WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 14 of Tropical-Rouge! Precure, "Leave It To Us! Tropica-shining Preschool Teachers!" now streaming on Crunchyroll.
A little encouragement goes a long way in helping others reach their goals -- whether that be through finding the strength to get back up after a defeat, or to keep trying, even with no immediate results. In Episode 14 of Tropical-Rouge! Precure, the Cures find that a little cheering can result in great strength -- a lesson well taught by many of the franchise's movies, with one item in particular: the Miracle Light.
A staple of many Pretty Cure movies, Miracle Lights debuted all the way back in 2007 with Yes! Pretty Cure 5 the Movie: The Mirror Kingdom's Miraculous Adventure!, and have been in almost every movie of the franchise since. In-universe, these small penlights allow non-Cures (like family, friends and mascots) to cheer on the heroines magically, giving them literally renewed strength and sometimes even new powered-up forms that catapult them to victory.
Out of universe, Miracle Lights are often handed out to moviegoers, with them actively encouraged to use the lights to cheer on the Cures when they're in trouble. While these souvenirs have no actual powers, the ability to actively (and more-or-less canonically) participate in the story of a movie is not something one experiences every day. So it is with this familiarity built up over 20 movies that makes the parallels to Episode 14 of Tropical-Rouge!'s climax so clear that it leaves one wondering why the animators didn't add the Miracle Lights in.
The episode follows the girls assisting and shadowing preschool teachers to try out the career path they may like to pursue later in life. While the episode's antics has everyone wondering whether Manatsu or the kids are the teacher, things quickly go awry when Elde shows up and summons a Zenzen Yarane-da, taking over some blocks the children were playing with.
The girls quickly usher the kids to safety before their motivation can be stolen, allowing themselves to fight at full strength from the start, though they find the playthings to be more than a worthy opponent. Unbeknownst to them, two preschoolers, young insect lovers Ruri and Wataru, both snuck back onto the battlefield to check up on a butterfly cocoon. Laura quickly comforts the anxious youngsters, promising them that the Pretty Cures won't lose -- only for the blocks' versatility, speed and resilience to begin to overwhelm them.
With this ill-timed development, Laura herself becomes worried and finds herself cheering for her team. The kids, as kids often do, take their cue from the "adult," and join their voices with hers, shouting "Fight on, Pretty Cures!" words that have been used many, many times in support of the Cures -- just never before these Cures. While the kids lack Miracle Lights, the scene itself is reminiscent of many of the franchise's movies, though on a much smaller scale. Rather than imminent defeat and the loss of the world as a result, the girls simply needed a small boost to get their act together.
The encouragement not only reminds the girls as to why they're fighting, but refreshes them to change up their tactics and work as a team, hitting it so quickly that the creature doesn't have time to reform before pulling out their finishing move. While no Miracle was needed to save the day, the Light of encouragement still proved a valuable asset to the Cures, and one that will surely only be multiplied by continuing to work together towards their goals.
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