Hirogaru Sky! Precure

A review of Hirogaru Sky! Precure, or Soaring Sky! Precure.

The Precure series as a whole is a vast one, with many different shades and styles to it, however they always have a few things in common. They're made for kids, they're about magical girls, and they always have some form of villain. This review is going to take a semi deep dive into this show, looking at it's strengths and flaws, and how Soaring Sky! Precure makes itself a Precure series that despite being a show designed for kids, has some exceptional strengths that can make it a good show regardless of age.

There is ... one topic to breach before we begin, the Precure series is designed with an audience of as young as 3 years old, to as old as about 10 years old in mind. As such there are things the series CANNOT be faulted for, as a show that's main target is that audience will have inherent limitations on the show in many ways. As such this review will keep the shows limitations and target in mind when discussing and pointing out it's flaws and giving criticism to ways it could improve.


The first and most important topic to breach is the story, as shows designed for kids usually end up on one side of the bar, they either have what is essentially no story, or they have a very simple story, but one that's effective for it's target audience. Soaring Sky manages to be neither one, it's story does have quite a few typical cliches of the genre, a baby princess, villains targeting her, the Precure protecting her you get the gist. But what sets Soaring Sky! Precure apart is how it uses it's rather cliche start to form a excellent story and plot through good execution. Now this review is abiding by the no spoiler policy, so I can't get into specifics however I can give insight into how it makes for a good story. The show has a big focus on heroes, given it's name doubles as a pun in that sense, and this show doesn't just do kick and punch and beat the bad guys. It takes a much better approach and focuses on what makes someone a hero, and how to become a hero. Not just doing what is right, but being able to figure out what IS right to do, and even more so than that, choosing to do the right thing, no matter how painful it is to endure, it takes a very moral approach to heroes and does it very well and in many other ways also. And if that was the only thing, Soaring Sky! Precure would still be a hair better than most of the Precure series I've seen, but it's Villains also get a cut of the cake. I've gotta say, Villains in kids targeted shows are usually bad, and more often than not, it's not the shows fault but rather they can't easily write good villain in the story due to the legal limitations of the shows target audience. Soaring Sky! Precure actually has good villans, for the most part, they fulfill their role as the scary villains, but they also do soo much more than that for the story. I'll touch on them more in the character section, however story and plot wise, the villains have their own reasons and morals for what they do. They're goal isn't some simple "I'm gonna take over the world because I'm evil!" They have reason, and motivations on a level that even makes our main Hero, Sora, question if what she's doing is really the right thing. On the whole the story is truly quite good, especially taking the shows limitations into account. Now, lastly here is a question you may have reading this right now. What about the flaws? What does this show's story NOT do well? Yes, I'd be lying if there wasn't things this show didn't do so well story wise, however 99 times out of 100, I believe it's something I cannot fault the show for as they're likely unable to do better than that with their limitations. The biggest issue I can point out is the more "filler" feeling episodes, they're certainly not bad, but you can easily tell they're extra things added in for the kids watching the show. I wouldn't say they detract from it too much, but they'll leave you with a few episodes feeling worse than others.


Well here it is, the characters, and this is by FAR Soaring Sky! Precure's biggest strength. When I watch this show, I wonder how the heck the average show in a season often times fails such keys aspects when this show can do it despite the limitations. Put simply, they carried a large portion of this show, the characters have depth on a level that blew me away for this kind of show. The characters have development, they learn, they grow, they struggle, in many different ways too, not only that, the characters have depth, the last thing I expected to see here. Characters are deep, they have good backstory, motivation, goals, and don't leave the villains out of that list either. Sora herself, goes through so much, and even sacrifices things to achieve her goal of becoming a hero. Our villains aren't villains to simply be evil, they're villains to achieve their own goals, and it's a goal that isn't formed by simple "lame" reasoning. It's a goal formed by their own hardships and struggles. If all that wasn't enough, Soaring Sky! Precure, isn't afraid to get very emotional either, and take it to a fairly deep level too. On the whole the characters carry this Precure series above and beyond and are the main reason from my view, making this a Precure series that despite being a kids show, carries it's weight as being fairly enjoyable for adults who aren't picky about specific "quirks" kids shows may have.


Lastly here, let's look at the production, the directing here is simply excellent, they have a director who knows how to direct a show well, while staying within the boundaries of a kids targeted show. Combined with a overall very good OST to make the scenes feel even better to the viewer. The Animation on the whole is quite good, but with 1 major issue, the art. I don't remember most of the "older" Precure series from the 2010s having issues like this, but Soaring Sky! Precure is a well animated show but has some issues with art inconsistency or art quality at times. There were a couple episodes that you could really tell something was off as the characters eyes would occasionally look misaligned, most of the episodes didn't suffer from this however it's still worth noting. From what I can tell, this looks to be a rushed production problem, as there was some areas where art just looked unfinished, and unrefined in a way you wouldn't expect from a finished work. All this could be completely false speculation, however it is still worth pointing out the mostly minor art issues.


Hirogaru Sky! Precure or Soaring Sky! Precure, is a show that certainly isn't for everyone, after all it is a Precure series, however for those who like the Precure series or those wanted to start watching the Precure series, this is absolutely one of the better ones in the series. For those who think the Precure series is only for kids and is a bad watch is you aren't one, it is a series targeted at kids, but that does not make it only for kids because as with any and all types of movies, show or other media content, the genre, idea or even simpleness doesn't make a bad story, it's what they do with the story, and how well they use and execute it. Soaring Sky! Precure deserves it's 8/10 for knowing what It needs to be, but despite the limitations it doesn't shy away from going beyond trying to be simple kids entertainment and having a well refined story and characters.

This is two shows in one. The first, which lasts until Episode 23, is an awesome show with a kickass lead, entertaining villains, and a dramatic and moving climax that truly reaffirms Sora's heroic strength. The second is a mess of inconsequential filler episodes with boring villains and a main plot hastily infodumped in the last 5 episodes, only for its potentially interesting conflict to be quickly discarded by a cheap Korra Equalist twist.

But even its weaker second half is still watchable due to the chemistry of the main couple: Sora and Mashiro. It is always a rare joy to see a headstrong tomboy lead ... character in a magical girl series, a Pippi Longstocking level powerhouse in a striking and pretty Sky Land dress. Beside her is the gentler Mashiro, whose side story of becoming a children's author is very sweet.

Unfortunately, the rest of the cast is a mixed bag. Tsubasa, the series' first male Cure, is very relatable in his scientific interests, but his character arc is weirdly patriarchal for a series about female empowerment. Ageha, the nursery school teacher with the personality of an excited kids' show host, is very entertaining to watch and I would like to say is my favourite of the bunch...except she gets shafted to supporting roles more often than not. Her sad backstory regarding her parents' divorce is only given a few token nods, denying her the character depth she could have otherwise had and a chance to connect with those who went through similar broken families. And the baby, Ellee, is basically a plot device, even after the awkwardly executed reveal of her true nature.

So is it worth watching? Well, maybe? It's one of those shows that sets up a mystery box for 45 episodes only for its contents to be underwhelming, but if you're just in it for the action and cute character interactions, you could do a lot worse. If this show was more consistent, it could have been a magical girl classic, but as it stands, it falls apart in the second half and we just have to deal with it.

Hirogaru Sky! Precure is probably one of the biggest disappointments I've had when it comes to mahou shoujo. Hirogaru carries the proposal of being an innovative anime compared to other Precures, breaking certain character-related clichés: the protagonist is the blue heroine, a boy is part of the "magical girls" group, and there is a Cure who is already in college. This breaking of stereotypes is interesting, but unfortunately, it seems that the anime is just fulfilling a quota of characters for the main cast. The innovative points of the anime are limited to this; the rest is the typical episodic superhero show, where every episode ... results in a confrontation with a random monster and a moral lesson. I believe Hirogaru Sky! Precure is more akin to Paw Patrol than to a mahou shoujo.

Hirogaru Sky does not escape the flaw of many Precures in being a childish anime. I believe a children's show should not be limited to being moralizing, constantly trying to teach a lesson to the audience in the most pedagogical way possible. There are children's animes and infantilized animes. The latter merely reproduce adults' views on what children's things are, always in a hierarchical, didactic tone, teaching what they need to learn at that stage of life. The work's space becomes an educational field, and the artistic part is left aside. This is the case with Precure; the conflicts in the work always seek to teach basic values as if the audience were imbeciles. This does not belong to the children's universe. A child does not have an understanding and concerns related to morality, justice, or even the importance of friendship, which is so emphasized in the anime. This is an outsider's view, an adult's perspective on what they consider important for a child's development. Above all, in infantilized animes, the experience of being a child is disrespected.

On the other hand, children's animes seek to reach the child audience by embodying the essence of seeing the world from a child's point of view, creating a story rich in imagination, fantasy, or even filled with play. Unlike an infantilized work, the adult visits the children's world seeking to have a child's perspective, being curious, turning the world into a stage of constant discoveries. Creamy Mami, for example, is a mahou shoujo that uses magic to bridge Yuu's childlike world with the adult environment of show business.

Unlike Hirogaru Sky, Creamy Mami is not a lesson about what kind of adult a child should become by imparting a set of rules for the character to learn. Instead, it is an anime that encourages the imagination of what the child wants to become in the future. Using her powers, Mami can be anything she desires, just as a child can dream of becoming whatever they wish. Works that achieve this can be enjoyed by both children and adults, as we have all been children and experienced these sensations. This respects childhood, the child's subjectivity, without a top-down perspective.

In summary: although the target audience of the anime is children, this should not prevent an adult from watching without feeling like they're watching a well-produced episode of Peppa Pig or receiving a moral lesson from their parents. So, there are no excuses.