When I review a song here, I leave it on loop for the entirety of the time I'm writing. Usually this is a good thing, but any song, looped long enough, will grow tiresome. Sometimes this can last longer than others; once I had the second stage music from Double Dragon 3 looped for almost an hour. And then I tried listening to the invincibility music from Super Mario Brothers 3 and barely lasted five minutes. So, mileage can definitely vary. In this case, looping the song was a torture. Because this is, very much, a repetitive song. But then, so is the anime.HeartCatch Precure is the fifth or so edition of the series, which I wouldn't have believed years ago, when the original Pretty Cure aired. Back then I thought it was a passing fad; now it's nothing less than a cash-printing machine. I've been watching a few episodes of it lately, partly because I like magical girl shows, but mostly because Hisakawa Aya is supposed to show up in it later on. I'm still waiting for Hisakawa, but so far the main message I've been getting from the show is a) buy PreCure toys, and b) go see the Pretty Cure All Stars movies. I might do the latter lately, but the repetition inherent in the series, ramming down into kids' heads what all the accessories are that they should get their parents to buy for them (and helpfully rendered in 3D, to set them apart from the rest of the fairly flat artwork), can be wearisome.
And if that's wearisome, you should try counting how many times the words 'HeartCatch Precure are used in the song. I counted: nineteen instances, though at once point I might have been confused and hearing it too many times.
Mind, this is a kid's show, make no doubt. Unlike, say, Nanoha, or even Sailor Moon, these are not series marketed to the teenage or creepy old man markets; if they were, they'd make better fanservice. So I am, perhaps, being a bit harsh on how repeitive a song for children is. But then, I review the songs, not the audiences. So let's get on with it, shall we?
It's sung by Aya Ikeda, and if you've never heard of her, then neither have I. Neither have most in the anglosphere, I would say; the only page with useful information I could find is her company page, and there's precious little there. Apparently she's eighteen years old and has mostly had stage appearances, prior to singing the opening for this series. Her voice is thoroughly unremarkable. I think I could handle that, if it weren't for the child chorus backing her up and shouting now and then. Them, I want out of the picture. Anyway, while she does a fair job of sounding youthful and energetic... there's nothing solid behind it. It's very much pop music, in all the wrong ways. Even without knowing Japanese, there's nothing to stir my heart.
So, if the vocals are boring, how about the music? Well, that's not too bad. It's almost all synths, with a bit of brass to carry it through. No kick-ass guitar solos, but then for a kid's show that would be more than a little out of place. It's very upbeat and peppy, but again, there's no turn of brilliance, nothing that stands out and really catches the attention. It's simply pedestrian, consistent, and mind-numbingly happy. And hey, openings for kids' shows should be happy, shouldn't they? If nothing else, the viewer will labor under no misconceptions of what they're in for.
It's Precure, though. So that's what you should expect, and have no complaints about. Two of five stars, for this one.
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