Still thinking about Wonderful Precure. Here are the things I really liked about it (spoilers, of course):
Mayu doesn't have a big "putting herself out there" moment. Other Precure seasons give their socially anxious characters a big moment of doing something really scary, like being in a fashion show or being a reporter in online videos. I was worried Mayu would have one too, since people mentioned the theatre-like theme of her transformation sequence. But she doesn't ever have a moment where hundreds of people are staring at her. Because she doesn't need to. The closest thing to that is the scene where she teaches her classmates to knit. Mayu is about bringing other people together, not about being the center of attention.
I love the setting. Animal Town seems like a nice place to live
Yuki's first scene in episode 1. When I saw her move like that, I was like oh okay, these people understand the way cats react to being petted. Idk I just like the way she moves her head and briefly stands on her hind legs. Cats do that
I usually hate romance subplots, but Wanpre's is honestly really well written, to the point where, had I seen it when I was younger, I think I would've viewed relationships as less scary and less alien. Even though it's hetero, there isn't a gendered dynamic to it at all. The characters respect each other and communicate their feelings. Them being in love doesn't change their whole personalities or make them act in weird, irrational ways. I just think it would've helped me understand things if I had seen it when I was younger
The wolves don't necessarily have to forgive all the humans. The message is not "Yeah humans killed wolves, but humanity is still good!" The message is "Some people are good and some people are bad, but friendship and understanding can help end conflicts". I still personally wish they'd been even more radical with it (if this were still the Steven Universe discourse era, I could see arguments about whether the show promotes forgiving your oppressors because "not all humans!"), but whatever
The characters aren't unattainable role models. They all have admirable traits, but they also have bad traits, and overall they feel quite average and realistic. I suppose the realism could be a bit boring, but the cast is balanced out by Komugi and Yuki's more extreme personalities
I have mixed feelings on this, but the overall tone is less optimistic and more bittersweet... it's less about overcoming tragedy and more about accepting tragedy. It's warmer out than it used to be? Yeah, that's how it is these days. A dog is dying of old age? We can't stop her from dying, but we can try to make her as comfortable as possible while it happens. Wolves were hunted to extinction? That's terrible, but we can't bring them back, we can only hope humanity has learned from its mistakes. Nobody can save the world − they can only look out for each other and treat others with compassion.