school. She finally had her focus in Episode 14. When the girls arrive at school, Rei notices their fairy Pochitan disguised as a bag. She tells them she has to be left behind as it doesn’t match school policy. That might come across as a bit strict but as we see after Pochitan tries to deliver an important letter related to Luluka aka Cure Arcana Shadow, Rei is actually a good person.
Rei in Star Detective Precure Episode 14 – Pochitan’s First Outing
Rei is doing everything she can as a school council president and wants to prove to everyone that she is friendly and approachable. A prime example is when she reads a picture book to a couple of kids at the library. She was caught off guard when Pochitan appeared at the window and she reacted in surprise, wondering how she got there and then she recognized her as Anna and Mikuru’s friend. When the girls arrived to check if Pochitan was okay, she immediately recognized Pochitan as part of the detective agency when the girls helped the drama club in Shiruku’s episode. She also promised them to help the girls get permission to bring Pochitan to school. As Luluka and Nijee arrived to get the letter back, Rei immediately stepped in to help the girls as well as the other students, after all it’s what the student council president does. Because of this her badge that was worn by all students who were presidents started to glow creating the Makoto Jewel.
This was the first time that a candidate for Cure Eclair confronted the Phantom Thieves and Luluka gave no reaction. The girls managed to get the badge back and because now Pochitan was revealed to her, Rei decided to help the girls keep her a secret and also wanting to help them out in future situations.
Now remember at the beginning I asked why Luluka aka Cure Arcana Shadow is working with the Phantom Thieves, well the following episode has a first proper reference to Cure Eclair. We learn that Luluka was a detective in London then came to Japan to work in the Curetto Detective Agency as it was revealed in previous episodes that she owned the agency. Then during a confrontation with the Phantom Thieves, a big stone called the Stone Of Truth was shattered which created the Makoto Jewels and were scattered across Makoto Mirai City. Because of this Luluka mysteriously disappeared.
The First Connection Between Eclair & Cure Arcana Shadow in Star Detective Precure Episode 15 – The Secret Of Luluka Moria
The girls, Pochitan and Jett discover this happened at the water tower at the lake and set off to find clues. And boy did they find a clue, a photograph of a blue butterfly, which we now know was Cure Eclair. Then when Luluka fought the girls after a camera was turned into a Hanninda, the girls asked her why she joined the Phantom Thieves in the first place. She told them this was the path she took and wasn’t brainwashed by Usonoir’s lies. Then she gave the girls some helpful advice, “Some cases can be solved without sleuthing.” Then we get a flashback to when the photograph took place at the end of the episode. It was revealed that Luluka was there when the Stone of Truth was shattered. She looked shocked in disbelief and was maybe weakened and beaten. Then recently we got the revelation that Eclair stepped in to shatter the Stone. Luluka in this moment must have felt guilty after what happened to Eclair and was indeed her partner in the past, she knows that with the girls current skill levels they will not solve this mystery easily.
Next we have the return of Eliza in Episode 16. She comes to the agency as she has a creators block and wants to join the girls on an investigation to use for research. Soon after Jett arrives with a boy named Kotaru who is searching for his lost cat Miko. This was the perfect opportunity for Eliza. She suggested the technique known as profiling as she uses this in her novels, which we learn in this episode is called Detective Ellie. The girls set off while Jett helped Kotaru with handing out flyers which Luluka soon took notice of. After a while Eliza soon took the creative and fun approach with profiling by pretending to be a cat herself with hilarious results.
Eliza in Star Detective Precure Episode 16 – Detective Ellie’s Case Book?!
After the girls discover a cat by the river who looked a lot like Miko, Anna and Mikuru use the Pre-Kit Gummy to talk to another cat that was close by to see if they saw something but had no luck. Eliza starts to doubt herself as she thought she was holding the girls back as it was not like her novel. But Mikuru cheers her up by saying a phrase from the Detective Ellie novel, “An unwavering heart fills the pages of truth.” When I first heard this phrase I thought that it could be connected to Cure Eclair somehow, maybe her introduction phrase when she transforms. With these words the girls decided to talk to Kotaru again in order to take his feelings into account. Kotaru mentioned Miko had long fur and went to the pet salon to get it cut.
This was the answer to solve the case as the cat Eliza saw by the river was indeed Miko, so she was indeed correct. Luluka soon arrived with Miko and revealed the collar had the Makoto Jewel. This was the second time that Luluka saw someone who is thought to be Cure Eclair but once again she didn’t get a reaction before they disappeared into the field to shield the fight. Also she told Anna and Mikuru that they should be more observant as detectives. After the day is saved, Eliza is happy that Miko and the collar were back and that gave her the inspirational spark she needed to write her next novel in the Detective Ellie series. Ellie would face off against the cat who would be a detective themselves but they both became friends. The girls and Jett get their copies of the book as Eliza promised to write more stories to make people smile.
Kurea in Star Detective Precure Episode 17 – Memories With Mom
Then we get to Episode 17 where we had a full focus on my other pick for Cure Eclair, Kurea and this episode definitely had some big clues to her. It’s also where we see Anna showing her emotions after helping a girl reunite with a rabbit plushie and also seeing her mum, it clicks to her that her own mum is left in 2027. Back in Episode 1 after Anna & Pochitan were caught in the time slip, Anna’s mum notices that she has disappeared as they were about to celebrate Anna’s birthday. Mikuru and Jett notice this as Anna leaves to get some treats for him. Mikuru thought that she was the reason why Anna was sad as she wasn’t good enough to be her partner, but we all know that’s not the case. As Anna walks by Kurea runs into her seeing her feeling down and asks if Anna wanted to get sweets from Patisserie ShuShu and they head off.
Anna was really impressed with the cakes that Kurea has made over the years and asks her how she did it. Kurea explains learning about others and what makes them happy in their lives gives her the answer to what cake they like. Then she asks Anna if they can bake together, even though Anna’s birthday is in January. But Kurea decides they can make the cake right here and now. They initiate this by taking Anna through a therapy session to understand what she likes in terms of the cake. Anna tells us through the flashback in Episode 1 that it was a snowy day that her birthday took place. We then get a cute montage of the two friends making the cake with Kurea being a great teacher. Kurea decorated the cake which is exactly like the cake that Anna had back in Episode 1. I have an interesting theory that Kurea in the future may have made the same cake. Then we get the emotional moment in the episode where Anna started to tear up at seeing the decorations and told Kurea that she didn’t get a chance to eat it with her mum. Then we get the biggest clue to Kurea possibly being Cure Eclair.
She tells Anna that her feelings are understandable and should never bottle them up. Then she says these words, “The feelings in the heart are the truth.” Now does this remind you of a certain transformation phrase? “Unveiling the scent of the truth within.” That is Cure Eclair’s transformation phrase. What Kurea just said is what Cure Eclair would say and it will play a role in her second focus episode. Then after Anna reunites with Mikuru reassuring her that she is happy when they are both together and got the latest Makoto Jewel, the detectives reunite at Patisserie ShuShu. Kurea added a heartwarming touch to the cake by using marzipan to create the team. She knew that the Detective Agency and having the cake together was important. Also she may know who Pochitan is after hearing her speak. I heard many people say that the blue scrunchie she wears is maybe hiding Shushutan, the fairy we haven’t seen yet in the show. I’m also thinking that maybe Shiruku is that same fairy but still holding on to her being Cure Eclair.
Eliza in Star Detective Precure Episode 21 – Detective Ellie’s Case Book, Continued!?
We get Eliza again in Episode 21 and the start of the Cure Eclair Identity arc. She arrives at the agency once again, this time wanting to be a detective herself and joining the team. Her involvement in Kotaru’s case and seeing him smile gave her the spark to join the agency, as well as getting more research for her Detective Ellie series. However her editor Yoriko arrives reminding her that the deadline for her latest novel is approaching. Mikuru tells Eliza she must take the detective test like she did in Episode 1 and Eliza accepts the challenge. After not getting any phone calls the girls take Eliza around the agency from Jett’s laboratory to Anna and Mikuru’s bedrooms. Meanwhile Luluka is outside with Mashutan, waiting for the perfect moment to get the Makoto Jewel which is revealed to be in the Detective Ellie phone plush that Yoriko has. But something else is on her mind. It was revealed in the Tome of Mirages that a prophecy about Cure Eclair was about to come true. “The blue butterfly will fly to four flowers and will choose where to rest.” It was also revealed by Ageseine that the blue butterfly in the photograph was indeed Cure Eclair. Luluka was shocked that Cure Eclair was returning as she thought she disappeared so she took the opportunity to investigate. Yoriko told Anna and Mikuru that being a detective was Eliza’s dream when she was a child and she should support her. Eliza showed a curious reaction to the photo of the blue butterfly. Then she helped solve the case when the Detective Ellie plush charm was stolen as she used the reverse method that the girls used in Episode 2. By ringing Yoriko’s phone from hers they found Ageseine disguised as a business man.
As I said earlier Ageseine revealed that the blue butterfly was Cure Eclair after Mashutan revealed her name. Luluka told the girls that Eclair disappeared from shattering the Stone of Truth and they didn’t need to search for her. But we as the audience know that she wants to find Cure Eclair as from this point forward, we start to add up on why Luluka joined the Phantom Thieves in the first place. The girls also discovered that their rooms as the agency were indeed Luluka and Eclair’s rooms as we know from previous episodes that the Curetto Detective Agency did belong to Luluka. After the day is saved, although Eliza did pass the detective test, she decides to focus on her novels but reassures the girls and Jett that she will keep her spot on the team open. Then at the ending of the episode, the girls realized that two more clues about Cure Eclair were there from two things Eliza said earlier about their bedrooms having personality and joining a detective duo, they came to the conclusion that Luluka and Eclair were indeed partners as detectives and Precure in the past. The plot thickens.
Shiruku in Star Detective Precure Episode 22 – Shiruku’s Resolve
Next up we have the second focus episode on one of my top picks for Cure Eclair, Shiruku. This time she invites the girls to come and see her latest play called The Comedy Of S. Of course the girls go along to the theatre and are led to the dressing room where Shiruku is doing her warm ups including the calming technique taught the drama club in her debut episode. Immediately the mystery is brought up as Shiruku brings up the calling card from the Phantom Thieves which in this episode was Luluka and Goemon. She tells the girls that her treasured earring is targeted and will be stolen at 7pm where they will strike. We get a bit of a backstory for Shiruku in terms of her earring as it helped her win her first audition when she became an idol. The girls immediately jump into action investigating the backstage areas including Mikuru using the Pre-Kit Gloss to disguise herself as a makeup artist to interview Shiruku’s co-star. Things take an interesting turn after the co-star reveals she doesn’t know what a Phantom Thief is and the girls and Pochitan spot Luluka in the crowd.
Shiruku is getting ready to go on stage when Anna appears saying the Phantom Thieves are already here and wants Shiruku to give her treasured earring. Shiruku immediately deduces that is not the real Anna but it was revealed to be Luluka in disguise. This was a cool scene as Shiruku using her experience with Anna and Mikuru in her debut episode notices a few clues that Luluka was Anna, didn’t have her transformation trinket, didn’t address her as she usually does and would never ask to take anything away. She also went on to explain that the play was important as well as making new memories after Luluka asked her if having memories is important. And of course Shiruku answered “Don’t make assumptions!” which caught Luluka off guard.
The girls arrive as Shiruku left to go on stage as she knows they can handle getting her earring back. Then what follows is probably the most genius and creative use of visual storytelling in the entire franchise. When the fight goes on it perfectly syncs with Shiruku’s play as it looks like Shiruku is joining the fight with the girls against the Phantom Thieves getting her earring back. It is also during this fight the girls start asking Luluka where Cure Eclair is. She reveals that when Eclair shattered the Stone Of Truth she had lost her memories and the girls should give up on looking for her. We even see a flashback of Luluka in the past in which I think is the garden at the detective agency with lilies around with her looking sad and in a past outfit. She tells the girls that memories have no meaning if the memories are lost. But the girls along with Shiruku explain that memories do have meaning as new memories can be made and they all made a promise to each other. Shiruku is doing her idol career making others smile and for Anna and Mikuru they kept their promise to protect her. We also see Goemon’s reaction to Eclair being Luluka’s partner. With Goemon being the only member of the Phantom Thieves being supportive of Luluka, when she joins the Precure, I think he will be the first to reform and follow her. But who knows.
After the day is saved Shiruku is super happy of getting her earring back and the play was a success. She invited the girls to see her next show which they happily obliged. We also see a bouquet of lilies we saw in Luluka’s flashback and also in the opening which was a very interesting detail. The episode ended with the girls talking to Jett talking about Eclair losing her memories and thinking if Shiruku could possibly be Cure Eclair. Also things are starting to add up with Luluka’s involvement with the Phantom Thieves and those tidbits are involved together in the next focus episode with Kurea.
Throughout the episode Luluka is revealed to be a regular customer at Patisserie ShuShu and we now know where she gets her ice cream most of the time. Kurea and her interactions with Luluka were really interesting. First she gets Luluka to try the favourite cakes of our main duo. This was a nice bit of foreshadowing to Luluka eventually joining the team. Meanwhile Anna, Mikuru and Jett were struggling to figure out who Eclair is after looking over their friends again. That is when Kurea comes in as she brings them their cakes. Joining them for tea she immediately noticed the board with the blue butterfly photograph. The girls explained they hit a brick wall in the case and she decided to help. Kurea gives the girls a hint by asking Anna a question: how does she keep the memories of her cake, the blackberry tart. She answers with its scent. Mikuru then shared a memory with her cake as she had it with her grandmother while she was in London. They both thanked her for her advice as they had a plan to find Cure Eclair. Then when Kurea returned to the Patisserie she encountered Luluka again, only this time she was personally handed a calling card by Luluka from the Phantom Thieves, she immediately called Luluka out.
Kurea in Star Detective Precure Episode 23 – Kurea, Sleuthing & Ice Cream
Then the whole scene is more interesting when Luluka asked her why she would think that Kurea didn’t know her name. That’s a really big clue right there, Kurea replied that ice cream is what makes Luluka happy which caught the latter off guard. Also I noticed the hand movement Kurea makes when she tells Luluka she will not give the photograph, which demonstrated her fantastic observation skills as earlier on she picked up on Luluka staring at the photograph of her manager during his time in Paris as it contained the latest Makoto Jewel, waiting for her time to steal it. She used her clues to give the girls the call to action when the time arrived for the Thieves to strike from the calling card. She even guessed Luluka correctly from Mikuru’s drawing of her from an earlier episode. Luluka admired Kurea’s deduction.
Then things got more interesting in the fight scene. Somehow unlike the other candidates she got into the field the Phantom Thieves created to hide their attacks against the cures which caught Luluka off guard once again. Could the scrunchie Kurea is wearing had something to do with it? She even recognised Luluka as Cure Arcana Shadow. Luluka then asks with her Tear Arcana Rod at Kurea’s head why she is there. Kurea answered with this response, “Because I had followed my truth.” Luluka instantly flinched on that answer, definitely the most emotional we have seen of Luluka.
After the day is saved Kurea asks Luluka that same question and she answers in a playful way, “I followed my truth.” Kurea tells her that she is always welcome to come for ice cream as Lukuka retreats. Kurea thanked the girls for getting the photograph back and she immediately saw the lily and remembered what that flower meant. The lily means purity and can allude to a person following the wrong path. She also states that one such person believes in the truths of Anna and Mikuru. It’s very clear that Kurea was talking about Luluka. The girls and Jett head to the garden to see the lilies in full bloom. Jett explained that they were planted before they came to the agency, then Mikuru states she had that smell in her bedroom. Now they have a plan to find Cure Eclair, create a fragrance with the scent of the lily to help her recover her memories. If that wasn’t enough it’s revealed why Luluka joined the Phantom Thieves in the first place, Usonoir had Eclair’s Makoto Jewel. Luluka had joined in with them to try and get it back. Now everything that Luluka did in the season so far makes sense now. One candidate left to go.
Rei in Star Detective Precure Episode 24 – Case Closed With Rei
Rei makes her return in this episode as she and the Chairwoman of Makoto Mirai Academy ask the girls to solve the case of the mysterious incidents at the school. Of course with her being their friend as well as the new friend of Pochitan she gets involved with the case. The incidents include the science lab skeleton seemingly walking on its own, a painting in the art room seemingly crying, things out of place and the portraits in the music room were out of order. She noticed these details along with Pochitan. When she explained her findings to the girls, they realised it was all the Phantom Thieves as they were searching for something as well as Agesiene made blue paint spilled on to the painting and Goemon touched the piano. We also learned from Rei that all the students are scared because of the prophecy about the King of Terror. Of course Luluka knows what they need to look for, the Makoto Jewel is inside the key the chairwoman uses to open and close the school. Pochitan tries to get the key away from the Thieves when they show up and Rei catches up to her.
I loved the interactions between Rei and Pochitan as they had really come a long way since their first encounter in Rei’s first episode as they really care about each other. Unfortunately Nijee arrived and stole the key and Rei wished she became a Precure after encountering Mystique although she didn’t recognise her as Mikuru. She really has that desire to protect both Pochitan and her friends. Rei was relieved to see Pochitan was okay after the girls got the key back and hopefully work on another case with them in the future. Even if she is not Eclair I think she will be a valuable ally like Yui in Go Princess. Heck even if Eliza and Shiruku are not Eclair they are proven to be allies as well. So with that all the pieces are in place, the flashbacks of all the important moments from all four candidates, Usonoir is ready to execute his plans with Eclair’s Makoto Jewel and Jett has completed the lily fragrance the girls needed. So now the time has come.
Now we have come to the epic reveal and arrival of Cure Eclair for episodes 25 and 26. The two part episode did a really cool thing with all of the candidates with a literal race to the finish as the girls and Jett after meeting Kurea at the agency immediately received a calling card from Luluka and Mashutan, explaining that Usonoir was going to use Eclair’s Makoto Jewel to cover the world in lies and immediately jump into action. Kurea along with Eliza chased after them with Rei following close behind. Shiruku, being busy with her latest movie shoot, doesn’t join the race but does see what is happening from her location.
The final race for the Cure Eclair Identity Reveal in Star Detective Precure Episode 25 – Cure Eclair’s Identity
Anna, Mikuru, Jett and Pochitan arrived at Makoto Mirai Tower as Anna remembered it exists in her timeline and Luluka and Mashutan joined the Cures side at least for now to stop Usonoir. We get the funny reveal that Usonoir is actually a fairy. We did get information from Jett that the Phantom Thieves were fairies back in the first few episodes. Usonoir transforms into his monster form but Eclair’s Makoto Jewel starts to resist him. Anna, Mikuru and Luluka fought valiantly but were taken down. Pochitan leaves with the perfume to find the person that will become Cure Eclair.
Kurea and Eliza were almost there until Eliza tripped over a few stairs but told Kurea to keep going and help her friends with Rei catching up. Pochitan arrived and ran into Kurea, who tells her that she can’t be who they were looking for but will look for them together and Rei soon arrived as she saw that Pochitan was in trouble. But after Usonoir made the ground shake Rei grabbed Pochitan but Kurea made the perfume smash to pieces after accidentally dropping it. What follows can only be described as some of the best storytelling and in my opinion the best debut for a mid season cure in the franchise as we have finally arrived. Kurea falls into despair as the perfume is shattered. But then she remembered the word Precure as a familiar scent caught her attention.
It’s revealed in a flashback Kurea was indeed the partner of Luluka at the Curetto Detective Agency and is Cure Eclair. And to top it all off, the scrunchie in her hair was indeed her fairy partner Shushutan, the fairy of knowledge and wisdom. She had been waiting for the day that Kurea regained her memories and gave her the transformation trinket known as Top of Lily Perfume. That was the lily that she and Luluka had planted at the agency and was the flower that connects humans and fairies. Shushutan told her to join her friends and help stop Usonoir. She arrived on the scene with everyone in shock, especially Luluka who is angry that she has returned and turned herself away.
The final episode of this arc continues where we left off as Kurea noticed Luluka facing away from her as Usonoir continued his attack. Shushutan introduces herself to everyone. Mashutan has a friendly interaction with her. Shushutan tells Anna, Mikuru and Luluka to transform again while Kurea prepares herself. We get to see their minor attacks in amazing out of stock footage animation, Precure movie animation magic. Then it’s time for Kurea to shine as she officially transforms into Cure Eclair following her inner sparkle. Her transformation sequence like all the other transformations is absolutely gorgeous to watch. The backgrounds are similar to Cure Nyammy’s transformation in Wonderful Precure but with a Roman architecture aesthetic. It’s even more gorgeous when Kurea transforms. It’s like a ballet on the water.
Kurea officially transforms into Cure Eclair in Star Detective Precure Episode 26 – Cure Eclair Returns
Her first fight was absolutely phenomenal from start to finish. She delivered quite a few blows to Usonoir and showed her Sparkle Time move to successfully dodge his attacks while flying through the air like the blue butterfly she is. Although that took a lot of energy as she felt dizzy afterwards. That got a good laugh out of me. The other girls fought one final time for Kurea to recover to deal the finishing blow. Also Shushutan mentions that this is only the second time Kurea has transformed into Eclair. So that’s an interesting detail. She performed her gorgeous solo attack Flying Infinity, butterfly motifs and all, as she had her own version of the Pre-Kit Mirror Loupe with the butterfly motif. Usonoir is defeated and the Phantom Thieves retreat. Kurea tried to reach out to Luluka as just Arcana but Luluka replied that the friend and Star Detective she knew is gone and she goes by Arcana Shadow and leaves along with Mashutan.
Then we have an ending to end all episode endings with a fantastic plot twist and new mysteries are set up right away. We have one final moment with Eliza, Rei and Shiruku who are relieved that everything is okay and we all know they will still make their future appearances in the second half of the season. Kurea and Shushutan are back in the Curetto Detective Agency which I assume they will live there from now on, Jett is doing research on Usonoir’s armor and figuring out where he exactly came from, Anna tells Kurea she is from 2027 and last but certainly not least, Luluka is taking the lead on the Phantom Thieves as she goes into her “villain boss” arc whether it’s for a short time or longer we will have to wait and see. She reveals that she was after Eclair’s Makoto Jewel so she can destroy it and they must defeat her or they will have no future. But here’s what I think about this twist, I think she’s doing this to protect Kurea. Think about it, she wanted Kurea to live a normal life and didn’t want her to become a Precure in the first place and she could possibly come to harm because of it. And with the possibility of the future cease to exist this will hit Anna hard.
I know people will compare this to Homura and Madoka’s conflict in the Madoka Magica franchise but it will be a matter of time before Usonoir comes back to seek revenge and the girls help Luluka see the light and officially join the team. But that’s a story for another day. Overall the Cure Eclair Identity Arc was an amazing ride from start to finish. The momentum kept on going as the mystery progressed. All the characters had their moments to shine and the cases they were involved in were really interesting. And best of all it led in my opinion to the best mid season cure debut in the entire franchise. I can definitely say that this arc has really paid off and I can’t wait to see what’s next in the second half of the season. So what do you guys think? Who did you vote to be Cure Eclair and what did you think of this arc overall? Let me know in the comments below, thank you very much for reading and don’t forget to check out my Top 10 Heartwarming Moments In Precure I wrote if you haven’t checked it out already. So until next time, Curetto Case Closed.
